Preparations for the 12th Second Life Birthday Community Celebration are continuing. With just over a week left until the regions close for walk-through and stress testing, exhibitors and stage creators are hard at work building wonders to woo and wow visitors when the gates are thrown wide to the public on Sunday, June 21st.
I’ve been fortunate enough to get the opportunity to slip into the regions and see what is going on; and I have to say that there is a lot of fantastic effort going into things, with people really focusing on the idea of dreams and what may come, and where they might lead.
SL12BCC: the stages take shape…
The main reason for my early access is to put together sneak peek videos of the regions on behalf of the SL12BCC organising team. This is an interesting exercise for me, as trying to piece together very short video and without giving too much away this early-on is taking me into new territory with my video making!
Nevertheless, it’s proving fun, so, with that said, here’s another video peek at the regions, which can also be found on the official SL12BCC website. Enjoy!
We’re approaching the start of June, and with the run-up to this year’s Second Life Birthday Community Celebrations. As noted in the banner above, the event will take place between June 21st and 28th, and will feature fifteen regions packed with builds, performance areas, stages, works of art and more, all celebrating the rich creative diversity within Second Life. On Monday, June 1st, eager exhibitors will gain access to the regions, ready to start construction!
As a part of the build-up to the main event, there will once again be a special Press Day – Saturday, June 20th, 2015 – when the fifteen regions will be open for bloggers, photographers, machinima makers, and so on to tour them and preview all that awaits residents in this year’s celebrations.
If you would like to participate in the Press Day for SL12BCC, please make sure you complete and submit the SL12B press application form.
The SL12B Time Capsule
The Time Capsule is a traditional part of the SL Birthday celebrations. It is used to contain items donated by SL residents, which are placed on display at future SLB celebrations. This year is no exception, and the SL12BCC organisers have issued an invitation to residents to submit designs for a time capsule that represents a significant technical enhancement for the year, or which is inspired by the year’s celebratory theme, which this year is “what dreams may come?”.
To give some examples of past time capsules, the SL4B capsule had flexible prims which that of SL5B featured glow – which were technical developments in SL in their respective years, while the SL6B time capsule was a meteorite chunk, in keeping with that year’s space theme.
I have the honour to be invited by the SL12B CC coordinator, Doc Gascoigne, to produce a series of short “preview” videos marking how things are developing on the celebration regions as building commences – and obviously without giving too much away!
As work starts in earnest for most exhibitors on Monday, June 1st, 2015, we thought we’d start the previews with… a preview! Enjoy!
While the traditional Second Life Birthday celebrations are now pretty much coordinated and run by the community – hence the title Second Life Birthday Community Celebrations, the Lab has a track record of sharing in the celebratory mood around the time of SL’s anniversary through various promotions, gifts, and so on, often as an overall part of the community celebrations
Xiola Linden brings word that this year, the Lab is trying something a little different – a music festival; and they’re inviting musicians from across SL to participate.
Second Life is turning 12 this June, and we’re planning a few extra special ways to help commemorate a dozen amazing years with our Residents! You’ll have to stay tuned to this blog and our social media pages for all the exciting things as they roll out, but today we’re announcing auditions for … (drum roll, please) … the Second Life Music Fest – sponsored by Linden Lab – a two day music-extravaganza inworld to celebrate!
Second Life is full of talented musicians, and we’re hoping to draw out all you guitarists, bassists, drummers, singers, tambourine shakers and other music makers to come audition for the festival. All genres are welcome!
The Second Life Music Fest is an opportunity to perform at one of the biggest celebrations in Second Life, and it’s a paid gig!
Those interested in taking part are invite to complete the audition application form – and to do so no later than Wednesday, May 20th. The blog post notes that completion of the application never signifies a commitment on the part of the artist to take part, nor a guarantee they’ll be called upon to audition before a panel of judges comprising Lab personnel and residents.
Musicians who are selected to audition will receive word directly from the Lab via e-mail. Those successful in their audition will be invited to perform a 30-minute set at the Second Life Music Fest, and (subject to the Lab’s terms and conditions) receive payment for doing so.
