ArtScreen

Hi, I'm Simon. I'm a Theatre/Digital Producer and this is a space where I snatch the best arts videos and host them for my own (and maybe your) viewing pleasure. By the way, I don't claim ownership over any videos posted here. They are just embedded from their original sources, which I've tried my best to credit. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-13138510-2']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

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A nicely-crafted trailer for the new season at The Bush.

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Just read about these gigs on The Guardian's site. They very much appeal to my desire to get the arts out of the stuffy old buildings and into the places where audiences are gathering in their everyday lives.

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Ages ago I attempted to share this video from the lovely folk at Dance United but sadly wasn't able to embed it. They've recently changed the settings so I can share it here on the site in all it's glory.

If you want to know why I posted it here, simply watch it and you'll know. Or alternatively, this is what I had to say before.

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Today I joined a march in Sydney for Marriage Equality. We marched from Hyde Park all the way down to Darling Harbour to stand and demonstrate outside the Australian Labour Party's conference. It was a pretty big march - I was one of maybe 10,000 people.

I've seen this video a few times now including at the cinema and on TV. I think it's really really quite beautiful. Understated and simple, but delivering a really strong message. It reminds me a bit of a fab film I saw recently called Weekend, which was another fantastically understated portrayal of the love that can exist between two guys.

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So it wouldn't be ArtScreen if I didn't post this year's John Lewis Christmas advert. And as we're now in December it finally seems appropriate.

Although as I'm currently in Australia I'm completely and utterly confused by the combination of sunshine, wearing t-shirts/shorts and hearing Christmas songs. Just plain wrong!

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Having spotted this video earlier, I think it's a neat companion to the previously posted video from Sydney Opera House. The film is made by Channel 4 as part of its Concrete Circus series and makes delightfully creative use of the Barbican Centre.

Like the Opera House, the Barbican is full of special personal memories. I've produced three productions there and  a trip to see the RSC do A Midsummer Night's Dream there when I was 14 feels like a formative theatrical experience. 

For me, the film really comes alive 1min 30secs in. All I can say is wow! And I love the bit as they jump down the staircases. It reminds me of the moment during Non Zero One's delightful Would Like To Meet when I got to slide down one of the Barbican's bannisters!

As ever, enjoy!

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Right, back on track with an arts-related video today!

Whilst having a peek round Sydney Opera House's website this morning (we're touring some work there in the autumn) I happened to come across this rather amazing video.

Taking full advantage of the Opera House's iconic status, this is a fantastically creative advert for the building and it leaves me wondering why we don't do more of this kind of thing? 

It's funny to come across this today as over this weekend I was thinking about what Michael Kaiser would call "institutional" marketing (basically the way you sell your organisation's vision/mission - and not it's projects - to the public).

This is exactly what this video achieves; not only sharing with the public a glimpse of parts of the building they might never see, but also the diversity of art forms it presents (demonstrated so clearly by the mix of performers we see and hear). 

And yes, it clearly cost lots of money, but surely it's also possible to achieve a similar kind of result on a much lower budget too?

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Another slightly left-field entry, once again, with a posting from our friends in the advertising world. I randomly caught this advert on television the other day and loved it instantly.

It's the baby that wins it for me everytime, and as today's the last of my twenties, I think I'm slightly jealous of his 'busy' day!

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Another drift off the main subject material for this occasional blog but I really enjoyed watching this video today, via The Guardian's viral video chart.

I love how this guy's frustration over getting a ticket for NOT cycling in the bike lane inspires him into creating a lovely short film about the often impossibility of cycling IN the bike lane. And presumably he did his own stunts!

Enjoy!

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I'm at the Thinking Digital conference and we've just been show this little advert for Intel. Another commercial piece I'm afraid but I like it's clever use of different forms of tech to tell a neat little story.

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So, nothing for ages and then two videos in a day! Blame the fact that I'm speaking at South Bank University this afternoon about Digital Marketing and am filling up this blog as an aide-memoire.

This video was edited together by the lovely Hannah Nicklin for a presentation to arts marketing people in Northern Ireland. On the negative side, it features me (apologies for that) but on a plus side, you also get a perspective on social media in the arts from Alex from Third Angel and Rachel from Theatre in the Mill.

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I meant to upload this video ages ago. It's the technical preparations for Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of Cinderella.

I really love the creativity of this. A brilliant way of sharing with an audience the fascinating process of the get-in, fit-up and final technical rehearsals. Something that the audience rarely sees but enjoys catching a glimpse of.

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Men at War by Dance United

Sadly I'm not able to embed the video I wanted to, so I'll just link to it instead. Basically, I implore you to watch this video

It speaks for itself so I won't say much. Perhaps just some form of thanks to Dance United for creating an inspired (and inspiring) project in the first place.

I was shown the video as part of a training session yesterday. It rendered a room full of people not shy to share their opinions speechless and had our trainer in tears (even though she's seen it many times before). I was certainly close to tears myself.

It's the simple things that get me. For example, listing each of the project's participants as a dancer. They could so easily have been labelled differently.

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A nice snippet from the Bette Bourne/Mark Ravenhill show, A Life in Three Acts. I caught one part of this in Edinburgh in 2009 and I was utterly charmed. Bette's life story is wonderfully eccentric and intriguing enough to cope with this kind of 'This Is Your Life' style interrogation.

I have to admit that whilst I generally like Mr Ravenhill's theatrical output, I'm not a big fan of watching him on stage. I've never quite forgiven his appallingly arrogant performance of 'Product' that I suffered through back in 2005. But he redeemed himself somewhat with this show.

Looks like the show is currently running at Sydney Festival, who's site I've grabbed this video from. On a side note, the festival partner with YouTube itself to try and do some interesting things with video work and this year have run a competition to find a new presenter for their Festival TV.

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Making a video trailer the right length isn't easy. Too short and you just don't say very much about what you're seeing and make it too long and the audience switch off.

I spotted this video scrolling through Twitter and think it's very strong. I especially like that it solves the length dilemma very neatly by starting with a trailer (with booking info approx a minute in, just in case that's all the content you're after) and then makes a fantastically smooth segue into a short interview with Mick Gordon, the show's writer/director.

Good job, well done!

Oh, just to warn you that there are a couple of flashy light sequences in this video.

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Now something 'blue for the dads' and indeed anyone as offended by the Government's appalling attitude towards #artsfunding as I am.

When I first spotted that this had happened on Twitter, I'll admit I was delighted. James Naughtie was simply voicing what many of us who work in the arts were thinking.

Enjoy!