equivocality » Video

Transplant

Jeff — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:37:42 +0000

I got the chance to work with Team Emily to document their latest artist vision, titled Transplant. The brilliant concept:

This summer, Emily Comeau (a fibre artist from Quebec) and Emily Cook (a book and paper artist from Ontario) will be collaborating to create an immense and interactive tunnel book made from local plant materials to install in a barren patch of city.

Transplant is an outdoor living book installation. Constructed from found natural materials both living and dead, this installation is subject to the whims of nature and the designs of man. Each page of this book resembles an arch inviting the audience to enter the immense tunnel book. Within the pages are paper pockets where seeds will begin to sprout as the structure is gradually beaten down by the weather. Additional arches/pages will be added throughout the exhibition as the evolution of decay and growth take over. This evolution speaks to the ebb and flow of construction and decay as the manmade world interacts with the natural one. The story of this project is one of transformation and reclamation of the urban landscape by nature. It is the story of a cycle of decay and rebirth and of a balance that can be achieved when nature’s collaboration is desired rather than fought

The sunlight coming through the seeded paper is such a wonderfully striking image. This is just the first archway, constructed on the lawn at the Ottawa Arts Court, which is a very high-profile place (you can see the Rideau Centre right across the street). More details and ornaments are planned as the project continues over the next year.

My desire to record things comes from the fact that most things in this world are so ephemeral. This being a structure that can dissolve in the rain, as well as being an area frequented by drunks¹ and homeless people, meant I was pretty adamant about documenting the whole process.

As we were leaving the area at the end of the day, some guy just up and peed into the bushes next to us.

Fell in love with a beard at 160 Workshops

Jeff — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:48:19 +0000

I could explain how awesome this night was, but I think this beard speaks for itself.

It’s a custom-made piece by Emily Comeau — named the Smirkin’ Merkin — and a prototype for Jesse’s merch. As a person who’s never even come close to having a beard, I wanted to keep it SO BADLY even though it was brown and didn’t match the curtains (or the carpet, for that matter). I wore it for the first song I played, but it got way too warm to keep on in a house full of people.

One of the openers was Catriona Sutton, who won everyone over with her charming songs and clever lyrics. She used to be in the band Plumtree, whose indie hit inspired the naming of the Scott Pilgrim comic, now made into a major Hollywood movie (Michael Cera is wearing a Plumtree T-shirt when he does the knockout punch shown in the trailer).

Jesse’s song No Brainer demonstrates exactly how good he is with arrangements. His album is usually bass driven, but for live performances he plays guitar over Nic’s beatboxing (with some harmonica thrown in), and Audra on clarinet. Audra also had a small part rapping at the end of No Brainer, and it was awesome; she’s a natural. Nic’s also got a new little box which drops anything he sings an octave lower, so he can do real bass lines.

I played ukulele for four songs so Jesse could play other instruments like glockenspiel or the wind organ on Make Hymn Cry. I was a little nervous at first, but eventually I forgot everyone was there. My cheap laminate soprano ukulele doesn’t project sound very well, so I had to strum so hard I was afraid of breaking a string or enlarging the crack that’s already developed at the bridge.

At one point during the last track Jesse all of a sudden said, “UKULELE SOLO”, and I tried making a silly picking pattern based on the chords of the song. I don’t think anyone heard what I was doing over all the other instruments though, which worked in my favour really.

It was such an amazing night that I’ve decided to quit my job and sing and play ukulele full-time. Well, maybe not yet, but SOON.

Bobby’s number two

Jeff — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:02:56 +0000

I’ve been itching to play around with some new footage lately cause I love editing and it’s been a while since I had a good story to tell, so when Tiana invited me to Bobby’s second birthday party, I couldn’t resist. I also recently purchased some new gear in preparation of a wedding I’ve been hired to film in the Fall (with a second one potentially lined up), and I’ve been looking for an opportunity to field-test a new bag, shoulder strap, and monopod.

I tend to get really shy at Tiana’s parties cause I feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t know anyone else there, but she does a good job of making sure I’m never left alone for too long and included in most conversations. She’s also the only other person I know to actually design custom invitations. This time, however, she was sporting a perky new haircut, and no longer a vegetarian (for now). Such is the power of St. Hubert.

