#hcafarp/TBOATD/chrono

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TBOA Y D

box building - heavy labour

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TBOA T D

the metalwork is looking particularly good now it’s been oiled

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home recording

mic set up for recording The Truth and The Mark

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TBOA Y D

After much trial and error got ‘The Truth’ recorded today - it’s so difficult to get the levels right when recording a whispered script. The gain on the mic has to be just right, enough to give me a loud enough recording but not so high as to get background hiss and extraneous noise.

With my ‘director’s’ hat on I managed to extract an emotional performance from Heidi as The Truth. Used the same technique that tele sales companies use in their training - they get their call centre operatives to smile as they talk to customers as this makes them sound and feel more friendly. I got Heidi to perform her script with a contorted face as if she was crying and you can actually hear this in the recording.

We’ll see if the same sort of technique applies when I wortk with Fynne today.

Tomorrow will be a different ball game as I’m working with two professional actors, one of whom is also a theatre director - I think my directorial efforts might seem a bit clumsy, but we’ll see!

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TBOA T D - black patination

the other that describes the one...a key concept

just after the treatment and looking really good - they seem to be continuing to darken and look a different colour in different lights. Thought about keeping the bolts silver but blackeened one to see what it would look like and it looks way better.

So what does this finish say as opposed to the red?

I liked the red as far as a tabloid newspaper banner colour goes - obviously connoting the ‘news’. The material became irrelevant however - it could have been cut from bright red acrylic sheet to have achieved the same effect and either offers no ‘close-up’ interest other than the shapes themselves. It would also work better with hidden fixings

the steel offers an idea of permanence which is enhanced by the bolts - this is a fixed point in time - a metaphorical nailing of colours to the mast.

the piece works from a distance - at that point once the visitor has puzzled and sees the words they see the letters and dismiss the shapes - this was demonstrated by Chris at Central Engineering when he asked me to put a cutting frame around the design - he thought the shapes I wanted were holes and it took him several seconds to realise these holes actually were the shapes I wanted - he saw the letters that are not there

now however I am offering interest once the viewer approaches the work - the emphasis is on the negative space and that’s what they will be having a close up look at - this is exactluy what happened with O U T - in the video of the performance people can be seen closely examining the metalwork and remarking on its texture and colour - I liked their interaction with the work something I would not get with the red version

the bolts act as anchors as if fixing the negative space as being something permanent - the other that describes the one...a key concept

[hcafarp]

Black Patina & Coach Bolts

Decided against red paint for a number of reasons

the pieces need drilling and screwing to the wall for H & S reasons

making  a feature of the bolts means it would look better in raw steel

truth to materials

to execute the piece in red I could use plastic although this isn’t environmentally friendly

if the piece is commissioned for an alternative space I will investigate a sustainable product that can be painted

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To paint or not to paint????

Spent the morning deliberating about drilling these bits of steel - decided to go for it and went to the builders merchant to look at coach bolts. Bought some blue coated 35mm No 4 hex bolts and tried them against the red painted cardboard maquette I made a whiole back

I do not like it - it ain’t right. They look prissy.

While I was there I did look at some nice fat No.6 40mm hex screws that with a washer behind them will become a feature.

Let’s try a little truth to materials - lets keep the steel naked. This echoes and references TBO Y Ds which deals with the naked truth. The bare steel will be every bit as impactful as bright red would be. It will still stand out from a distance and have an interest close up.

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Screw it - H & S

Mulling over Health and Safety issues regarding TBO T Ds. Had planned to install using nanotape which has pretty strong adhesion while remaining non permanent, but looking at the seperate elements of the work some of the pieces are like javalins and should one come off the wall with a visitor in front of the work the consequences might not be pretty.

Took the metalwork to paint finishers yesterday and it turns out that they need holes to suspend the pieces in the oven so that decides the issue. In discussion with them we did devise a way to braze wire to the back to hang them from if I didn’t want to drill - worth keeping in mind should the opportunity ever arise to install permanently as I can fix them with glue.

