— read write play

Various forums now report that the pre-game meet for the Waverley freeze will be by the Scott Monument at 2.30pm, with the freeze now taking place on Rose Street or in Princes Street Gardens at 3.30pm.

Apparently there’s concern that too many people are planning to turn up for it to work in the station (which pretty much echoes what I was saying about Trafalgar Square earlier this week).

Hopefully it’ll still work out – planning to be there with camera in hand.

There’s something wonderful about an entry in Wikipedia explaining a LOLcat image in which a cat is – in turn – explaining that he’s editing an entry in Wikipedia.

Last week’s London Freeze offers up a few lessons for the Edinburgh edition.

The visual effect of the original US event seemed to come from the contrast between the realtively small number of frozen players and the steady flow of traffic (and, consequently, new “audience”) through Grand Central Station.

In contrast, Trafalgar Square was packed with people – with the seeming vast majority taking part in the freeze. So instead of frozen figures in a crowd, you get the image of individuals moving through a frozen mass. Consequently, the most striking moment in the video below is when the crowded square comes to a virtual halt.

I suppose the broader point is that the change in scale brings about a change in the audience dynamic – in Trafalgar Square, the “audience” were in the minority, out of the loop and out of the joke. It becomes less a spectacle for that audience, and more a collective event for the participants – inward facing, if you like. Not bad, still very cool, but decidely different.

Jump below the fold for a few more videos.

Note to any students – the course pages for Activism and Performance have been brought up to date with extended reading lists and are accessible through the links in the column on the far left.