Spec Work

We will all be entering the workforce soon, if we have not already done so. For a lot of us this will mean freelancing. An inevitable part of freelancing is doing spec work. Google gives me the definition of spec work as "any job for which the client expects to see examples or a finished piece of design before agreeing to pay a fee or compensation."

Basically you make the video for the client, show them a preview, then they can decide if they want to use you for the full product. Which, personally I think is bullshit, and a lot of people are beginning to agree. To make the preview you are required to do preprod, prod, and postprod, to a high standard. Work you are typically paid for, and work that will cost you money to create. Which you may not be reimbursed for.

This is a pretty standard practice within the film industry. However, when applied to other industries this sounds completely ridiculous. Here's a video that shows just how ridiculous this sounds.

I'm curious to see what other people's thoughts on this are.

Flesh and Metal: Reconfiguring the Mindbody in Virtual Environments

Hayles talks of a flux from which our mind and body emerge only to interact in ever-evolving ways.

She tells of an installation piece in which "one user wears a helmet capable of sensing her electroencephalic activity, including alpha, beta, theta, and delta brain waves". The brain waves along with other biological data are collected and the data is used to trigger various things to happen in the installation. For example, the user's brainwaves are converted to midi files and the resulting sound becomes the sound scape of the installation.

This really interested me. So, I searched youtube to see what others are doing with brainwaves and interactive art. Here's what I found:



Nina Sobell at the Getty Center