Get involved with Dare to be Digital

Dare to be Digital is the UK's premier video games development competition which supports the creation of video games prototypes by talented, young developers in order to showcase their talent and prepare them for working in industry. Teams of students studying Arts, Computing and Audio related degree courses at University (usually in their 3rd and 4th years), are given the opportunity to develop a computer game prototype for 10 weeks during the summer in a near to real world development environment, whilst receiving support from industry specialists.To help them along the way the students receive £1700 and help from industry specialists to compete for a place in the final. The finalists of the competition will then go on to compete for cash prizes by pitching their prototype to high profile of judges from the video games business. The 3 winning teams then form the entries to the BAFTA Ones to Watch award which is presented at the BAFTA video games awards.As a result of taking part in Dare, our former students have gone on to secure much sought after jobs in companies such as EA, Lionhead, Disney Interactive Studios, Realtime Worlds and Codemasters to name but a few. More information at: http://www.daretobedigital.com/

Get feedback on your doc-in-progress at a free DFG workshop Monday 3rd March 2008

10x10 is back for 2008 with a new look. This is a free workshop hosted by the Documentary Filmmakers Group and Doculink where filmmakers can screen up to ten minutes of their work-in-progress and receive ten minutes of feedback from the group. All that's needed now is for you to come along and get involved. It’s a great opportunity to gain support, get crucial feedback, meet your peers and feel part of the independent London doc community. It’s also a rare chance to see what others are working on and gain a hands-on perspective of what works, what doesn’t and why. Space is limited. If you would like to come along as a viewer, please send an email to 10x10@dfgdocs.com with ‘Viewer’ in the subject heading.
When – Monday 3rd March, 7.30pm
Where – DFG, Dalston, London. http://www.dfgdocs.com/Contact/index.aspx

Writing about Art

Marjorie Munsterberg created Writing about Art as the text for a course of the same name that she teaches at The City College of New York. It explains the different approaches college students encounter in undergraduate art history classes. Each chapter outlines the characteristics of one type of visual or historical analysis, and briefly explains its history and development. Exemplary passages by well-known art historians provide examples of each method. Appendices give general advice about writing papers, doing research, and citing sources correctly.
http://www.writingaboutart.org/

Next Fourth Plinth Commission

The Fourth Plinth Commissioning Programme aims to get people thinking about the place of art in the public realm. The Fourth Plinth is in the north-west of Trafalgar Square, in central London. Built in 1841, it was originally intended for an equestrian statue but was empty for many years. It is now the location for specially commissioned art works. Public consultation is an important element in the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Programme. http://www.london.gov.uk/fourthplinth/

Jerwood Moving Image Awards gallery talk

Jerwood Moving Image Awards gallery talk

Monday 10 March, 6pm – 8pm
Professional development evening aimed at moving image artists in early stages of their careers. Led by Shane Walter, Director of onedotzero.

Admission is free
BOOKING ESSENTIAL
Tel. 020 7654 0171
Jerwood Space, 171 Union Street, London SE1 OLN
Gallery opening times: Mon -Fri 10am -5pm, Sat -Sun 10am -3pm

CREATE 2008 Conference

Call for exhibition proposals
You are invited to submit recent and current projects now by Wednesday 12th March for an exhibition to be held in conjunction with this year's CREATE 2008 Conference. Get more information and download the form at: http://www.cs.mdx.ac.uk/research/idc/create2008/call/
Exhibits may include fully working interactive systems, demonstrations or well-made video presentations. The submission of supplementary materials is encouraged to explain the design, its rationale, and any evaluation undertaken. Authors of selected projects will be encouraged to prepare a poster indicating these aspects of the exhibit and to informally explain their work to delegates during the evening between the first and second day of the conference.
Proposals for exhibits may focus on any aspect of interactive design - utility or entertainment, functional or affective needs.
This is an opportunity for the exhibited projects to be seen by leaders in design, human computer interaction and ergonomics. The co-sponsors of CREATE, the British Computer Society and the Ergonomics Society are the UK's leading bodies in their respective fields, with an international reputation.

