The football doesn't feature much ...

... in the Kentwell world of Tudors, where we've now been for about 10 days, trying to both take part (as usual) and film (not as usual!) Here you see Karen reaching a new re-enactment high ... or low depending on how you view it ... as she finally cracks and goes to the pub in Long Melford in full tudor gear, unable to face another wrestle with that lacing and gown in the rather small 'timelock' between 1578 and 2006 - a space we have become all too familiar with.

10 more days to go & I might have to burn my kirtle at the end, much as I love it, this summer weather is not suited to wearing wool no matter how many Tudors tell you it is!

Themes : costume, Tudor, Kentwell

GOOD LUCK

To my hard working students in the Interaction Design department at the RCA ... their show opens on Thursday eve and sadly I can't be there as I will be lost in 1578 ... although apparently Karen has located a WIFI hot spot in Long Melford so I might be able to join the virtual party in George's Chatsum.

They have all worked amazingly hard this year and the show looks great so I recommend a visit ...

The final countdown

As Nina finishes her packing before we join 1578 for our new film shoot, I thought I'd share my latest craft outbreak - a range of bespoke Tudor handbags to conceal our stuff. The one on the far right is - sad I know - exactly tailored to hide a one litre plastic water bottle.
I think I might have become a fully paid-up re-enactor....

Themes : video, performance, nostalgia, costume, photography, history, public, Tudors, WWII, character, re-enactment

More Bata-ville in Zlin pics

Despite the pre-shoot white-out caused by the Tudor project I will blog pictorially with these pics from Bata-ville's recent Czech premiere!

Themes : film, Zlin, czech

Feel the fear ...

It's now only one week until we start to shoot our next film at Kentwell Hall (living as Tudors for three weeks) and finally, with this imminent deadline, we seem to have reached a format and camera resolution. Here you see us comparing our new 'small' HD camera (a Z1 for camera nerds) to the picture on John's Digibeta that he shot Bata-ville with - all this as as part of our rather overwhelming preparation/crash camera course with him today.

John will be (thank God) filming most of the event but for the 15 odd days that we can't have the crew there Karen and I have to go it alone, at last that boom pole and radio mic. we've owned for years might potentially see the light of day.

Not satisfied with using one new camera we've at last resolved that John will use the Varicam (Panasonic's super delux HD solution) for the first time ... unlike us he seems remarkably unphased by this ... I guess he doesn't also have to practice his Tudor and start a limning this week ... "By Saint Luke".

Themes : film, technology, Kentwell

Zlin Film Festival Photos ...

Ordinarily I'd pop these onto the Somewhere site but extreme Tudor preparation prevents me, but for any Bata-ville passengers out their you might like to visit my new Zlín slide show on Flickr ...

You'll see that the 21st building (formerly the Bata Head Quarters) has been finished off in a rather spectacular fashion complete with the re-vamped office/lift and roof-top cafe. Generally to see the way that some of these fantastic buildings have been bought back to life since we visited has really made me think again about what might happen next in East Tilbury.

Next week we're screening the film at Allies and Morrison one of the architects potentially bidding for a slice of the East Tilbury regeneration pie - I will be fascinated to see what they are proposing for the place, and who comes to see the film there. To co-incide with this I hope that Steve Rose is writing a piece in the Guardian about East Tilbury too ... on the phone it sounds as though (like me) he's become slightly obsessed with the place!

Themes : Bata-ville, East Tilbury, Zlin

Goodbye Zlin

Just sitting at the airport watching lightning and waiting to depart leaving Karen to man our screening at the festival this eve. We have no idea what kind of audience to expect ... Or if news will have reached the Zlin Bata old hands. We've done our best to visit all our contacts and leaflet the festival crowd but the Czechs are certainly a different beast to a Texan crowd ... They might know who Tomas Bata is but we certainly can't tell what they make of us.