I've written about Kickstarter before, when a friend used this crowd-finance site to fund his short film Perfectly Normal.
Yesterday Kickstarter made big news - and big numbers of fans very very happy - when the campaign to film a Veronica Mars movie reached its two (2) million (2,000,000!) dollar goal in eleven (11) hours. (I myself kicked in enough to get a film T-shirt.)
In case you missed it on TV or DVD, Veronica Mars is a witty, noire, teen-detective show that was canceled about five (5) years ago... but remains loved. Now revived from the dead by pure fan-love.
Crowd-funding. What a great idea!
HERE's the Veronica Mars campaign - with a fun video plea. And HERE is the page for my buddy's much smaller budget short film - also worth investing in.
ADDENDUM: And HERE's an interesting LA Times article about the Veronica Mars film funding "...the economics of love."
Friday, March 15, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Architectural Martyr
There aren't so very many architects who qualify as saints or martyrs... but perhaps this brave woman in Karachi should be nominated:
On this morning's NPR I was touched by the story of Parveen Rehman.
Recently assassinated by motorcycle-gunmen, she was the director of the Orangi Pilot Project, a non-profit organization trying to bring basic services and improved conditions to the poor of Karachi, many many of whom live as squatters in unsafe, illegal, and in every way sub-standard housing. Her organization helped communities learn to maintain their own environments, including sanitation, health, housing and critical micro-financing.
Ms. Reman had studied architecture and worked for a famous architect on the design of a luxury hotel... until, one day, she asked herself, "Who is this serving?" She walked out the door without her paycheck. Found a job helping the poor.
For this she is gunned down?
According to a BBC article, it is presumed that, in investigating land speculation, she learned too much about local criminal groups' real estate activities - they silenced her.
NPR audio clip HERE. BBC news article HERE.
On this morning's NPR I was touched by the story of Parveen Rehman.
Recently assassinated by motorcycle-gunmen, she was the director of the Orangi Pilot Project, a non-profit organization trying to bring basic services and improved conditions to the poor of Karachi, many many of whom live as squatters in unsafe, illegal, and in every way sub-standard housing. Her organization helped communities learn to maintain their own environments, including sanitation, health, housing and critical micro-financing.
Ms. Reman had studied architecture and worked for a famous architect on the design of a luxury hotel... until, one day, she asked herself, "Who is this serving?" She walked out the door without her paycheck. Found a job helping the poor.
For this she is gunned down?
Parveen Rehman - believed public domain photo
According to a BBC article, it is presumed that, in investigating land speculation, she learned too much about local criminal groups' real estate activities - they silenced her.
NPR audio clip HERE. BBC news article HERE.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Details, Details, Details
If you design theater sets for a while, you'll run into that set builder who seems absolutely unable to ever, ever, ever finish a set early.
Sometimes this is because the sets are too ambitious, sometimes because the builder is that kind of time-manager, and sometimes... sometimes this is Strategy.
Because I have also, after designing enough sets, run into the odd reality that, if the director and producers are given enough time to stare at a (nearly) finished set, they will start to get pickier, start to micro-note it.
Notes?
Notes are the remarks, questions, and requests under the "Set" part of each day's Rehearsal Report. The normal sort of scenic notes tend to read like:
"Stage right door sticks / need coat hook SL / can we darken chair? it's washing out under lights / need glo-tape at exit."
What I'd call micro-notes are more like:
"Fix faint blue drip / need thumb tacks not push pins / more bird poop." (That last is my favorite-ever director's note!)
Savvy set builders learn that the longer everyone stares at a finished set, the pickier they all get. So... some builders make sure the set is never finished till the last instant. Saving them many hours of fiddly little revisions.
This strategy drives me crazy (because I want to be picky too), but sometimes I do understand the temptation!
Sometimes this is because the sets are too ambitious, sometimes because the builder is that kind of time-manager, and sometimes... sometimes this is Strategy.
Because I have also, after designing enough sets, run into the odd reality that, if the director and producers are given enough time to stare at a (nearly) finished set, they will start to get pickier, start to micro-note it.
Notes?
Notes are the remarks, questions, and requests under the "Set" part of each day's Rehearsal Report. The normal sort of scenic notes tend to read like:
"Stage right door sticks / need coat hook SL / can we darken chair? it's washing out under lights / need glo-tape at exit."
What I'd call micro-notes are more like:
"Fix faint blue drip / need thumb tacks not push pins / more bird poop." (That last is my favorite-ever director's note!)
Image is of a vinyl sticker that I think you can buy HERE -
if the owner objects to its reproduction, please let me know.
Savvy set builders learn that the longer everyone stares at a finished set, the pickier they all get. So... some builders make sure the set is never finished till the last instant. Saving them many hours of fiddly little revisions.