Digital Artists' Handbook

The Digital Artists' Handbook is an up to date, reliable and accessible source of information that introduces you to different tools, resources and ways of working related to digital art.
The goal of the Handbook is to be a signpost, a source of practical information and content that bridges the gap between new users and the platforms and resources that are available, but not always very accessible. The Handbook will be slowly filled with articles written by invited artists and specialists, talking about their tools and ways of working. Some articles are introductions to tools, others are descriptions of methodologies, concepts and technologies. Find out more about how to get involved at: http://www.digitalartistshandbook.org/

Off-Air recordings 23rd-29th February 2008

Academic staff should contact their Subject Librarian to request programmes for recording by Friday morning at the latest for the coming week. Below are the list of off-air recordings up to 29th February for Docklands Library.

SATURDAY 23rd
20.00-21.00 (6/12) C4 Grand designs
23.05-00.45 ITV4 This is Spinal Tap
21.00-00.05 E4 The world's greatest comedy characters

SUNDAY 24th
21.00-22.00 (5/10) BBC2 Around the world in 80 gardens (pts. 2-4, pts. 5-7 and pts. 8-10 on each DVD)
21.00-22.00 (2/5) BBC1 The last enemy

MONDAY 25th
20.30-21.00 BBC1 On whose orders? (Panorama)
21.00-22.00 BBC2 Transsexual in Iran
21.00-22.30 BBC4 Portillo on Thatcher: the lady's not for spurning
22.30-23.30 BBC4 The worst job in British politics?: the leader of the opposition

TUESDAY 26th
19.00-19.30 (2/5) BBC2 Diamonds and justice (This world)
20.00-21.00 (5/10) BBC4 Around the world in 80 treasures (pts. 3-4, pts. 5-7 and pts. 8-10 on each DVD)
21.00-22.00 BBC4 Tito's ghost
22.00-23.45 More4 Black gold
22.30-23.00 (1/6) BBC4 The hard sell
22.35-23.30 BBC1 Richard Rogers inside out (Imagine...)

WEDNESDAY 27th
21.00-22.00 BBC4 (1/3) BBC4 The worlds of fantasy
22.00-22.30 (1/3) BBC4 Masterpieces of Vienna

THURSDAY 28th
19.30-20.00 (5/6) BBC4 Masterpieces of the East
21.00-22.00 (2/2) BBC4 Jonathan Meades: magnetic north

FRIDAY 29th
19.35-20.00 (4/10) C4 Russia: railway of bones (Unreported world)
21.00-22.00 C4 Walliams and Lucas: new heroes of comedy

Accessing e-books

The library has purchsed a number of e-books for different subject areats that UEL students and staff can access on and off campus via their Athens username and password. To access the e-books both on campus and off campus, you can click on the Click here for access to E-Book link under the book title in the library catalogue. Or log into your Athens account and in the list of resources, select one of the e-book platforms such as Dawson Books, MyiLibrary or Taylor and Francis eBook subscriptions.

You can view the list of e-books already available at http://www.uel.ac.uk/library/Ebooks.htm

MediaPod

We have expanded and enhanced our audio visual capability with the MediaPod located on the second floor of the library. The MediaPod is an open access cluster of five Apple Mac computers (G5 1.8GHz dual processor) each equipped with two 17" LCD monitors and a DV video recorder to enable digital video capture.

The main software titles available within the MediaPod are:

Final Cut Pro for real time editing for DV digital video

Soundtrack Pro for audio editing and sound design
Motion for advanced motion graphics
Livetype for text animation for digital video
DVD Studio Pro for DVD authoring

Color for colour grading for digital video

After Effects for motion graphics and special effects

Photoshop CS for digital imaging

Illustrator CS for vector graphics

InDesign CS for layout and design

Dreamweaver for building websites and applications

Flash for creating and delivering interactive content for computers and devices

Fireworks for creating, editing and optimizing images for the web
Director MX for building multimedia experiences for CD/DVD and the webiLife for iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, Garage Band

More information about access and use of MediaPod is displayed within the pod itself.

