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THE SKIT PAGE 12 ToC-b
THEPAGESOUP20 ToC-c
ToC-d ToC-d
THE PAGE MURKINESS 30
THE CONSTITUTION PAGE 42 ToC-e
EGG 1 PAGE 60 ToC-F
EGG 2 PAGE 70 ToC-G
ToC-H ToC-H
EGG 3 PAGE 86
EGG 4 PAGE 98 ToC-I
EGG 5 PAGE 102 ToC-J
EGG 6 PAGE 108
ToC-k ToC-k
THE SKIT 12
[layton]
This was the start of the journey. The skit titled ‘The Optimistic Alleyway’ was for me a criticism of both social design and volunteer tourism. Both often come off as being nothing but polishing a turd and exist primarily to boost the ego of a designer who can go home feeling accomplished. Obviously, this is not how all social design goes, but it is something that can happen, even completely unintentionally. The skit did set the tone of our project: critical.
[joey]
The skit was great—it really came naturally to us. The name was so perfect and provided for such a relevant narrative. With the topic being a criticism of how social design is often times carried out, one of our biggest concerns was actually offending Bern if by any chance he took it wrong. The best thing about it, though, was that Bern immediately understood what the skit was actually saying.
[corbin]
I think it is dangerous to assert social design as a force that has the potential to solve serious w o r l d p r o b l e m s a s it s e e m s co m pletely ignorant, or m ore sinisterly, completely unwilling, to connect those ills its identified to our economic system. The problems that plague us today will cost a lot of rich people a lot of money, and will mean questioning the way we live and the way we allocate resources (economy) period. Until social design is ready to seriously confront issues that are not okay to confront (questioning capitalism) it is bound to be absorbed into the advertising and marketing world as some new way of driving sales.
[jacob]
From the view of someone watching the optimistic alleyway skit, I enjoyed the changing of the scenery in such an inventive way. It was something that the other groups, my own included, had not thought about. Which was why I was eager to join the Optimistic Alleyway team. It addressed how keen we are, as a society, to say “Problem solved”. People putting a pleasant face on an issue that hasn’t been resolved, and is getting worse thanks to our own elected ignorance. I hated this, how people could be aware of an issue but do nothing about it. People sharing links to their favorite charities or awareness campaign; but after the issue is gone from the news, they pick up the banner for the next fad that is popular to support. This was why, when we had the opportunity to join other groups, that I wanted to help Corbin, Joey, and Layton.
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THE SOUP
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[layton]
The soup was a pile of ideas. The ideas generally seemed to orbit around issues of economic corruption. It was an eye opening experience. Personally, I felt like I had not nearly enough knowledge to really provide much of substance. Even so, seeing all the ideas in a single place was a fascinating experience.
[corbin]
We sat there for several hours putting things up on the board as things came to our minds. Gradually we began converging on a set of ideas. We began to sync up and complete each other’s ideas. Something was happening in that room because it felt as though we were one mind. Among the ideas on the board ranged from Mohandas Gandhi, Buddha, and Eastern Religion, to the fact that paying someone a penny means you can’t call them a slave anymore. We retrieved many quotes from this. Personal favorite: when society is massively manipulated, public opinion is a loaded die.
[joey]
After such a reassuring experience with the skit, we were all pretty eager to get started. We still had no idea what our project was really, but we were just excited for the opportunity to experience the methods in this course. The making of “The Soup” was a really liberating thing to just be able to think and converse. Before we knew it had been a few hours and we had a whole whiteboard full of shit and felt great about where we were going.
[jacob]
The soup felt like the most natural thing in the world. We talked about what frustrated us, as the persons of our generation, about the consumerist lifestyle that eats away at the very moral fiber of good people. People who where happy to allow suffering to happen in the name of convenience, people who would allow major corporations get away with many daily atrocities, and more importantly how the government was paid by people with money and where willing to protect their financial interests. This soup became our driving force, and something that we all remember fondly while we worked harder than ever before in a class. But we knew that it was for something that we believed in.
