THE ALTERNATIVE PARTY INC INVITATION 14th-16th January 2005 Gloria Helsinki Finland http://www.altparty.org/ 28th Nov 2004 Invitation v1.0.1 Dear Madams and Sirs, we are please to invite you to one of the highlights of 2005. A computer party like no other. Read on to find out more on how you can participate in this most unique experience. Introduction ------------ What are demo parties? Traditionally they are a collection of computer enthusiasts, creating and competing with demos (realtime displays of special effects, graphics and music). The Alternative Party attempts to bring all of this to a wider audience of artists and people interested in digital media and experimentation. The demoscene, as a flourishing sub-culture, deserves to receive even more attention than it has so far. We attempt to question the boundaries of this area. To push it into new areas. This is the sixth Alternative Party. It is celebrating (or parodying) the notions of corporate image and identity. The disappearance of the individual behind brand names and corporate policy. Our lives are often bundled into jobs where we no longer exist as human beings. Becoming part of a concrete, unliving being, which controls our output, if not always our thought. Where free expression is discouraged and tinkering with personal goals and projects is considered a sin. How can someone want to create something outside their work? We are asking that people are given the right to offer opinions and views. That they are not merely cogs in machinery. That they have personality beyond a brand name. The Alternative Party has always attempted to be a force for change in the demoscene. Not all find this an easy proposal, but what is a culture without change? Without new ideas (even, occassionally, bad ones)? It gathers together a varying bunch of computer freaks, geeks and artists on machines of many different shapes and kinds. All working to show their skills, their ideas and their individuality to the world. The Alternative Party is crazy and weird, but it is also extremely fun. Where & when? ------------- 14th-16th January 2005. Gloria, Helsinki, Finland. Stage, light systems, smoke, video projectors, big P/A system, shower, A/V system, fast network connection etc. There are piles of pubs, restaurants, nightclubs and fast food places just round the corner. Exact address: Kulttuuriareena Gloria, Pieni Roobertinkatu 12, Helsinki, Finland. Doors open at 12:00 on Friday and close at 18:00 on Sunday. That's 10:00 and 16:00 GMT. It might be useful to point out that, if we're lucky, winters in Finland can get quite cold and snowy so be sure to dress accordingly. If we're unlucky it will be just wet and dark... How much? --------- If paid beforehand, the fee is 20 euros. This must be paid before December 15th. Please try to pay as soon as possible to help our pre-party organising and expenses. See http://www.altparty.org/?tickets for details. The fee can be paid after that date by arriving at the venue and paying at the door. Then the fee is 25 euros. The fee is the same for everyone. There are no separate fees for people without computers. Competitions ------------ General Rules * All entries must be submitted via our intranet - where applicable. * Use descriptive filenames. * At least one of the authors of the entry must be present at the party. * There may be pre-screenings during the party. Entries can be disqualified because of their content or, for example, because there is no machine the entry can run on. The organisers have ultimate power. * Any machine running a competition entry in the competition may not be connected to the Internet. The entries may contain features that use the net, but they must work without the net, too. Alternative Demo Competition * You know what a demo is, right? If not, see Wikipedia's description (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demo#In_Computers). * The purpose of this competition is to bring out new ideas in demos, whatever the platform and method. A field for creativity. * Maximum length is 8 minutes, or until we get bored. Dynamic Demos * We wish to continue to push this idea from Alt V as we believe it to be one worth exploring. * Dynamic demos will be shown twice as part of the main demo competition and will compete with the other demos there. * In addition, they will be ranked in their own series and the best will receive their own good prizes (TBA). Note that this means that a good dynamic demo can win two prizes - both in the normal category as well as the dynamic one. * The demo must be noticeably different every time it is run. It can use randomisation or evolution or any other technique to accomplish this. Your mind is the limit. * How exactly it should change is left for the participants to decide, though be warned that watching the same demo with only slight randomisation can be boring. * Untraditionally for demos, dynamic demos may write to the disk for the purpose of evolution. Telephone Queue Music Competition * Music to be played in a telephone queue or f.ex. a lift. * Maximum playing time is 45 seconds. * The entry should be in MP3 or OGG format. Logo Competition * Design a logo for Alternative Party. * Allowed file formats: SVG, PS, PDF, GIF, PNG, JPEG, TIFF Music Video Competition * Maximum length is 5 minutes or until we get bored. * The video must be delivered as an MPEG file. * The music or the video must not have been previously released or distributed. * The production must state the names of the artist and the song at the beginning of the video. Presentation Competition * You have ten minutes to give the audience a presentation using a microphone and a computer running either Microsoft PowerPoint or OpenOffice.org Impress. * A maximum of two people are allowed to participate in the presentation * The presentation file (one .ppt or .sxi file) must be submitted to organisers beforehand. You may not use other files. * You may use whatever you can embed into the file - macros, pictures, music - you name it. Most Obscure Computer Competition * As usual we will pick the most obscure, strange or rare machine or piece of hardware we can find. More competitions to be announced. Extras ------ The winners of the Text Mode Demo Contest will be presented in a special ceremony at the Alternative Party, and the demos shown. See more information at http://taat.fi/tmdc/ Sponsors -------- Fishpool Creations -- http://www.fishpool.com/ More to be announced. If you would like to help the event in any way, and gain respect and interest in your company from many skilled individuals, please contact Kristoffer Lawson, mailto:setok@altparty.org, tel:+358-40-7312273. The Alternative Party welcomes many creative people from the computer industry and is a great place to find out about new skills, ideas and people. Donations --------- We welcome any donations people are prepared to make to help what we think is a very good cause (the best party on the planet -- and other related events throughout the year). The donation can be anything, every bit counts. Please note that we do not do this for profit and none of the organisers get paid. All money goes directly into organising the event, prizes, artist and special guest travel and maybe on a very rosy day we might sometimes be able to pay the artists something for everything they have done ... See http://www.altparty.org/?donations for information. Community --------- The Alternative Wiki can be reached at http://www.altparty.org/wiki/. It is a freely editable community site for information on the demoscene and other forms of art. As with all Wiki sites, there is no central control. Anybody can easily edit old pages and add new pages. Reach us on IRC on channel #altparty, IRCnet. Information about mailing lists etc. at http://www.altparty.org/?services Yeah, I'm coming! Who else is coming? ------------------------------------- Add your name or check other names at: http://www.altparty.org/~altwiki/cgi-bin/wiki.cgi?action=Browse&id=_List_of_People_Coming_to_Alt6_ You might also want to check Orange Juice's list: http://www.ojuice.org/next/799/party_coming.htm More information ---------------- Our website is continuously updated: http://www.altparty.org/. If the website does not answer your questions feel free to email Kristoffer Lawson, mailto:setok@altparty.org, or phone +358-40-7312273. The Alternative Party Inc is organised by Alternative Party ry, a non-profit organisation registered in Finland, and is a collaborative effort between many groups. Yours sincerely, Kristoffer Lawson || Setok / Aggression