Sat 15 & Sun 16 July 2006 - Northbridge (Revelation)
OR Sat 22 & Sun 23 July 2006 - Fremantle
(Revelation) OR Sat 30 Sept 2006 - Newcastle (Electrofringe)
Hands-on
workshop to learn Video
Painting
/ VJing / Live Cinema.
Places are limited to a maximum of 12 per workshop to
enable sufficient personal one-on-one assistance. Runs
for two days.
Who
is it for?
This workshop is aimed at painters who want to introduce
the aspects of movement and time; film-makers who want
to experiment with real-time improvisation and effects,
and any other artists interested in exploring this exciting
new medium.
Pre-requisites:
You don't need to be a professional film-maker to participate.
Just basic digital video skills, and being comfortable
enough with computers to experiment is enough. You will
need to bring your own video camera and a PC
laptop running Windows XP (Sorry, most of the tools
we use will work on a Mac- although email us if you're
a Mac person and you really want to do it - we have a
Plan B for Mac users). All software required will be supplied
on CD. Some is Freeware, and some fully-functioning trial
versions of commercial software. FAQs
about technical requirements.
Goals:
To shoot and create your own individual 'video paintings',
which will be recorded to DVD and distributed to participants,
sponsors and other interested organisations, Festivals
and venues.
What's
it about?
With the birth of Photography, art's role to literally
document the visual world was challenged. Impressionism
developed as one response to this. Monet would sit in
his garden at Giverny painting the same scene over and
over again to capture subtle changes in light and colour.
As his sight slowly failed, his paintings became more
abstract. He became more concerned with conveying feelings
rather than capturing what could actually be seen.
How
can these ideas be applied in a contemporary environment?
Can we apply some of these same concepts to videography,
to give a more painterly perspective to the humble Handycam?
An
Australian invention in the 1980's, the Fairlight CVI
(Computer Video Instrument), introduced real-time video
effects processing, but it was prohibitively expensive
and the effects were very gimmicky. Like most things IT,
over the past two decades the possibilities of real-time
video effects have improved dramatically, and the cost
has come down to a consumer level. This has led to the
development of VJing. We'll be using VJ tools and technology
for this workshop, although in an Arts context. Examples
of our Video Paintings can
be downloaded from VJzoo.com.
"Before"
"After"
(plus free steak knives!)
The
variety of effects possible with these tools and techniques
is incredible. This is just one example, but we'll be
encouraging you to explore and develop your own 'recipes'
that look completely different to our pieces.
Although
VJing is still relatively underground in Australia, in
countries such as the UK it’s becoming quite high
profile, including as an art form. It's evolved rapidly
for a life outside of the Club scene in which it was born.
You can read more about VJing on our page What
Is VJing? where there are some links to others working
in this field.
The
relationship to music has been significant in the development
of this artform, and we're pleased to have excellent
local
music to work with. WA Music has a lot more to offer
than just Inde rock :)
Who's
running it?
VJzoo.com are a VJ team consisting of Jasper Cook (VJ
bunniboi) and Kat Black (VJ kattyb).
Although
we produce works that are screened at Festivals and distributed
on DVD in addition to our live performance, what we do
is very different from traditional film-making as our
creative process is very improvisational and non-narrative.
We
met at Art School (Central TAFE). Jasper had been studying
Photography and Kat had been a practicing visual artist
for around 8 years and was returning to study to obtain
a qualification to teach. Since meeting, almost all of
our work has been collaborative – we jokingly called
ourselves ‘Gilbert & Georgina’ at Art
School.
Kat
Black is 40 and her career as a visual artist goes back
to 1996, see http://kattyb.com.
She is also a published author/illustrator, see http://goldentarot.com.
Kat has exhibited at some of Australia’s most established
galleries, such as the Barry
Stern Galleries in NSW and Gunyulgup
Galleries in WA. She studied Multimedia at North Sydney
TAFE in the late 1990’s, including short courses
at MetroTV/AFTRS.
Jasper
is a photographer as well as a video artist. Although
only 23, he has already developed quite an extensive portfolio
of work as a fine art photographer: http://jaspercook.com.
Jasper had his first solo exhibition while still at school,
and partly attributes his fascination with images to his
dyslexia. He’s determined to express with both photography
and video that which he has difficulty putting into words.
Both Jasper & Kat completed the Diploma of Fine Art
(New Media) at Central TAFE in 2003.
In
addition to our work as a duo, we also work collaboratively
on a wider basis. For example, we founded the collaborative
Hybrid Arts project http://3minutes.net
in 2004 and already joint 3minutes.net projects have been
successfully exhibited and/or performed at a range of
Arts Festivals throughout Australia, including being shortlisted
for the Harries National Digital Art Award.
We
have just returned from a tour of Spain and the US, where
we performed our 'video painting' and other styles of
VJing to enthusiastic audiences. You can see videos of
these performances at our website: VJzoo.com/ev.htm
"The
"Painting with Light" workshop is a wonderful
idea, and Kat Black and Jasper Cook are just the
people to run it - this is a great opportunity!
VJZoo
/ Kat and Jasper are influential and internationally-respected
VJs with a rare, synergistic mix of expertise in
painting, photography, graphic arts, and live video
performance.
I'm
sure that the workshop participants will be amazed
to see the power they can have over visual imagery
thanks to new technology, and it will set their
minds spinning with countless creative ideas."
- Paul Spinrad, author of The
VJ Book
One
Half-day Schedule (Newcastle for Electrofringe)
Note:
A compiled DVD of all works will be produced within a
week of completion of the second workshop. A copy will
be sent to all participants, and screened either in a
gallery or other public event. Consent for your work to
be used in this way will be sought before commencement
of the workshop.