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CHUNK
001
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002
K N HC U
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CHUNK
003
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SOLUTION TO THE SYSTEM WE WERE CRITIQUING “Simplicity brings balance, freedom, and joy”
[see circled text on chunk 004]
K N U H C
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004
CHUNK
005
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K N U H C
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006
K N U CH
007
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THE MURKINESS
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[layton]
[corbin]
[joey]
[jacob]
There was a point where we all seemed to be on different pages. The focus wasn’t clear, even to us, at least that’s how I perceived it. We all knew more or less what we wanted which was some sort of critique of our current economic habits, but each and every one of us was not able to present in such a way that was completely coherent with what the others would say.
At this point we thought we were all on the same page but actually couldn’t cohesively explain our project and no one in the class was sure what we were talking about. We were constantly fumbling around answers to questions during presentations and couldn’t agree on anything besides our most general concept. Due to the disagreement during this time there was a lot of tension and resentment happening that wasn’t happening before, and while we were addressing our issues, I said that I felt like Bern was secretly amplifying the situation on purpose to get us to essentially be against C orbin. At this p oint it w a s obvious the perception was that everyone just did what Corbin said (which couldn’t have been further from the truth), so it would make sense that Bern would see this as an issue and want to nip it in the butt. While the view of how our group operated was incorrect, the tension created by the entirety of the situation got us to identify and address issues that actually were present.
It wasn’t until Joey said something that we realized this might have all been a ploy by Bern to solve some problem he was perceiving in our group. Perhaps the problem was that things looked as though it was “Corbin and some guys he’s with”.
This was a challenging time for the group. We where all stressed out thanks to our other classes, but more importantly people did not understand what our group was about. We wanted to encapsulate all the things that made up our cause, which we saw clear as day. “Is it about stopping people from buying stuff?” “No” “Is it a small house movement?” “No” “Is it supposed to stop environmental impact of waste?” “Kind of, but not really” “Is it about shit?” It was at this point that we realized that we needed to work out our message in a clear and concise way that would leave no room for people to interpret their own message. At the same time we where also biting each other’s heads off. We where high strung with our projects, and I think out inability to articulate what we really cared about. Our group had to restructure. I think that the problem was that we where becoming highly conceptual about the issue of unchecked and unconscious consumerism. We eventually found a way of getting our point across thanks to the constitution.
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FIRST WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO BUILD A HOUSE MADE OF DIRT. [A COB HOUSE]
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WE ALSO THOUGHT ABOUT A GIANT HAMSTER WHEEL THAT PEOPLE COULD RUN IN.
Maybe Bern’s clown pics?
photo credit: http://animalphotos. info/a/2008/05/16/two-motionblurred-white-mouse-spin-blueexercise-wheel-at-high-speed/ 33
drown in your shit. A CARNIVAL STYLE DUNK TANK FILLED WITH SHIT PEOPLE DIDN’T WANT ANYMORE.
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WE THOUGHT ABOUT GEO-CACHING. PEOPLE WOULD FIND PRIZES WHICH ADDED UP TO A RED BRACELET.
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maybe a discussion about the cob house?
MISSION STATEMENT!!!!!! WHY YOU SO HARD!!!!!
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one day, there was a presentation where no one knew what we were saying, and we kept cutting each other off, or correcting what they just said, and Bern started poking at the sore spots, and it was working super well.
after that we were all really pissed off at each other.
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in the aftermath of the hostility that emerged out of that presentation, Joey had a moment of clarity.
he realized that Bern might have been intentionally poking at our weak spots to force us to figure it out.
in this case it seemed he was trying to turn everyone against Corbin.
however, even with the benefit of that insight...
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WHAT THE INFUCK MELTDOWN MODE.
AT THIS POINT IN THE PROJECT, NO ONE KNEW
WAS HAPPENING, AND WE WERE
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we had to sit down and knock it out.
