Inside Nite Prison studio, where cross-genre bands breed the city’s newest sounds.

BY SARAH BERMAN, THE TYEE

In the labyrinth of jam spaces and studios known as the Secret Location, it seems a noisy cross-genre experiment is born every minute. Buzzing with activity on a recent Saturday afternoon in Vancouver, nearly 100 local bands set aside their hangovers to come down and get photographed for the upcoming Music Waste festival.

“There are so many bands and people in the music scene that start out of here,” explains bassist Jamie Quast, just a few minutes before he and bandmate Keith Wecker have their photo snapped. Quast and Wecker make up half of the psych-metal outfit Aquanaut; the other half are on tour in different bands. With cardboard keytars and ironic footballs in hand, the pair mime a silent dirge to a backdrop of stacked amplifiers.

Over the years, the Secret Location has become a hive of creative cross-pollination and a breeding ground for much of Music Waste’s fresh talent. On this afternoon, some bands meet for the first time, but many share a deep collaborative history.

“You run into someone here and they say ‘That sounds cool, you want to jam?’” says Wecker, who played with Sex Negatives and performs solo as V. Vecker. “That’s probably how so many of these projects get started.”

Wecker counts 10 bands and solo projects among Aquanaut’s four members. “It does get incredibly incestuous real fast,” he adds.

Last month Aquanaut released their sludgy new album Sunken Ark, recorded in the bowels of the Secret Location at Jesse Taylor’s Nite Prison studio. Taylor started the low-fi punk and noise dungeon as an alternative to expensive pro studios. Since then, he’s recorded albums and demos for dozens of Music Wasters, past and present.

A Nite Prison sentence

Nite Prison is one of the rare creative engines within the Secret Location, hailed by local punks and freaks for helping bands transition from jam ideas to recorded artists. On a chilly evening in March, Taylor explains the origins of his now full-time recording practice.

“I started collecting gear when I was about 15,” he says. “I’ve been renting in this building for about five years, just as practice space for my bands.”

Taylor’s band Twin Crystals couldn’t afford to record at the established studios—and neither could Taylor’s friends. He saw bands saving up piles of money for one day in studio, only to come out with an unfamiliar sounding record.

“When I was moving all my equipment into this space I realized I had enough stuff to make records,” he continues. Taylor wasn’t out to make money, so he offered the bands he admired most a chance to record over several days. “I asked friends if I could record demos for them and it just went from there.”

Taylor lists the Nite Prison’s daily recording fee at $85 on his website—but the cost isn’t a hard and fast rule.

For Aquanaut, Taylor’s laid-back approach helped their creative process.

“When it’s as cheap as this, there’s a little more time to fuck around, and you do more,” says Wecker. “It’s not like the pressure of going to the Hive where you’re paying a thousand dollars.”

Quast adds that smoke breaks are both frequent and encouraged.

“We have really long songs, so if you screw up once you have to start over again,” he says of Aquanaut’s 10-minute methodical soundscapes. “We were able to come back the next day and keep working on it.”

Except for guitar solos and organ parts, Aquanaut recorded live off the floor — a sonic style that Taylor prefers. All Nite Prison recordings favour cacophonous experiments over slick production.

“I’m into recording demos,” Taylor says. “Kids in their basement—that’s what I’m into. And bands that record themselves.”

Since 2010, Taylor’s penchant for demos has turned into a heaping mass of unreleased tracks. Gritty lo-fi bands Nu Sensae, Shearing Pinx, Defektors, Tight Solid, Juvenile Hall and Phonecalls all appear on a compilation of Nite Prison outtakes and demos released November 2011.

“In a way, (Taylor) is the glue that ties all those bands together,” says Krissy Unger from the punk trio Juvenile Hall. Juvie will play their third Music Waste this year, with a full-length album on the way.

MacBook-free zone

In 2012, it’s difficult to imagine DIY recording without the glowing white logo of a MacBook. Even in live settings, laptops are frequently seen as a singular digital instrument.

But Taylor’s studio reaches back to an analog era of recording, displaying the Nite Prison discography in cassette and vinyl format on the walls.

“I don’t record on computers,” he says. “I don’t even have a computer. I’d like to get one; I just can’t afford one… I’m sure one day I’ll transition, but right now this is working fine for me.”

In contrast to the isolated experience of recording at home on a laptop, Nite Prison provides a collaborative space for people making similar art.