Off-Air recordings 16th-22nd February 2008

Academic staff should contact their Subject Librarian to request programmes for recording by Friday morning at the latest for the coming week. Below are the list of off-air recordings up to 22nd February for Docklands Library.

SATURDAY 16th
22.00-23.45 BBC4 I Vitelloni

SUNDAY 17th
19.00-20.00 C4 Our big fair trade adevnture
21.00-22.00 (4/10) BBC2 Around the world in 80 gardens (pts. 2-4, pts. 5-7 and pts. 8-10 on each DVD)
21.00-22.25 (1/5) BBC1 The last enemy

MONDAY 18th
21.00-22.00 (5/5) BBC2 Paradise or bust
21.00-22.35 C4 The day of the kamikaze
21.00-22.00 (3/3) BBC4 Savile Row

TUESDAY 19th
19.00-19.30 (1/5) BBC2 Girl racer (This world)
20.00-21.00 (4/10) BBC4 Around the world in 80 treasures (pts. 3-4, pts. 5-7 and pts. 8-10 on each DVD)
22.00-22.30 (6/6) BBC4 Citizen Smith
22.00-23.40 More4 Derek (True stories)
23.40-01.10 More4 Blue

WEDNESDAY 20th
23.35-01.20 More4 Sebastiane

THURSDAY 21st
19.30-20.00 (4/6) BBC4 Masterpieces of the East
21.00-22.00 (1/2) BBC4 Jonathan Meades: magnetic north

FRIDAY 22nd
19.35-20.00 (3/10) C4 Nicaragua (Unreported world)
21.00-22.00 BBC4 Whatever happened to Radio 2?
22.00-23.00 BBC4 Caledonia dreamin'

Listen to Faisal Abdu'Allah on the Midweek programme on Radio 4

We are recording the Midweek programme today on which Faisal Abdu'Allah is appearing on BBC Radio 4. There is a revised repeat of the programme this evening at 9.30pm. You can also listen online at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/midweek.shtml

Faisal Abdu'Allah on BBC Radio 4 Wednesday 13th February

Faisal Abdu'Allah will be appearing on the Midweek programme on BBC Radio 4 tomorrow morning at 9am with Hardeep Singh Kohli. He will be talking about his current show at the BFI which also opens tomorrow.

Birds Eye View Film Festival: 6 – 14 March 2008

Birds Eye View Film Festival: 6 – 14 March 2008
Birds Eye View film festival presents nine days of inspiration and celebration, showcasing the very best work from women filmmakers with over 70 events including screenings, workshops and parties at 7 London venues. See http://www.birds-eye-view.co.uk/ for more info.

To book tickets:
BFI SOUTHBANK
http://www.bfi.org.uk/ 020 7928 3232
Ticket prices (except Tue): non members £8.60 / £6.25 conc.
Members: £7.60 / £5.25 conc: Tue (all shows) £5 / £4 conc.

Geocrosswalk available via Digimap

Geocrosswalk is now available to all users of Digimap's Ordnance Survey Collection. Access is from the OS Collection home page.

What is Geocrosswalk?
Geocrosswalk is a database of geographical features (such as rivers, towns, woodlands and counties), their name and their location. In other words, it's a gazetteer which stores the spatial extent of the features it contains.

