Big Psomm 2

Describe your idea and concept of your work in relation to the festival outlines:

This is a documentary movie about an experimental event, which has happened in the virtual world of Second Life. Participants had to choose between especially created avatars and become them. Each avatar was a piece of one giant avatar. At least 20 people are needed to construct and play Big Psomm 2 ( the name of this giant avatar). Even so, people in fewer numbers can have fun just to try and make it. Other times, on the contrary, Big Psomm 2 had an extra head or thigh. Big Psomm’s parts weren’t realistic or easily recognizable. That made the task harder to accomplish, but on the other hand, it provoked improvisations.

From the beginnning, participants collaborated and made a lot of efforts to connect into one. They all intensively communicated by chat, which sometimes covered the whole screen. It was all happening in an atmosphere of fun. Most people didn’t know each other beforehand, but being part of the same body was uniting them. Spontaneously they became a team, or teams, in which every single person played some different role, because of his choice of body part avatar and his behaviour. Leaders, innovative persons, followers, rebels, they all came up to the surface.

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The project was not especially created for the festival, but in many points it is related to the outlines.
First of all, playing together one organism, collaborating was building a mini-society. There was no special advertising in world of Second Life, no prize to win, and no real goal, but people spontaneously participated and played as lower-leg, nose, hand or whatever for hours and communicated to other users. They left for a moment their individual avatars and adventures for conscious being a part of something bigger. It was not maybe “LOVE” -but the relationship which has happened between participants could be described as intimate and friendly.
There is stereotype that people in digital worlds, being anonymous, could mostly create mess and chaos. I realized that they rather try to organize themselves into teams, if they find opportunities. It is all depending, who and how is creating those opportunities. There is possibility to use a “POWER”, as being creator, all participants were somehow visually formatted by me, there is always possibility to format them in a different way, to consumers (if they need to pay for participation, or if I include there commercial), to a political group (if I manipulate them smartly), or just dominated subordinates (if I start to instruct them). What I did, I just gave out and shared the toys, it didn’t provoked any “CONFLICT”.

What kind of communication approach do you use?

The project is about alternative possibility of communication in the virual worlds.

What are in your opinion concrete benefits to the society because of your communication?

That there are many possibilties we could cooperate, communicate, create groups or just be together and it is worth to search some alternative ways, because those ways could become inspiring frames for our activities. We get used to much to 'cold' networking systems.

What did you personally learn from creating your submitted work?

I think i answered this question in the field of description, I would like not to repeat myself.

Why is your work, GOOD communication WORK?

This is a unique documentary of the unique experiment.
10 minutes destilled selection from few days of Big Psomm's life.

Where and how do you intent do implement your work?

The best way to show the movie is a big screening from the file i will upload (no dvd, but file). Then chats, tags and movement of participants are easy to follow.
Additionally it is possible to put a computer/s with Second Life installed to allow visitors play in "Big Psomm 2".

Did your intervention had an effect on other Media. If yes, describe the effect? (Has other media reported on it- how? Were you able to change other media with your work- how?)