Seems a shame to drill these pristine pieces of metal, but I have no choice.

When I was interior designing I had a rule of thumb on the lines of if you couldn’t remove, hide of absorb an unwanted feature of a room then explore making a feature of it. This generally worked..I cannot hide the screw heads or make them invible so maybe . . . . ?

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RAL 3020

Picking up the cut-outs from Central Engineering in Hereford today and tomorrow taking them to Gavin at TAG-Z Fabrication and Welding in Llandrindod for powder coating in the above colour the week after next.

Having researched using the RAL number I can get one of those tiny tins of Humbrol enamel gloss no 238 (their equivalent on the conversion chart) just in case I need to touch up the paintwork at some future date.

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TBO Your D

With the good news yesterday re the degree show being in the hall at CRC came the possibity that this piece will be in a ‘booth’ as opposed to being on an end wall. I will discuss this with Dan in person on Friday hopefully because it would be good to know either way. The problem with it being in a booth is viewing it from a distance. The booths are 2,4m cubes which basically means unless you’re standing in the site line of the very front of the booth you will not be able to see the piece.

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TBO M D - indoors or out?

The goldfish

Relieved to find that the aquatic section at Wyevale Garden centre is selling goldfish. Found out from phoning them however that there are indoor and outdoor goldfish - guess if I’m setting them free in the HCA pond after the show it’ll be outdoor ones I need.

Researched and found this:

Before moving fish outside there are a few points to consider: Time of year.  The best time is during the warmer months.  Goldfish kept indoors are usually at a higher average water temperature than outside, so don't hibernate or at least slow down during winter. If you put fish out during winter, it will be a shock to their system to go from active to hibernation mode overnight.  They won't have built up any fat to take them through the winter months so come spring they will be in poor condition and many fish die at this time of year. One last point, you didn't mention what variety of Goldfish you have. If they are a single tail variety, they will thrive in a pond.  Some of the fancier varieties aren't as hardy and if you live in an area that experiences severe winter temperatures, consider bringing the fish indoors during the coldest months.

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TBO T D latest

The DXf files prepared in college on Monday are now with Central Engineering in Hereford. Originally I was going to have the metalwork powder coated however the announcement of dates for the show yesterday has meant that the lead-in times on this part of the procedure are too long and would risk not having the piece in my hands ready for the installation week.

have decided to paint them myself, possibly with a paint effect - just spoken to Chris at CEH and he thinks the job might be ready by the end of this week and he is going to give me some sample squares to experiment with paint on.

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video

although when removed from its context within the tank and a darkened environment this appears very dark, it is good in the maquette. Can’t tell if the zoom effect works though

Can only tell if this is going to work when I’m working full size.

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water surface

the surface is too open - the water doesn’t appear as if contained in a tank

sourced some stock video footage, slowed it, darkened it

this does look like water in a tank but is still a bit bright - tested at night it illuminates the room in the way I’d hoped but id far too bright when you look over the side of the tank.

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maquette development

I’m not sure at this stage if when scaled up to life size the ‘effect’ I’m attempting will work. I want the visitor to look over the side of the tank and for it to appear that there is water below the level of the ground on which they’re standing. Somehow this doesn’t happen with the maquette - the phone appears to be at ground level - it doesn’t look like an opening in the floor down through which there is water

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The maquettes and test videos

Good decision to build the maquettes. Was able to test the different videos and found things I would otherwise not have.

I’m not going to be able to use the Elan Valley footage as there is far too much movement across the water’s surface which makes it look wrong - it isn’t contained.

Using some HD ‘stock footage’ from YouTube. It’s a swimming pool and far too light, but darkening it down and slowing the the ripples seems to be working. Also found reducing the contrast and scalling down the brightness gave a good effect - NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT AFTER DARK NOW