What can I do with it?
Geocrosswalk has a programming interface (API) which allows you to query the information it holds on the basis of "where" something is, as well as "what" it is. If you have some programming or "mashup" experience, you may be interested to learn more by logging into Digimap at: http://edina.ac.uk/digimap/

Faisal Abdu' Allah in Conversation at BFI Southbank

Faisal Abdu' Allah's installation The Browning of Britannia commissioned by the British Film Institute, opens on Wednesday 13th February. Faisal will be discussing his career to date and the tale of his collaboration with Ago Piero Ajano, the subject of the exhibition, whose story has a particular resonance for black communities in the UK, at BFI Southbank on Tuesday 4th March.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/faisal_abdu_allah_in_conversation

Off-Air Recordings Service

The library pays for an Educational Recording Agency Licence which allows us to record television and off-air recordings from digital Freeview channels. We select programmes from the Radio Times every week, record them onto DVD and add them to stock in the library. Academic staff should contact their Subject Librarian to request programmes for recording by Friday morning at the latest for the coming week. Below are the list of off-air recordings up to 15th February for Docklands Library.

SUNDAY 10th
19.00-20.00 C4 Inside Hamas
21.00-22.00 (3/10) BBC2 Around the world in 80 gardens
23.00-00.00 BBC2 Andrew and Jeremy get married (Storyville)
23.15-00.15 ITV1 Lang Lang (The South Bank show)

MONDAY 11th
20.30-21.00 BBC1 No more Mandelas (Panorama)
20.30-21.00 BBC4 Ready to wear
21.00-22.00 (5/5) C4 City of vice
21.00-22.00 (4/5) BBC2 Paradise or bust
21.00-22.00 (2/3) BBC4 Savile Row
23.30-00.30 BBC4 Hungary 1956: our revolution

TUESDAY 12th
20.00-21.00 (3/10) BBC4 Around the world in 80 treasures
21.00-22.00 (4/4) C4 Medicine men go wild 8473
22.00-22.30 (5/6) BBC4 Citizen Smith

WEDNESDAY 13th
21.00-22.00 (3/3) BBC4 Summits

THURSDAY 14th
19.30-20.00 (3/6) BBC4 Masterpieces of the East
21.00-22.00 (3/3) BBC4 The art of Spain

FRIDAY 15th
19.35-20.00 (2/10) C4 USA: the devil’s highway (Unreported world)
21.00-22.00 BBC4 Edith Piaf: singing her life (Legends)

Database of Virtual Art

The Database of Virtual Art documents the rapidly evolving field of digital installation art. This complex, research-oriented overview of immersive, interactive, telematic and genetic art has been developed in cooperation with established media artists, researchers and institutions. The web-based, cost-free instrument - appropriate to the needs of process art - allows individuals to post material themselves. Compiling video documentation, technical data, interfaces, displays, and literature offers a unique answer to the needs of the field. All works can be linked with exhibiting institutions, events and bibliographical references. Over time the richly interlinked data will also serve as a predecessor for the crucial systematic preservation of this art.

http://www.virtualart.at/common/recentWork.do

New digital archive celebrates forgotten British sculptor

Peter King's untimely death at the age of twenty-nine has meant that he has been largely omitted from the history of 1950s British art. Now his work is being made available to a wider audience, through a digitising project carried out by the artist's son, Dr Mike King, at London Metropolitan University, and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

A sample collection with 51 entries is now available to search online at VADS: http://www.vads.ahds.ac.uk/collections/PKA.html

When published, the full archive will contain over 1,000 entries, giving a detailed picture of the life and work of the artist.

Danube TeleLecture #4 REMIXING CINEMA : Future and Past of Moving Images with Lev Manovich and Sean Cubitt

The Department For Image Science & Database of Virtual Art presents Danube TeleLecture REMIXING CINEMA : Future and Past of Moving Images with Lev Manovich and Sean Cubitt - live stream now available at: http://www.donau-uni.ac.at/en/department/bildwissenschaft/veranstaltungen/id/10963/index.php?URL=/en/department/bildwissenschaft/veranstaltungen/telelectures/10963

Other past lectures/debates are available from their archive:

Sarat Maharaj and Machiko Kusahara: Does the West still exist?

Gunalan Nadarajan and Jens Hauser: Pygmalion Tendencies: Bioart and its Precursors

Christiane Paul and Paul Sermon: Myths of Immateriality: Curating and Archiving Media Art

http://ww.donau-uni.ac.at/dtl-archive