DTV presentation Paper as .pdf file

**STRATEGIES OF SHARING: THE DEPTFORD.TV PROJECT* *
How can we produce collaborative work within a creative or artistic context? Which are the complexities of such an undertaking? Which are the strategies of sharing?

Deptford.TV is a research project on collaborative film-making initiated by Adnan Hadzi in collaboration with the Deckspace media lab, Bitnik collective, Boundless project, Liquid Culture initiative, and Goldsmiths College. The project started on September 2005. It is an online media database documenting the regeneration process of Deptford, in South-East London. Deptford.TV functions as an open, collaborative platform that allows artists, filmmakers and people living and working around Deptford to store, share, re-edit and redistribute the documentation of the regeneration process.

Deptford.TV is an open, collaborative project, which means that:
a) audiences can become producers by submitting their own footage,
b) the interface that is being used enables the contributors to discuss and interact with each other through the database.

Deptford.TV is a form of ‘television’, since audiences are able to choose edited ‘timelines’ they would like to watch; at the same time they have the option to comment on or change the actual content. Deptford.TV makes use of licenses such as the Creative Commons and Gnu General Public License to allow and enhance this politics of sharing.

In the summer of 2006 we asked some of the contributors of the Deptford.TV project to give us feedback about their experience of working together and sharing the outcomes of this collaboration –whereas film, software, sound, live performance or other– not just with each other, but with everybody interested. Our aim was to understand and illuminate the strategies employed in various practices of sharing. As Deptford.TV is not affiliated with any one institution, we do not need to ensure any ‘politically correct’ answers. Instead, we aim to accommodate some raw, ‘un-beautified’ responses –just like the Deptford.TV database hosts rough, primary materials audiences do not normally have access to.
Visit http://www.deptford.tv

Adnan Hadzi is a filmmaker and media artist. He is currently a PhD candidate and Visiting Lecturer at Goldsmiths (Media and Communications).
Maria X [aka Maria Chatzichristostodoulou] is a performance theorist and curator of digital arts. She is currently a PhD candidate at Goldsmiths (Digital Studios and Drama), and Sessional Lecturer at Birkbeck (FCE) and WEA.

in september we where taking part in the pure data workshops with a copy of pure dyne during the dorkbot camp, a short report quoted from dorkboters saul albert and robert atwood:

This place is pretty amazing even when there’s no burningdork happening. We were in the Scout Leader’s Training Centre, past the rifle range, below the go-karting track. Apart from several clearings and a big fire circle, there was a beautiful old lodge-type building with a hard-wood floor, an industrial-scale kitchen full of assorted strange catering equipment (a full set of balti dishes, but not one sharp knife.. weird) and little needlepoint mottos on the wall like ‘a scout’s pledge is to do his honour to God and the Queen’.

We arrived a few hours before an enormous pile of organic vegetables was delivered by these people: http://organic-gmfree.co.uk/ which April DeLaurier marshalled a small gang into cooking with remarkable efficiency. I think that meal was African sweet potato soup with coriander, delicious spelt-flour cornbread and yoghurt. mmm. What happened to the leftovers!? Then we pitched tents, got drunk and went to sleep.

Saturday was rainy and everyone crammed into the scout hut and the workshops started with an amazing degree of energy and enthusiasm. First I did Ralf Schreiber, Christian and Sebastian’s ‘building self-sufficient electronic animals’ workshop, which was amazingly inspiring. Yoshi Imamura was on hand (in most situations actually) to give great advice on how to bend components through PCBs, hold and cut them efficiently and solder with grace.. It was a bit chilly on Saturday, so I was glad to have the chance to try fire-making in Paul Granjon’s workshop. As several onlookers pointed out – even if you don’t get a blaze started, all that energy expended in making smoke without fire warms you up wonderfully. Later that day (I missed a bit as I had some pickups from the station), under Anita’s supervision I reacquainted myself with knitting, badly. Scarves only for me I’m afraid. But I enjoyed what little I had time to do as we prepared the next feast – bean and cheese burritos with salsa, rice and salad. Mmm.

