ARROGANCE and SCANDALOUS - Fashion Fun

ARROGANCE by Diram was a fun shoot and subsequent film of a fashion show in Second Life that took place earlier this year featuring the "Arrogance" collection by couture designer, djod Karu. Karu is an imaginative, cutting edge designer and a delightful lady who I first met when I did a similar piece (discussed below) for the fashion show based on her "Scandalous" collection. I was flattered to be invited back by her and the folks at AVENUE Models to create this piece.

I've had a nice long association with Rusch, Jesika, Livia, the staff, and the Models at AVENUE. They are an ingenious group of marketing professionals and their fashion shows are always clever, inventive, and exciting.

I had to have some fun with the set, so I created the "crime scene" intro with the help of a few of my regular SSC&C actors, listed in the credits below, to grab the attention of viewers.

The choice of music underlying the show footage was also djod's idea, so I was happy that MFM Booking who owns rights, granted up permission to use the piece, "Bang It!" by Zoo Brazil with Gina Turner. Special thanks to Damien and MFM for expediting the process for me.

djod's sets always help me conjure up the story I want to tell with the piece and this one was no exception. I started imagining what I wanted to do the moment I saw the gritty and detailed location, so I had a good time doing this one. Also, one of my favorite pieces, of my own, was the one I mentioned above created for her "Scandalous" collection last year. I've included links to both pieces in this post, so check them both out, let me know which one you like better!

Enjoy!
Suzy





Fashion Show Produced by AVENUE Models
Stage Set and Design: djod Karu

Producer and Choreographer: Livia Mastroianni
Assistant Producer and Stage Manager: Emlies Xeltentat

DJ and Voiceover: Rusch Raymaker
PR and Publicity: Jesika Contepomi

AVENUE Models: 13 Cortes, Bety Dudek, Jesika Contepomi, Mimmi Boa, Seashell Dench

Film produced by Running Lady Studios
Director and Editor: K. DaVette See (SL: Suzy Yue)
Title Sequences: K. DaVette See (SL: Suzy Yue)
                           Rob See (SL: GnuEon Aeon)

Camera Operators: K. DaVette See (SL: Suzy Yue),  Rob See (SL: GnuEon Aeon)

Intro Film Noir
Actors Provided By: Suzy's Super Cast & Crew
Actors: Olaf Barbosa, KimberlyAnn Bieler, Lea56 Hyun, Cherry Mahogany, Aisling Sinclair, Dee Theas

Music
Bang It! Zoo Brazil/Gina Turner
Used with permission
Special Thanks to Damien at MFM Booking

Additional Music licensed through
Beyond Music www.musicbeyond.com

Scandalous



Featuring "Scandalous" collection by djod Karu of DIRAM.
Fashion show production by AVENUE Models.

Producer and Choreographer: Livia Mastroianni
DJ and Voiceover: Rusch Raymaker
PR and Publicity: Jesika Contepomi

Models
Mavi Beck
Tatiana Kuri
Liane Maertens
Vixie Raina
Gena Zeiler

Film by Running Lady Productions
Directed/Edited by K. DaVette See (SL: Suzy Yue)
Cinematography/End Credits by Rob See (SL: GnuEon Aeon)
Music Licensed through Beyond Music

On Actors and Second Life - The Actors' Sandbox, Part One

I love actors. I think the realization hit me only recently. I had another grand 90 minute session recently with The Actors' Sandbox in Second Life.

In case I haven't written about it yet, this is a collaborative effort between Running Lady, Corky Myrtle of Schoolhouse Earth and Wytchwhisper Sadofsky of TMU. Its evolving purpose is to allow actors of all levels of experience to come in and stretch a bit, do some scenes, discover and rediscover the tools of the trade, and generally relax and be actors together for an hour out of the day. At the same time, it is a place where directors and producers can come and observe these actors in preparation for casting of future projects. I'll post another blog on the evolution of The Sandbox and the particulars of the workshop sessions.

I'm excited about this project for a couple of reasons: it is providing a place for actors to hone their craft, and it is raising the profile of the role of "actor" in a virtual environment. In our case, it is Second Life that we focus on and in SL , frankly, the role of actor in machinima has been at best nebulous and at worst non-existent. For actors, filmmakers tended to grab the nearest avatar standing around, usually themselves, and basically place them in the shot as a prop.

In the last few years, I've worked to both seek out talented actors roaming the wilds of SL, and to show filmmakers that their films can be much richer and the experience of shooting a film can be greatly enhanced by using these talented actors. Not only talented, but trained, as well, in the craft of performing in SL.

I'm happy to report that the during the last three years, I have seen a rise in the both the awareness of an actor community in SL, but a desire to use these actors in films and live performances based in SL.

Here's to keeping that momentum going.

Introducing SSC&C: A casting agency for virtual worlds...really

Hi there!

I'm Suzy Yue (that’s me in the director’s chair on the right wearing the black turtleneck in the group shot – very artistic, right?). I suppose, more accurately, Suzy Yue is my avatar in Second Life (SL), an online virtual world created by Linden Lab (LL) five years ago. I say that LL created SL, but in truth, its residents, a diverse group of people from all over the world, created it. And all of them are trying, in their own way, to make their mark in this brave new world. That is what makes SL truly unique among all other virtual environments - it is the only one that can state that it is not a game. But more about that in later blogs :).

I am the owner/CEO/Artistic Director of Suzy's Super Cast & Crew (SSC&C), the group for whom this blog has been created. Just stopping in to say hi and welcome you to our new blog!

Yes, your read the blog title right. SSC&C is a casting agency, based in SL. Don't get you brain stem in a twist, it is not as bizarre as it might sound! Within Second Life and other virtual environments, just as in "real life", there are people who make movies. This art form is called machinima. SSC&C provides skilled, talented individuals to filmmakers, called machinimatographers or machinimists, and to others, who need cast and crew members for their projects.

I won't dive into the particulars of how that works here. I will tell you all about it in my next post. If you're just dying to know what machinima is, and can’t wait, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machinima where you will find a great explanation! And, please check out our page at www.runninglady.com/sscc to see clips from some of the projects we have worked on.

This blog is a place for us to tell you about SSC&C's past, present and future projects, and to share fun and funny stories from the set and from Second Life. I’ll be the primary voice for the blog, but our actors, designers, builders and scripters will also take turns as the mic and to fill in as guest bloggers.

Okay, that's it!
Talk soon!
Suzy