The Datsuns

Well, although this blog officially started off as a new technology, new media thinkpiece from a feminist perspective,it's morphed into a kind of 'whatever i'm doing and thinking' blog which is o.k. as thats what the beauty of the web is, right.
That it can change and evolve.
So, last Friday night we went to see The Datsuns at the San Francisco Bathhouse and it was a totally hot night, featuring the Dirt Bombs from Detroit as the support band.
Once again SFBH did it's thang and offered up a great venue for the punters and although most of them were slightly - well, a lot, younger than me....a great night was had by all....including the Dirt Bombs drummer who hung upside down at the end of the gig and kept drumming while the rest of the band body surfed into the crowd....
ahh yes...rock and roll will never die!.....

Happy New Year!

Well, no geek talk - just holidays, beaches, swimming and listening to music. Waiheke, Papamoa, Foxton Beach, Breaker Bay...bliss.

Back to work creating content for the NZ On Screen project - www.nzonscreen.com nothing there yet, but there will!

Hope you all out there had a great xmas and new year and look forward to touching base on the web or face to face out and about...enjoy 2008!

over and out...

Chris Knox & Bill Hammond

Well, Chris Knox does it again - attracting an eclectic mix of old and new fans to the Wellington City Gallery to hear his xmas special. I havent got the sound that goes with it but i have some great pics...just working out how to add the whole album but in the meantime here is the maestro...

WIFT Xmas Party!

WIFT again proved it could create a fab night out with all the other guilds and here are the photos to prove it. Note the line up of the ukelele players....

Merry Xmas Everyone ...

Geek Love at ANIMFX 07

Well, ANIMFX was yet again an amazing showcase of digital design and technology with a great line up of guest speakers. Warren Franklin from Rainmaker, Vancouver showed his student film from the seventies that got him a traineeship with George Lucas. He went on to create Industrial Light & Magic with George and now is the CEO of Rainmaker, a sfx studio in Canada. They make films but he is also actively involved in sfx himself and in creating synergies across the film sector to attract work into Canada. He was wowed by Park Rd Post and all that resides within it...and it was over all too soon...its a pity Peter Jackson doesnt show up for these things - even as a gesture...people would really love it...

Another great veteran and Emmy Award winner of sfx was Dan Curry. Dan created sfx for the the Starship Enterprise, Since then, he has worked on over 70 features, including "Star Trek Generations" and "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home."

Dan has worked on the Star Trek TV series since 1987, first as visual effects supervisor on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and then as Visual Effects Producer on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager, while also directing second unit for all three shows. Dan also has done extensive artwork for the shows, including conceptual design, motion control photography, animation, electronic and optical compositing, matte painting, space ship design, storyboarding, and martial arts choreography. His martial arts work includes developing the Klingon martial arts form "Mok'bara" and inventing the Klingon weapons the "bat'leth" and the "mek'leth".

Rita Street who founded ANIMATION magazine spoke about her new venture into producing animation series for television and film projects with her new company, RADAR cartoons. Rita fell in love with Wellington covering the Return of the King for the international magazine...

There were heaps of fabulous locals as well, Mario from games studio Sidhe Interactive, the Weta Digital crew, Dr Roy Davies from NEXTSPACE, a virtual reality lab in Auckland and expat VR expert, Dr Mark Burry, from SIAL, the Spatial Information Architecture Lab at RMIT, Melbourne. Not to mention the fabulous animation studios in Wellignton KARACTAZ Cobalt FX and Weta Digital.

Another very cool international speaker was Jason Manly from animation and sfx studio MAssive Black. Jason has also set up an amazing creative social network of artists around the world to foster dialogue and debate about art and design, Concept Art. with over 80,000 members worldwide. He also had some very interesting advice on setting up a studio in China...hard work but worth it to be on the inside, rather than just trying to engage....

It would be good to see more people at next years event - so more media and talk up before hand...

ANIMFXNZ - Games, Animation & SFX Symposium

The second ANIMFX is coming up on November 5th and 6th and the Prime Minister has just agreed to open it! ANIMFX will feature a number of international speakers including Tim Johnson from Dreamworks SKG, founder of Animal Logic in Australia who the fx for Happy Feet.

John Passfield is the Creative Director of Pandemic Studios Australia and has just finished work on the highly anticipated Destroy All Humans! 2.
He recently sold his studio for $860m.

Local speakers include Professor Roy Davies from Nextspace a virtual reality lab in Auckland.
Mario Wynands, GM of NZ's largest games studio, Sidhe Interactive and creatives behind the animation and fx teams of Weta Digital.

as well as our talented pool of local creatives. Check out the website ANIMFX now!

40 years of Unity Books party!

Tilly and the crew at Unity Books once again put on a great party to celebrate readers, writers and independent bookshops. At the entrance was a display of small press publishers in NZ - featuring my bro's publishing empire, The Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop in association with Mark Pirie's Headworks too. Homage was paid to Alan - the founder of Unity who passed away a few years back, as well as to author Nigel Cox - whose partner read an excerpt of his final novel...other Unity 'shopgirls' as Tilly called them - yes that means the boys too - read from favourite books and Jenny Bornholdt read a poignant poem about pain and surreality...a frail but beautiful gesture.

Wine and food flowed around the usually pristine bookshop shelves and people sprawled across the floor and chairs to chat and reminisce. A great night was had by all and three chairs for the independents who keep supporting local writers and looking after guest writers as they cruise through Wellington and Auckland Festivals....

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! ...go buy your books from local bookshops....