Welcome to Trailer::Trash
Hello Cube Microplex Creative Talent Volunteers. This project is open to everyone.
Core staff, general volunteers, core volunteers, general staff.
We invite you to make a piece of visual presentation (doesnt have to be film)
for the following scheme which we have received funding for from the Arts Council.
Each project gets £150.00 pounds and there is £500 pounds kitty for materials.
This idea is based around the screen space "before" films where we normally see trailers
or spoilers or adverts or information films or public miseducation propaganda.
We would like to commission works specifically for this space.
Read more detailed explanation later....
*IMPORTANT*
This project needs a selection and development group. This group will thrash out more the idea
and its meaning and choose the projects to commission. People CAN be in this group and have
ideas for films. If you would like to join this group email hogge
It will be informal and we will drink tea during meetings and eat biscuits.
We are aiming to start as soon as possible. Hopefully a group would have formed by late December.
This is the text and most of the application to the Arts Council.
Introduction
As a cinema the Cube is expected to show movies. Audiences are
accustomed to seeing short pieces of film before movies. These range
from teasers and trailers to public information films, educational
films and advertisements. As a Microplex we have come of age and no
longer need to use this screen space to show commercials. As a
consequence we have been developing the idea of 'Trailer-Trash'. A
customised screening slot offering exciting moving image challenges.
1. You and your work
Presenting visual media.
Within this screen space there are a range of concerns for us as
artists wishing to interrogate the materiality of cinema. We are
interested in this space as a site of captivity. A viewing moment
where a special kind of attention can be expected. Preparatory in
nature, quickening in scale, its place in the nights program is
paramount coming as it does before the main attraction. It allows an
audience to settle and acclimatize to each other. It breaks the ice
in a crowd and it offers a last minute freedom to talk and make
noise. The items are disposable, attention is optional.
We would like to commission 10 volunteers to make short
DV films and visual presentations (slides) to be made explicitly for
the 'trailer-space'. They should demonstrate reference to and
understanding of this specific type of programme and base their
message around working processes and sights and sounds of the Cube.
With this commission we plan to use this context to promote and
make visible the hidden and obscure and multifarious aspects of the
Cube. Expressing what is normally hidden, making visible processes, personal
experiences, the good and the bad sides of the Cube.
Later we can develop the slot as a defined exhibition context for new
Artists Film and Video work. Something has to be said about 'short
film' in this context. Although short films are commonly placed in
this pre-movie space we are less interested in their form and purpose
coming as they do from the general standpoint of narrative and story.
These things do not necessarily exist in the framework we are trying
to construct which is clearly defined by the historical objects which
populate advertisements, teasers, trailers, public information and
adverts.
2. Making It happen
The Cube has invested in a professional editing suite (Avid ExpressDV)
which can act as a base for Trailer-Trash commissions. This has been funded
by ticket sales on all events.
We also have 2 video cameras, one a Sony PD170 miniDV and a Sony Digital8
which uses Hi8 tapes but records digitally.
Training in the software and hardware will come from in-house if required
and will be managed mainly as daytime activity. Another purpose of
this facility is to document events taking place at the Cube for future
communicational use, ie Live Concert DVDs.
A wide range of expertise exists amongst members including
professional camera people, editors, sound recordists, designers and
performers.
Each idea will go through the following;
a> Submissions and selection stage.
b> Production.
c> Edit and post-production.
d> Exhibition.
3. Finances
1. 10 works at 150 each 1500
2. Materials and support. 500
4. Benefits
The Cube has already been showing short films before movies since we
purchased our own video projector. The films are drawn from our
regular night called 'Bluescreen' which exhibits all manner of
locally produced film and video work. Having this programme in place
has renewed audiences expectations and proved successful for both
staff and public.
Benefits to people based here are central to the development into
more production. Currently as artists there is much scope for
process/organisation based practices which border on conceptual as well
as more traditional forms of communication.
Trailer-Trash initiates a simple and achievable video based project
that establishes 2 things. One, it reconstructs a screening and
commissioning strand, specific to general art practice here which
will live on beyond this kick-start and progress to further
commissions. Two, it invites, encourages, supports, develops and
facilitates different levels of peoples work and practices here and
expresses them to a wider group.
This last point can also stimulate our profile nationally and help
develop more the sense of the Cube as an artists collective by
extending the programme via DVD distribution to festivals, artists
programmes and networks, independent cinema programmes and the web.
5. Meeting our aims
This small financial assist will make a positive change to people
here by providing the chance to take part in a high quality arts
activity.
It also certainly invests in the creative talent of artists and
individuals as well as supporting excellence and new ideas.
As the Cube is an open, volunteer based enterprise anyone can join in
and participate. The existence of such a commission/exhibition slot
also then increases opportunities for cultural diversity in the arts.
6. Evaluation
Ideas seeing fruition in the context of public screenings can be
valid evaluation of the ideas themselves. This project is largely
about the ideas which might emerge from this context. We plan to set
up a monitoring database with several aims.
1. To provide a platform for peoples comments and opinions about the
work. 2. To stimulate critical response 'post work' but more
importantly to generate discussion 'pre work' to test the soundness
of ideas and concepts. 3. To document histories and case facts about
particular works. 4. When 'online' to allow the public to feedback,
this information being compiled and collated by us for ongoing
evaluation and future use.
see following links for ideas/reference/ etc
We have a large collection of trailers (mainly Kung-Fu) and assorted
advertisments from the late nineties all on 35mm for reference.
We will also be compiling other reference material such as public information films, etc.