Dorkbot Orlando Home Page

WHAT

Please check the events page for information on upcomming meetings.

dorkbot-orlando is a monthly meeting of artists (sound/image/movement/whatever), designers, engineers, students and other interested parties from the Orlando/Central Florida area who are involved in the creation of electronic art (in the broadest sense of the term.)

the purpose of dorkbot-orlando is to:

give artists/programmers/engineers an opportunity for informal peer review
establish a forum for the presentation of new art works/technology/software/hardware
help establish relationships and foster collaboration between people with various backgrounds and interests
give us all a chance to see the cool things that our neighbors are working on

imaginary presentation topics:

a demo of the new motion tracking software you're writing
playing a video you made
an explanation of how you hacked your game boy to get it to make cool bleeping noises
trouble shooting/brainstorming your remote-controlled sandwich making robot
bringing in some dancers you're working with and having them demonstrate the interface used in your new mind-control ballet
discussing your approach to electronic sculpture

demos of commercial software are not appropriate, unless you wrote the software or you are making it do something particularly novel or interesting. on the other hand, presenting a piece that was created using commercial software is fine.

dorkbot-orlando meetings are free and open to the public. space at some events may be limited, so you are encouraged to rsvp to help us make adequate arrangements for each event. rsvp at: dorkbotorlando@dorkbot.org

WHO

dorkbot-orlando meetings are hosted by Fullsail. they are coordinated by Sam Horton and Douglas McDonald. the email address for dorkbot-orlando is: dorkbotorlando@dorkbot.org .

WHEN

dorkbot-orlando We will aim to have our meetings on the 4th Saturday of each month at 7:00pm. Please check the events page for more information.

WHERE

dorkbot-orlando meetings take place at Fullsail Real World Education (building 3 room 115). (map)

HOW

to attend a dorkbot-orlando meeting, let us know you're coming via email or just show up and hope there's room. to give a presentation at a meeting please email us and we will schedule you as soon as possible. see below for details on giving presentations.

MEETING FORMAT

dorkbot-orlando meetings are largely informal, but to save everyone time and energy a certain amount of planning will go into each meeting. the current structure is:

brief intros, announcements, administrative details
20 minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of q & a
20 minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of q & a
20 minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of q & a
final comments/debate/etc.

which means that each meeting is about 2 hours long and features three presentations. Some meetings may have more or less presentations. We will try and stick with 3 per meeting though.

RESOURCES

you are encouraged to provide most of the resources needed for your presentation. however, some Fullsail equipment will be available for your use. available resources include:

a PC
a video projector
a fast network connection
a small mixer and powered speakers

HYPOTHETICAL Q&A

q: i want to present something at dorkbot-orlando. is my project appropriate? what styles/genres/scenes does dorkbot-orlando represent?

a: dorkbot-orlando is (or tries to be) totally neutral in regard to style/genre/scene. an emphasis on the creative use of electricty is all that is required. see above for some examples of appropriate topics.

q: what if i just want an audience for my new piece?

a: short performances/demos are fine. however dorkbot-orlando isn't really a good venue for presenting things like full performances or long-form recorded sound/video pieces. if there's enough interest we will probably organize some more formal performances/shows at some point. for now the meetings will be more informal chances to exchange ideas with other interested parties.

q: i make cold, hard, intense, machine-robot-skull-hammer music, and am bent on the annihilation of the human species. can i participate in dorkbot-orlando meetings?

a: yes, although annihilatory activity is prohibited at dorkbot-orlando meetings and you must leave your skull hammer at home.

q: i do soft, warm, dreamy, auto-electrolysis live performance video and founded a local PETA chapter. can i participate in dorkbot-orlando meetings?

a: yes.

q: do i have to join something to participate in dorkbot-orlando?

a: no.

q: is dorkbot-orlando run by Fullsail? do i have to be affiliated with Fullsail to take part?

a: no. dorkbot-orlando is run by the participants in dorkbot-orlando and is coordinated by Sam Horton and Douglas McDonald. the meetings are free and open to the public. Fullsail has been kind enough to sponsor dorkbot-orlando and to donate the use of their facilities.