Second Life Artists - Video Series

- by Magellan Egoyan

Following the success and interest with regards to my first video productions on art in Second Life, I believe there is both an interest and a need to showcase the talent of Second Life artists to the "outside world". In order to address this issue, I have developed the concept of a Video Series concerning "Second Life Artists". The first of the series has just been completed and uploaded to YouTube - it concerns the sculptures of Rezago Kokorin. Rezago kindly agreed to help me work out a format and process for the series, to serve as "guinea pig" for my first effort, and is also helping me with the development of a list of potential subjects.

The idea of the video series is to allow artists to present their own works in their own terms. The interview format lends a dynamism to the video that should ensure the engagement of a broader public. I am also experimenting with other means to enhance the attractiveness of the video clips, using music and other elements. It is also clear that the use of voice during the interview enhances audience engagement, although I am sensitive to the fact that not all artists may be comfortable with the audio format. Other dynamics I seek to explore through the videos include the relationship between Second Life activities and real life activities, and the personality and interests of the artists. Also, the series aims to demystify, to some extent, the process of art production within Second Life, to artists who are not involved in SL.

I believe, and indeed, the variety of topics covered by the VAA blog site support me in this, that SL offers an enormous array of creative individuals doing extraordinary work. There are hundreds, even thousands of people whose work merits exposure to a broader public. I'm afraid my limited resources and time will not allow me to do justice to all this work. I have to follow my own nose and personal interest, to some extent, although I am interested in covering a broad range of artistic media and styles.

For that reason, if you are a SL artist and have an interest in seeing your work reach a broader audience, I encourage you to contact me, either in world or through my email (magellan_egoyan@yahoo.ca). I can't promise to follow up immediately on the contact, as I have my own schedule and a relatively high sollicitation on my time, but I will get around to you eventually! The interview process takes no more than about 30 minutes of your time, usually one session is enough (the video editing stage, on the other hand, is a whole different story!). I also have a list of questions I send out ahead of time so we have a structure to the interview process. I focus on three particular works as a way of providing some breadth to the coverage. There are usually additional details to be dealt with in the period following the main taping.

I am also investigating doing some video anthologies covering several artists, so even if you are relatively new at developing art in SL, there will be a place for you!

I'm not sure how many I will do - it depends on the level of interest among artists and my own time commitments.

I hope to hear from you soon, and perhaps find out more about your work... across the interview table!