“I want to make it like a community where the band comes in and I just hit record and set up some microphones,” he says.

“It definitely has that dirty live feel,” says Wecker. “The type of bands he records love and feed off it.”

More than 50 bands have served a sentence at Nite Prison. As we chat on a Secret Location couch, Justin Gradin of Random Cuts sets up his drums to work on his forthcoming LP Adventures in Somnambulism.

As the name might suggest, Taylor does most of his recording at night, saving his mixing for the daytime. “There’s a completely different feeling about recording at four in the morning than there is recording at 10 a.m.”

It’s an arrangement that works for Aquanut’s Quast, whose band has recorded past midnight more than a few times.

“You can go as late as you want,” he says. “All you have to do is buy him cigarettes and taxi money if he can’t catch the bus home.”

Originally published Saturday, May 12, 2012.

BY SARAH BERMAN, ION MAGAZINE

Filmmakers Mike Bernard and Gavin Froome don’t quite offer the fridge peek Cribs is known for, but explore the corners and expanses of renowned modernist homes from Vancouver down to Los Angeles. Interviews with author Douglas Coupland, architect Matthew Soules and urban designer Trevor Boddy give a taste of how the modernist dream neatly merged with the values and vibes of the West Coast.

Call a spandrel a spandrel: this doc is 95 percent design porn. From Le Corbusier’s signature machine on stilts to Arthur Erickson’s iconic wood-and-glass Smith House, the film’s well-paced tilts and pans read like animated pages of Wallpaper Magazine. The playful fusion of indoor and outdoor make for serene eye candy, be it a structured Portland tree fort or a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece.

Underneath the wallpaper (or distinct lack-there-of), Bernard and Froome lay out a detailed history of the modernist experiment from its beginnings to present day. The filmmakers also hazard a few guesses as to why utilitarian glass and concrete didn’t catch on in the suburbs. (Hint: our association with banks and airports may be to blame).

Coast Modern premiered at Vancouver’s DOXA documentary festival on May 8th, is showing again on May 13th and will air on the Knowledge Network in the fall. Check out the website coastmodernfilm.com this summer for extra design and interview goodies.

Originally Published May 9, 2012.

In São Paulo, advertisers blocked from buying signboard space support publications instead.

BY SARAH BERMAN, THE TYEE

Scanning Monday’s headlines, you may have spotted Postmedia’s announcement it will cancel its wire service and cut 25 jobs. The news comes less than a month after the Vancouver Sun and Ottawa Citizen introduced online paywalls to combat a steep decline in print ad revenue.

We’ve known the financial picture for Canadian journalism has been in decline for a while. But one quick-and-dirty answer that has yet to be considered in Canada comes courtesy of a documentary called This Space Available, which is showing in Toronto for the first time today.

From coast to coast, billions of dollars are spent on outdoor advertising, from posters to transit ads to flashy digital billboards. Pattison Outdoor, Canada’s biggest out-of-home ad company, boasts $7.3 billion annual sales on its website.

But if every major Canadian city banned billboard blight, how much of those ad dollars would trickle down to public interest journalism? This Space Available tells the story of São Paulo, Brazil, which did just that. And if the results in Canada are anything like São Paulo—the first city in the world to ban all outdoor advertising—Canadian magazines and newspapers could stand to double their advertising income.

The Clean City Law

This Space Available explores a global grassroots movement united against advertising in public space. The project grew out of a trip to São Paulo, the first non-communist city to reject billboards entirely. In late 2006, responding to clutter and safety concerns, the city’s conservative mayor Gilberto Kassab imposed a blanket ban on outdoor ads.

“They called it Lei Cidade Limpa, which means the Clean City Law,” says This Space Available filmmaker , adding that all residents she interviewed were in favour of the ban.

According to Gobé, outlawing billboards forced advertisers to find more personal ways of reaching their targets.

“They took away all the outdoor advertising, so this resulted in brands having to make more of a point of connecting with their consumers,” she explains. “One of the things they would do is advertise in the press.”

Some advertisers did choose supermarkets and bathroom stalls. But a surprising number of companies took out newspaper and magazine ads, indirectly funding better journalism. In the film, marketer Sergio Mota Melo says newspaper advertising actually doubled the year following São Paulo’s Clean City Law.

‘An exchange’

Why wipe out an entire industry to boost another less profitable one? The answer comes down to visual pollution, public good and an implicit contract in every advertisement.