This strategy drives me crazy (because I want to be picky too), but sometimes I do understand the temptation!
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Research Libraries
For those of you in Texas, I just discovered a new way to get your hands on research books in libraries you normally can't borrow from.
Maybe you're already familiar with the Interlibrary Loan system, which allows any public library patron to request a book; your local librarian will then track it down somewhere in the country and have it mailed to your local library so that you can borrow it. One time - no renewals. I've only used this method one or twice for hard to find books when I didn't want to (or couldn't afford to) buy them. I remember though that the book through the Loan System took a few weeks to arrive... from Wyoming! And was exactly what I needed.
But I've discovered another way: the Texshare card is a three-week-long library card that lets you walk up to the check-out desk of member libraries and Check-Out! Books. A limited number. Today I did not actually end up checking out the book I was interested in - because I could take fast enough notes - but my spiffy crisp-new little Texshare card gave me the confidence to walz into SMU's Fondren library and demand to know where, just exactly Where! my book might be. (I needed the help, it's a maze of a library spread over several buildings.)
So.
Research. Easier than you think.
Maybe you're already familiar with the Interlibrary Loan system, which allows any public library patron to request a book; your local librarian will then track it down somewhere in the country and have it mailed to your local library so that you can borrow it. One time - no renewals. I've only used this method one or twice for hard to find books when I didn't want to (or couldn't afford to) buy them. I remember though that the book through the Loan System took a few weeks to arrive... from Wyoming! And was exactly what I needed.
My usual number of books at check-out - public domain image
But I've discovered another way: the Texshare card is a three-week-long library card that lets you walk up to the check-out desk of member libraries and Check-Out! Books. A limited number. Today I did not actually end up checking out the book I was interested in - because I could take fast enough notes - but my spiffy crisp-new little Texshare card gave me the confidence to walz into SMU's Fondren library and demand to know where, just exactly Where! my book might be. (I needed the help, it's a maze of a library spread over several buildings.)
So.
Research. Easier than you think.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Faux Stone
Building believable fake stone is an art and a science.
This month's LiveDesign Magazine has an interesting article by Libby Slate on the building of Disney's new California Adventure Park's Cars Land (sadly, not available online), but I found some great photos HERE at themeparks.about.com.
According to LiveDesign, the basic structure for the faux stone tail fins of the 125 ft. tall Cadillac Range needed 4,000 pounds of steel as a framework. Cement plaster was sprayed on this frame, then each fresh section was hand-sculpted for two hours while the cement was setting up. Its carving characteristics changed, as you might imagine, during that time.
Layers of paint were later sprayed on, then tweaked by hand: first three basic colors - brown, gray, yellow - then up to 25 others in 4-6 washes. Plus some silver leaf to reflect light. The work took 25-30 artisans from all over the world. I'm not sure for how long, but just experimenting with materials and techniques took two months. (Wish I got that kind of time when I need to make faux stone!)
Fake rock. Real vegetation.
(Although Agentinian saguaros stand in for the endangered and protected regular ol' saguaros.)
Pretty spectacular scenery!
This month's LiveDesign Magazine has an interesting article by Libby Slate on the building of Disney's new California Adventure Park's Cars Land (sadly, not available online), but I found some great photos HERE at themeparks.about.com.
According to LiveDesign, the basic structure for the faux stone tail fins of the 125 ft. tall Cadillac Range needed 4,000 pounds of steel as a framework. Cement plaster was sprayed on this frame, then each fresh section was hand-sculpted for two hours while the cement was setting up. Its carving characteristics changed, as you might imagine, during that time.
Layers of paint were later sprayed on, then tweaked by hand: first three basic colors - brown, gray, yellow - then up to 25 others in 4-6 washes. Plus some silver leaf to reflect light. The work took 25-30 artisans from all over the world. I'm not sure for how long, but just experimenting with materials and techniques took two months. (Wish I got that kind of time when I need to make faux stone!)
Carving faux stone - no idea where this photo comes from originally...
if its creator objects to its use here, please let me know and I'll remove it.
Fake rock. Real vegetation.
(Although Agentinian saguaros stand in for the endangered and protected regular ol' saguaros.)
Pretty spectacular scenery!
New Architecture Critic
A piece of good news in this morning's Dallas Morning News: a new architecture critic starts in April.
Finally! Someone - Mark Lamster - to step into shoes left empty by the late, long-time Dallas critic David Dillon. He seems like a distinguished critic... I'll be curious to read what Mr. Lamster has to say.
Talking about architecture is a good thing.
HERE's a link to his webpage. (Photo from his profile at Architizer.) An earlier post on criticism HERE.
Finally! Someone - Mark Lamster - to step into shoes left empty by the late, long-time Dallas critic David Dillon. He seems like a distinguished critic... I'll be curious to read what Mr. Lamster has to say.
