I've had a slightly action packed week (more so than usual for myself, but much less than Captain America), so in the spirit of blogging, I've decided to do a two-parter.
Excitingly, I was able to go to 4 events at Vivid Ideas as part of Vivid Live Sydney on accounts of volunteering to do some live tweeting for the events. On Tuesday night, after a bit of a confusion as to where the entrance to the Museum of Contemporary Art is (either I'm THAT clueless or they need a giant arrow. Probably former), I eventually made my way up to the first event on my agenda, the panel discussion 'Does Quality Content Pay?'. The panel consisted of a guy from comedy site Jungle Boys TV, the head of multi-media from ABC and a lady from the Convergence Review. Forgive me for not including their names, I've forgotten completely. Apologies. It was an interesting conversation, lots of really good points and interesting facts, particularly with regards to the Convergence Review. However, by the end of it, I felt like they had sort of skipped over the panel question; it was glossed over and never really answered, and judging by some of the comments on Twitter, other people felt the same.
After the panel, I hung around in the bar opposite the 'ideas exchange' room. Uber pretty plus they had a bar and a coffee service. As I was by myself, I chose the seat nearest the door and people watched for a little while. Never have I seen more hipsters congregated in one room than I had that night. Bear in mind, I have done an arts degree. SO MUCH IRONIC FACIAL HAIR!
The next event was one which I had been told by the girl at the ticket table was 'going to be amazing. Packed!', so I had high expectations for the presentation by Shane Smith of VICE. I had vaguely heard of VICE but I couldn't remember where until their video documentary of gangs in Karuchi began playing. I had seen part of one their films last year in a course on national cinema, where they had gotten entry into North Korea. The documentary was great, except for the part where they decided to show people injecting heroin on camera. That, I could not watch. The rest of the presentation was fraught with technical difficulties though which really hindered the whole experience. Until it was announced, I was not aware that Shane Smith would not actually be appearing on stage but rather via linkup from New York. The link up didn't work at all and it really brought down the presentation. Shane's presentation was based on the VICE brand and their work. Towards the end, three points stood out for me which really set me off:
1. Smith claims all TV is derivative and therefore online is derivative, pointing the blame at reality shows like 'The Voice' cropping up in different countries. I think he doesn't understand how television works. It's a fact that audiences would prefer to watch local programs over 'foreign' ones- hence why successful formats get bought and sold by countries so they can legally make local versions of these shows, increasing the success of the brand. Yeah it's derivative but there's a point to it.
2. Smith talked about the success of the Arab Spring and the people's uprising setting off other middle eastern countries- as someone whose parents are a minority in their home country of Egypt, my parents had been keeping me up to date with what was actually happening post-Arab spring thanks to Egyptian television channels as opposed to Western media. Post Arab spring, Egypt became a mess; the country was being run by the military for almost a year up until the 2012 election. Militants were running wild and the country had no idea what it was doing. Success? In terms of the power of social media and collective intelligence, yes, but everything else, I seriously doubt it.
3. Smith pointed out that our news channels are more obsessed with what Kylie is wearing than what's happening in other countries. What of it Smith? The woman is a national treasure. Don't hate.
So I ended up leaving night one of Vivid Ideas not so much on a high but rather a bit pissed off.
Wednesday was thankfully better. It was a night of fashion, more frivolous and less 'SRS BZNS'. The audience was less hipster-ish and more fashionistas, the type that I saw at Fashion Week. Kudos to the man in the fascinator, knotted cape and cowboy jacket outfit- I wish I had your confidence sir. The first presentation was the absolutely delightful Henry Holland, designer of House of Holland, and his partner in crime, Jessica Fletcher. I had so been looking forward to this and they did not disappoint. It was, out of the four presentations, hands down the best one. Henry Holland is a natural speaker; sociable, open and incredibly funny and honest. His relationship with Jessica is akin to brother and sister and it was really lovely to see their interaction on stage. The discussion was based on the growth of the label, progress and future and it was really insightful and refreshing to hear a designer talk so unpretentiously. I tweeted a question about the use of the amazing Nicola Roberts (fierce ginger goddess of Girls Aloud) as Henry's muse but it wasn't directly answered. Still, my tweet about the pre-show music did rate a mention and was revealed to be a mix made specifically for a HoH show by the Misshapes. I really wished I had said something to him afterwards at the bar, but my shyness would not allow it. Plus, I had one more event to get to.
The final presentation was 'Fashion on Film'. Self-explanatory really- designers are exploring the use of short films in which to broaden their branding and showcase their collections. As the lights dimmed and I had a handful of lollies (thank you to whoever brought them!), I breathed a sigh of relief that I didn't have to think for at least 35 minutes. Some of the films were great- 'Beyond the Curve' and Current Elliott which I've posted below. Others were bizarre and the kind you can't stop watching- 'Dysprexia'. The rest were passable. However, it was really quite interesting to see the convergence of two different arts in a way that's really quite innovative. Henry Holland showed two of his films during his presentation and they were excellent as well, one being a parody of home shopping network style shows.
Beyond the Curve
Current Elliott/DVF- 'Writer's Block'
Vivid Ideas....bright lights, bigger city and exploding brain. Hope I can do some of it again next year.
Toodles!
Annie A
