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Media System | Silenziostampa!, originally uploaded by densitydesign.

“Silenziostampa” è un progetto d’informazione d’alto livello qualitativo, il cui obiettivo è il superamento dell’agenda setting temporale. Monitorando le notizie si punta ad offrire un’informazione continua e costante dei fatti, a differenza dei media tradizionali, che tendono ad abbandonare le notizie e a seguirne solo i colpi di scena.
Fulcro del progetto è un portale web, in cui sono pubblicati gli articoli organizzati per temi. Gli articoli sono in parte prodotti ad hoc da giornalisti ed esperti professionisti chiamati a collaborare con “silenziostampa”, in parte rinvenuti su altre testate provenienti da tutti i Paesi. Gli utenti sono invitati a collaborare al reperimento segnalando articoli interessanti alla redazione, che si preoccupa di verificarne il potenziale contenuto informativo e quindi di pubblicarli.
L’articolo è accompagnato, nel primo caso, da nome, professione e foto dell’autore, in modo da responsabilizzarlo maggiormente, nel secondo caso dal nome della testata da cui è stato estratto.
Della pubblicazione on line è prevista una declinazione cartacea: in collaborazione con lulu.com vengono stampati, prettamente su richiesta dell’utente, libri monotematici che ogni tre mesi raccolgono gli articoli riguardanti una notizia, consentendo di archiviare e aggiornare continuamente il tema.
Si prevede che Internazionale dedichi a “silenziostampa” una rubrica stabile, che settimanalmente riporti sinteticamente il meglio del sito.
Il progetto è comunicato da una campagna stampa e da un’azione, oltre che da un numero dell’internazionale che dedichi a “silenziostampa” copertina e annesso articolo.

(the diagram)

Media System | Kilibri, originally uploaded by densitydesign.

Lunga vita alla lettura!
All’interno del sistema dei media italiano, abbiamo analizzato e approfondito le caratteristiche e le problematiche del sistema editoriale e in particolare quello librario.Le case editrici posseggono varie collane editoriali specializzate in differenti tematiche, ma tutte sono accomunate dallo stesso problema dei fondi di magazzino invenduti.
Kilibri è un nuovo editore che riunisce sotto di sé tutte le maggiori case editrici e si propone di ‘salvare i libri condannati al macero’ dandogli una seconda chance con la vendita dei libri a peso. Inoltre vuole affiancare alla vendita dei fondi di magazzino anche quella dei libri usati portati sul punto vendita dagli stessi utenti, in modo tale da rafforzare la loro partecipazione attiva all’iniziativa.
La filosofia di Kilibri si basa sui concetti di riciclo e recupero delle risorse librarie inutilizzate, portando anche l’attenzione sui temi dell’ecologia e del rispetto per l’ambiente. Perché anche riciclare la carta ha un costo, non solo a livello economico, ma anche per l’ambiente. Senza pensare alle tonnellate di pagine da leggere che finiscono ogni anno al macero.

(the scenario)
(the diagram)

Cinematographic System | Another point of view, originally uploaded by densitydesign.

The cinema system tends increasingly to promote only the movie event.
For some titles media coverage is even exaggerated, and often entirely uncritical, while a number of other movies deserving culturally, artistically interesting, socially challenging, often, are totally ignored and then remain unknown to the general public. The research carried out between 2000 and 2007 on movies financed by the State, certifying that more than 40 movies are not available on DVD and are therefore devoid of vision. We want to create an event travelling in a university that can promote these movies, with also an alternative distribution.
The spread of these movies lead to the possibility of being able to carry out further investigation on the approval of the this movies and on expectations that generate among young people, can make it possible to eliminate the elements of obstacle in promoting and the development of the positive elements. We are a member of an association for the cinema, FAC (National Committee for the promotion of movie art and culture), which is calling for the promotion of movie culture. We promote exhibitions of unknown movies or little quality views, care publications of Italian movies authors and reporting periodically quality movies among those in circulation.
Our action is a promotional event that will visit the major universities of Italy with an itinerant truck. The truck will be set up like a small movie theater and allow students to be able to see movies without distribution on dvd. The students can also buy these movies with dvd on demand, and they can also help the diffusion of these movies. The name of our project is “Another point of view”, and intends to emphasize the purpose of the initiative, promote the financed movies without distribution on dvd to be revised under another point of view. It also provides a new window for these movies that deserve to be widely used and have another chance to be understood and appreciated by the public. Our sponsor are MIBAC (Ministry of Heritage and Cultural Activities) that provides funding for groups or entities that organize events to promote movie-making activities in Italy (pursuant to Article 19 of Legislative Decree 22 January 2004, n. 28), also inside and outside the truck, LCD screens will be used in thanks to HANNSPREE a new tecnology brand.
There are two ways to collect data among students: interviews conducted by some people outside the truck, and a questionnaire placed on the back of the ticket, to mail in a box after seeing the movie.
The questions investigate the degree of knowledge of the films, directors and actors; expectations and tastes of the audience, on topics and the possibility of the dvd purchase.
The event will cross twenty Italian universities, one for each region, during the entire academic year from October to July.
The quality films financed by the state involved in the event are 20, selected according to different movies.
Everyday (from Monday to Friday) the are four projection 10-13-15-18 with 4 different films from 10.00 AM to 20.00 PM.
On the outside of the track will be mounted a large LCD screen that will send a blob of films offered throughout the day, to attract the students and book shows.­
We expect that students can help the diffusion of this type of cinema and raise awareness to our initiative.