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THE CONSTITUTION
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[layton]
The constitution was the solution to the murkiness. We all agreed on a vague concept but we all defined it just different enough for it to be problematic. The creation of th e c o ns titu tio n w a s quite possibly the most relieving thing that happened in the course of the project. I felt noticeably less tense. It was an opportunity for all of us to share our grievances and allowed all four of us to truly come together and create a reliable explanation for our project.
[joey] The best decision we made throughout the whole project. After a disastrous presentation, we were all discussing our issues and concerns and I suggested that we go from beginning to end and agree on exactly what it is we are doing. This idea evolved into physically writing a very specific and cohesive constitution for our project that we would present to the class. It was a perfect success in clarifying our project.
[corbin]
After a period of murkiness that culminated in a presentation that left us all feeling quite hostile to one another, we all agreed that it was time to come together and hammer out what our project was actually about, and this time in writing. To make sure that everyone was on the same page, we had someone other than Corbin doing the writing down of things, Layton. So we sat for 3 hours and hammered out what would be the founding statement of our entire project.
[jacob]
The constitution was a painstaking process of distilling our core values. What did we believe in? What where we willing to risk our exposure to the scrutiny of the state of Iowa? What where we willing to put our names on and take ownership of? Line by line we drew out a constitution that would finally make known our intent for this project.
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~ We hold these truths ~ to be self evident.
that
OPTIMISTIC ALLEYWAY
is a group that acts out
HAPPENINGS.
Happenings are public performances Our performances always consist of one kind of character, and one kind of plot and moral.
CHARACTERS are always RABBITS! our
our
PLOTS
are always rabbits trying to get a
CARROT. 46
Rabbits are people acting as consumers, the rabbits are you and me.
the
CARROT
represents a product.
THE CHASE
is all the effort we pour into getting the carrot.
THE EGGS are left behind once the performance is done. the eggs are for the viewer, and are intended to be discovered and opened. Inside the egg is slip of paper that contains the moral.
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RABBITS CARROT chase
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ACROSS ANY GIVEN PLACE
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DURING THE CHASE WE DROP EGGS WITH STUFF INSIDE.
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AND HOPEFULLY PEOPLE CHECK OUT OUR SOCIAL MEDIA SITES.
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THERE WOULD BE SIX PARTS OF THE PROJECT EACH WITH ITS OWN THEME
SPECTACLE
ALIENATION & DEBT
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ACCUMULATION
CORRUPTION
OBSOLESCENCE
DEATH
WE ACCUMULATE. WE GO INTO DEBT TO KEEP UP WITH CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS. WE WORK AND WORK AND WORK TO KEEP UP. OUR DOLLARS FEED A SYSTEM THAT INVESTS TO INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF ELECTIONS. OUR GOVERNMENT DOES THE BIDDING OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR. O THER COUNTRIES PAY IN LIVES FOR OUR THIRST FOR RESOURCES. 53
LEADS
PHOTOGRAPHY
CORBIN & JOEY JACOB & CORBIN Team leads were Corbin and Joey. We ran the ship.
Responsible for taking all the photos and for checking out or bringing quality photographic equipment. Responsible for creating plans for documenting happenings.
ACQUISITIONS JOEY & JACOB Purchasing & purchase research. Ordering.
WEB TEAM JACOB & CORBIN
DOCUMENTATION
Responsible for developing and maintaining the group website.
LAYTON & CORBIN Responsible for documenting all the project and for assembling the final process book.
MEDIA JOEY & LAYTON Responsible for communicating with the media and for maintaining social media.
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WE GOT THE GEAR COP.
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MORPHSUIT YES.
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MORPHSUIT + RABBIT MASK
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WE WERE READY.
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EGG
one
theme: spectacle message:
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look for us/look at us
[layton]
With egg one, it sort of felt like we just had to jump right in. And that’s literally what we did. We had a vague plan, and we took off. The first happening was not the best. I personally felt it went well and got a reasonably good reaction for a first time run, but a slight communication breakdown created two different experiences for the group. However, the second happening was much more universally well done. We learned from our mistakes and were able to create a much more coordinated happening.