The auditions themselves will be open to the public, and will take place at Feed A Smile’s Lavender Fields on the following dates and times:
Friday, May 22nd 12:00 noon to 14:00 SLT
Saturday, May 23rd 18:00 to 20:00 SLT
So, if this sounds like it might be your kind of gig as a musician – follow the links and apply.
The website for SL12B, the largest Community Celebration marking Second Life’s 12th anniversary, opened on Thursday, April 22nd. Celebrations this year will run from Sunday, June 21st through to Sunday, June 28th, inclusive, and have been given the theme “What dreams may come”.
The opening of the website also saw applications for exhibitors, performers, presenters and volunteers also open.
Those wishing to apply for any of these positions are asked to read the General Event Policies for SL12BCC, and then proceed as follows:
Saturday, May 25th – Monday, May 27th: Exhibitors notified via email
Monday, June 1st – Wednesday June 17th (noon SLT): Sims open for building
Wednesday, June 10th: Performers notified via email
Wednesday June 17th (noon SLT) at noon SLT – Thursday, June 18th: Sims closed for walk-through
Friday, June 19th and Saturday, June 20th: Extra time for adjustments
Saturday, June 20th: Press day
Sunday, June 21st ( noon SLT): Sims open!
Tuesday, June 23rd: Second Life’s twelfth anniversary
Sunday, June 28th: End of main celebrations
Monday, June 29th – Saturday, July 4th: Sims remain open for viewing
Monday, July 6th – Wednesday, July 8th: Break down
Thursday, July 9th: Sims go offline.
About the Theme
The theme for SL12BCC, What dreams may come, a phrase which perhaps most famously can be found in Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, and the the Prince’s fourth, and most famous, soliloquy (Act III, Scene I).
At first glance, it might seem an unusual choice, given the context of Hamlet’s thinking within the play. However, as the SL12BCC website reminds us, the words also formed the title of Richard Matheson’s acclaimed 1978 novel, and the SL12BCC website itself offers a new, uplifting interpretation of the words:
Some may craft elaborate worlds of gleaming gold, while others may descend into the netherworld, portraying realms of flame and darkness.
Still others may have dreams of a simpler variety: a nice house, a picket fence, and a perfectly green lawn. All dreams, big and small, are valid and welcome.
We want to see your dreams. what do you imagine for the future, what are your aspirations, or what is your own personal flight of fancy?
Bring life to your dreams at SL12BCC.
Dreams of SL11BCC and the Cake stage by Loki Eliot; what dreams will give form to the SL12BCC celebrations?
Well SL11B has come and gone and the Community Celebrations are over for another year. Sadly, physical world commitments and other things meant that I didn’t actually get any time at all to explore the regions and the events as they happened, so I’ll just have to look to next year.
But that’s my misfortune; right now, there’s an important question to ask: how was it for you?
If you managed to attend SL11B, then the organising team would like to hear your honest and fair feedback. Please take a couple of minutes to complete the form below, or if you prefer, complete it via the SLBCC website, and let the organisers know your thoughts.
Loki Eliot’s Cake Stage at SL11BCC – click any image for full size
Note: as per my usual policy, this article does not utilise the SL11B Community Celebration banner, indicating it is a personal piece, rather than any “official” communication on the event.
The SL11B Community Celebrations get underway at midday SLT on Sunday June 22nd, kicking off a week of music, events, partying and more.
This year sees eleven regions (one for each year SL has been open to the public) full of exhibits, event stages, activities and – shortly after midday – people!
For those wishing to jump to the quick and start enjoying things, here are the key landmarks, up front:
The Welcome Area, Live Stage and DJ Stage can be found in the southwest, northwest and northeast corners of the SL11BCC regions respectively, with the main stage occupying its traditional centre point, spanning half each of the two middle regions in the cluster.