The presentations started as the meal was being prepared. After being used to the dorkbot crowd as an urban, mobile grouping that shifts and changes as people come and go, it was great to see everyone actually living in the same field and paying wrapt attention to each other’s presentations. As Gavin Starks was giving his presentation about music and astro physics, Adrian handed out some incredibly delicious bowls of Yoshi’s miso soup which kept everyone going until burrito time! Yay! Then Greenman opened his dodgy bar, Matthew Venn made a really wonderful wild apple and blackberry crumble, and headphone performances began. I was still going to and from the station, so I missed many of them, but caught a few amazing highlights. Again the room filled with wrapt dorkbots, headphones on, while outside fires were built and nasty liqueurs were consumed.

At 5am Sunday morning, I packed up my hammock and sneaked out to cycle like a loonie to Gatwick. I caught my 8am plane – just, with 10 minutes to spare, but thanks to those of you who offered to wake up at 6am and drive me there anyway 🙂 Of course I’m also bitterly disappointed that I missed the clean-up 😉

Anyone care to fill in a few blanks? What happened on Sunday? I can see you all built and burned a big stupid thing. Well done! I’m annoyed I missed that bit too.

Next year : dorkbot-on-sea! Any suggestions for a location? Maybe somewhere near http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/orfordness/ Maybe on an island somewhere hot! (by Saul Albert)
The leftovers seemed to form part of Sunday lunch/dinner. Javier’s amazing paella and Paul’s delicious potato non-omlette (vegan omlette) featured prominently as well. We heard stories about you leaving at 5:15, told by some of those nocturnal folks who were just going to sleep at that time. My headphone performance was last, and only a few people remained. However, after the headphone performances, there was an impromptu, relatively low-volume, laptop + feedback + vibrating inflatable chair + kitchen utensil jam session at the dodgy bar, it was great fun. Nobody complained so I guess it was not too loud! Alejandro managed to patch my feedback machine output into a sample looper and digital effects program on a laptop, Ian provided something like a beat from another laptop, and Evan played a mean eggbeater rhythm, some other people I don’t remember who, were participating as well. No recording as far as I know. Dot was fooling people into believing that she was drinking organo-luminescent fluid by aiming a concealed torch into the base of the glass containing that weird blue liqueur from the dodgy bar. Then Lucy impressed everyone with her collection of pop ring tone midi files played on a laptop around the campfire. I got up rather late on Sunday, ‘lunch’ was sort of find what you can or what you brought, with some advance paella and leftover soup. The wireless was up and running since the raindrop interference was solved by virtue of not having rain. So, I checked my email. How exciting. Some more laptop jamming round the campfire with Ian and company, then I produced a small carved wooden circuit diagram for the Dork that others were hard at work to build from stray pallets and stuff. There was a tissue paper balloon making frenzy, at least, I got to help lay the sheets out in order , and to hold the balloon during inflation. After a test inflation, the balloon was refolded and some presentations were given. I can’t remember which ones were on Sunday and which on Saturday, there was some amazing video feedback effect going on at some point. More of Yoshi’s miso soup; even better if that’s possible, and the full version of Javier’s paella then appeared. Some conversation about Japanese Moomins was going on in the kitchen. Then the burning of the ‘dork’, flashing light-bulb eyes and karoke voice. It was plugged into the mains until the light bulbs stopped flashing. All bets about whether it would fall forward or backward were lost because it fell sideways. People danced around it while playing music on laptops. Followed by the tissue paper balloon ascent. It proved not to quite lift its own burner , after quite some time of holding it , and then holding it over the remaining fire to get extra hot air, and breathing hot smoke, the shouts of several onlookers to ditch the built-in burner and frame and just hold the tissue part over the fire were heeded and the balloon took off. (then it came back down) Unfortunately Dot and I, who had been helping to hold it steady for a while when it was not lifting enough, went to get fresh drinks from the kitchen for just a minute, possibly required due to smoke inhalation … during which time it took off! Aargh. Then April, Adrian and I left in Adrian’s car . (by Robert Atwood)

RSVP @ Spitalfields Market

Deptford.TV will present the Deptford.TV reader/diaries for the RSVP event at Spitafields Market. The diaries will also be published on this blog…
quoted from attainable utopias: RSVP is a quarterly networking event organised by the project management team at Raw Nerve. In the past RSVP has sought to strengthen the Deptford Creative industry by bringing it together in a relaxed setting. In September 2006 RSVP aims to transport the event into Central London in order to showcase Deptford’s Creative Industry. The intention is to create awareness about the wealth of creative business and talent within Deptford’s creative community. This will result in broader networking and business opportunities.

RSVP will be featured in the free LDF ‘Official Guide’ with an estimated print run of 80,000 and distributed in over 200 venues across London. RSVP will also be featured on the LDF website which, during the 2005 event, received 70,000 unique visits.