[joey]
A lot of planning and stress went into egg one. No one had ever done anything like this and we had no idea if this was going to flop. Our first happening had major malfunctions in execution, but was a huge learning experience. Our second happening was phenomenally better with everything we took from the first one. It was a really exciting time for us, but probably the most stressful.
[corbin]
Layton and Joey detoured from the plan and took off im mediately. Me and Jacob had no idea what was going on and stuck around for almost a full minute before realizing that Layton and Joey were already almost done running the course. By the time Jacob and I had made our way through the track (BTW, I hit my nuts hard on a chair because I couldn’t see it coming through my mask) Layton and Joey had been in the truck for a long time.
[jacob]
This egg was one of our first hurdles, I was nervous about handing out Easter eggs with our fortune cookie of socialist wisdom. People could flip out, call the authorities, or at the worst some gun nut could see us as potential shooters and dispatch us. But over all this egg gave the group a rush, all except for Corbin who felt that we could have done better. Which later on I agreed.
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THE MEMORIAL UNION
a mixed first run
No more than 2 seconds after Corbin gets out of the car, Layton is off and Joey is right behind him.
TIMING ISSUE BREAKDOWN :55
Joey and Layton take off
1:15
Corbin & Jacob take off
2:00 Joey & Layton finish the course and beat the driver to the other side
Here, it’s been almost a half of a minute, and Corbin & Jacob haven’t taken off yet.
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3:22
Corbin finishes course.
7:00
Jacob finishes course.
ALSO: JACOB LOST HIS PHONE
Everyone in the group agreed that the biggest issue with the first happening was the timing.
All in all, however, we did well for a first go.
Joey and Layton felt that they got a good response from those who saw them. Corbin felt that they did not get a very big response— that they slipped through the crowed Memorial Union lunch hall completely unnoticed.
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How often are you disappointed in how you spent your money?
OPTIMISTICALLEYWAY.COM
EGG TWO
Buy less stuff. go to
OPTIMISTICALLEYWAY.COM
We distributed plastic eggs with these inside. The hope was that people would go to our website and facebook page.
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LESSONS LEARNED FROM MEMORIAL UNION HAPPENING --------------------------------------------------NEGATIVE (DON’T) LESSON It is not enough to look crazy in a crowded place.
POSITIVE (DO) LESSON To get attention you must also sound crazy. Play music.
---------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------NEGATIVE (DON’T) LESSON You should not assume that everyone agrees upon how fast things should be done, or when it is a sensible time to begin things.
POSITIVE (DO) LESSON Rehearse speed and devise means of correcting things in situ. Develop a “go” signal. ---------------------------------------------------
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THE COLLEGE OF DESIGN
a much better run.
More preparation went into the College of Design happening. To fix the issues with timing we all agreed to check behind and in front of us to insure no more than 12ft got between us. We also built in points in the map where we would wait for one another to regroup. Our filming also came out much better because we acquired better equipment like chest and head mounting straps for the two Go-Pros. The College of Design is built like a stadium in that there is one huge and open central area, and then several levels of seating that wrap around it. However, where in a stadium you have had seating at the CoD you have walkways. We planned our route to make use of the spiral nature of the building so that we could run through an entire floor and access the next by using the hidden stairwells at either end of the building. If we ran as closely to the side rail as possible those who just saw us could see us continue the chase on each floor we visited. This would increase the amount of time people saw us and would make things funnier.
TIMELINE 1:10
1:54 Thru the CoD basement & entering the front doors. [There are people from CoD administration there to witness]
2:28
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We have regrouped at regroup point 1/3. Things are going smoothly and we can hear people reacting to us. Beginning to run through the second floor.
3:14 We have regrouped at regroup point 2/3. The “corkscrew theory” seems to be working close to how we planned. Beginning to run through the third floor. 3:32
A third floor classroom applauds as we pass by.
3:57
We have reached the final regroup point, 3/3, and are now descending the stairs to leave the building.
4:30 Everyone, with the exception of Jacob, has exited the building. 5:12
“THE CORKSCREW THEORY”
Out of the car & into the building.
