Hooliganism

This past weekend, while returning to home to Surrey through Greater London, I encountered something different from any of my previous social experiences... Football Hooliganism. My girlfriend and I arrived at London Bridge rail station to an unexpected mass of Riot Police complete with body armour, face shielded helmets, batons, and guard dogs. They were their awaiting the infamous fans of Millwall FC who were on there way across town to play Leeds FC. What an amazing waste of resources to require hundreds of police at the station because the drunk louts where going to be changing trains at the station. Hundreds more travellers where disrupted, scared and inconvenienced by this draconian display of force interacting with the blatant stupidity of this testosterone/alcoholic mix of a mob scene. This brought to mind the social nature of entertainment and the responsibility of the creators and visionaries to realize the impact of their mediums on society and individuals as a whole. Also I was reminded of a very important man Rogan P. Taylor and his fascinating Ph.D. thesis called The Death and Resurrection Show From Shaman to Superstar. - a brilliant analysis of the social roots of modern entertainment. Rogan Taylor is now one of the worlds foremost experts on the social impacts of Football fans consulting with clubs across the globe to help them deal with its problems. His book is a must read for anyone in entertainment, it will change your perspectives on your art profoundly.

The British Museum

This past week I had the opportunity to tour the sites with my father James who has been visiting me in London. We decided our Sunday in the city would be best spent in an inspired visit to an iconic home of global history The British Museum. WOW!!!! what can I say, every turn was filled with objects which overwhelemed the sense of awe and wonderment. From Artifacts fallen from the Parthenon to Eygptian mummies and Early human life of Europe and Roman England, it was breathtaking. If you are ever in London and want to be truly amazed but the collective human history through priceless artifacts, go here. An arcitectual marvel in itself the British Museum not only holds more treasures then anywhere I have ever seen, it is an iconic space worthy of all-time. Free Entry since 1753.

Immersive Vision

I spent the past week at the Immersive Vision Conference the European workshop in Immersive Theater at the University of Plymouth. The Conference was very exciting. I small but influential group of vendors, technologists, producers, and venue mangers of the Domed Theater and Immersive Entertainment and Scientific Visualization communities. The Conference was done as a showcase for the new immersive vision theater at Plymouth a tilted 6.5M truncated dome space with a projection system by Global Immersion. Other highlights of the conference included DomeView and a pre-visualization tool for Full Dome from the Navagar Foundation in Portugal and David McConville of The Eluminati who gave a fantastic and enlightening presentation on the history of the Dome.

The Week concluded with a trip to the new INTEC Planitarium in Winchester, UK a 16M FullDome Theater also by Global Immersion. The Conference was great success and Alchemica was very pleased by the general response to our work in spatial and enviornmental effects from the Dome Community.

Giant Screen Cinema Association European Expo

This past week I attended the GSCA European Expo of large format films at the London Science Museam. Ultimatly I think we watched 13 IMAX productions over 48 hours. Besides my eyes feeling like they were popping out of my head and being exsausted from the visual stimulus I have to admit I had a really good time.

My reactions to the 3D Stereo IMAX films was that it hasn't developed far enough to be a truly viable technology. I had 3 major difficulties with the 3D effects.

1. THE EDGE - as soon as any 3D effect breaks the border edge of the frame the 3D effect is instantly lost. This seems to be a problem that can only be remeded by production decision and teqnique which avoids this from happening and instead works within the frame. Sea Monsters 3D did this the best, particurally with a shot (which happened twice) where a massive sea creature ate a shark in a overhead shot. the sea creature came through the surface of the water straight out of the screen and then returned through the the 3d space to go back under the water. The Edge was never crossed and the effect was brilliant.

2. Interlacing or Phase issues - In the 3D isn't interlaced perfectly or the position of the audience member is just right, it apears to create a ghosting effect on the eyes, I realize that each person's eyes and spacing are different, but there needs to be some thought or corrective technology brought in on this issue as the audience grows very tired of seeing the image when it is almost painfully out of focus to do so.

3. 3D is Tiring. IMAX is already a massive ammount of visual information. I can honstly say that I couldn't see a good or necissary reason for any of the 3D films to be 3D. Even U23D would have been as amazing an experience without the 3D elements, which as far as I could tell came down to a percieved ZDepth and microphone stands/drum kit parts that seemed to come out of the screen. 3D was excelent for titles and text, but otherwise, I could see how it made any of the productions have higher production value.