“Repetition is the first element of invasiveness,” says Gobé of the 3,000-5,000 commercial messages we consume every day. The film estimates $500 billion is spent globally on ads every year.

Studies have found the emotional content of advertising is disruptive to the human brain. “It’s not like a photo of a can of peas,” Gobé says. “They’re selling lifestyles, which are very political in terms of who you should be or how you should feel.”

While shooting This Space Available, Gobé recalls finding countless open-mouthed, doe-eyed women on billboards from Mumbai to Shanghai to Los Angeles. “It’s so sexually evocative, and then you find out they’re selling insurance,” she laughs.

Gobé says such toxic optics are considered more balanced and acceptable in press advertising because it underwrites important public programming. At the very least you can turn a page, change a channel or close a window—you can’t erase a billboard from a landscape.

“With a newspaper, you’re helping people get access to culture and content and some sort of learning information,” Gobé explains. “It’s an exchange. You can choose to see these ads in exchange for this content.”

Billboards break this advertising contract, she says.

“They get a free ride because they’re on the side of the road… yet they’re not paying for the road,” Gobé says. “They’re not paying for the fact they’re in front of our face and taking our mental space without asking permission.”

Ads that give back

São Paulo banned outdoor advertising because that advertising didn’t give anything back to the people of São Paulo. This concept has only recently reached Canadian cities.

“In Toronto it’s less dramatic, but they’ve started,” says Gobé. “The city passed a law that some of the profits [from billboards] should go to the arts—which I think is a proper way of giving back.”

Cities are often hesitant to regulate billboard ads for fear of stifling business. But increasingly, conservative pro-business centres like Houston, Texas are doing away with outdoor advertising to encourage commerce and engagement with public space.

“It was interesting, we found people who were very conservative and very pro-business who were against billboards,” says Gobé. “Houston found they wanted to create a city where people wanted not just to work and leave, but to stay, go to the park and enjoy the city for what it is.”

People don’t like to live or hang out in neighbourhoods cluttered with outdoor ads; in fact, these spaces are often perceived as less safe. “The fact is these billboards are the same everywhere, which makes every place look the same,” she continues. “People are not connecting to the spaces where they live.”

Since 1981, Houston has banned all new billboards from being built. “Billboards were in competition with the Houston brand,” she adds.

It appears banning billboards is good for business, good for cities, good for people and good for journalism. So why haven’t more cities followed São Paulo’s lead?

“I feel like the concept that [billboard advertising] is actually taxing on people and the livelihood of the city is still being figured out,” Gobé says.

If Canadian journalism is going to survive another cold winter, it better figure this one out fast.

This Space Available plays at the TIFF Bell Lightbox theatre on Thursday, May 10 and Saturday, May 12 as part of the TIFF Next Wave Festival in Toronto.

Originally published Thursday May 10, 2012. Photo courtesy of snorpey.

BY SARAH BERMAN, OPENFILE

Following months of struggle with British Columbia’s Liquor Control and Licensing Branch, the Rio Theatre in East Vancouver will gradually return to the mixed programming it cultivated before 2012. For most of this year, the Rio operated under an imposed liquor licensing condition that prevented the venue from showing films.

Although the single-screen venue expects to make a full recovery, owner Corinne Lea says her company is not out of the woods yet. “Because our finances got depleted so badly, our biggest challenge is just digging ourselves out of the hole,” Lea says. “Now we’re creeping back.”

Before the ban on movies, the Rio was generating between $15,000 and $20,000 per week. But up until April 11, when the province announced it would allow alcohol service in movie theatres, Lea says her business sagged to $5,000 per week.

“Before there was a lot of stress and worry about the future. I didn’t know if we were going to make it through,” she says. “Now it’s still challenging, but good challenging because we have our doors wide open as far as our programming goes. We just have to figure out how to fit everything in.”

Lea says event inquiries have doubled in the last three weeks. “Already our income has improved,” she adds. “We had a $16,000 week.”

The wider film community in Vancouver is also relieved to lawfully host occasional gala events with bar service. “I was really happy when I found out, and I think it was long overdue,” says Festival Cinemas president Leonard Schein, who runs the Ridge, Park and Fifth Avenue theatres. Schein says the Rio’s ban on movies was never an explicit law, but an interpretation of the Liquor Control and Licensing Act. “The province was interpreting the regulations in a way that they weren’t allowed to do that,” he says.

