Environment

Further to The Bruce Lacy Experience and ideas from Happenings and in particular Alan Kaprow and his ideas and thoughts about the everyday, an idea has come to me for the presentation of the final work and its presentation.
I will create an environment in which aspects of the final work (at this stage, a documentary film) will be the progress and workings of it's construction. I will include maps, drawings, designs and ideas for it's presentation. I will complement it with a video version of myself and further add to the involvement of the audience by offering a small library and ways for them to participate and be involved in the work.

Bruce Lacey 2

The Bruce Lacey Experience at the Camden Arts Centre in Finchley was my destination yesterday, and what a productive day it turned out to be.
In the same way as I cam to get the Pilgrims' Way project sorted in a day, so too did this exhibition prove to be the catalyst for cementing many disparate ideas I have had for the past couple of months.
This exhibition, through the reasonably eclectic strands of Lacey's career, helped point me to place where my various ideas could work together rather than be the father fragmented things I hitherto saw them as.

Poetics Of The Motorway

Went to quite an interesting post-launch of In the Company of Ghosts: the Poetics of the Motorway, 2012, edited by Andrew Corkish at Beakonsfield yesterday evening.
I find it interestigg as I attend more and more of these, that very often it is a way for panelists to indulge themselves and enthuse about a subject about which they are passionate, without, what I would argue, ios the important thing to include us, the audience, who do not know as much, but by being there could easily be enthused and informed more.
No sonic references!

Mapping

Looking at some Google maps of the Canning Town area, I find there are some interestingly diverse locations there. Having recorded for two days there this week, I am thinking that there might be some way to work within a restricted, or at least defined area. Perhaps look more deeply into the diversity of on area, comparing and contrasting the sonic and filmic qualities.

Isle Of Dogs Skip Hire

Had a great day today at the Isle Of Dogs Skip Hire depot in East London.
I was given permission to record and film for a couple of hours. It is amazing the amount of rubbish they receive and distribute from there every day. Hundreds of tons of Tower Hamlets' rubbish was there today as the borough cannot cope with all the extra pressure from the Olympics.
A wonderfully noisy, hectic and stinky day indeed.

Project

Began filming and recording for some experimental pieces this week around industrial parks, scrap yards and edgelands.

Bruce Lacey

 A retrospective of Lacey's work was at the BFI last night.
Mostly supported, thinly, by an audience with grey hair and a couple of well informed 30 somrthings.
Bizarre, English surrealistic fun and games abounded with some wonderfully awful sound design and highly inspiring ideas of hand-held camera work and the realization that technology must not get in the way of a good idea.
Bravo Bruce.

BFI

BFI membership is proving to be a wise investment. Not just getting me off my arse and out into the real world, but more importantly, the amount of documentary/independent/artist films is proving to be quite a stimulating affair for my work.

Filming

With the arrival of the camera, lens and tripod, I began some filming this week. Really just to get my experience of the kit up to scratch, but once out there, ideas begin to form of what is right and what is not.
I'll keep this experimentation with audio and video recording going this week, and start to compile some short experiments.

Soiree / Public reaction

I was interested in seeing the film again last week in front of the public.
As with all things, once the piece is out of one's control, you just have to let it be and see how people react. Luckily, on the whole, positively.
I have decided that a replication of the Lo-Fi aesthetic will be wrong for the next project. It is so obvious that I would have trouble maintaining the idea without it becoming predictable or lame.
A similar attention to costumes will be important and the maintenance of the slightly opinionated character is desirable and gives the film some momentum.
I am questioning a performed version for the final show.

New tech books

Getting some background technical help from a couple of books I bought over the weekend.

Of Time and The City

Got some great ideas from watching Of Time and The City by Terence Davies yesterday.
It's amazing when one gets into something, how there is already an established practice.

Equipment oredred

Took the plunge and splashed out a fortune on the kit required for the project.
Canon 650D
Sigma 18-250
Tripod with HDV fluid head
plus all the small accessories.
Needed to get this done though otherwise I'll be theorising until next Christmas.
This way, I can get out there and start making some trial films.

Edgelands

Marion Shoard was the inspiration for the poets Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts to write Edgelands. Here is a link to her 2002 essay.

Radio 4 Book Of The Week

Had a listen this morning to the abridged version of Robert Macfarlane's book The Old Ways.
Never come across him before, but the first episode was very interesting.
You can listen here.