I had so much fun making this. It’s got the right depth-of-field (shot entirely wide open at f/2.8), buttery smooth bokeh, and moves like cinematic stock thanks to the latest Canon 5D Mk II update which gives it the ability to shoot in 24p. The monopod also did a great job of stabilizing most camera shake while retaining enough of that indie handheld feel that isn’t possible with a tripod. This was a one-lens job; a testament to the versatility of Canon’s 24–70mm. There were times when I wish I had just a bit more wideness or a bit more telephoto, but I never had the chance to change lenses as things move quickly when there are kids involved.

To be honest, I don’t like being a cameraman. I never know how camera shy someone is, I hate bothering people, and I can never keep a low-profile with my gear. At the same time, I find it hard to trust anyone else to compose the shots the way I want to see them, so I do it myself. When I look at my footage though, I forget how awkward it is to be filming someone surreptitiously and know it was totally worth it.

There were so many great moments — Bobby pretending he’s flying, the guy doing bicep curls with his baby, a little girl playing with a dog through the window, Tiana mugging to the camera at the end — but my favourite shot is of the man fiddling with the toy plane. He sat there amid the hurricane of kids and new toys for about a minute, completely lost in the precision of his adjustments and, finally being satisfied, gives the propeller a blow.

(If you read Tiana’s LiveJournal, you’d know that she takes pictures of her son’s dookie. Hence, Bobby’s number two.)

Jesse Dangerously — Halifax Rap Legend (Live @ Zaphod Beeblebrox)

Jeff — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 01:11:35 +0000

The last stop of the 1000 Crooked Miles was right here at Zaphod’s in Ottawa. The last song of the night was Jesse’s (who was headlining) with a performance of Halifax Rap Legend, the beat taken from his upcoming album.

I know of no other rapper who can use the expression “resting on your laurels” in their rhymes. I suspect this is why MC Chris once named him as the only rapper he liked.

Hugs after the show.

The saddest fact in life is that our cats will die before us

Jeff — Sat, 29 May 2010 03:56:02 +0000

When I was young and a cat food commercial came on where the kitties would nuzzle their owner after receiving a portion of Brand X, I’d think to myself, “Those are probably special cats, the way they use perky models to portray everyday moms in cleaning commercials. I won’t ever have a cat like that.”

But I was wrong.

She follows me around the house, she sleeps under the blankets in the crook of my arm, and I can’t imagine my life without her.

Goodbye, St. Louis

Jeff — Sat, 08 May 2010 16:22:55 +0000

Working hard and playing hard. It felt like vacation even though I was down there for business, just because I ended up doing so much stuff packed into four nights. I didn’t stop moving once I touched down and ended up learning so much, simply by constantly being around the right people.

Goodbye, St. Louis. We’ll see each other again soon enough.

Many, many, many more pictures under the cut.

I’m not sure what the nature of their relationship was. Both African-American girls, one clearly older than the other, kissing for several moments.

Across the river is Illinois.

Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. Very new but built to look old.

We stopped for freshly brewed coffee at this tiny drive-through coffee stand every morning. The proprietor roasts his beans every day, and must be on his feet for most of it.

The Gateway Arch

The Gateway Arch is the iconic image of St. Louis, built to honour the history of westward expansion and trade. It’s on the logos of many companies, schools, and parks here. The architecture can be represented by a single equation:

The two legs (equilateral triangles) were built first and the final piece on top was dropped down by helicopter, but it was such a hot day when it happened that the metal swelled and it wouldn’t fit. Eventually, the city brought in firetrucks to hose off the sides in an effort to cool them down.

When approaching the Arch, it doesn’t look so tall. You can just barely make out the slotted observation windows at the top.

But then you sort of get an idea of how high it is when you see how small things look when under it.

Downtown St. Louis faces the Arch, with lots of well-kept grass. You can’t possibly be in a bad mood when you’re here and the sun is spilling out around you.

At the base of each leg is a fair amount of graffiti.

Underneath the Arch is a museum where you can also buy tickets to ride a tram up to the top.

