History, horizons and countdown pt. 2

The Pop Art Lab Machinima contest is rolling! Thanks to all who already showed interest and done recordings. We hope to announce the 3rd person/judge coming week. Also please post whatever you like in comments at the [Machinima Contest] header or email, IM your questions.

To those who are new to PAL and to try recover our common memory each week here will feature a new blogpost with news and reports from this ongoing process about the relaunch, contest etc.

Back in September 2008 Pop Art Lab had its official opening. It seems like ages ago but we had like 500 visitors during the weekend.  Linden Lab put us upfront in showcase section one hour before opening (back then music section had like 15 venues included today number is 81!). And ofcourse we also had a cool programme of live music and the now almost legendary “Murder on the Dancefloor” game provided by the über cool Mad Pea crew. Few days later I called in regular PAL goers and asked for help. Most are still frequently supporting PAL at events and I want to thank each tons. For those who want to dig further into our history visit old posts in archives here.

OK shifting gears now as we are currently filling up the programme for our “second” launch April 16. We have decided to schedule one part for the European timezone as well as one for the US.

We would like best artists and creativity to be included so feel free to drop us a line. By now 3-5 artists confirmed and will be aired during next week.

Programme so far:

April 16 European Opening
12:00 PM PST/SLT: Opening Ceremony w. guest speakers + visuals
1:00 PM: Highlights, screening of contest machinimas
1:30 PM: Announcement of the winner of machinima contest plus DJ
2:00 PM: Live music DJs and party
5:00 PM: End

April 16 US Opening
7:00 PM/SLT: Opening Ceremony w. guest speakers + visuals
8:00 PM: Highlights, screening of contest machinimas
8:30 PM: Announcement of the winner of machinima contest plus DJ
9:00 PM: Live music, DJs and party
12:00 AM: End

Inspirational verse this time goes to Chris Dreja who made amazing photographer work in the late sixties and to me known for his fabulous work with The Yardbirds. Check his site!

Pop Art Lab Machinima Contest 2010 : Contest rules

Pop Art Lab will launch brand new sim design mid April and therefore decided to set up a machinima contest at our “old” sim design as it looks now. By doing this we capture the memories more than 25.000 visitors have seen and quite a few praised since our opening back in 2008.  Pop Art Lab is a music sim streaming each weeks best new albums in pop, rock, electronica and r&b/hiphop.  At the grand opening of our new sim the old one will be completely removed and we will host a huge weekend party where we announce the winner of the machinima contest, screen the best films and have lots of live artists, DJs etc.

CONTEST RULES
The maximum film length is 5 minutes. The theme of your film is entirely open. The only requirements are 90-100% of scenes take place in the Pop Art Lab sim

Each participant who wants to rezz must join the Pop Art Lab group and leave a notecard to Claus Uriza with names. Please remove objects after filming. Scripts will be enabled.
The sim will be open 4 weeks prior to submission deadline so everyone have the time to come record. We kindly ask all of you to act appropriately and show respect and understanding so everyone will be able to record in peace and ensure a fair play.

Send us your machinima by April 9th 2010 and enter the contest for the award of 100.000 Linden dollars.

SUBMIT VIA YOUTUBE
To submit one or more films you need to upload them to YouTube and then send the appropriate link to clausuriza@gmail.com along with your film title, name and contact info. Please add “(Pop Art Lab Contest Entry)” to your film title on YouTube. We will collect entries as favorites on our contest channel and embed finalist films on our blog ‐ http://popartlab.com (Films with highly inappropriate content will be excluded).

PRIZE
$100.000 Lindens. Pop Art Lab Machinima will award cash prize according to the jurys best choice. There is only one winner.

IMPORTANT DATES

• Submission deadline – 12 AM PDT/SLT April 9 , 2010
• Recording period – March 9, 2010 through April 9, 2010
• Winner will be announced ‐ April 16, 2010 at our new Pop Art Lab sim launch.

TERMS OF USE

• You retain all of your ownership rights to your film submission. However, by submitting you also grant us (Pop Art Lab) a license to use, reproduce and distribute your film for promotional and documentary use only.

