Tag: LEA News

LEA announces Full Sim Art Series participants

Posted on by Inara Pey

On Thusday September 15, the LEA announced the line-up for the Full Sim Art Series, which commences on October 1st.

The complete list of participants is:

  • October:  Inferno by Rebeca Bashly, inspired by the first part of Dante’s famous Divine Comedy
  • November: a joint entry comprising ~(Not-A-Knot) by Tyrehl Byk and Forgiving, by The Pink Tutu Ballet Group (Marmaduke Arado, Kikas Babenco, Sca Shilova, Cat Shilova, Saveme Oh, Eupalinos Ugajin, Luce Laval & Rose Borchovski) – a piece inspired by Desmond Tutu
  • December: Binary Green by Neox’s – in which bots take over the earth
  • January 2012: Research on Musical Instruments by Artistide Despres
  • February 2012: An Interactive History of Life by Romy Nayar & Ux Hax
  • March 2012: The Labyrinth by Kicca Igaly and Nessuno Myoo’s ‘The Labyrinth of Absurdity’

LEA report that the range and number of applications for the Series was such that the University of Western Australia (UWA) has converted one of its two sandboxes to provide additional display space for some of the other proposals received by the LEA.

The UWA’s Sky Sim Series will run concurrent to the LEA’s Full Sim Art Series, the major differences being artists are limited to the use of 5,000 prim rather than the full 15,000, with the exhibits being displayed on a sky platform.

The participants in the UWA Sky Sim Art Series are:

  • October: Organic Peace Sculpture by jjccc Coronet
  • November 2011: Mountain  by Katy Isodoo, in support  of mental health and wellbeing
  • December 2011: Interactive Zoo of Endangered Species by Luna Metamorphia
  • January 2012:  Between Orient and Occident by Asmita Duranjaya, Chapter ChapTer Kronfeld & Louly Loon
  • February 2012: Cyborg -Nature by Giovanna Cerise – where Nature rebels against the thoughtlessness of man
  • March 2012: Fiona Blaylock’s tribute to the poetry of Samuel Coleridge (Kubla Khan, etc.).

Related Links

LEA Announce “Full Sim Art Series”

Posted on by Inara Pey

The folks at the Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA) have announced the launch of their Full Sim Art series. Here are the key points:

  • The series will run for six months from October 1st, 2011
  • All artists in SL will be able to apply to have a full sim on which to host an art show of their own for a period of 1 month through the series
    • Each artist will receive access to a sim on the 1st of the month
    • They will have full use of the sim in order to mount their
    • When their show actually launches, and how long it runs for within the month is up to the artist
    • The sim will be cleared on the last day of the month and passed to the next applicant on the 1st of the following month
    • Each artist will receive a blog write-up in the LEA Blog, UWA Blog and the Virtual Outworlding Blog (and others, if coverage confirmed)
  • The closing dates for applications is Saturday 10th September 2011

Artists wishing to participate should send a NC to both Jayjay Zifanwe and Bryn Oh describing what the sim artwork will be in no more than 100 words, and:

  • Provide the names of anyone who might be working with you in creating the sim / show
  • Give your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd preference for the month in which you’d like to present your show (October 2011 through March 2012).

(With thanks to Grid Jumper)

July MoM – whither the theme?

Posted on by Inara Pey

The theme for July’s Month of Machinima is “Games in SL”.

Or at least, that’s the theory; and tbh I’d been looking forward to seeing a set of films showcasing the magic of games and role play in Second Life, and perhaps even learning about elements of rp or other games in SL I’ve not previously encountered. As the very least, I was anticipating seeing glimpses of stories involving fantasy, science-fiction and the rest. Sadly, this was not to be.

Don’t get me wrong, the entries on show this month at the LEA Theatre are visually impressive, and demonstrate skill and artistry I probably couldn’t hope to master; it just that – well, almost none of the have anything to do with Games in SL.

In The Red Shoes we have a superb demonstration of Second Life as an outstanding medium for storytelling, as we do with Someone Called – but to my mind, storytelling isn’t really related to games in SL. Similarly, Travelling presents an excellent travelogue to Second Life – but travelling through SL, seeing the sights and the means of transport isn’t directly related to games in SL. I’m honestly not at all sure what to make of bRaiNwasHer, but it’s hard to frame it in the conext of games. The Wavey Sea is a great music video, but  – well, you can guess where I’m going.

Dedication gets somewhat nearer the mark, insamuch as it tells a story that might be said to be framed in a role-play environment, and again, it is a fabulous piece of work in itself, but I still cannot help but feel something is missing…

To me, games in SL offers up an opportunity to highlight the deep, immersive richness of game playing within SL: role-play, steampunk, combat – dare I say, even Gorean. There are many other forms of games in SL – Tiny Empires and the like – which could, with a little imagination, form the foundations for revealing and entertaining films. Arcade Boy and When Warriors Gather go some way towards this, but there still seems to be something missing.

Again, I’m not blaming the film-makers for this lack of game-related depth: as I’ve stated, every film in this month’s entrants is skillfully executed and worth watching. I’m also not necessarily pointing the finger at the LEA judges; MoM is an excellent idea and worth pursuing; and truth be told, it’s hard to guarantee that what will work theme-wise. Even so, it’s a little disappointing that more did not rise to the challenge and present films more directly related to this month’s theme – I’ve certainly seen a fair few films on subjects such as combat games and RP in SL elsewhere, so it’s not for lack of potential content.

In the meantime, here’s Dedication, by CadenceDVE, which I really like as a story and which comes close to the ideal of the theme in a visually impressive manner. You can see all the entries above on the MOM YouTube channel.

MoM: June and beyond

Posted on by Inara Pey

With the May entrants for the Month of Machinima now available, it’s time to look ahead to upcoming months.

May was pretty much free format in terms of theme, the major criteria (other than the obvious copyright and inevitable content rating considerations) being that not single entry should be longer than 3 minutes. For June – and probably beyond – this has been extended to 6 minutes, although longer film lengths can be submitted by prior arrangement.

The themes for the rest of the year have been announced, and film-makers are doubtless already looking at June and beyond:

  • June: Mixed Reality (SL machinima has to be part of the mix)
  • July: Games in SL
  • August: Design and Architecture
  • September: Seasons (the four seasons, season of your life, etc.)
  • October: Elements
  • November: SL Events
  • December: Endings, conclusions.

Full details on Month of Machinima can be found on the SL Wiki.

Month of Machinima kick-off

Posted on by Inara Pey

The first Linden Endowment of the Arts  (LEA)-backed event will be kicking-off in May. The Month of Machinima (MoM) is set to be a rolling event, and one which will highlight some outstanding talent within Second Life.

The new event will kick-off on May 4th, at 10:00pm SLT, with a grand opening planned at the LEA Theatre in-world (which has four arrival points available: LEA 1, LEA 2, LEA 3, and LEA 4).

Additionally,  MoM has a dedicated YouTube account which will feature a playlist of machinimas submitted for the May event can be viewed after the opening ceremony. Currently, a short promotional video is available on the account.

For those more interested in LEA, there is an in-world Group with open enrolment available and where news of LEA-related events as well as news and other information can be obtained.

MoM is undoubtedly a good move on LL’s part, and I personally hope that the level of support shown will not trail off over time, but that it will continue to gain full and proper public exposure via the Lab as it rolls forward over time.