Cutting just a few corners.

There seemed to be a mutual consensus that the protocol activity was a little more challenging than the situational shuffle. What came through in presentation was a myriad of interpretations in the initial challenge, to the journey to the presentation and we dug below the surface to think about exactly why we each got to what we had before us on the walls.

Like many other groups, I will definitely admit to perhaps not reading through the instructions as thoroughly as I should have which then made the task a little more difficult when it came time to navigate through the city and we too felt the crunch of the one hour time limit.

Intended or not, I feel that time constraints are often good for pushing creativity and you're forced to refine back your ideas to the best and basic which again brings me to a quote, something along the lines of "a design is finished not when there is nothing left to add, but nothing left to take away." Some of us got a little caught up in all the special abilities we could give our characters as opposed to a simple protocol and method of movement. James made an interesting point that this is something that perhaps comes with our generation of gaming where characters often have a myriad of these special ablilites and so that was what a lot of us chose to immediately bring to the activity.

Some groups chose to present focused more on the route or path, some on the characteristics of their piece and others on what they encountered on the journey. Lots of groups played with the imagery of the chessboard and squares while some removed it altogether. The character my group came up with, The Jester, moved two forward and one diagonal which we mapped out in square photographs and cut out shapes of the building which represented these unites moved, hence focusing more on the path. It wasn't as strong visual impact as it could've been and if I was to do it again, I would've probably chosen a different medium to try move away from something so similar to what we did the previous day.

As a class we discussed the importance of this variation of presentation mediums and scale and choosing what is most suitable for what you are presenting. I found it easy to stick to one of my strongest mediums, that of photography and my easy access to a proper photo printing lab so I have identified this as a comfort zone I need to move out of, perhaps by taking a different role within the group.

We again touched on the purpose or meaning behind the activity and I liked the point that was made relating the protocol of the chess piece to the protocols we create for ourselves in life through our ethics and morals which then define the paths we take and decisions we make. Relating this to my thoughts on the activity, I saw the meaning as an exploration of the infinite amount of possible paths through the city which can then go to say that there are an infinite amount of possible paths to take through life and as we each abide by our own protocol and set of values. Like the chess pieces, these paths often intersect or one's path is obstructed by another . Unlike the chess pieces, it is these interactions which can perhaps change our protocols or way of thinking which can then alter our paths and this again brings me back to the concept of social interaction as means of exploring and creating.

So with our first week of the BCT over, after both some pyscial and mental exercise, I feel the acivities were worthwhile and successful both in the generating ideas and friendships. I think working on the walls of the studios was a very good method of working as it was very hands on and it means that within the shared space, we can go around and interact with the groups' ideas and methods. Within the same space of one week, I've spent a void of time on cramped busses, run a few circuits of the city in rain, shine and howling wind, uphill and downhill, snapped a hundred or two photos (yet I myself only managed to turn up in one) , learnt about 20 names and forgotten half, and somehow managed to injure my knee along process. Imagine what can be achieved in the next 23 more to come!