D'log :: blogging since 2000

Mon, 8th February 10

Future of digital content

Filed under: Birmingham, Creative industries — site admin @ in the early evening

It’s invitation only, by the looks of it. 18th February 2010, 9.30am to 4pm. NTI Birmingham, 15 Bartholomew Row, Birmingham…

The Future of Digital Content [...] bringing together some of the brightest minds to explore how the future can be created. What new business models, what policies, what industry partnerships need to be created to deliver world class digital content to people in the most compelling manner? Using the outputs of a previous phase of workshops, TheAlloy have created a range of scenarios exploring the digital content needs of a wide variety of people across a range of contexts, 3-7 years from now. [...] We are looking for people who not only have the imagination to build on these scenarios, but who know how they could be delivered. We are looking for people who can help shape the future of digital content consumption in the UK. Please if you are interested in attending this workshop email: events@citin.org”

Slash and burn

Filed under: Arts cuts, Teaching — site admin @ in the early morning

Front page lead-story on the paper version of today’s Guardian, “Thousands to lose jobs as universities prepare to cope with cuts

“Universities across the country are preparing to axe thousands of teaching jobs, close campuses and ditch courses to cope with government funding cuts, the Guardian has learned. Other plans include using post-graduates rather than professors for teaching [*] and the delay of major building projects. [...] arts and humanities courses are being dropped.”

Alarming, but not exactly new news. It’s been looming since well before Christmas, if you knew how to read the policy runes.

* “cos’ anyone can teach. u don’t need no training or experiunce”

Fri, 5th February 10

In Our Time archive

Filed under: Entertainment, Teaching — site admin @ mid-morning

All the BBC Radio 4 archives for In Our Time have just been switched over to using the BBC iPlayer. Which I think might be annoying for listeners outside of the UK, since I understand iPlayer access is only available to those in the UK. Previously, anyone in the world could listen. So, for those outside of the UK, I now feel free to link to torrents of the complete archive from 2002-2009, and the complete archive from 1998-2001.

Britain Loves Wikipedia

Filed under: Cool sites, Photographers — site admin @ in the early morning

This sounds deliciously likely to annoy museums that claim ownership of visitor pictures of public-domain works: the Britain Loves Wikipedia event…

“is a scavenger hunt and free content photography contest running in museums and cultural institutions across the UK through February 2010. The aim is to increase the number of pictures available to illustrate Wikipedia articles, and to inspire new articles [...] you can go to most museums on your own at any time during the month.”

And if you have a camera that takes macro close-ups, I might also suggest hunting down a few of the pre-1926 art books in your university library — since the images will likely count as being in the public domain in the USA, and thus be able to slip past the increasingly snotty wikipolice on Wikipedia.

Thu, 4th February 10

Creativity and Place

Filed under: Creative industries, Regeneration, Teaching — site admin @ in the early morning

A call-for-papers for a June 2010 UK conference on Creativity and Place.

Mon, 1st February 10

A chat with Eno

Filed under: Artist(s), Entertainment — site admin @ terribly early in the morning

Conversational snippets from the new BBC Arena documentary on Eno.

Very Birmingham

Filed under: Birmingham — site admin @ terribly early in the morning

Very Birmingham

Another fine silhouette-style animation

Filed under: Artist(s), Entertainment — site admin @ terribly early in the morning

A wonderful semi-silhouette style animated intro for the Winter Olympics TV coverage, by Jon Klassen and Marc Craste…

Sat, 30th January 10

Moonbird

Filed under: Birmingham, Entertainment — site admin @ terribly early in the morning

Completed this month, Moonbird by West Midlands animators the Brothers McLeod

Typography for mobile devices

Filed under: D'log, Teaching — site admin @ terribly early in the morning

One of my dissertation students has published his dissertation online. The first to do so, I think. It was on typography / type design for mobile devices.

And talking of BIAD, there are currently three funded Masters degree studentships on offer there…

Eligible Programmes for Professional Preparation Masters Awards: M.A. Design Management; M.A. Interior Design; M.A. Jewellery, Silversmithing and Related Products; M.A. Product Design; M.A. Textiles, Fashion and Surface Design

Fri, 29th January 10

Cirque du Freak titles

Filed under: Artist(s), Entertainment — site admin @ mid-afternoon

The lovely CG shadow puppetry of the Cirque du Freak title-credits sequence, playing in a nice large Quicktime window

cirque

Thu, 28th January 10

How not to write a PhD thesis

Filed under: Teaching — site admin @ mid-afternoon

How not to write a PhD thesis, in this week’s THES. Valuable advice, it seems. But it’s rather disappointing to find that common third-year B.A. dissertation errors can somehow be carried over into someone’s PhD thesis.

Live Movies

Filed under: Cool sites, Creative industries, Reading, Teaching — site admin @ mid-afternoon

Live Movies: A Field Guide to New Media for the Performing Arts is a free 252 page book of theory, history, and case-studies.

Screenwriting workshops in Brum

Filed under: Birmingham — site admin @ terribly early in the morning

Just announced, a big slate of screenwriting workshops. To be held in Birmingham during 2010.

The Animation Forum also has four writing for animation workshops, also in Birmingham.

Boards of Canada

Filed under: Cool sites, Entertainment — site admin @ terribly early in the morning

Nearly 200 short animations from the Film Board of Canada, online for free. Several hundred short documentaries, too.

canada-films

Fri, 22nd January 10

Boxed in

Filed under: Creative industries, Entertainment — site admin @ in the early morning

Jason Mittell on the tensions between serial storytelling and its eventual “boxed set” form.

Thu, 21st January 10

All DAZ 3D human base models are now free

Filed under: Artist(s), Comic art, Cool sites, Creative software — site admin @ in the early morning

Not only is DAZ Studio 3 free but, as of a few days ago, all the 3D human base models are also free. Very useful human-figure reference software for comics artists and figurative painters, although if you want domestic animals you still have to buy them.

Sat, 16th January 10

New Arts & Business figures for the Midlands

Filed under: Arts cuts — site admin @ in the early afternoon

According to the latest analysis from Arts & Business

“business investment [ in the arts ] in the Midlands fell by 16 per cent, to £7.3 million, funding from trusts and foundations decreased by 36 per cent to £5.7 million and donations from individuals by 23 per cent, to £6 million. The fall in the Midlands was way above the national picture, where business investment fell by six per cent, to £157 million, and donations from individuals by seven per cent, to £363 million.”

Tue, 12th January 10

Metamorphosis Victorianus

Filed under: Artist(s), neu-real — site admin @ in the early evening

On now in New York, the exhibition Metamorphosis Victorianus. The names in the gallery’s introduction are actually links to galleries of works in the exhibition, albeit shown too small to see much detail…

“Ubu Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition, curated by Meredith Harper, of 20th Century collages all united in their focus on the transformation of Victorian engravings.”

max-ernst
Max Ernst, self-portrait. ‘The Punching Ball or the Immortality of Buonarroti’. (1920)

Sun, 10th January 10

16 silhouette films

Filed under: Artist(s), Entertainment — site admin @ in the late evening

16 silhouette films

sil-films

Older Posts »

Powered by
Powered by WordPress
Protected from comment-spam by Akismet.

© 2009


Feedburner RSS feed 
Subscribe.

Powered by WordPress