HERE's a link to his webpage. (Photo from his profile at Architizer.) An earlier post on criticism HERE.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Catch-Up
Lotso touristy goodness going on with me lately:
1) A beach vacation in Galveston, Texas, a city with a fascinating history that includes Spanish explorer shipwrecks (Cabeza de Vaca); French explorer shipwrecks (La Salle); cannibals; pirates; early Texas troublemakers; numerous hurricanes; bootleggers, rum-runners, and illegal gambling; oil riggers; doctors; artists; Spring Break college kid troublemakers; and, nowadays, Caribbean cruise-goers. Also delicious oyster po'boys. And don't forget the Gumbo Bar's gumbo!
2) The new Perot Museum of Nature and Science.
A very interesting building - a sort of geological-metaphor of a structure.
Architecturally I thought it had a beautifully clear design parti and well executed pre-cast concrete panels that suggest rock strata... not so convinced by the west-facing plaza which will, I believe, be a broiler pan for afternoon visitors in the summer. (Plus facing nothing-much instead of the main street, making the street-facing school bus entry look like the main door.) Also problematic, for me, are all the one-material-just-slides-past-another gaps that recur in the building's detailing. A cleaning crew nightmare: already little kids are dropping candy wrappers down these slots. As often happens with such complex geometries, a few intersections of materials and planes are unresolved. But traveling up and through the vertical circulation path is a kick. The main ticket hall is a great space. And I love all the glimpses of the city outside. It's a very urban building.
Some terrific displays (visit the dinosaurs and gem hall!). My favorite detail is probably the giant amethyst geode that the visitor can crank a mechanism to open and reveal its crystalline beauty... a perfect microcosm of the building itself.
1) A beach vacation in Galveston, Texas, a city with a fascinating history that includes Spanish explorer shipwrecks (Cabeza de Vaca); French explorer shipwrecks (La Salle); cannibals; pirates; early Texas troublemakers; numerous hurricanes; bootleggers, rum-runners, and illegal gambling; oil riggers; doctors; artists; Spring Break college kid troublemakers; and, nowadays, Caribbean cruise-goers. Also delicious oyster po'boys. And don't forget the Gumbo Bar's gumbo!
The Perot Museum of Nature and Science - believed public domain image.
2) The new Perot Museum of Nature and Science.
A very interesting building - a sort of geological-metaphor of a structure.
Architecturally I thought it had a beautifully clear design parti and well executed pre-cast concrete panels that suggest rock strata... not so convinced by the west-facing plaza which will, I believe, be a broiler pan for afternoon visitors in the summer. (Plus facing nothing-much instead of the main street, making the street-facing school bus entry look like the main door.) Also problematic, for me, are all the one-material-just-slides-past-another gaps that recur in the building's detailing. A cleaning crew nightmare: already little kids are dropping candy wrappers down these slots. As often happens with such complex geometries, a few intersections of materials and planes are unresolved. But traveling up and through the vertical circulation path is a kick. The main ticket hall is a great space. And I love all the glimpses of the city outside. It's a very urban building.
Some terrific displays (visit the dinosaurs and gem hall!). My favorite detail is probably the giant amethyst geode that the visitor can crank a mechanism to open and reveal its crystalline beauty... a perfect microcosm of the building itself.
Amethyst geode from Wikimedia
Friday, March 1, 2013
Practicals
Any aspect of a set that works as in real life onstage is called "practical."
Doors and windows of a set can be mere illusion or "practical." So can be any new-built cabinet door or drawer: it's "practical" if it actually opens and has insides to it, but many such cabinetry pieces are dummies because that's cheaper and easier to build. Any sink that runs water is "practical" (as in The Beauty Queen of Leenane) as would be any telephone, radio, TV, or other appliance that actually operates, rather than being faked.
A Bright New Boise will have practical cabinets, a sink, a microwave (well, maybe), and a Coke machine.
This will be "practical." It'll spit Cokes. But we're going to unscrew its light bulbs so it won't glow during blackouts.
ADDENDUM: Well... maybe it won't be practical. There's some concern about the hum of its compressor!
Doors and windows of a set can be mere illusion or "practical." So can be any new-built cabinet door or drawer: it's "practical" if it actually opens and has insides to it, but many such cabinetry pieces are dummies because that's cheaper and easier to build. Any sink that runs water is "practical" (as in The Beauty Queen of Leenane) as would be any telephone, radio, TV, or other appliance that actually operates, rather than being faked.
A Bright New Boise will have practical cabinets, a sink, a microwave (well, maybe), and a Coke machine.
This will be "practical." It'll spit Cokes. But we're going to unscrew its light bulbs so it won't glow during blackouts.
ADDENDUM: Well... maybe it won't be practical. There's some concern about the hum of its compressor!
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