(the diagram)

Cinematographic system | Movieit, originally uploaded by densitydesign.

The main idea is a “place” (a website) in which the Italian Cultural Ministry (MiBAC) could provide suitable information about the processing of a movie production, from funding approval to shooting‐start, from post‐production to release date, in order to create a sort of beneficent expectation to whom the website users are called to participate as upcoming movie‐goer, uploading many types of contents (photos, videos, news, interviews, opinions, biography and careers editing…).
The whole process is sustained by user‐partecipation. From the first step to the last, we’re going to ask for contribution. Our goal is letting the users to raise consciousness about their role inside the net they are creating. Film students, directors, actors, producers, distributors… all of them become an active node of this network, facing the problems of the system through their direct involvement.

The project consists of three steps:
Action
A pantomime is performing at film academies and communication faculties: he’s trying to mime public funded movies titles. Of course nobody can get the right titles because the distribution of these movies can reach very few people. So people will mix them up with other famous films. At this point the students will receive a promocard from the pantomime, through which they will be redirected to the website of the Let’s Movie It contest. Here brief and rules about the contest will be available.
Beside the pantomime’s performance some rolls of so‐called toilette‐film (a particular toilette paper created on purpose to resamble a real film) will replace the real toilette papers in the school bathrooms. These gadgets have the intention to inform students about the lack of information around the public funding system.

Call for ideas
Partecipating students can send their works to the contest website. Their spots should make people aware of the system weakness and meanwhile promote the website itself. Everyone can watch these videos on the website and make comments on them. At the of the contest, a choice of the best spots will be shown in some selected cinemas.
Awareness and promotion
Through the selected cinema network the spots made by the students can gain the attention of a wider audience. Users can now get involved in the community of the wiki, by adding new contents or just getting information about the operation and the returns of the public cinema funding. A special toolbox will grant the users to analyze and observe the current situation of the entire system rather then a specific element of the net.

(the scenario)
(the diagram)
(the site)
(the wiki)
(the net)

Cinematographic sytem | Cinecrazìe, originally uploaded by densitydesign.

Italian Cinema System is afflicted with problems and unsatisfied needs. These cause the movies to reach a really small audience, to be screened just as a technical issue or to be unable to find a distributor. Creating a new alternative distribution channel could help these movies in changing their status from “non-dead”, giving producers and directors the chance to reach a larger amount of audience. Problems slowing the distribution process are usually economic ones. Therefore, it is really important to figure out a way to cut expenses.
The printing of the film is a fixed cost for all distribution companies and it’s so high to it results in just a few films being in a few theatres around the country.
Promotion is another expense that’s usually difficult to manage for a small distribution company without funds from others.
It’s so obvious to consider digital media as the perfect answer to these distribution problems.
Converting movies in a digital format is a fast and cheap alternative, which allows an unlimited distribution in time and spaces, thanks to Internet.
The Web will be the new distribution channel, allowing all users to download movies which are now esclusively property of the Government. With the approval of conductors, producers and the Minister of Culture, movie files can be downloaded from different sources and reproduced across different players, suiting the appropriate format.

