communification.com will be the commerical component of COMMUNIFICATION, selling goods (VERY goods!), like merchandise and art to raise money that enables the larger activities of the organization (possibility of eventually facilitating "fair trade" worker co-ops in developing countries to manufacture garments, art objects, etc.)
communification.org will be an online information hub for an open-audience that networks to existing websites and has no commercial content, only community-related things, mostly focused on festival-related promotions and creative collaborations.
To start with, I want to sort of create an information hub for "community arts festivals". As far as this class project goes, it will just be an informative, interactive site, showing only North American events, so I can just stick with English for now. Later, I'd like to include
I want to create a network, that isn't inherently logical or intended, but a connection that I see between a lot of the grassroots festivals that spring up from independent organizers, with an eclectic range of activities and entertainment mediums including music performances, but not exclusively... as opposed to those that are heavily sponsored and have line-ups of bands picked from a certain genre of pop-music. There's definitely lots of fesitvals that ride the line though.
Examples of festivals: , Symbiosis (Northern California), Burning Man Fesitval (Nevada), World Electronic Music Festival (travelling), Harvest Festival (GTA), Evolve Festival (Nova Scotia), Northtek (Northern Ontario), Earthdance International (multi-location), Eclipse Summer Trance Festival (Central Ontario), Hillside Festival (Southern Ontario), Shambhala (Northern BC), etc.
Obviously I mainly know of the ones in our general area, but there's many more. Actually, it has taken three years to actually discover these ones, which is why I think there is a need for this type of thing. I'm personally interested to find out what all is out there.
A common scheme of some of these festivals is the "you build it", "mandatory participation" approach, so that instead of centralized unit of people being responsible for producing the entirety of the event materials, there is an open field for people to contribute in their own way, and for the festival to grow proportional to the efforts of the people that want it to.
THE FLASH SITE (www.communifcation.org) :
An interactive map of
I'm thinking of starting with a stylized 3-D earth animation (monochrome, wireframe, with land masses), with COMMUNIFICATION orbiting it, and some visual effects (5 seconds)... then it zooms into
A sidebar will list other areas of the website (that I will develop after the map) perhaps including - "how to's" like "how to build a dome", links to useful gear and products valuable festival-goers, information resources for festival organizers, links to collectives and organizations involved in festival activities, and a forum for creative collaborations (the second major component of the site, that might be a DRUPAL-developed site on its own.)
Problem: some festivals have not yet announced their locations, and still others deliberately intend not to release their specific location until the week leading up to the event (presumably to avoid nearby residents from filing complaints and possibly jeopardizing the festival.)
WEEK-BY-WEEK
week 4:
-research
week5:
-Flash tutorials
week 6:
- produce layout and place-holder graphics (draft quality) with basic animations
- research events in North America
week 7:
week 8:
background:
This website will give me some interface and familiarity with existing festivals, and will serve their needs as much as my own. I personally hope to become involved in sculpturally designing "sound villages" at these festivals, and have shifted the focus of my artwork to cater to this application. Sculptural decor, lighting, projections, promo materials, performance art, that kind of stuff. I also would like to acquire some power-generators (solar most likely) and bring those along to festivals, as they are almost all off-grid and require portable power (pending involvement from festival organizers). As the scope of the endeavour becomes larger more people can be involved, and we can make appearances at more festivals. A eco-fuelled bus for touring around in would be necessary at some point.
The interesting thing about these festivals is that, for a short time, they exist as self-sufficient, ecological, mini communities shaped by willing participants and often exemplify ideals that are difficult to cultivate in existing habitations. They have a strong sense of unity and positivity, as they are intentional gatherings... temporary get-aways with a focus on partying, fun and learning. Yet, in their own small way, I think they are models for what adaptive, responsive and aware people are capable of when they co-operatively build a community.