While he’s happy to see the “erroneous interpretation” lifted, Schein has no plans to bring permanent liquor service into his own theatres. He says movies like Casablanca and Rocky Horror Picture Show—which are both currently playing at the single-screen Ridge Theatre in Kitsilano—should remain open to all ages. “Once you apply for a liquor license, it wouldn’t allow anybody under 19 to see those movies,” says Schein. “I think people under 19 should be allowed to see those movies.”

Schein says his business has stayed profitable in an economic climate that has seen both independent theatres and multiplexes close their doors. Ten Vancouver theatres have gone dark in the last decade—most recently the single-screen Hollywood, the Oakridge Centre triplex and the Vancouver East Theatre on Commercial Drive. The Ridge is also slated to close by September 2013, to make way for a condo and supermarket development.

Lea sees liquor service as an extra source of income in an unpredictable economy. Small venues like the Hollywood Theatre, which closed in 2011, may have been saved if it was allowed to diversify its programming to include live bands.

But surprisingly, few theatres have jumped at the chance to serve beer with their popcorn. Earlier this week, minister Rich Coleman told News1130 that only four theatres in B.C. had submitted permanent liquor license applications.

“Not for us,” says Pacific Cinematheque manager Amber Orchard, who points to the “tricky landscape” faced by independent movie houses. “I’ll be honest, for us revenue is very consistent with previous years,” she says. “We consistently do well with our numbers.”

The low interest and uncertainty may suggest theatre managers are still wary of the kinks yet-to-be worked out of B.C.’s liquor licensing system. Even for the Rio, there are still a couple hurdles to clear. “The changes that affected us immediately allow us to show movies right now without alcohol,” Lea explains. “Our application is in process to serve alcohol with movies. We’re still waiting to get that finalized.”

Lea is allowed to serve alcohol during adult-only events, but is awaiting approval for all-ages screenings. So far, she has applied to serve alcohol in the Rio’s 30-person lobby, but hopes to convince the province to let the heritage building’s upper balcony serve as a 19-plus lounge with bar service when minors are present. “I see these as minor details,” she says.

Lea hopes to finalize the technicalities of her liquor license in time to participate in Vancouver’s Craft Beer Week beginning May 18. “We’ve got one event planned,” she says. “We’re having the best double-feature: Strange Brew and Slapshot.”

“I’ve been told by my consultants that’s more than enough time,” she says of the May 24 screening. “The movies will go ahead with or without the beer.”

BY SARAH BERMAN, VANCOUVER SUN

VANCOUVER—It’s one thing to earn millions of views, but the success of HBO’s True Blood is better measured by the lively, semi-religious devotion of its fans.

Not satisfied with watching the vampire drama alone, true “fangbangers” orchestrate screening parties, make webisodes of their favourite characters, write fan fiction or dissect series creator Alan Ball’s “anti-brunette agenda” online.

“I’m surprised often,” replies actress Kristin Bauer, who plays the acid-tongued vampire Pam de Beaufort. “That’s the interesting thing about this show—how much people want to participate and give back.”

Bauer will celebrate precisely this type of viewer dedication during Vancouver’s first Fan Expo this weekend. One of several celebrities appearing at the Vancouver Convention Centre, Bauer will sign autographs and field questions about her costumes and co-stars.

“All the women want to know what Alex Skarsgard is like, and if he’s as cute in person,” she says. “I always say he’s much cuter.”

Fan Expo Vancouver draws talent from every flavour of nerd culture—from comic illustrators to video game voice actors. And whether it’s camp, horror, action or anime you’re after, the program promises icons both past and present.

Original Batman co-stars Adam West and Burt Ward will be in attendance, along with vintage Star Trek: The Next Generation personalities Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi), John de Lancie (Q) and Michael Dorn (Worf). Not-too-distant television stars Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) and Nicholas Brendon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will also meet with fans.

Having toured conventions across North America, Bauer is familiar with the comic nerd scene. Growing up, Bauer says she even had a couple fangirl tendencies of her own.

“I loved anything supernatural or sci-fi,” she recalls of her youthful obsession with Anne Rice. “I loved science fiction books. Anything done well.” Coincidentally, prolific sci-fi novelist Spider Robinson will be signing autographs alongside Bauer Saturday afternoon.

Onscreen, Bauer plays a strong, strip club owner with a soft spot for great heels. Known for slinging sassy zingers in a southern drawl, Bauer’s character is the opposite of nerdy. Amplified by healthy doses of gory action and sexy scandal, the re-imagined Deep South vampire mysteries by Charlaine Harris have found a massive, thirsty following.

