the curtain

And on a more positive note, a bunch of people are kicking ass right now in the space. Check out our first couple of days work at the space.

MF

Here's some shots from one of the last films we've made, all brilliantly organised by Eric Hu and his team at Greenspot with a bunch of help from Lyn Savage and her team at La La Studio:

I won't tell you what it's all about other than it should scare the shit out of you.
Oh and that's a picture of me and Eric directing, we're not part of the scary movie!

sleeping monarchs

Hooligan 69

eightball

Another batch of new photos taken by Alex up at the factory in China. Almost done. just needs some paint and they'll be on the truck!

snowball

 

As you can see we are continuing to put a strain on china's steel reserves but you'll be happy to know it can all be recycled!

Well, unless someone wants to buy 8 x 3m high steel letters, 30m long. Should squeeze nicely into the average Hong Kong living room.

We're only a few weeks away from the show opening so it's non-stop right now.

The production of these large works is just one tiny part of the show. At the same time we're wrapping up final film production on the 10 films. There are 6 different editors all working on different movies with myself as the director. Our last few big film shoots happen over the next few days. Our last London shoot was on Friday where we shot our very first hologram. Pretty amazing technology from musion

http://www.musion.co.uk 

So all this production going on right now is like a whirlwind and at the same time the mechanical side is all being finalised, that's rigging, hanging lights and projectors, installing the walls and trusses, curtains and neons. All has to be safe and approved and licensed too, extremely tough requirements in HK to be allowed for public viewing.

 

Beyond the construction and paperwork, which is never ending, is the PR side. So there are various people organising posters, advertising, flyers, exhibition guidebooks and a main show catalogue too. Then all this info has to reach papers, magazines and TV, so there's another level of craziness getting all that together.

And then there's the extra level, the education and information sharing aspect. So a series of talks, events and lectures at the space. So we do everything possible to connect people with the show and hopefully have a positive impact on all.

 

Technology is a big drama. we're trying to do things that are beyond current consumer activity. holograms and 3D are not quite mainstream yet and even HDMI is new for consumer. so to make films using these technologies, edit and convert them backwards and forwards, and then to play them on various formats has been challenging to say the least. I just spent a day learning how to take my mac to pieces and rebuild it with exotic video capture cards to allow HDMI video capture from unusual sources. I then had to teach the video editor how to do the same so he could import all the video game work we'd done. And I'm an artist, not some tech geek. 3D playback on 4 screens likewise very difficult right now and very expensive to get right. It's frustrating when the process gets in the way of the content. But will be easier next time at least. I'll have way more choice in future with media and way more experience.

 

The most challenging thing right now is getting sleep!

 

Controlling the budget is another big issue. Last minute changes inevitably mean you get fucked on prices so this has been difficult to manage and little unexpected costs keep popping up. The project is non-profit of course but many people really couldn't care less, they just wanna get paid. Thankfully we have some government funding but it's nowhere near the amount we need and I'm filling in the gaps with credit cards.

 

So this week I've been finalising our horror film plan and casting for skinny chicks to hang out in the shadows, locking down editing on our video game production, finalising graphics for the show signage, booking ad space in international press, interviews all over the place, agreeing to future commissions so i can make some money after the show, hustling for free vodka for the opening, fine tuning the lighting design, finalising the 3D and hologram presentation technology, getting flights and hotels for artists, looking after my cousin, being annoyed by my bro Corey who's on my sofa, filming HK movie stars for a little documentary, trying to find a cheap 8000 lumen projector, trying to build the last few freaks for Wing Shya and Jan Lam to film, trying to get everyone to cut their prices, trying to find a last minute guy to build the skate ramp, stressing that we don't have enough spaceships for one of the sculptures and keeping my finger crossed that when we film the girl jumping of a building this weekend that she doesn't break her neck.

So, just your average week in the city basically....

cheese n rice.

SB