Joey, Corbin, & Layton have reached the car and have taken their masks off.
9:39 Jacob has reached the car and we drive off into the sunset.
OPTIMISTIC ALLEYWAY.COM
Our goal with each of the happenings was to “get people into our platform�. Basically, we wanted them to go to our website everyday, praying for something new from us. To follow us on Facebook, and Twitter. The website used the same egg & carton structure we used to organize our project. The Carton represents the whole project. Each egg represents a section of the project. Ass the project progressed, the carton would get fuller and fuller. People could click on each egg to get the content we had prepared for that section of the project.
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SUMMARY --------------------------------------------------This happening went off without a hitch. However, we didn’t get nearly any reaction besides some laughter, and a few questions asked later. Things went off so well and we got so little bang for it that we decided that our basic model might not be the most effective. We decided to simplify by cutting away what took up time, and double down on what got people looking and talking. ---------------------------------------------------
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LESSONS LEARNED FROM COLLEGE OF DESIGN HAPPENING --------------------------------------------------NEGATIVE (DON’T) LESSON It might not make sense to have the main portion of what you do not also be the message you want to convey. We were dropping little Easter eggs with messages in them hoping people would open and read them. Honestly, we should have focused everything on getting as much attention on ourselves as possible.
POSITIVE (DO) LESSON Get rid of the eggs. Make the medium the message. ---------------------------------------------------
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EGG TWO
theme:
the accumulation of stuff
message:
buy things/chase things
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[layton]
Egg 2 was by far my favorite one. The happening generated the most buzz. Looking back on it, the key to success was the simplicity and the humor. People engage with that much more willingly than other things. There was a slight communication error and timing was off, but even with this, the happening remains in my view the most successful one. Our social media rapidly expanded and we seemed to have a formula. We also created a set of photo montages that were meant to express the issue of accumulation. These turned out great in my opinion, though they weren’t really what generated any buzz. It was the carrot and the rabbit.
[joey]
Egg two by far had the greatest success. We nailed everything from high levels of exposure and getting people to fully engage and enjoy us to a great postproduction and delivery of that. I think it was our comedy that made it a success— people really liked when we were funny.
[corbin]
Egg 2 is the point where I started feeling like success with this project was possible. We created a hilarious happening that reached nearly 2,000 people on social media, and was well received as we were doing it. This one became the template for all future happenings. Honestly, if this happening would have happened earlier on, our project would probably have exploded. My biggest regret with this project was that we didn’t try something like this sooner.
[jacob]
This egg we had a lot of positive interactions. People laughing and seeming to enjoy the rabbit’s presence. Handing out fliers in a public place was a lot more relaxing than rushing through the MU. Plus with the Video, we where able to see people interacting with the fliers and social media interaction.
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CHANGE OF APPROACH
cutting out the fat.
NO MORE EGGS.
ADD SPICE TO THE CHASE
They also seemed to confuse people more than anything. Plus, having to account for distributing these in our plans severely limited what was possible.
We decided it would be much more interesting if the rabbits had to work to even fi nd the carrot. If the audience knew that the rabbits were looking for a carrot they couldn’t currently see there would be a dramatic tension building. When the carrot fi nally came out of hiding people would want to pay attention to the ensuing chase.
The eggs were a huge chore to prepare and served ver y little purpose other then to m ake a distribution container.
NO MORE WEBSITE
Our observations of social media in the aftermath of Egg 1 was that people seemed to interact with us far more through social media than through our website. This was a huge relief because the website took enormous amounts of time to prepare for a small payoff. We decided not to reinvent the wheel and to use Facebook and Twitter as our main platform.
ADD SOME MUSIC: MADONNA
The problem with running through a crowded space was as simple as the following question: What does a group of fellas dressed as rabbits and carrots in a crowded room have to do to get noticed? Simple. Go for more than one sense. Play some loud crazy music in that crowed room and then people will pay attention to you. We added music.