SUGGESTED FORMAT GUIDELINES

• Resolution: Minimum of 320×240, maximum of 800×600.
• Widescreen: 720p (fine too).
• Frame rate: Minimum 20 frames per second.
• Audio: Minimum 22khz 16‐bit audio.
• Size: 100 Mb

JURY

• Chantal Harvey, Lisbeth Frølunde, Jeska Linden, Claus Uriza

ORGANIZERS

• Pop Art Lab was founded start of 2008 in the virtual world of Second Life. It provides a dynamic immersive environment within which avatars can gather together to share their interest in music, movies & machinima, and attend live concerts and events occurring both entirely within the virtual environment and in mixed realities that merge reality with the metaverse.

Information about Pop Art Lab

PARTNERSHIP

• The contest is co-sponsored by the Virtual Worlds Research Project. This large collaborative project, running from 2008‐2011, joins university researchers at two Danish universities (Roskilde University and Copenhagen Business School) and a range of different partners. The project is funded by the Danish Strategic Research Council, KINO and explores sense‐making and user‐driven innovation in virtual worlds.

Information about the research project: Virtual Worlds Research Project

LANDMARKS:

• Pop Art Lab has lots of exciting “hidden” locations. Here is a list of some charming spots.
• Pop Art Lab Landing Point
  • Red grammophone
  • Microphone
  • Green Radio
  • InterG Spaceship
  • Spaceage Funpark
  • SSY Spaceship
  • Sky Stage
  • Sky Home

Any questions please IM Claus Uriza or Emily Hifeng inworld or send us an email at clausuriza@gmail.com
Print or read above info as Google doc

Pop Art Lab Machinima Contest 2010

We are glad to announce our first evar machinima contest at Pop Art Lab. The idea came up while we planned the grand opening of our brand new design of sim we have been working on for long. How do we say goodbye to the lab as we know it by now? The lab more than 25.000 people have visited and many praised since we launched back then. Well, we invite people in to record some fab machinima so we keep the design as documentary for the future.

We will post exact details, rules etc. asap but by now the following can be aired.
Winning prize is $100.000 Lindens
Maximum length of film is 5 min.
90-100% must be recorded in the Pop Art Lab sim.
There’s total freedom in film script.
Participants will be invited to our group and recieve rights to rezz.
A jury of 3-4 people will find the winner which means no voting.
Winner will be announced at our grand opening of “new” Pop Art Lab in April.
The best films will be screened at opening.

Stay tuned for more details!
Love, Claus

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-28

• RT @Mamachinima by SatScape Films, shots during #MMIF2010 festival: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Kd-bgeXy0 (w00t we on stage 0:55) #
• *Nods* Yes! my life just one big RPG Mind-blowing-speech-from-DICE-2010 http://tinyurl.com/ybu85ex (almost via @saevarsson heh) #
• RT @Dusanwriter Oh Dusan Im a librarian haha The rise of the….librarian! http://ow.ly/19Q0H "The whole Web will look like SL one day soon" #
• @spyvproductions Its Emily Hifeng 3rd from rght (in black) and me 4th (in background) Lapiscean Liberty nxt to Toxic http://ow.ly/19RRC MMIF #
• Uploaded pics from #MMIF sim designs as they looked 11 days! before event http://www.flickr.com/groups/popartlab #
• Did my very last blogpost at Blogger we've moved! http://tinyurl.com/yb2oxmp #
• Ty @MirrorWorlds for addin stunning #MMIF pics http://www.flickr.com/groups/popartlab/pool/ #
• Giving D racetrack lessons in 777 League sim in SL… great fun #
• #slviewer2 w00t the html on a prim is like a dream come true just logged into twitter and browsed the just launched http://popartlab.com uhm #
• Added post w. my take on #SLViewer2 + other cool LL actions and pic of @MLindenSL attending MMIF last saturday http://tinyurl.com/yfgzcfx #
• I love Holly Mirandas new album w. TV on The Radio as backing http://www.myspace.com/hollymiranda #
• Pop Art Lab launched new dot com site pls update ur links and subscribe @ http://www.popartlab.com/ RT please! #
• Updated our listing in Solution Provider listing + lots on http://www.popartlab.com too http://tinyurl.com/ybo6elx #
• Testing tweeting from WordPress heh #
• RT @malburns Pop Art Lab: The new site http://bit.ly/9paOo7 (We at the lab love this new design bye bye Blogger) #
• Posted a comment @ Supporting The Arts in Second Life http://www.tinyurl.dk/15070 #
• Am quoted in an article in Danish library mag "Still life in Second Life…" http://www.tinyurl.dk/15071 (quite ok coverage by the journo) #
• Awaits D, J and X to come and we'll take a walk around the lake and feed the ducks and swans… then out for lunch yum yum #
• W00t added to the programme at Dublin RL Metameets conf…. can't wait! http://www.metameets.com/ #
• At carwash finally weather feels like spring on its way #