The welded seams are definitely an integral part of the look.

Scar courtesy of John, from a Grade 12 physics class.

Food Diary

Maggie’s Lunchbox, a restaurant only open 8am–2pm in the industrial park where I was working. There are no restaurants in close proximity, and apparently the owner of an electrical company in the park asked his son to open a daytime restaurant to feed his workers, and it ended up doing so well that it serves a lot of the area now.

His son is mainly trained as a pastry chef, so when you wait in line you walk by a glass case with all these delicious pastries inside. I’m pretty sure he also has a degree in marketing cause of this.

In the lobby of my hotel was an authentic old-school style of popcorn stand. Made fresh daily at 2pm, and lightly covered in salt.

At a Steak ‘n Shake diner, known for their steak burgers and milkshakes, and seen almost everywhere in St. Louis (as well as much of the Midwest). The atmosphere is decidedly classic American diner, but so clean and modern that it feels like it was built yesterday. I believe they also made milkshakes of anything, including Kool-Aid.

These little burgers were called “Shooters”.

Aya Sofia

St. Louis’s only Turkish restaurant, known for it’s traditional and modern Turkish and Mediterranean Cuisine.

From left to right: traditional hummus, red pepper hummus, and eggplant hummus. They were all good.

And with the hummus comes much delicious pita bread, kept hot and fresh by a cloth covered basket.

Karides Sis Kebab — marinated shrimp, skewered and grilled. They weren’t extraordinarily meaty, but fresh and seasoned with something salty and smoky. I had been craving shrimp the entire week, so I had to order this on the last day. It was totally worth the wait.

Sarma, or stuffed grape leaves with seasoned ground beef, rice, and onions. A very strong, sharp taste, which is set off by the tomato sauce and sour cream on top.

Eleven Eleven Missisipi

A wine country bistro in the heart of old St. Louis, where the cars park on cobblestone roads.

At the entrance of the restaurant on the patio is a water fountain made of wine bottles and wire. The same motif follows through the rest of establishment.

This was a flash-fried shrimp appetizer in soy-ginger vinaigrette. Part of me wishes I just ordered four of these plates.

A sampler platter. Assorted regional cheeses were: cotswold which tasted like creamy aged cheddar, smoked gouda which wasn’t to my taste, and port-salut which was an ultra-creamy soft and mild cheese (and my favourite of the three). Also with walnuts, barbecued-seasoned pecans, grapes, cured meats, and a dab of whole grain mustard at the end. This is also an appetizer that could well serve as an entré.

Braised duckling, with a port wine-rhubarb reduction and fresh pea risotto. My main course. Absolutely amazing, as the meat was tender enough to fall off the bone. I also had a side dish of lemon asparagus.

An Eleven Eleven version of a “BLT”: bourbon apples, Maine lobster, thyme remoulade and watercress. I didn’t eat this, but it sounded and looked so good I had to take a picture of it. You can see giant chunks of lobster bulging out of the bread.

Monsoon Vietnamese Bistro

Owned by an old Vietnamese couple who never come out to the front of the restaurant. I imagine them slaving away at a stove together all day, and not speaking a lick of English.

Saigon sizzling crepes — Vietnamese rice flour filled with shrimp, pork, mung bean, scallions, and steamed bean sprouts, served with fresh lettuce, assorted mints and lime sauce. It wasn’t used to having a salty crepe, as the only crepes I’ve ever had were filled with peanut butter and jam that my maternal grandmother cooked for me when I was young. Good memories.

Vegetarian salad rolls, filled with fried tofu, jicama, peanuts, and basil leaves served with sweet peanut dipping sauce. It was really hard to share these with other people.

Tamarind scallop — flame-broiled sea scallops with scallions, garlic, and peppercorn in tamarind (a uniquely sour fruit) sauce served with rice. I was pretty disappointed because the scallops tasted fishy, the pepper wasn’t freshly ground, and even though it wasn’t considered à la carte, there were no vegetables.

Banana and cassava cake with coconut milk served warm with crushed peanut and ice cream. This was amazing. We also get tapioca from the cassava plant, so this cake was tasted very similar but was much thicker. The warm, gooey coconut milk gave it a really sweet taste, and was pleasantly balanced by the cold ice cream. The owner’s family recipe.