Cinecrazìe
In order to push the Government to applying the strategy, this new possibility for funded movies has to find a large resonance.
We can argue without doubts that if a movie is pubblically funded so it is a movie of the community and everybody is its owner.So why isn’t it possible to see it? Cinecrazìe want to satisfy this claim: projecting movies all around Italy for free, without an advanced notice in areas in suburbs, where cultural events are sledom promoted and where citizens are abandoned by institutions. Bringing Cinema of everybody to everybody, especially to people who will difficulty have other cultural possibilities, is the mission of the initiative.
This will make of the projections a temporary channel and an alterative to the traditional theatres, waiting for its place to be taken, or at least helped, by the new digital distribution model.
Replacing the Dêmos (people) of Democracy with Cinema, Cinecrazìa (Cinecracy) makes them synonyms: where the people is there is cinema of people and for the people.
The movement is designed to allow easy imitability and virality along the national territory.
Each single Cinecrazìa group has an autonome life, but is linked to other ones throught a web of blogs affiliated to the central one, supplying them instruments supporting their organisation and communication.

Who? What?
The many subjects involved in the Cinema System build up a pretty simple network.
Production, director and movie together mold a triangle. The movie links up to the Distributor.
With activities diffused all along the country, the local Cinecracies may temporary replace traditional distribution companies. Cinecracies can effectively broad the audience for minor movies, forgotten production and unreviewed directors. Cinecracies should establish relationships with directors, in order to obtain the leave to screen the movie, approving and some legal coverage.
The director, by allowing the local screening, raises his and his movie’s popularity. Media can no more ignore the movement once achieved the necessary critical mass. They will make possible confrontation between Cinecrazìe and the istitutions. The ‘screenings volounteers’ will be the audience’s spokespeople and representative of Italian cinema’s issues. Directors inside the the protest legitimate it and amplify its reach.

(the scenario)
(the diagram)

Contemporary Art System | TE-S, originally uploaded by densitydesign.

“For Contemporary Art there are therefore essential requirements needed: something created by someone and a process that results in a social setting, that is an effective frame, something like art.”
(Alessandro Dal Lago and Serena Giordano, 2006)

It seems, in fact, that the production and enhancement of artistic is determined only by the logic of the market and the discourse on art. Initially we have analyzed the system of Contemporary Art in Italy in the last two years from the point of view of twelve breakthrough artist.
The representation of the system reveals how the process of defining value of the work is not dependent strictly by artists but involving different actors and how some dynamics of the system remain deliberately hidden.

It is important to understand which are the effective relations between the actors and then who, between them, influences most the valorization of an art work or an artist.

In fact the Contemporary Art System is ruled by logics that make hard the admittance for new players. Critics, galleries and curators, through their choices, confer on someone the artist status, without which it is impossible to be admitted to the spaces that the system gives.
The normal affirmation way of an aspiring artist plans lots of time, capacity for public relations and much luck. Therefore they will use specific actions which will reduce the time of this phase.
Aspiring young artists create a shared purposes manifesto and a growing collective that could promote the use of a temporary non-conventional spaces (not usually dedicated to the art) to realize their actions. So temporary visibility opportunities could be created, opportunities in which they could take part, exploiting public places and promoting their artistic activity.

For reaching their purpose, they want to take possession of urban spaces with temporary exhibitions for everybody. For everyone who has something to show (painter, designers, performers, …) and for everyone who wants to look round.
They want to cut out spaces from the city of Milan and to give these spaces a new meaning, taking the art in the places of everyday life.
For creating the collective, they have to spread their ideals and to communicate the identity of their movement, but they have a small money budget for realizing the project.

From TEMENOS metaphor to TE-S naming.
The greek temenos term (holy fence) expresses well the urban appropriation concept that the aspiring artists promote.
They set up a movement based on three fundamental concepts:
To cut out, to enclose and to fill in (with a new meaning) a space.
We have decided to start from this greek word to find a significant name for the movement. From temenos to TE-S (in italian is TE meno S) that it is also the acronym of TEmporary Spaces.

For reaching the purpose of the movement is necessary to spread the intents of the primary group of aspiring artists: strong communicative actions to attract new people that share the same purposes and the same thoughts.

After what the same people recruited in the first phases of the communication in their turn will be able to become communication vehicle to spread the message in a “viral way” and “infect” new individuals through the emulation of the actions proposed from the primary group. When the group will be big enough, the event will be possible.

We foresee that the whole process will be realize in about 10 weeks, and during this period the aspiring artists who started the initiative will be able to infect (in a direct way with their actions or in an indirect way with the emulations of the actions) at least about twenty of people and organize the event, but we foresee that several cycles of this process will be necessary to arrive to the formation of a more numerous collective. We assume that for the formation of a collective of 100 people are necessary at least three cycles.

