cityofsound

Villete Digital: Audio Games Competition

Date: 5.31.2002
From: LEVEQUE PAULINE (LEVEQUE@villette.com)
Subject: net art competition
Keywords: game, audio, net.art

VILLETTE DIGITAL
International Electronic Arts and New Media Festival
The Villette Digital festival is a joint initiative of the Cité des Sciences, the Cité de la Musique and the Parc de la Villette. It is both a showcase for major works from around the world and a forum for experimentation and study. Its aim is to bring together projects directly involved in the use of digital technologies and it encourages visitors to share in many experiments during their entertaining, participative and sensory experience. In this way, the festival's installations, concerts, shows, games, workshops and digital cinema explore the impact of new technologies on our everyday lives and the radical changes they are bringing about in our cultural landscape.

MAJOR ONLINE NET ART COMPETITION on the theme of AUDIO GAMES

On the occasion of the VILLETTE DIGITAL event to be held between 24 and
29 September 2002, the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, the Parc de la Villette and the Cité de la Musique are organising a major international online net art competition. There will be no entry fee for this competition which will run from 1st May until midnight on the final entry date of 30 July 2002 (Paris time). It will be open to all and will reward the best work specifically designed for the Internet to illustrate the theme of "audio games".

To participate, you must be at least eighteen years of age and complete the online entry form at the Internet address below including a direct Internet link (URL) pointing to the submitted work: http://www.villette-numerique.com

The jury will be composed of professionals in the field of net art, artists and representatives of various institutions : Sara Diamond (CA) www.codezebra.net, Joshua Davis (US) www.praystation.com, Nathalie Magnan (FR) Ensb-a Dijon, Miltos Manetas (US) www.electronicorphanage.com, Anne Roquigny (FR) http://www.next-movies.com, Bruno Samper (FR) www.panoplie.org, Guillaume Sorge (FR) www.d-i-r-t-y.com

The jury will select three winners and the prizes will be presented on 29 September 2002 in the Grande Halle at la Villette. The competition regulations will be available on the Internet for consultation and printing at http://www.villette-numerique.com

Korea/Japan World Cup 2002

If, amidst the overwhelming global media blanket labelled 'World Cup' you've got the stomach for a few more observations, here's my World Cup Diary!

1/ The World Cup opening ceremony was often quite beautiful, imho. Sure, it tailed off into a lacklustre anti-climax, but the first third was breathtakingly lovely, particularly the slower, simply choreographed movements, dancers dressed in costumes somewhere between ancient Korean and Attack of the Clones.



It seems lost on most of the British media, who simply expressed John Bull bemusement (fr'instance The Guardian on the opening ceremony)

2/ Jonathan Glancey was rather better when writing about the wonderful new stadiums. The facilities and organisation have been generally fantastic.

3) Elsewhere in the media, you can hear the struggles with other cultural differences - the "reverential" crowds have bemused the commentators, used to the unthinking noise of the western hordes ;) S'funny that the commentators sound disappointed in the hosts polite response, particularly compared to their utterly joyous exuberance after S.Korea's and Japan's first games - as if supporting their own country was less important than one of the European superpowers (oh and how they've been humbled now).

4) Reaction to football taking over media varies: from
spleen-venting (though near-genius in its insanely focused assault), to rather

more compassionate.

5) How, in a year, Eriksson has had a marked effect on English culture

"In every other respect Eriksson's presence since January last year has already brought considerable benefits to England and to English football. Nothing spoke more eloquently of his contribution than the mood in and around the camp since they left for Dubai, Korea and Japan seven weeks ago. (He) has reintroduced standards of modesty and dignity to an influential sector of public life. Even the Ulrika Jonsson business, which could have capsized a less stable ship, instead became a useful exercise in establishing the limits of the public's right to know the details of a public figure's private life. On the playing side he has continued the reforming work begun by Sir Alex Ferguson, Arséne Wenger and Gérard Houllier. He has reminded the English, the supporters as well as the players, the value of preparing quietly and thoroughly, of setting achievable goals and of celebrating with restraint - of behaving like professionals, in fact."

Preparing quietly and thoroughly; Setting achievable goals; Behaving like professionals - sounds like good solid design craft. Only the celebrating with restraint doesn't seem to match (but then we don't get paid £100k a week, I guess, so false modesty doesn't enter into it).

6) Much of ITV's presentation is woefully inadequate - utterly insulting. Their on-screen graphics take far too much of the screen too - another manifestation of their bullish ignorant heavy-handedness. When in 'inactive mode', the score takes up too much of the top-left ... when in active mode, the score is superimposed on the bottom half of the screen, which is a problem when the right-hand team is attacking down its left-wing - put simply, you can't see them. In fairness, in France recently, I realised that these graphics may be the official FIFA graphics kit - TF1 had the same presentation (and problems). Yet ITV could override this, as the BBC have done.

The BBC's light and discrete info-strip - mirroring the BBCi toolbar? - is far more suitable, subtly indicating the score, teams, time and branding, gracefully and clearly. The difference between Paul Gasgoine and Alan Hansen, essentially.

However, other aspects of the BBC's presentation have highlighted some of the dangerous components of the complex BBC brand - that sometimes it can stand for being aloof, out-of-touch, elitist and pompous. Barry Davies' commentary certainly brings all of these to the fore, and much of the BBC's presentation has been overly safe and dry, involving much resting on laurels and waiting for the opposition to make the first mistake.

In this respect, ITV did it, fielding the woeful Gasgoigne, Townsend and McCoist. And yet El Tel and Sir Robby Bobson (see The Fiver for that spelling) - former national managers both - bought a tactical acumen to ITV, to which the BBC had no answer (Hansen too laid back to engage, too sure of his own success, akin to the French national team, perhaps). And ITV's late-night anchor, Matt Smith, has been a revelation - sparky, witty, likeable; clearly in-touch. Likewise Robbie Earle has been a real find - one of the few former players who can actually communicate.