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard

A St. Louis landmark, this frozen custard stand is bustling in hot weather. Frozen custard is very similar to ice cream, but includes buttermilk, and makes it much smoother, creamier, thicker, and consistent.

Next time I’m getting Strawberry Shortcake.

I ordered the Cindermint, which had a very crisp mint taste with the texture of crushed peppermint candy canes. The perfect after-dinner dessert.

Laumeier Sculpture Park

Privately owned and operated, this sculpture park is free and open to the public. They generate revenue from running art fairs. There’s one going on this weekend, with about 300 artists. Entrance tickets are $12, and you can try unlimited wine from all the local wineries. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay another day.

Alexander Liberman, The Way.

This is the signature piece of the park. You can tell how big it is from the person standing underneath it. Something the artists have to consider when designing things of this scale is the ability to transport and construct the piece at the final location too. I can’t imagine doing it at this size.

Cosimo Cavallaro, Knots

Linda Fleming, Necklace

Robert Lobe, The Palm at the End of the Parking Lot

This one doesn’t stand out because it’s sort of close to a field of trees, until you see that it’s missing all the branches. The texture for the bark is made of hammered metal.

This isn’t a sculpture itself, but a miniature version of another one, so blind people can tell what’s being displayed, since some of the sculptures are much too large to get your hands on all parts of them. Genius.

Ronald Gonzalez, Birds Fly Through Us

This was definitely my favourite piece. They looked like birdhouses, and the smoky glass gave off such an interesting texture when the light hit it at the right way.

I’m pretty sure the artist kept in mind the way natural foliage that was going to fall on his piece.

Vito Acconci, Face of the Earth #3

I didn’t like this piece, but I have to appreciate the way it’s built into the ground, the entire sculpture recessed by about two feet under the surface, and the features another two feet down.

Sol Lewitt, Intricate Wall

Steve Tobin, Walking Roots.

Tony Tasset, Eye

This one really stands out because most of the sculptures are bare metal and have a single flat colour.

A bit more detail. I couldn’t find a single seam or weld.

Manuel Neri, Aurelia Roma

This was sitting in front of a clubhouse, surrounded by a small concrete pond. The water of the pond was green, and in it were dozens of tadpoles. I could see them swimming up and spinning around to search for food from the surface.

Famous Blue Raincoat (ukulele cover)

Jeff — Mon, 03 May 2010 10:54:25 +0000

Almost three months ago, I walked into a music store and bought a ukulele. I didn’t even know the frets on the ukulele (or guitar, for that matter) were raised; I thought they were just lines painted on the neck used as guidelines for finger positions. Ever since, it’s filled a void in me. A void I didn’t even know existed until I found myself feeling empty when I didn’t get a chance to play.

Famous Blue Raincoat is one of my favourite Leonard Cohen songs. I wish I could write letters like this.

I haven’t quite figured out what kind of style or genre I want to apply to the ukulele, but I think my singing ability (or lack thereof) will limit me to the soft Sam Beam folk sound unless I started taking singing lessons. Borrowed in my interpretation is a variation of the picking pattern Cohen uses in a lot of his earlier songs, such as Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye, adapted for the soprano ukulele.

While my brain picks out the mistakes and details I need to work on when I see myself play, I try to keep in mind the words of my Tai Chi teacher, “We’re never as bad as we fear nor as good as we would like”. I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied with my musical ability unless I could commit a lot more time to it. Unfortunately, that would mean less time for another hobby, so I have to accept that this will probably be close to the limit of my ability. Hopefully, I’ll be able to clean things up in another few years. Patience will come from learning to be satisfied from the act of playing itself, and not the mastery of it. For now, this’ll serve as record of my progress.

Next To You

Jeff — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 10:52:52 +0000

Found footage, captured with my small CCD camcorder. It struggles in low light situations, but when I brought up the levels in post, out came this amazing grain that gives it such a wistful texture.