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We decided that having things setup where the carrot and rabbits marched in single file was a boring way to act out a chase.
Instead of leaving strips inside of eggs that people had to pick up, we created funny or provocative fliers. We could just shove these things at people, and we did.
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PARKS LIBRARY
the best we ever had.
At Parks Library the stars aligned, and we pulled off the best happening in the project. We treated it as a film set. The happening itself was more for the collection of images and video that we could turn into an film. The rabbits on the outside handed out fliers that said, “HAVE YOU SEEN THIS CARROT?” to people on the way into the library who would see the Carrot moving towards the entrance. Layton, the Carrot, was approached by a guy who was super insistent about letting him know that people were looking for him outside.
TIMELINE 12:45 PM Layton is changing into the Carrot costume in the mens’ restroom on the ground floor. The rabbit’s have their gear on and are headed towards the courtyard in front of Parks Library. 01:00 PM The Rabbits have been handing out fliers and blaring Madonna’s “Material Girl” for 15 minutes. Corbin is pretending to be a bystander and is collecting amazing footage of things unfolding. 01:10 PM Layton is still in the Men’s restroom inside and is not responding to the signal telephone calls. Corbin heads inside. 01:11 PM Corbin finds Layton in the stall and is a huge bitch about him not appearing or responding. Corbin tells Layton to wait 5 minutes and then come out. 01:17 PM Layton emerges from the entrance to Parks Library, and the Rabbits give chase. There are pockets of laughter. 01:20 PM The Chase is over and everyone meets us in the mens’ bathroom in Durham. A man there recognizes that we are the Rabbits even though we are not wearing masks and says, “you guys were fucking hilarious!” To which Joey responds, “Man, I don’t know what THE FUCK YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT.” Corbin has edited the footage 05:30 PM and created a final video which is posted to Facebook. He is so into editing and posting the video that he forgets he has a class and is very late.
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WATCH IT YOURSELF VIMEO QR CODE LINK
VIMEO LINK
HTTPS://VIMEO.COM/148762340
While the happening itself was quite successful, it was nothing compared to the response we got from the video on social media. 1,941 people saw it, and 603 people watched the video.
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PHOTO-MONTAGES The photo-montages were conceived as another, more design-based means of articulating ideas They were never distributed, and were shown to only people who were involved in our class, but they did look really cool.
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[PHOTO-MONTAGES]CORBIN
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[PHOTO-MONTAGES]LAYTON
78
[PHOTO-MONTAGES] JACOB
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GROUP PHOTO-SHOOT
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81
GROUP LOVE.
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YUM.
YUM.
YUM.
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SUMMARY --------------------------------------------------In Egg 2 we found a way to be successful. We stage a happening that got a lot of people engaged, and we made a video that reached a ton of people. All things considered, this one was the height of the project. ---------------------------------------------------
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LESSONS LEARNED FROM EGG 2 --------------------------------------------------NEGATIVE (DON’T) LESSON Don’t over-think it. Plan a little, then stop.
POSITIVE (DO) LESSON Use social media, humor, video/image, and give people a question they can engage with. ---------------------------------------------------
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EGG THREE theme:
obsolescence
message:
throw it all away/buy new
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[layton]
We attempted to recreate the success of the egg 2 happening in this one. I felt it wasn’t successful. My initial thoughts going in were very optimistic, but we missed out on the humor factor which I think turned people away. I handed out fliers, as was done last time by the rabbits, but unlike the last time, the flier was quite cryptic. While I don’t think that on it’s own is a bad thing, what got people talking was the joke on the last one. There was something unmistakably creepy about the carrot on the first flier, but the weirdness didn’t overpower the fun.
[corbin]
Three had a cool video. It’s where we started trying to get a bit more fucked up. However, I think that we were completely disorganized. This was for, the most part, my fault. I was usually the person that coordinated each event, and honestly I began to get a bit burnt out at this stage. I think we all began to get bogged down by the huge framework.