These are all impressive builds – and kudos to their respective builders: Kazuhiro Aridian (DJ Stage), Aki Shichiroji (Live Stage), Loki Eliot (Main Stage) and Donpatchy Dagostino (Welcome Area, with the time capsule display below it).
Pygar Bu designed the SL11BCC Auditorium, located in SL11B Facilitate, which is a further eye-catching build.
Given the theme for this year’s event: The Empires of the Future are the Empires of the Mind, all three stages have a decidedly futuristic / sci-fi feel to them. When visiting Kaz Aridian as he was working on the DJ Stage, for example, I felt I wouldn’t have been at all surprised to see Luke Skywalker passing by on his way fix a Moisture Vaporator on the orders of his Uncle Owen. Not that the stage is in any way directly modelled on Star Wars, it’s actually an entirely unique build; it’s just that it put me in that general mindset as I chatted with Kaz.
Aki’s Live stage also left me with an impression of other-worldliness. In the centre is a huge metallic head-and-shoulders statue of a gigantic helmeted figure, hands held outward and palms up to form the stage area. Around this are tall structures with a slightly industrial aspect around them, somehow suggestive of a city on a distant world.
Aki’s brilliant Live Stage – the giant robot android literally has performers in the palms of its hands
However, there is no mistaking the inspiration for Loki’s Main Stage (calling it the “Cake Stage” this year somehow doesn’t seem to do it justice): dominating the SL11BCC regions sits none other than Tron’s MCP.
It’s an astonishing tour de force of mesh, materials and more – this is one where you’re going to want to enable ALM in your viewer if you can (remember, you don’t also need to enable shadows as well, so the performance hit shouldn’t be too great – allowing for the numbers of people there and your GPU!). It’s also worth having a little play with your windlight settings as well, as the entire build can look even more astonishing under various lighting conditions.
Elevated information highways span the width of the SL11B regions, their arrow-straight lines leading directly into the huge cylinder of the Main Stage as ribbons of data twirl and twist in the air around it. Step into the Great cylinder and more awaits, as lights play across material surfaces, the central round stage glittering in reflected light. Make sure you look up as well; there’s a remarkable light / data show going on overhead – complete with suspended platforms over the main dance area for the more intrepid dancers. Keep an eye out, as well, for the hidden gifts. After all, a Program isn’t anything without his / her Identity Disk …
I admit to loving the imagery Loki’s Main Stage evokes when seeing it; so much so that I couldn’t resist having a little fun … :).
If I could insert my Identity Disk into the data stream, would my User get my message? – Having a little fun at Loki’s Cake Stage
The full list of performances throughout the week can be found in the main SL11BCC performance schedule, together with details of events at the Auditorium. Direct links to the schedules for each stage and the Auditorium are as follows:
You can also find a list of exhibitors at SL11BCC starting here (use the menu to display exhibitors by SL11B region). Oh, and don’t forget the Big Hunt taking place throughout the celebrations.
Should you feel in need of a break from all the hustle and bustle and dancing, many of the individual exhibits in the regions offer places to sit, rest, and contemplate. So too, does the SL11BCC Auditorium, which sits amidst trees and flowers and features winding paths, water and, of course, plenty of seating for the events which will be staged here. In this, Pygar’s design strongly counterpoints the general “busy-ness” of the rest of the regions, forming something of an oasis within the crowds, so to speak.
While 11 regions may well sound a lot smaller than the previous SLB events, it doesn’t mean there is necessarily less to see in terms of creativity and diversity of exhibit builds. I’ve barely had a chance to scratch the surface of things (and I’ve been sort-of helping-out “backstage”, so have had many opportunities to drop in on the regions!). I will say, however, that I’ve already found one or two personal favourites, and – time allowing – I hope that over the coming days I can bring you shots of the builds I’ve particularly liked, and why they appealed to me.
So, with things ready for the off from midday on the 22nd, and running through until Sunday June 29th (although the regions will be around after that date, just without any performances, etc.), it only leaves me to wish Second Life a happy 11th anniversary, and to leave you with a brilliant preview video by Pallina60 Loon.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 