When watching this, my eyes tend to gravitate to her hands; the way she moves them with a light, but firm touch, whether it’s getting Dolly to sit down, or brushing cat hair from her nose. They were artists hands. Not particularly striking, but filled with delicate dexterity. Sometimes, I’d kiss the tip of each finger, and she’d tease me by pulling her hand away before I could finish.

It must have been one winter morning, after a run out to Second Cup with their holiday-themed paper cups, watching The Blue Planet in the comfort of a blanket with a cat by our side.

Only after finding this footage did I start to believe that my memories were real, and not just imaginations caught between the haze of desire and denial.

We existed. We existed.

Even if only for a few moments, as wonderful as they were fleeting, one of them captured in 24 frames per second.

Make Hymn Cry + Cover

Jeff — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 02:46:21 +0000

In the winter I made a short video teaser for Jesse’s upcoming album by getting him to perform a song off it called Make Hymn Cry. As the only ukulele piece on a rap album, it definitely stands out.

Then it dawned on me this morning to see if I could cover it. As I was trying to figure out the chord progression, I realized it’s a fairly simple song that only alternates between the G and C chords. The strumming in Jesse’s video is slightly simpler than on the album, the latter of which is the pattern I use in my version, and includes the picking arpeggio for the second verse.

Still, it took me half the day just to get comfortable with the strumming pattern because it’s syncopated in a way I’m not used to yet, the rhythm at the end of each bar divided beyond eighth notes into sixteenth notes. This is what long weekends are for.

The main thing I’m concentrating on is counting the beats so I can strum off them and keep track of where the extra strum is at the end of each bar. The next is trying not to speed up, which is a very bad habit of mine, regardless of instrument. I also need to pay attention to softly resting my hand on the strings when transitioning to the second verse; firstly, to prevent the last chord from ringing too long, and secondly, to physically feel where the strings are so I can get my thumb on the C string. I’m definitely not good enough to know where it is at all times. Most of the rest came by itself (i.e. I’m not consciously focusing on it), probably from already listening a few times to a pre-release copy of the album Jesse gave me.

The phrases of the lyrics are also syncopated against the strumming; it always feels like your strumming is late because the first word of every line falls on the beat before each down-strum), which adds another layer of complexity. The fact that I made it through without any major mistakes but fucked it up right at the very end¹ is why I can’t stop laughing.

My singing is strained cause I’m trying to project above the strumming to stay in balance, but it’s clearly out of my comfort zone. I’m not good enough to strum softly with control yet, so I cheated and just raised my voice. The thing is, I never practice singing when I’m practicing my playing, usually because I need to concentrate on one thing at a time. Singing practice is also boring by itself, so I never do it, even though I should.

Anyway, I had a good day after learning this little piece, and being able to figure out the chords and the strumming was probably just as fun as being able to play it.

I lost track of the extra strum in the second last bar!

Cranium Party 02

Jeff — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:55:53 +0000

The second Cranium Party went exceedingly well, even though not a single one of my core friends was there. In fact, aside from Jess, it was an entirely different group from last time, and none of the four groups of people knew each other, but that didn’t stop it from being an awesome party and everyone got along famously. Through the night, I heard people asking each other, “And how do you know Jeff?”

People brought all sorts of snacks, but more importantly, they also helped me eat them. Of note was Audra bringing a tub of green tea and honey vanilla Häagen-Dazs ice cream, which I had never even heard of before.

To make it interesting, I told everyone that the losing team would have to perform a talent. Some came prepared, others came with the attitude that they wouldn’t lose.

Audra’s talent is speech writing, but since she couldn’t perform that, she did a rendition of a song she wrote with Jesse three years ago about their cat Zoey. And the song wasn’t just a short jingle, it was a full piece with proper song structure and clever rhymes. If only I wasn’t laughing so hard that I kept shaking the camera.

Sergei didn’t have a talent prepared, but since I knew that he used to study martial arts, I asked him if he could demonstrate what he knew. He suggested that he could blow out a candle with a punch, and no one was left unmoved.

Shawn brought his beautifully carved didgeridoo to play as his talent. Even though he didn’t lose, people were still intrigued enough that they wanted to try it. And, of course, Jesse added his own flavour at the end.