Virginia Woolf's image
Sam Boardman-Jacobs, the theater director and a researcher on Virginia Woolf, who happens to be a fellow student this year, told me the following: " I think the idea of it not existing is rather poetic and lovely to recreate with only a text description of what it looked it".
I had thought of the same, but hearing it from somebody else made me gain confidence and solidified my idea. Above you can see an image of the very first effort/idea i had on how to to do the recreation of the image. Since then I have worked a lot. Sorry I dont have any snippet of the last rehearsal. Here is the description woolf gives:
"This morning’s collection contains the photograph of what might be a man’s body, or a woman’s; it is so mutilated that it might, on the other hand, be the body of a pig. But those certainly are dead children, and that undoubtedly is the section of a house. A bomb has torn open the side; there is still a bird-cage hanging in what was presumably the sitting-room..." (Woolf, 1938)
Well, I dont know what do you think?As I have already said, I don't like the tripod, this very tall thing, in the middle of the room, because it obstracts the vision and takes focus aways from what I want to give importance to. That's out. Then although you can't see it very well on the background you see two playmobils. These are the kids (hellooow... i know u r not dump, just saying it). I am thinking that I better be in the frame of the picture. I dont know how. Hmm I'll try again today and keep you informed. But do you have any ideas????????? PLEASEEEEEE
Space
Yesterday I started setting up the space and I found quite of a nice format there (picture and video coming very soon today). How did I end up there?
Well, as you remember last time I realized that I could not give a lecture sitting on the floor. It was not really appropriate. So I had decided that I need a lectorer or you know this tall wooden piece of furniture that they use for lectures ? Anyway, since the production office was closed in the morning, I decided I should try out with a different option. I was not very happy about it but what could I do, I needed to start a rehearsal. So I took a table and a chair and put them in the one side and front of the room, knowing that on the back wall on the other side of the room there would be a projection of the photos.
Then I needed to find a place where to put my music creator. I put it on the floor next to my chair in the thought that I wouldnt like people to see it. But... in the end it was more visible (coz it was on the floor everyone could see it from the top) and besides I would constantly need to lean from my chair to the floor to play music. So I had the brilliantly, fucking idea to put it on the table... MAGIC... :) :) or at least I felt like magic. Because I realized that the table was big enough to accomodate the music, my papers, my arms, and still have some space.
The question then was where to put the camera that would be connected to the beamer and project the photos in a larger size. Initially I had thought next to the music, coz this is where I have the pictures. Especially in my last relevant email I had written that the camera has to be filming from top to botom not like panning from far away. So I tried. But the cables where really far away from the projector and so I wasnt able to connect camera and beamer were I to decide to put the camera far away. Coz the beamer is sitting on the front right of the room and the camera would be on the front left. So I said, ok ok. Just for today let's put the camera on the fron right (next to the beamer) and let's just zoom in filming horizontally the pictures. IT worked. I am telling you, it was a realllly realllly reallllly great idea. So I decided to keep that.
So there you are. Everything was against my initial thoughts. What I wanted not to do (as I had thought would be crap) it worked out perfectly fine and even better than what i had thought as the perfect solution. I still need to put my laser-timer-lego construction and need to put my playmobils somewhere in the space.
I am also thinking of using two beamers. Well we will see... Wait until today evening. I'll have a photo for your to realize better what I am saying so that you give me your point of view.
How to write a script for a lecture in 7 steps
After setting up the space, I started working with the text. I managed to do Chapters 1 and 2 very well or at least when I speak them out I feel it's a very organic lecture (with good argumentation and logical continuation). Now I have been talking I think quite a long while about the text and how I am making a script. This is my methodology for making a script for a lecture
Step 1: Read the book. Enjoy it. Be fascinated. Nothing more though
Step 2: Read it once again and underline what you think is nicely written
Step 3: Take notes of each chapter. Do not follow your own logic, do not try to understand what it is being said. Just take notes. LOTS of notes. Don't worry about how many you have (2-3 pages per chapter???)
Step 4: Now you want to find a logic why the author is saying all these things. Why (a) after (b) ... Is there a reason? That means that you will make a small map of arguments. Put arrows, use colours. Keep it short. It's just for you to better understand the pathway of argumentation. (one-two sides of a page per chapter????)
Step 5: Put titles in each chapter or in different words, try to identify what each chapter is talking about (less than a page for all chapters???)
Step 6: Start speaking out what you have written in step 3 but you don't need to say all of that. Eliminate (in your mind, not in the paper) what you think irrelevant or too big. Keep it to the essential as you have defined it in step 4. Try out many times. Don't try to do the whole chapter. When you feel something is not as smooth of a transition try again. Find transitions between arguments. But don't go in great detail. You dont want to bore your audience (unless you do, so then DO IT).
Step 7: I don't know yet. I guess after all these practical rehearsals, you have a more concrete text that probably is not on any paper. You could put it down on a new piece of paper. I personally like the idea of having my old papers, just because it give s the idea to the audience (I guess) that I have a lot to say and I am making some shortcuts for the sake of them understanding. Who knows ? I'll revise step 7 soon I hope. So stay tuned
My confession
Yesterday I didnt work a lot. Mariella was here and so I had to hear her exciting news about her interview for a PhD studentship. Then I met Aaron and we went to the park doing a lot of wheels and hitting ourselves in the grass. By the time I was back to the studio, I was knacked (that's how you spell it ????) There was no beamer for me and I felt a bit sleepy. I tried out some things especially with the video but it didnt really work. So I said let's go back home and work there. And so, without pushing myself to work, lazy me, I went back home. sat in front of my pc. Read my emails. took some crisps and started working on script for chapter 3. Well, I was loosing concentration, feeling a bit spaced. I think I was having 2 minutes of speaking loud the script interrupted by big intervals of 5-6 minutes of just not doing anything, just looking to the direction of the paper and being spaced out. MY GOD...
So I said let's do somehting else. lets watch the video I shot with Ilona and me playing with the playmobil. So I did. I then said let's premiere it. And so i did. but somewhere there I fell asleep at 22.00......
AMAZING.... why was i tired???? what did I do all day ??? And anyway I say all that to get your sympathy probably but the question is... why the hell did I watch the video and why the hell did I want to premiere it ???? There was NOOOOO reason. It was a loss of time. Here is the video... go figure why I did that. I lost one whole evening rehearsal without doing anything...And now I woke up at 6 in the morning either because of remorses or because I slept too much, I don't know. But the work is not going further with this lazy style. Come on, move it you lazy bitch (that's how Damien Jalet used to call me :) I can see now why
Look at the video on myblog: http://painofothers.blogspot.com
Playmobils
Well, looking back to the video, what I like is some of the angles and movement of the camera and the perspective but also the lightness of the story. In fact with Ilona, a fellow student from the MA Choreography, we were improvising. We didnt have a script. So we were just playing and we were throwing lines the one to the other. And here is how our story became a video. I like this lightness that kids have (and for sure improvisation) that a story doesnt need to have a full circle with beginning and an end, that the story is not predictable. It's out of their hand. I will try using these elements too. More than that, I like this aesthetic of failure (to be a perfect camera, to be in an expensive Holywood production), this roughness that comes because of the movement of the camera. It makes the event look more real.
I hope I work more today
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