“I find a lot of people who love X-Men and those types of things love us, and also people who love zombies love us,” Bauer says, adding that the goth and horror crowds were on-board from the beginning. “It’s a show for everybody. Even my mother, who is seventy years old.”

Bauer’s character has become a crowd favourite in the latest seasons, thanks to HBO’s no-rules approach to explicit language. The network allows Pam’s creative profanity to shine through.

“Pam’s funny but she’s also accurate. I imagine we all enjoy seeing someone tell it like it is,” she says. Lucky for Bauer, it’s easy being mean on set. “For some reason it’s really easy to step into those shoes—those great pumps.”

When asked if her unfit-to-print one-liners spill over into daily conversation, Bauer says she’s always had a penchant for vulgarity. “I don’t think it was possible for me to swear more—I just love swearing,” she laughs. “I’m terrible, though I’ve learned to curb it in public.”

With so many of those signature four-letter words in the script, Bauer says the writing has a cathartic effect. “It might even make me a little more conservative at home, because I get it all out at work.”

Though many follow Pam for her provocative fashion sense, one thing you won’t see in her wardrobe is fur. “I always say that Pam doesn’t eat animals—she’s basically vegan,” Bauer says of her own views on animal protection. “She only eats free-range humans.”

Critics have picked up on the show’s allusions to civil rights movements—a clever touch that lends itself to repeated viewing. “I imagine [fans] love this stuff because it’s a great escape, but it’s also a metaphor for what we all deal with living on Earth,” says Bauer.

“There’s a lot in the show that you can enjoy at a deeper level,” she adds. “Plus the surface is pretty darn fun.”

Season 5 of True Blood kicks off June 10 on HBO.

Special to The Sun

Originally publshed April 19, 2012. Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/True+Blood+vampire+shows+fangirl+fangs+Vancouver/6479920/story.html#ixzz1t16YFP3B

Plays:Four | | photo by Steve Louie

BY SARAH BERMAN, DISCORDER MAGAZINE

Trippiness is a strange musical currency; value is so often predicated on the mind-altering substances consumed by its listeners. Having arrived stone sober at W2 to see Oneohtrix Point Never (Brooklyn-based Daniel Lopatin), this reviewer admits she was only adequately captivated by the synaptic soundscapes on offer Wednesday night. But as someone’s grandma might say: better to be challenged than bored.

Plays:four was a surprise local opener. Jonathan Scherk of 80(sun), Sam Beatch of Beamss and Ellis Sam of Flash Palace hovered around an island of laptops, samplers and effects gadgetry plunked in the middle of the W2 floor. Skittering psychedelia floated up over ambient, sometimes shiver-inducing bass drones. Loops veered from erratic to expansive, but remained accessibly stimulating. The trio’s youthful chemistry was impressive, but understated.

Pop Drones | | photo by Steve Louie

DJ Pop Drones, a.k.a. Mark Richardson, filled the segues between sets with a schizophrenic assortment of electronica and found vinyl. Video artist Merlyn Chipman built an analog feedback loop at the back of the room, where hand-waves across a toaster-sized television screen would produce kaleidoscopic blooms on four or five gigantic screens. Singeing fluorescents writhed at the edges, destabilizing the few recognizable samples in the music mix.

UK ex-pat Samuel Macklin performed next as connect_icut — a similarly drone-centric noise project. While all the openers were expertly selected for a Oneohtrix Point Never gig, this third session felt repetitive and caricatured, like a live-action animated gif. Anticipating the satisfying familiarity of Oneohtrix Point Never’s Replica and Returnal, I found it difficult to tuck in and contemplate Macklin’s artistry.

Oneohtrix Point Never | | photo by Steve Louie

Closer to midnight, the much-awaited laptop wizard Lopatin took the mic and matter-of-factly told someone in the crowd to fuck off. Maybe it was his mood, or maybe it was just a safe assumption that a majority of attendees were noise heads—either way, Lopatin launched into the more ragged bits of his early work, relying on frequent bursts of noise and feedback.

Looking at my notes, I saw phrases like “crash-landed chopper” and “caustic drudgery (in a good way?).” During the lighter bits I thought of the year Justice was popular (remember 2003?) or when videogames were still in two dimensions and emitted cutesy gun sounds. More organic moments approached an uncalculated Black Dice jam, while other chunks commanded patience. As some strange Russian-looking hieroglyphs rotated on the screens behind him, Lopatin shook his head while diving further into acidic territory.