My response to the IMAX format in General is that it is wonderful to have the size, but I only saw one production during the entire Expo which I felt really used the scope and scale of the screen to reall impart any value to the audience. This came in the form of a production telling of the Muslim pilgramage to Mecca. Filmed at the 2008 Hajj with an all Muslim IMAX crew the scale and brilliance of the images was breathtaking. This production currently under development was by far the best thing I saw all week, the timelapse was amazing and the feeling that came from the screen was compleatly immersive. This was as close to the Kaaba as a non-muslim will ever be, to feel the power and dignity of such a sacred experience.

Finally the week concluded with Shine the Light - Martin Scorsese's production of a Rolling Stones concert in NYC. This was far and away a better stroy then U23D although along the same vain. In general my response to both films was that unless you were a fan of these bands they were just to long and over produced. you can only watch sweaty rock legends on a 8 story screen for to long before your head starts to heart from the visual and auditory saturation. Shine A Light is better then U23D because of the closeness and backstage experience. Ultimatly unless you love these Bands, it is a long expensive ticket.

Afrika Afrika

On Feb. 21st I was treated to a performance of Afrika Afrika for my 29th Birthday at London's O2 Center (Millennium Dome). The experience was a fantastic exploration of New Circus which is particularly close to my heart. I must say that the Circus elements were brilliant and the performers some of the best in the world.

The Acrobats from Tanzania - Level 10 Sports Acrobatics with the best group configurations of Acro-Balance I have ever seen.


The Contortionists (one from Congo and one from South Africa) were brilliant and super bendy.

The Ball Juggler was also amazing - bounce juggling nine balls, which I have never seen before.

All in all the performers stole the show. The Tented Palaces were fantastically decorated and the design of the show was solid and entertaining. I was very impressed by their use of Dynamic Digital Projection Systems and Static Projection on the interior of the tent, but I must make the comment that their visuals were not strong. I was disappointed that with the level of technology in the space it was not used more effectively.

I was also disappointed in the music, which although African in nature seemed to be a re-hashing of African themes from the Lion King, Miriam Makeba and LadySmith Black Mambazo.

All in all a fantastic show though.. the performers and circus skills are top rated.

Moving Ahead

Its been about a month since my last post, and this has been primarily because the nature of my work has shifted dramatically in the past few weeks and I haven't been prepared to update the contents of this blog to reflect this. My Research Assistance-ship for Don Marneilli and time with Carnegie Mellon's ETC has come to its natural conclusion with the completion of my Master of Entertainment Technology Degree and I have found myself in the unique position of being a highly valued Consultant in Europe. At the moment my present client is Philips amBX (see tech review below) where I am working in a Creative/Technical/Buisness Development role to conduct a feasibility study on market expansion of Philips "Ambient Experience" Technology into High end markets for Location and Themed based Entertainment and Theatrical technologies.

For many reasons discussion on these projects is highly limited.

We have recently updated the Alchemica website to reflect the changing nature of our companies work and focus.

I did want to mention a delightful side-tirp I made recently to Belgium to meet with The Creative Office of Franco Dragone. This amazing production company born out of the cream of creative minds at Cirque Du Soliel is making a huge impact on the world stage. Check them out.
www.dragone.be

That's all for the moment, As I can discuss other ideas more I will.

A Day of London Theater

Au Revoir Parapluie by James Thiérrée

This past Saturday night I witnessed a magical journey of abstract expressionism meets contemporary dance and classic French clowning technique. This production was spectacular with amazing stage props, stunning choreography and highly crafted lighting. The Production told the a variation on Orpheus in his decent into the underworld to recover his beloved Eurydice. A highly abstract variation with the humility of a clown and modern movement that at times made the stage stand still or even move in reverse. I most most impressed by the use of stage space and massively over sized props, fabrics and light. The completely full house of nearly 1600 patrons was highly sophisticated and engaged with the humor and beauty of the production. Inspiring to see the level of response for a truly "artistic" production away from the hustle of the West End. Sadler's Wells is a magnificent modern theater with a wonderful feel and incredible depth and scale.