Tim, Paul, Matt, Rob, Sam and I went to the Sights and Sounds Conference which was held at Salford University last Thursday and Friday.  I presented a paper with Sam that reflected on a David Bowie documentary he produced to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Bowie's visit to New Zealand the online fan response to the documentary.  The PowerPoint slides can be viewed below.  Our presentation went well, surprisingly it was the only presentation to focus on radio documentary.  I am hoping that we will find the time to finish writing the paper over the next few months and that it can be included in a forthcoming text on music documentary. 

It was also good to talk Euro-Cult cinema with Benjamin Halligan, author of a very well researched text on Michael Reeves, and spend an evening chatting with the director of the excellent documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2006), Jeff Feuerzeig.  His upcoming film on Tiny Tim sounds fascinating, providing that he secures funding.  Other conference delegates were very warm and friendly, and the conference meal at the Turkish Restaurant, Cafe Istanbul was outstanding. On the Friday morning we found time to fulfill Sam's request and travel along Coronation Street to Salford Lad's Club, which was famously featured in the music video for There is a Light That Never Goes Out by The Smiths.  A group picture was a must.  I do not usually enjoy conferences but thought this was the best one that I participated in so far. 

One of the chapters of my PhD thesis investigates t-shirt production in the Euro-Cult cinema fan community.  Having being inspired by Jonny's excellent T-Shirt designs over at the lovelockandload and the more unusual designs over at Giallo T-Shirts I have opened my own Spreadshirt shop in order to better understand the production process.   With some help from Jonny, I produced my first design: the logo for Dario Argento's Profondo Rosso (1975).  I have always wanted a T-Shirt inspired by this film and not having ever come across a decent one I decide to design my own.  I ordered the T-Shirt from Spreadshirt on Thursday and it arrived today.  I have ordered from Spreadshirt before and have always been impressed with their quality.  I chose to use the flock print method with gives the lettering a felt effect.  Though the design is somewhat basic it looks better than I had hoped.  If anyone reading this would like one you can order it through my Spreadshirt shop.  If all goes well, I will be uploading some more Euro-Cult inspired designs over the coming weeks.

I recently completed a chapter of my PhD fan film production in the Euro-Cult cinema fan community, focusing on the Fantom Kiler film series.  An abridged version of this chapter will hopefully be published in a forthcoming edited collection on serial killer fandom.  Here is the abstract for the book chapter:

The giallo film was based on pulp crime novels that were popular in Italy from wartime onwards, the popularity eventually leading to film adaptations of several giallo stories.  A typical giallo film narrative will feature a crazed black- gloved serial killer murdering beautiful women in varying in exaggerated fashions.  In the early 1990s British and American horror film fans learnt about the giallo in fan publications such as Giallo Pages and European Trash Cinema which created interest and paved the way to forming a Euro-Cult fan culture centred around the giallo film.  Euro-Cult cinema itself is a fan determined category Not only do fans discuss the films in online communities but also actively produce texts for distribution amongst the fan network. 

I will examine the Fantom Kiler series of films, fan produced re-imaginings of the giallo film and demonstrate them as examples of ‘slash’ production; a form of fan production that particularly focuses on serial murder and highly sexualised violent content.  ‘Slash’ production is not just exclusive to fan film making but also other forms of fan production such as fanzines, clothing and DVD production. It also considers fan reactions to the Fantom Kiler film series.  Building upon textual analysis, this piece will raise theoretical and methodological questions, reflecting on the author’s developing research and personal understanding of the fan culture as a fan scholar.  The Fantom Kiler series further illustrates the contemporary fascination with the serial killer and allows for a new consideration of how fan cultures are researched and considered.

On Wednesday I presented the paper I gave at the Transforming Audiences 2 Conference on fan DVD production to my research group peers at Birmingham City University.  My colleague Andrew Dubber was kind enough (no hint of sarcasm there at all) to take a picture of me at the end of the presentation when I was fielding questions.  Though I felt that I gave a better presentation at the Transforming Audiences conference, the response from my colleagues was much more positive, having a number of useful comments.  I was quite surprised at how different it is presenting to your peers compared to presenting to strangers at a conference.  I think I prefer the latter. 

On Friday September 4 I presented a paper at the second Transforming Audiences conference based at the University of Westminster.  The paper was based on a chapter of my PhD that focuses on fan DVD production.  Here is the abstract of the paper:

The Fans Reserved 25 Copies

From Amateur to Professional: Fan DVD Production in Euro-Cult Cinema Fandom

The ubiquity of home computing technology and the World Wide Web has presented fans with the opportunity to create online networks to engage in discussion based on their interests.  In addition, the availability of desktop publishing software and video production software, both free and illegally obtainable online, has allowed fan production to become professionalised.  The distinction between amateur and professional fan production is becoming blurred.  This form of fan production is best exemplified in Euro-Cult cinema fandom.  Fans are engaged in the building of fan DVDs, using industry standard video editing software and DVD authoring software to produce composites versions of commercially unreleased Euro-Cult films, particularly those which are commonly referred to as gialli.  These DVDs are then distributed through fan networks and online file sharing technologies.

Drawing on my knowledge as both a fan and a researcher of Euro-Cult cinema, as well as an active producer of fan DVDs, I adopt an ethnographic approach to examining this particular phenomenon.  In addition, this piece will raise theoretical and methodological questions about the study of fan audiences, drawing on the author’s developing post-graduate research.  It also builds on the current lack of work in the area of fan production, itself an oft-neglected area of study, and draws on contemporary issues such as copyright, social media and modes of distribution. This example of fan DVD production in Euro-Cult cinema fandom offers a new perspective on how fan cultures are considered and researched.

Despite feeling unwell and being on the final panel of the last day of the conference I thought it went down quite well.  A pdf of my PowerPoint presentation is also included here.  Now I just need to finish the chapter.