RSVP will exhibit approximately 22 Deptford designers and artists showing furniture, graphics and products. The exhibition will run from Friday 15th September to Sunday 17th September 2006, with a private view/opening on the Friday. The exhibition will be held in a purpose built space on Crispin Place, in Spitalfields’ new market, designed by Norman Foster (Fosters and partners). Like Deptford, this location has gone through a massive amount of regeneration in the past 15 years and is said to hold one of the greatest concentration of artists and craftsmen in Europe. On a normal Sunday the Spitalfields’ markets receive over 25,000 visitors.

This site will act as a satellite site for the Deptford’s creative community. It will showcase Deptford’s designers and makers, creating an awareness and curiosity for London Design Festival and Spitalfield visitors of what Deptford’s Creative community has to offer.

Deptford Design Festival Newspaper

This year, Deptford Design will be publishing a Festival newspaper.
A showcase for Deptford’s talented designers, the newspaper will contain the Festival’s programme of events and a map of where events will be taking place. There will be feature stories on high profile designers such as Committee and Based Upon. Laban and Cockpit Arts will feature in the regeneration section of the newspaper, celebrating Deptford’s changing status in London. The food section will guide people to restaurants and bars in the area – a welcome break from visiting the exhibitions.

The newspaper will be 16 pages and will be just smaller than tabloid size.
The print run will be 15,000 and it will be distributed in several locations across London:

• To Deptford and Greenwich residents
• To the Cockpit Arts mailing list (+/-3,000)
• At the RSVP event in Spitalfields, at the heart of the new Spitalfields Market
• At the London Design Festival office in the Old Truman Brewery for the length of the festival 15th-30th September 2006
• At London Design Festival information points around the capital
• At the Paddington Development Trust events in West London

London Design Festival

Established in 2002 to celebrate and promote London as the creative capital of the world, The London Design Festival (LDF) has rapidly grown to become one of the key constituents of the UK’s burgeoning festival season, along with London Fashion Week, Frieze and the London Film Festival.

Speaking at the opening of last year’s Festival, The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP observed that:
“…(the festival) has built up a world-wide reputation for its events, its vision, for cradling the British genius”, and that “…it is a symbol of the message that I believe the LDF is sending around the world – in the new economy success does not happen by accident, it happens by design”.

The LDF has seen visitor numbers increase from 100,000 in 2003 to more than 475,000 in 2005.

The festival received widespread media coverage including over 100 articles and 11 TV and 10 radio features, adding up to £2 million in equivalent advertising spend.

Deptford Design Festival History

The Deptford Design Festival has been running since 2003 and we are now entering into our forth year as one of the main delivery partners for the London Design Festival.

• In 2003 14 Deptford design companies mounted a fairly traditional exhibition of their work which was displayed in the newly refurbished arches at Resolution Way.
• In 2004 the companies were challenged to make an exhibit from a 200 litre metal wheelie bin – the theme being Re-Use. The Deptford design companies rose to the challenge and produced a range of exhibits from a metal sofa to a working kiln.
• In 2005 the resident Deptford design companies produced a “portable table mounted exhibition” – better known as a book. Entitled ‘What’s So Great About SE8?’ the book provided acted as a showcase for the Deptford area and its talented designers.

quoted from raw-nerve:

What’s So Great About SE8?

Now in its third year, the Deptford Design Festival has become a firm local fixture, linking Deptford to the London-wide London Design Festival. In 2005 Deptford based companies decided to create a book that responds to the question ‘What’s So Great About SE8’. Raw Nerve contributed an illustrated fantasy map of area, which reveals all the weird and wonderful things that which make it such a unique place.

LINK: Deptford Map
LINK: How to buy the book

On 5th of August 2006 Deptford.TV had a two hour discussion session with Videosafari on free TV. The session is all in German.

Ueber das Fernsehen von Roman Weber und Adnan Hadzi. Moderiert von Mario Purkathofer

It took place in Zuerich in the Dock 18 medialab on the frequency of radio LORA over the stream Kanal7. .

Raw Nerve Director Kieran McMillan took part in a panel at the the B.Tween Interactive Media Forum, 26th of May 2006, in the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, Bradford. He spoke in the Creative Pioneers Session about some of Raw Nerve’s recent projects and to projects related to Deptford, such as Deptford.TV.