Lopatin’s album tracks already invoke a certain element of anxiety and alienation, but in a live setting this is a constant top-of-mind affront. I didn’t feel that magnetic sense of nostalgia until he knowingly dropped the track “Sleep Dealer” much later in the set.

While there was a certain rawness to seeing Lopatin do his thing in person, the minimal setup nearly thieved the mystery of his signature spacey transmissions. At least for this reviewer, Oneohtrix Point Never is better experienced through headphones. I left feeling excited for whatever Plays:four is up to next.

Originally published April 18, 2012.

BY SARAH BERMAN, OPENFILE

In the heat of debate over the Rize development in Mount Pleasant, residents began to question the entire public consultation process. “It is not the developers that are the enemy,” Annabel Vaughan told the council chambers on Tuesday, February 28. “The enemy is the flawed process that the City uses for rezoning large development sites.”

Standing before the developer, city council and a long list of concerned speakers, Vaughan said surrounding residents and businesses should have been more meaningfully consulted before the design process even began. “The current public process brings out the worst in everyone,” she observed. “Developers and architects design projects in isolation and then land ‘spaceships’ into neighbourhoods.”

Vaughan said the City and public should generate specific goals and limits for a large site before it’s handed over to developers. “Together they [the City and public] produce a wish list for these complex sites that balances community aspirations with city goals,” she said. “This template is given to the developers and architects who then do what they do best—take a complex problem with constraints and make it economically viable and architecturally innovative.”

Vaughan’s frustrations hit a nerve. Urban issues journalist Frances Bula posted the speech on her blog, garnering dozens of comments in agreement. The Rize conflict points to the neighbourhood’s recently completed community plan, which offered little direction on future large-scale developments.

“Usually the City develops a community plan, which in the past has taken two to six years,” explains Councillor Andrea Reimer. “The plan usually involves thousands of people from the community, which provides direction on large sites and other policy.”

In theory, the Mount Pleasant Community Plan should have included Vaughan’s “wish list.” But the 33-page document takes broad strokes, and does little to outline specific constraints on large developments. “To the development company it looks like an open door,” says former city planner Trish French of the vague, qualitative plan. French spent 24 years in Vancouver’s planning department, before retiring in 2009. “The major development companies that work on multi-storey projects, they’re in the business of finding opportunities outside downtown … because there aren’t many places for them to go.”

Reimer says being specific is tough, and always cause for disagreement. “Council will read a plan that says ‘We want a tall building with rental housing for seniors.’ First you ask: what is tall? Six stories? Thirty? And then [who] is a senior? Seniors who need help? Or a certain age?”

“Rental housing is another argument,” she continues. “Do we want totally supportive social housing? Or partially subsidized housing?”

“It’s quite difficult in a broad community plan,” French agrees. French says the City shouldn’t waste resources on more intensive community plans. Instead, she suggests the City look at the way major projects like Langara College and the Vancouver General Hospital are planned, and apply a slimmed-down version to sites like the Rize.

“Those planning processes are a collaboration between the City and the developer and there’s a lot of early public consultation,” French says, adding that major institutions like Langara often pay for their own planning. “There’s a lot of different options presented—and real options, not phony options.”

In addition, French says the city needs to work on more detailed reports for each site identified as a future development—a practice that was used to develop the Oakridge Mall. “The plan might identify six or seven big sites in the area that need to be looked at,” she explains. “You can look at those in sequence, or have some kind of parallel process where you have a sub-team working on a site at the same time.”

French says a pre-emptive “policy statement” approach will put the City in the drivers seat, rather than developers. “Managing two levels of public consultation can be hairy, but you can do it,” French says.

No policy statement was completed for the corner of Kingsway and Broadway. Rize submitted its first inquiry to City council in April 2007, long before the Mount Pleasant Community Plan was completed.

Reimer says an engagement task force will look for ways to improve Vancouver’s public consultation process in mid-2012. “We’re very grateful to have people like Annabel putting so much time and energy into understanding this city,” she says. “None of this works without them involved.”

BY SARAH BERMAN, OPENFILE

You might think it takes a lot of equipment to record and edit vocals, instrumental tracks, field recordings and music videos for half a dozen different bands. But for one Vancouver performance artist with a penchant for singing on her bike, all it takes is an iPhone.

