Exploring the ways in which artists, artisans and technicians are intelligently expressing their creativity with a passion for culture, technology, marketing and advertising.
For Shared Worlds 2013, we have asked some of speculative fiction's finest artists, editors, and writers to write advice on their own hands and send us a picture.
Here are some of my favorite images and advice from the Shared Worlds 2013 Hand in Hand project:
The adverb is not your friend.
"Adverbs, you will remember ... are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They're the ones that usually end in -ly. Adverbs, like the passive voice, seem to have been created with the timid writer in mind. ... With adverbs, the writer usually tells us he or she is afraid he/she isn't expressing himself/herself clearly, that he or she is not getting the point or the picture across.
Every so often I re-read Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. This time around the passage above was the thing that resonated with me the most.
Previously I shared the secret lives of dancers and looked at a year at The Australian Ballet. Recently I discovered a three-part documentary filmed in 2010 by the BBC following the English National Ballet as they stage a production of the most famous ballet, Swan Lake, with a Visa-challenged and therefore missing prima ballerina; address injuries and challenging casting choices for a production of Romeo and Juliet; and lastly, speed towards opening night of their biggest moneymaker, The Nutcracker, with a brand-new, incomplete, let alone ready, production.
During the 2001-2002 season I worked with American Repertory Ballet, which included doing the marketing and subscription operations for many performances of a brand new The Nutcracker. Watching the third episode of this series brought back vivid memories of the process of staging and selling what is without a doubt the key financial production of any dance company.
In the first episode, we follow the production of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall and its enormous cast of new and experienced dancers longing for recognition. When choreographer Derek Deane puts his reputation on the line by casting a talented but inexperienced young dancer with a world-class guest ballerina, the challenge is on. Derek demands absolute perfection, and all the dancers are under pressure to meet his high standards
We join the company as they fight to finish their most ambitious production of the year - Rudolf Nureyev's Romeo & Juliet. From tensions on stage to challenging rehearsals using real weaponry, the men are performing for their lives. The company are already undermanned so it's crucial that no dancers are injured, but it's only a matter of time before the demanding schedule takes its toll.
The final episode offers a raw and revealing insight into English National Ballet, one of the world's premier ballet companies, at the climax of one of its most demanding years. From injury and pain to success and elation, the series exposes the storm behind the calm of big ballet productions.
Wayne Eagling has a highly demanding job as the artistic director of English National Ballet, looking after the 64 dancers that produce eight ballets a year. He has also decided to put his neck on the line by creating his first full length ballet for the company - The Nutcracker. As the company's crucial and lucrative Christmas production, there is no room for error and Wayne must complete the two hour ballet on an extremely tight schedule.
The film follows the creative processes of a choreographer under pressure and a new production fighting against time. With an important audience of critics, donors and government officials expected on opening night, the show must be finished. But with rehearsals running late and severe snow disrupting the making of the sets, it seems the dancers, costume-makers and technical staff are all fighting for stage time right up until the curtain rises.
Continuing the week's look at PBS Digital Studios, today we catch up with PBS Off Book. Last time we took a look at Off Book I shared mini documentaries on creative coding, graphic design and other great explorations. Today we look at illustrations, web comics, 3D printing and competitive gaming.
The internet has given birth to yet another new medium: webcomics. Moving beyond the restrictions of print, webcomic artists interact directly with audiences who share their own unique worldview, and create stories that are often embedded in innovative formats only possible online. Sometimes funny, sometimes personal, and almost always weird, web comic creators have taken the comic strip form to new, mature, and artistic heights.
Much attention has been paid to 3D Printing lately, with new companies developing cheaper and more efficient consumer models that have wowed the tech community. They herald 3D Printing as a revolutionary and disruptive technology, but how will these printers truly affect our society? Beyond an initial novelty, 3D Printing could have a game-changing impact on consumer culture, copyright and patent law, and even the very concept of scarcity on which our economy is based. From at-home repairs to new businesses, from medical to ecological developments, 3D Printing has an undeniably wide range of possibilities which could profoundly change our world.
Illustrators articulate what a photograph cannot. Using an array of techniques and styles, illustrators evoke stories and meaning in a variety of mediums, from editorial illustration in magazines and newspapers, to comics books, to activist media. And as their tasks over the years have become less informational and more expressive, their individual voice as artists becomes all the more critical and beautiful, revealing an exciting and awe-inspiring age of illustration.
As games have increased in sophistication, they have become a stage for ever higher displays of human skill and brilliance. The result is a tier of the gaming world filled with startling disciplined, talented, and highly competitive players. Born out of arcade tournaments and LAN parties, the world of competitive gaming is now entering a mature phase, featuring major global events attended by thousands and watched by millions online. With valuable sponsorship and prize money of increasing value, competitive gaming is claiming a space similar to that of traditional sports. This new industry is still in its early stages, developing broadcasting models and negotiating the culture of its widening audience. But whether it's fighting games or MOBAs, the players and spectators are passionate, and individuals and leagues are working hard to elevate e-sports into the highest echelons of human achievement.
More fantastic episodes from PBS Digital Studios Inventors Channel. Inventors is a series of portrait videos by filmmaker and photographer David Friedman, chronicling the work of contemporary inventors from all walks of life. It offers rare glimpses into the inspiration for their creations.
Mark Setteducati is a magician and artist who uses principles of mathematics and illusions in the toys and puzzles he invents. He's also a founder of the Gathering For Gardner, a biennial celebration of the life of mathematician and writer Martin Gardner. Here he talks about how math and magic influence him as an inventor.
The patents for many of Mark's clever inventions can be found here.
Ralph Baer is often called the father of video games. His invention, the Magnavox Odyssey, was the first home console system. Last year he celebrated his 90th birthday the same year the Odyssey turned 40. Here he talks about those early days of video game history and why now, at 90 years old, he's still inventing.
You can see the original patent for the Magnavox Odyssey here.
A collection of links, ideas and posts by Antonio Ortiz.
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