Full length video from MMIF 2010

Rest of 7 hours festival can be viewed at:

• http://www.aviewtv.com/videos/2085/mmif2
• http://www.aviewtv.com/videos/2085/mmif3
• http://www.aviewtv.com/videos/2085/mmif4
• http://www.aviewtv.com/videos/2092/mmif5
• http://www.aviewtv.com/videos/2091/mmif6
• http://www.aviewtv.com/videos/2089/mmif7
• http://www.aviewtv.com/videos/2087/mmif8
• http://www.aviewtv.com/videos/2088/mmif9
• http://www.aviewtv.com/videos/2084/mmif10

Welcome to our new site + M Linden @ MMIF

Warm welcome to Pop Art Labs new domain. Finally we managed to move all our content and can begin PALs next level of growth here.

In many ways I have enjoyed Linden Labs moves lately. Yesterday they beta released their new 2.0 viewer and to me it’s plain eyecandy. Especially the new media app that allows html on a prim – will have significant impact on how we adopt and develop virtual worlds in the future. As a collaborative tool in organizations, edu and libraries it has a huge, yet unseen, potential.

And yes, there are issues in new viewer. I would like see further integration of events from secondlife.com event calender into the viewer. When a new user enters there should be an easy pop-up window at the right sidebar that showcases the most important events going on right now – as it does on secondlife.com. This feature would allow new users to find all the cool stuff in just a few clicks.


[Mark Kingdon aka M Linden enter the MMIF festival theater (and yes I am no good as a photographer).]

Ok next the lab also aired new initiative Supporting the Arts in Second Life. Which makes me think few days back when the MMIF Festival took place (MaMachinima International Festival). This event was infact indirectly supported by the lab since they sponsored the event with 4 sims allowing MMIF to host a 200+ audience for the 7 hours screenings of best machinima.

Chantal Harvey who headed the festival informed me more than 800 avatars attended the festival. Add the Malburns Writer live webstreaming to at least 3-4 websites must have generated thousands of views and the event was even set up as mixed reality live in Amsterdam RL too. All to say I hope we’ll see more lab supported events like this in the future and maybe it can grow out of the new Supporting the Arts initiative. I hope so. It is a cool (and cheap) way for the lab to showcase how wonderful creativity can be fostered inworld and the huge value such events have.

Next, the Lab recently opened Linden homes to premium accounts. Very nice move again although I never have enough time for the housey stuff due to too much work but still I enjoy my new Linden home since I haven’t rezzed my old house since I opened Pop Art Lab and dedicated all the prims there to music related activities. Now I have a home when I need peace!

Lastly, I will end this post by telling how wonderful it was to see Mark Kingdon aka M Linden show up last Saturday during the MMIF festival. Not only the pleasure I had by seeing head of the lab in “person” (well I met him for real in San Francisco once) but also the fact he stood right there surrounded by the beautiful Pop Art Lab designed theatre. And I couldn’t stop bidding him welcome in IM and we even had a short chat! Ty Mark was wonderful and so glad you showed up and liked what you saw.

So yet again warm welcome to the brand new Pop Art Lab site and all the wonderful stuff Linden Lab currently set up. We can’t wait to bring more eyecandy and music into Second Life. Now we have passed MMIF, launched this new site and next step is the grand opening of our new PAL sim plus new episodes of Pop Vox music TV.

See you soon!

MMIF: 7 Hours of Machinima + DJs added

Countdown tonights the night! 10 hours of entertainment. Remember to come EARLY before the screening since only two of the four sims are open for the public (9 am – 6 pm SLT/PST). Other sims dedicated to productioncrew, hosts and each machinima artist will come present their film using SL voice! The last sim is dedicated to each machinima artist during full event plus hosts, VIPs etc etc.

When the 7 hours screening of more than 40 artists films are over all fours sims will be opened and afterparty will kick-off in center theatre. Also make sure to check out a giant video dome and artists showrooms.

Details on afterparty: Miss Cyberpink kick off with a set of electro and will show her superb mixing skills. Lastly at 7 pm SLT/PST Gomi Mifume (a regular in the Insilico community) will start. This will definately not be Top 40 but a fine selection of the NOW sounds of tech, noise, industrial and dubstep. To be updated….

