NOV 4, 2012: The Velocity of LoNyLa
BY THOMAS RUSHFORTH
As I sit here waiting to be transported by the magic of technology to Berlin for this evening's (and, depending on where you are in the world; this morning's, tonight's, today's, tomorrow's) play-reading...I think it might be an idea to post a few words and share some thoughts on the current Velocity season and by extension LoNyLa in general...In the words of Nitin Sawhney, 'I'm a low tech man in a high tech world' but I suspect I'm rather too proud of this and have to question what is the nature of the threat, and that's what it feels like, that the digitised world presents...and then again what are the possibilities of this brave new world if only I am curious enough to explore them...
The conclusion of that song is 'It's being a person you know' which is then emphasised with an appropriate expletive and the understanding of that time-immemorial challenge has been reflected in storytelling...and that's what we do – the pigments of charcoal and ochre transformed into pixels of streaming and a virtual cave, open and accessible to anyone who logs-on...
So it's been great to see and hear new stories presented from across the globe – being 'present' at
the international collaboration that has provoked my thought and emotion - by you, you whose generosity of creative spirit and talent that is so easily communicated using this tool that enable us to reach across oceans and share the nuances of different cultures in the universal reflection of ourselves.
I've enjoyed the rehearsed readings but there is another side to Velocity which is the research/experimenting/development of the Telepresence workshop. A few weeks ago we gathered in London and New York and then met in our virtual playing space...we were 'dotcommedia dell'arte' players jumping into the internet performance area found and created by J Dakota Powell with the lazzi suggested by Jonathan Ward.
And there was a quite-literal 'found space' in London when we were unable to use the regular location...it didn't matter because all we needed was a wireless connection and so we found ourselves taking-over a corner of the Barbican foyer – how egalitarian is that?! So when we got set-up and online we proceeded to try improvisations and various ways of interacting, some of which worked, some didn't, learning about how energy can be passed and narrative told between us – it was chaotic and fun...some of the things that interested me particularly were the questions of how this medium works as a kind of combination of theatre and film, how the vitality of acting and reacting has to be found a new way, even if stemming from two established traditions of performance...I've no idea of where it will lead or what it'll turn into but thought it was a good start to ask questions and go forward to make more discoveries, it will be whatever we make it to be.
The excitement for me isn't so much about the 'high tech' for its own sake but more that it provides the facility of, and potential for, creative meetings with new people in new ways, reaching-out to the wide possibilities beyond the confines of nationality, location and tradition to explore what it is 'to be a person' – it's the 'low tech' need to tell our stories, it's about you and me...and it's good have a place to share and connect where that can happen.
OCT 8, 2012: Dry Tech @ Google Campus
BY J DAKOTA POWELL
Stepping into Google Campus’ third floor space in the early evening after a digital enterpreneur’s conference felt like a boomerang into the past...a 15-year time warp back to the early days of the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at New York University. At the time, we were creating short animations with Macromedia’s Director, beta testing virtual reality worlds software for Microsoft and coding in CSS, JS and Java to enhance web pages. We used 3D software to model avatars and immersive environments. And took hours to render a short video (often meant you napped in the lab while the file was being crunched).
ITP’s Chairman, Red Burns, wanted artists, entrepreneurs and innovators in the program. Red’s mantra: you can always pick up a manual and learn how to code but we’re looking for people with big ideas.
My favourite project was a Director animation entitled “The Adventures of Joey Spinoochi.” The piece revolved around a rambunctious child who falls through a rabbit hole and lands in a world where common household items come alive. By scanning in images of found objects - scissors, safety pins, toothbrushes, etc. - I then turned these objects into characters. Toothbrushes became twirling fairies in tutus. Scissors transformed into sharks. Safety-pins morphed into a hive of bees. The Director class was enthralled with the project. As students watched the animation, they’d chime: “Joey Spinoochi! Joey Spinoochi! Joey Joey Joey Spinoooochi!”
Although I worked as a business strategist upon graduating from ITP, the years I had spent in multimedia production were probably the happiest. Hands-on production work - coding, video editing, graphics, etc. - allows you to be creative.
Little did we realize...the digital world would balloon into an arena for dot-com monoliths and Internet tycoons. We used AOL for email and Google for search. Yahoo! was a text-based index of vetted URLs. eBay? A site where you could offload hand-me-downs to pay for software...or rent.
In 2000, I ventured to London, which was a hotbed for digital startups in Europe. The energy in the tech space was frenetic. Scores of would-be entrepreneurs were thinking up every kind of digital business on the map. The major hurdle was infrastructure. We had the ideas. Content. Applications. But the pipes were too small. We were dreaming of the day when everyone would have broadband.
In 2012, we yearn for a landscape blanketed with superfast wifi. No matter what street corner you're on, you can plug into the web at supersonic speed.
8PM @ Google Campus and I’ve got two laptops and two cameras running on Vidyo's telepresence platform. On one laptop I’m projecting the “room” where two videostreams are juxatposed. It’s a dry tech for Velocity Lab’s telepresence workshop. I’m experimenting with the position of cameras and projection. How will the actors in different locations and time zones react to each other over this link-up?
At the moment, I have no idea. Sketch one blueprint after another. Trial and error. It’s a new frontier.
The security person, Hazel, mosies in and surveys my set-up. "How's it going?" she asks. The Campus is a warm trusting place. I had left a make-up bag at Campus the week before and Hazel knew exactly where it was. "No one steals anything here," Hazel says, "it's a community where people take care of each other."
The evolution of technology in the past 15 years has been mind-boggling. To an old net vet, the digital space only grows more interesting and expansive. I can't wait to see how six American actors in NYC and six British actors in London will work together - leaping over space and time - this coming Sunday. ~J Dakota Powell
