Monthly Archives: March 2006

Underwater Camera Shot #1

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Underwater Camera Shot #1

This is a shot I took testing out my new digital camera, the 720 SW by Olympus. Amazingly, the camera can be put underwater to a depth of 3 meters, without even needing a casing. This footage should give you a glimpse into the possibilities. As you should notice, the microphone function still works underwater. Really, my head is exploding with the possibilities this camera offers. The camera is also tested to be shock-resistance, droppable at a height up to 1.5 meters. I am going to put this camera through more tests than an extreme sports athlete.

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VJ at Loop Gallery Party

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Keith from Kungga organized this party at the Platform L Loop Gallery. Here’s a few clips, and then more description below.

This is footage taken of a sound+video installation by Seafran (Francois) from France. These days, he is seen around Seoul DJing dub and reggae. I don’t know if there’s some particular explanation or story behind this installation, but anyway it’s cool just as it is. Music producers can take note that one of the pieces of equipment hanging from the ceiling is the Boss 303 Dr. Rhythm Sampler. Some of the sounds are coming from the installation, and other sound is just spilling over from the live performances that were happening on the lower floors.

James White has been doing some really cool live looping stuff lately, mixing up his fun rhymes, didgeridoo, ukelele, and mini-korg. On this night, his performance was right near where my VJ station/installation was set up. I pointed my camera at him and did my best to interact with what he was doing, by effecting the camera footage – you should see that in some parts of this clip. I love my Kaoss Entrancer which basically lets me run in a live video feed and effect it with my fingers.

As for the party itself, it was a wicked night with a really good turnout. I think Keith’s goal was to bring together a lot of different artists from different backgrounds and create an event where they’d mingle, interact, and collaborate. The party spread through the three floors of the beautiful Platform-L Loop gallery in Hongik, Seoul. I think there were drummers, dancers, a Korean traditional music group, amongst other performances. I didn’t actually get to explore much, because for most of the night I was trying to sort out why my video signal was all distorted. After much grief, it turned out that something was set to PAL which was supposed to be set to NTSC. So I never really got to do what I was trying to do with my own installation, but then again I’m not sure I really had anything specific in mind to do anyway.

Anyway, this party really represented the best aspects of the current scene in Hongdae, an area of Seoul near Hongik University, which has the reputation as being Korea’s premier fine arts university. The surrounding area is a vibrant area of cool little buildings, quirky bars, art schools, galleries, and even woodworking shops.

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Yellow Wind in Seoul

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Set up my camera for a time-lapse from my apartment window, and it turned out to be a pretty epic day for the yellow wind storms from China. Glad I didn’t have to go anywhere that day – I wouldn’t want to be one of those people down there on a day like this.
“Yellow Wind” refers to the wind which comes from China bearing sand of the Gobi desert mixed with toxic particles. Every year around March, this wind blankets much of South Korea and parts of Japan, along with China’s own cities, like Beijing.
Scientists have detected traces of the wind on the west coast of North America.

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