cycleAmerica 2011

I was approached by the owner of Esquires Cafe in Coventry to edit some footage from the charity cycling trip him and a friend did in 2011. They had a crew with them in their 3000 mile trip, but the editing has not been done. So I had about 400 Gig to play with. As I had a lot of free time, I just sat down and finished the first edit in one day. I haven't been editing in so long and I enjoyed so much that I didn't want to stop. So I was there for about 8hrs Few edits later and it was done! Because it was 30 min long I had to choose between losing quality or having it in two parts, and Stephen and I decided to go for the later. So here it is, if you want to spare 30 min of your day:) Part 1 Part 2

Final Project idea

In the end I decided to go with the ring road project. I had a more clear rough idea of what I wanted to do with this one. With the other I would have had to work with a choreographer and have rehearsals and so on. I would rather do something simpler but of high quality than try to do something complicated that wouldn't reach the full potential because of lack of time. So the first step was to go around the Ring Road and find the perfect space. As I mentioned in previous posts, first I would need to find the specific space and then plan the rest - the actual video to go with it. The trip around the ring road was surprisingly pleasing. We were following it without keeping to the pedestrian paths, but making our own way cutting trough car parks, jumping over fences and so on. Not the safest way, but it was very enjoyable. This process was best described by Guy Debord when describing psychogeography as "a whole toy box full of playful, inventive strategies for exploring cities...just about anything that takes pedestrians off their predictable paths and jolts them into a new awareness of the urban landscape". And this is exactly what we did, we ignored the paths that were dictates to us, and made our own. Found few interesting and potential spaces and photographed them.

I will use the location of the first picture. It is after all the first one that made me think about this project and first captured my attention few years back. What I like most about it is that it is a space that hasn't been specifically designed to have a meaning or a certain aesthetic, it is a space that was constructed as part of the ring road. In a sense it seem natural. It is man made, but not designed. It feels like a break from all the architecture and buildings that have specific designs and require us to analyze them for their aesthetic and design value. Coventry has a big variety of designs as it has been almost fully rebuilt after the Blitz, therefore most of the buildings are lest thank 80 years old. So having a space that doesn't enforce a certain aesthetic on the people who pass through it feels like a 'breath of fresh air'. Guy Bebord also described Psychogeorgraphy as "the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals". This describes how I experience this certain space as an individual. What I aim to achieve through this project, is to share this experience with the public, and maybe make them think more about the spaces that are so easily taken for granted. The point of art is to first of all rationalize a thought and a feeling that a certain place brings to mind, then externalize it and share it with the public, in hope that they get it and if not adhere to it, at least think about it and appreciate such places more.

Final project

After seeing all the video installations and projects I've talked about so far I really got into the idea of doing something similar. A video that is created in response to a certain space, that will be influenced by it but at the same time influence the space as well. I know that before being able to start working on the project, I first needed to find the space. So I started thinking about warehouses and similar spaces that I could use. The obvious one in Coventry was Fargo Space, a warehouse on Far Gosford street that is used for art exhibitions and performances. Then I've gone off the idea, as I'd like to use a space that is not designated for art, but that I could use like this. Then I remembered a space that I noticed since my first year; the wall and its surroundings under the ring road next to the university library. It really appealed to me, and I always wanted to see something projected or exhibited onto it. So this got me thinking that I could use such a space under the Ring Road. After seeing Nick and discussed this idea with him, I got to speaking with Sam, who has accompanied me in all the gallery visits done lately and who really helped me rationalize what I'm thinking and getting my ideas out. He is a graduate from an art course, so he talked to me about my final project from a graduate's point of view. He pointed out that I should take advantage of the opportunity of being in University and having access to equipment and facilities, and produce something for my final project that I could use as an example of my work after I graduate. I want to get into producing films that would be integrated into performing arts, which is a very niche area. Because I've only done two such projects so far, that had minimal creative input from me, it would be wise to produce something for my final project to show that I can actually do that. So now I am very torn between doing the project with the ring road that I came up with not long ago, but got excited about, and something that would be helpful to my career outside university. It's not the best place to be but it's better than having no ideas.

Pitchfork Disney Pre-Show

My videos go showed in the pre-show of a 3rd year final project theatre piece pre-show. I really liked the way they used the venue to work with the piece. It wasn't crucial for the public to see it in order to make sense of actual performance, but it added to it. The pre-show was the walk from the entrance of the building to the performance room; one of my videos got shown on a small tv and the second one was projected in a dark room. I really liked to use of the space. The warehouse was very flexible; I liked the way they described it as 'a blanc canvas that's waiting to be coloured in any way'. This made me think about doing something similar for my final project, having few videos screened in different rooms or spaces in a venue. But I need to work on ideas more. I made this video to show the pre-show and added bits of the videos that got screened as they are not obvious on the recording of the pre-show

Pitchfork Disney Pre-Show from Diana Stefanescu on Vimeo.

MAke>shift 2011

The MA Dance students held their performances on a Saturday and I was asked to photograph them. It was such a nice experience running around from a performance to the other and go home inbetween for a break and to edit the pictures. This project is one of my prides so far, as I edited and delivered the pictures to the 5 performers on the same day at their afterparty.

I believe that in this industry you need to be as fast and professional as possible, and to keep the 'client' if you wish, happy as in any other industries. With photography is just a bit harder now because anyone who has 500 pounds can get a DSLR and call themselves a photographer and ask for less pay. Of course experience is important but very often people will look at expenses instead of quality. This is why my technique in being successful is to get the pictures back within 24 hours.

But above all this, I loved the buzz of having to photograph five performances in one day, especially because they were all so different.