Program EU/US

Saturday 20th of February

19:00 CET (= SL 10 am PST) – DOORS OPEN
20:00 CET (= SL 11 am PST) – Opening ceremony + Machinima film screenings
03:00 CET (= SL 6 pm PST) – THE END + After party online

MMIF2010 hosts:

11 am – noon: Blue Linden and Toxic Menges
Noon – 1 pm : Pooky Amsterdam
1 pm – 2 pm: Draxtor Despres and Chantal Harvey
2 pm – 3 pm: Poid Mahovlich and Paisley Beebe
3 pm – 4 pm: Evie Fairchild and CodeWarrior Carling
4 pm – 5 pm: Lauren Weyland
5 pm – 6 pm: Phaylen Fairchild
6 pm -> Afterparty hosted by Pop Art Lab
6 pm – 7 pm: DJ Miss Cyberpink
7 pm – 8 pm: DJ Gome Mfume

All Machinimas will be streamed live by Malburns Writers at Metaverse2 channel, Aview.tv and ofcourse here!

MMIF3 Public Seating Region
MMIF 4 Public Seating Region

For updates follow http://live.MMIF.org, aview.tv and here!

Film and Music collide at the Lab!

‘MMIF 2010′ is the second edition of an annual film festival in 3D cyberspace with a screening in physical space (‘RL’). A seven hour movie marathon with a two hour afterparty. MMIF 2010 can also be followed on the web via live stream broadcasts.

A month ago, while I was multitasking at a real life Sirikata workshop at Roskilde University, I happened to meet Chantal Harvey at the lab. Actually I had met and become friends with Chantal ages ago-well, that’s what it feels like!

Back in 2008 she was a frequent visitor at the very beginning of Pop Art Lab. Then we both became busy with our separate projects, the years passed, but we managed to stay friends. Ok back to real life or whatever! We met in 3D and talked over this new project she was about to launch- the second global Machinima Festival MMIF which she had scheduled February 20th 2010.

The early days of the lab must have made some impact, because Chantal wanted to recreate the PAL vibe in the designs for the festival and also knew PAL had handled several quadsim events (where designs are centered in 4 sims to increase attendees up at 200+).

Well, of course I was interested in hosting a Machinima event this size plus PAL has actually had screenings and a movie center since back in 2008. We also produce the Pop Vox music shows at Treet.tv of which I have never thought of as machinima-but it is!

So our common interests have both grown since our first meeting and Chantal and I somehow realized we have come a long way since 2008! (ain’t virtual collaboration wonderful! I’m really excited about meeting her RL too at the Metameets conference in Dublin May 2010).

Back to MMIF festival! The lovely Linden Lab soon supported Chantal’s non-profit project with 4 sims and within a short time, we mingled up Chantal’s team with ours and decided to combine prefab designs from the lab and add new as well. By then setup was getting 4 sims 3 days before the event so timeline in design process had to be short. Days passed and Pop Art Labs chief commander/engineer Emily Hifeng quickly showed her building magic! Then magic collided when Linden Lab soon added 4 sims with full perms and freedom for the crew.

Ok so now the designs and set are close to finished and we are tweaking all kinds of details and also the set lists for the 2 hours after party Pop Art Lab has been asked to host there.

Many details and awesome weird rumors will be aired during next week. Let’s start.. Will Torley Linden open the festival? Will M Linden step by late and do a dubstep dance? Will Linden Lab bring news on their new Amsterdam office? (The festival is screened real life there). Will some of the 52 short machinimas screened at festival be broadcasted at secondlife.com? Will event show up as message of the day at login screen?

What we do know by now is

It will be action packed… no shit!

Pop Art Lab loves projects like this. This shows Chantal Harvey’s love and passion for the art of machinima and will expose the talents of many of SL’s finest film makers. And we at the lab just add some sugar!

MMIF 2010 press release, info, promo video, full program, live streams, contact and latest updates and changes at http://MMIF.org

Last Event at Old PAL!

A friend did one of her first machinima shots from the last days of PAL at Fridays [Engrama] event.
We are currently moving the builds to the sky in our new full sim and expect opening asap.
Next few months a giant newly designed PAL will be created. Expect some of SLs very best talents to come up with an amazing sim!
Till then enjoy the old design in this raw machinima done by friend Dope tx bb!