The communicative strategy of the project foresees two phases:

1. TEASER PHASE in which we want to create notoriety about the TE-S movement and through which we want to transmit the first two fundamental concepts : subtract (to cut out) spaces at the city and to enclose them. Through this phase we want to start a “contagion” which exploits the actions of the new supporters of the movement to spread the “virus”; the spectators of the communicative action are in fact invited to emulate it and share it with the supporters of the movement through the TE-S web site.
   Purpose:
   To attract the attention, to impress the “spectators” through a strong impact action and to invite the aspiring artists/common people to create an own space of visibility through a similar action (which will have to be photographed or filmed and put on the web site).
   Message supports:
   Pay off “Cut out your space” is the verbal element which summarizes in a strong and incisive way the message of the campaign, or better, the invitation of the first phase of the communication campaign,
   Action of urban reappropriation (in which will be used: a personalized yellow/black ribbon and a TE-S cardboard box),
   Action-flyer,
   Action-pack,
   Stickers,
   Web site.
   Target:
   The teaser phase turns to a wide target (aspiring artists and common people) because we want to create a general interest about the movement and to spread the knowledge to the greater number of people.
   Where:
   Passage zones highly frequented to obtain high visibility.
2. CAMPAIGN OF EVENT COMMUNICATION, through which we will communicate the date and the place of the event to those that will adhere to the movement, and also to all the people who want to be present or to take part in this event in a direct way.
   Purpose
   To Communicate the date and the place of the event to the people registered on the movement and a more generic audience composed by people who live, work or study in Milan.
   Message support
   Pay off “Fill in your space”, for expressing the new concept of the reconversion introduced in the second communicative phase (through their works the aspiring artists will change the space, previously took away from the city, and so they will reconvert it in a free expression space),
   Poster,
   Flyer,
   Web site,
   Mailing,
   SMS.
   Target
   Aspiring artists of the movement and people that live, work or study in Milan and that could be interested in taking part to the event like participants or visitors.

(the project web site)
(the scenario)
(the diagram)

Contemporary Art System | Entrata d’emergenza, originally uploaded by densitydesign.

Six young friends, just degree at Accademia of Brera, Milano, in different courses, want to show to the world what they can do.
For this reason they would create a new product, external to what is traditional, unlinked to the market lows that often rule the world of Arts.

It is a periodical output, which shape changes each time.
It has closed number, bimonthly, for a term of one year: so every member of this group can takes care of a number, both in graphics and materials.

This output has as principal theme the concept of emergency entrance in the city of Milan, a way to emerge also in areas in which Arts seem to have few spaces.
Each number will have a different sub-theme, which is about an area of Milan external to the centre. Around this theme the shape of the output, the contents and the event at which the readers will take part are created.

So it will change the shape of the output and the way of use, that have to make agree with the theme.
It will change also what is asked to the readers to take part at the event. This event will happen in the chosen area and it is related to the theme too, both in the way it is done and in the kind of the sharing of the readers.
Then, in that place, it will be left a work, made by the young that took care the event. This work shows what he considers the concept of entrance and it will be given to the city as testimony of the event.

Particularly in each number there will be:

• Deepening about the area: a descriptive part in which there are news and images about the area and particularly about the feature that brought to the choice of the theme;
• Information about the creator: in this section the young who created the number can speak about his self, his works and how he created the output;
• Information about the event: a section in which there is the information to take part to the next event related to the theme and the area of the number.

This output will have to solve two principal tasks: to permit to the members of the group to show themselves and to involve persons of Milan in projects and events made to know, live and revalue every area of Milan.

For this reason on decided to don’t create a simple periodical output, but to correlate it to a series of events that end in a final event that gathers every experience of the past year.

• Thanks to this series of events the group of young men can have a good visibility and resonance, also if in Milan.
• Thanks to these events also readers, so the audience, that usually has a role of simple observing, can be involved and feel himself as an artist.
• Both outputs and events take place in strict relation with the city,
• It is possible think about a same project also in other Italian or foreign cities.
• This kind of project may also be repeated in the future for example in a second edition of the initiative.

(the scenario)
(the diagram)

Dense Faces, originally uploaded by densitydesign.A quick open day exhibition reportage

Density Open Day, originally uploaded by densitydesign.

February the 13rd; presentation/exhibition of the final works.
Room CT 50 (1st floor), N building, Bovisa Campus, Politecnico di Milano.