Prophecy Sun is a singer, dancer and creator whose curiosity keeps her moving. “For me it comes down to accessibility,” she says of her pocket-sized piece of gear. “First and foremost, it’s so immediate. I don’t have to worry about getting someone else involved, I can just press record and start doing it.”

Sun’s upcoming solo record is almost entirely recorded and edited on her phone—an achievement that required overcoming a few challenges. “The iPhone I find can’t handle low bass sounds very well, but generally it sounds pretty good,” she says. “It’s also a style of performance where I don’t mind if there’s a lawn mower in the background.”

When she’s not performing in bands like Spell, The Adulthood or Tyranahorse, Sun creates short video pieces that she says express emotion through movement. From orchestrating giant games of hopscotch to crawling into cupboards, digital phone recording lends itself to Sun’s on-the-go approach to art.

“I carry a tiny tripod with me, which fits into a little makeup bag,” she says. “That way I can just pull it out on the street. As an improviser, I will forget what I’m doing unless I record something right away.”

Sun’s creative presence is both restless and determined. Whether in transit or on stage, she’s constantly pushing herself to explore and compose in uncharted contexts. “When I’m biking around I record myself singing,” she says. “I’ll work on melodies and use those in tracks.”

From playing the theremin on her front lawn to commanding the reverberating force of an effects pedal, Sun’s solo work stands apart as raw sound and experience. “A lot of people really spend years working on an album, and that is really confusing to me sometimes,” she says. “For me it’s more about the process and just doing it.”

In her collaborative projects, Sun adds a fresh improvisational element to others’ more structured creative processes. “In Spell I’m working with a sound artist who is incredibly gifted using electronics.” With Kristen Roos behind the beats, Spell is also set to release a sophomore EP on the label Panospria in May 2012. “He does things at a different rate than I do—very methodic and gentle in his process,” Sun says. “I might record some vocals in the span of half an hour, and then just let it be.”

An app called Film Director helps Sun edit video pieces, while Voice Memo aids her field recordings. “I don’t want to give away all my secrets,” she laughs, adding that she’s learned to avoid large files which can crash her editing software.

Although her phone is constantly brimming with digital media, Sun says she can’t afford to buy new hardware. “There’s definitely a financial constraint there,” she says. “Most days I get by on the five buck in my pocket.”

While the technology isn’t perfect, Sun welcomes chance and imperfection into her creative process. “I would love it if I had a full set-up in my place that sounds immaculate and professional, but that’s not going to help when I’m out riding my bike.”

prOphecy sun plays a show with Chris-a-riffic at the Rickshaw Theatre tonight.

Originally published April 4, 2012.

Latest 3-D conversion technology promises better results than earlier efforts

BY SARAH BERMAN, VANCOUVER SUN

Before audiences step into the theatre, they’ll already know the ending of Titanic 3-D. (Spoiler alert: it sinks in all three dimensions.) But one unsettling question mark looms above the blockbuster’s re-release: can James Cameron credibly convert a 2-D classic into the eye-popping 3-D of Avatar?

“The reputation of 3-D is a little uneven at the moment,” explains David S. Cohen, film and technology critic at Variety magazine. Following the $2.7 billion success of Cameron’s Avatar, studios jumped onto the 3-D bandwagon in droves.

Early 3-D converts like Clash of the Titans rushed through the stereoscopic rendering process—with nauseating results. Many critics dismissed post-production conversion as fake 3-D, while others defected from the 3-D format entirely. In 2011, revenue from 3-D movies sagged by 18 per cent, despite the release of a record 47 3-D films.

But 2012 has seen a healthy resurgence in 3-D excitement—thanks in part to advances in conversion technology.

Tim Bennison of Gener8 digital effects studio in Vancouver is working hard to dispel last year’s “fake 3-D” narrative. The company’s chief operating officer says 2-D to 3-D conversion is inherently part of the process for all live-action 3-D films.

“Sometimes shots fail,” Bennison says of the “native” 3-D shooting process. Even with the latest 3-D rigs, misalignment and syncing issues can send productions back to square one. “You might think you’ve captured it, only to get back to the editing room and find out it’s all junk. Not good when expensive actors are waiting around.”

Glitches like this often mean hiring a company like Gener8 to fix up the stereoscopic effects. “In those instances your method of conversion really counts,” he adds.

To match films shot in 3-D from the beginning, Gener8 uses gaming software to build a virtual replica of each scene. ”It’s a special kind of animating that we call rotomation, because it matches the animation in the actual shot,” says Bennison, who previously developed video games for Radical Entertainment. “We’re used to building virtual worlds, so we came at it from a different angle than a lot of people.”

Earlier 3-D conversions used a technique called displacement mapping, which separates foreground and background and arranges depth subjectively. “It ends up looking like an embossing of the 2-D world,” Bennison says. “Like the raised letters on a greeting card.”

Gener8 isn’t only involved in touch-up work. In fact, the company claims it’s the first to offer this type of 3-D reconstruction at the scale of a feature-length film. “We feel we’re pretty well the only company that’s actually cracked the nut of being able to do this projection method on the scale of a full movie,” says Bennison. “Generally it’s much cheaper and low risk, too.”

Cost and payoff are especially challenging to predict for the newest batch of 3-D releases. From pricey re-shoots to unexpected retouching costs, producing a movie in native 3-D can quickly spiral out of control.

Originally published March 30, 2012. Read more:  http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Vancouver+studio+hails+conversion+brave+technology/6388081/story.html#ixzz1r06bj5lo

BY SARAH BERMAN, OPENFILE

Originally published Wednesday, March 28, 2012

For a third year in a row, Vancouver’s spring homeless count wrapped up late last night. Volunteers scoured alleyways, parks, shelters and hospitals to gather information about the city’s shifting homeless population.

“We ask where they stayed last night, what their age is, whether they’re with a spouse or child or other relative,” says Judy Graves, co-ordinator of Vancouver’s tenant-assistance program. Graves oversaw Metro Vancouver’s first homeless count in 2002. She says details like income, gender, physical disabilities and illnesses are also collected.

Although the province conducts a regional survey of homelessness every three years, in 2010 Mayor Gregor Robertson proposed a yearly count within city boundaries exclusively. In the wake of the Olympics, the Vancouver-only count aimed to track the progress of Vision’s promise to end street homelessness by 2015.

Last year’s count found that street homelessness decreased from 420 to 154, but that the number of homeless people in shelters climbed from 1,294 to 1,427. “What we found last year is that we’ve stabilized the number of people who are homeless overall,” says Graves. “We’re told by researchers all over North America that when you hit that point where it’s not growing higher, that’s the point when you can address the problem and be confident you’re on the right track.”

But even with the introduction of HEAT emergency shelters, Graves says there isn’t enough space to house the city’s most vulnerable. “We don’t have enough shelter for everyone to come in,” she says. “Our shelters are full to capacity every night.”

Volunteer training for the homeless count began last week. With a decade of experience under her belt, Graves shared her nuanced strategy for reaching out to men, women and children living on the streets. “First of all we let people know that this is not dangerous,” she explains. “People in the street respond with the same kind of treatment they’re given. When volunteers use good manners people will respond very positively.”

Graves says one of the most difficult parts of the job is identifying who is homeless. She suggests volunteers look for people walking with a different pace or gait. “For some, their feet are always sore, or their hips and back are sore from sleeping on cement,” she says. “It’s almost like everyone else is doing the same dance—but the homeless are often going to a different rhythm.”

According to Graves, making mistakes is also part of the counting process. “You may start talking to somebody who’s housed,” she says. “You’ve got to be prepared to give people the line and make a bit of a fool of yourself,” she says.

But as the cost of living steadily climbs, Graves says volunteers are often surprised by how widespread homelessness has become. “You’ll find far more homeless people than you knew were there,” she says. “You can trace it over time. As the cost of housing goes up, more people fall out of the housing system.”

West End MLA Spencer Herbert also participated in this year’s count: “Finished bushwacking in part of Stanley Park for Vancouver’s homelessness count,” read Herbert’s Twitter stream early Tuesday morning. The politician said he found abandoned camps and chatted with three homeless people. Graves herself completed a round of interviews at First United Church, and then partnered with Gregor Robertson for a morning street survey.

Although a Metro-wide count is scheduled for 2014, Graves says Vancouver is planning another municipal survey in 2013. “The city of Vancouver wants to measure every year,” she says. “This way, we have data within the city limits of Vancouver [as well as] the advantage of being able to access data all the way out to the Fraser Valley.”

Graves says provincial and federal funding is needed to maintain emergency shelters and transition people into affordable housing. The raw numbers from this year’s homeless count will be released at the end of April.