The weird out-gunned the fun on this one. The fliers didn’t draw people in with anything they could quickly relate to, and I think that unfortunate truth about fliers is that their success is dependent on how quickly they can relate. I had a guy hand the flier back after reading it and not understanding it. It’s an issue we didn’t foresee, but it’s one that I think is noteworthy.
[joey]
Three was an awkward experience; it w a s pro b a bly o ur le a s t successful happening but our coolest video. We were actually anticipating a great turn out, but there just weren’t many people interested in what was happening. This was the first time we went in expecting more than what we received and it was slightly discouraging. At this point is where I’d say we were beginning to get burned out.
[jacob]
At this stage we where beginning to ratchet up the creepiness. The video starting to become more distorted and glitchy. Though I don’t think the actual happening was very successful in comparison to our previous one. A lot of things where done last second, and we had issues with our technology.
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THE MEMORIAL UNION In this happening we reversed things. Instead of the Rabbits looking for the Carrot, the Carrot was more or less looking for them, or better, he was provoking them. The Carrot handed out fliers that said “Rabbits beco m e infer tile if they don’t buy shakeweights ” to mock the advertising strategy of playing of exploiting men’s sexual insecurities. Like the Parks Library happening, the goal of this one was to collect footage for a video. The video m ade fro m this event was m uch creepier than the previous video, as we wanted to imply that something was messed up. However, the execution was not there, and a lot was left to chance. The event was more or less a flop.
TIMELINE 1:40 PM Layton is dressed as the Carrot and is leaving the Memorial Union men’s room. Jacob, Corbin, and Joey stay behind. Joey leaves at 1:45 PM to pretend to be a casual onlooker and gather film footage.
2:00 PM Jacob and Corbin leave the men’s room and make their way out to the front of the Memorial Union. 2:05 PM Corbin ran really fast and left Jacob behind. Corbin chases Layton into the ladies restroom in Carver hall. A lady is in there and looks completely terrified.
2:14 PM Jacob, Joey, Layton, and Corbin are all reunited and head to 484 to edit video from the happening.
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WATCH IT YOURSELF YOUTUBE QR CODE LINK
YOUTUBE LINK
HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/LC711I72KTQ
Neither our happening, nor the video had very much success. We switched film persons for this run, and there was little usable footage to tell the story. In addition, there really wasn’t any story to tell. Unlike Egg 2 where the Rabbits were looking for the Carrot, and were asking people to help them find it, this happening asked no question of the people who saw it.
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THE PORN SHOOT We had the idea that the Rabbits and the Carrot should become more closely involved with each other as the project progressed in ever more fucked up ways. First they chase the Carrot, then they hunt it down an screw it. Fetishism of the commodity.
YUM.
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YUM.
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YUM.
92
YUM.
GENTLY.
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95
96
97
Egg 4
EGG FOUR theme:
debt, alienation.
message: get yourself in some debt
98
[layton]
For the sake of our sanity, the concept of ‘micro-happenings’ took over at this point. The idea was that a simpler happening could achieve just as much buzz as a more extravagant one. It would just require more happenings, but with less collective planning. We tried just walking around, which was actually a pretty interesting thing. Some people took pictures, m any people remarked. We also tried handing things out once, which was really not that effective. However, the time of day was a factor, as we were handing things out at a sort of dead period, which I can understand why two rabbit walking up to you and handing out a flier can be off putting when you’re walking alone through central campus.
[corbin]
By this point in the project things were getting a bit fragmented. We had decided to divide the project into two teams: documentation (me and Layton) would cease being active in the planning of happenings and maintain our social presence so that we could divert our efforts to creating the process book. However, what ended up happening was that no one did any work on the happenings, and what work was done was slipshod and bare bones. Our social media presence dwindled, and I began to feel a lot of the weight of the project on my shoulders.
With that in mind, I think we would have needed to do more of these throughout the project in order for this to have worked.
[joey]
We took a step backwards during this time. Our passion for the project started to dissipate and I questioned the effectiveness of Alleyway pertaining to actual results with the public. Also, tensions within the group began to pick up due to the pressing nature of our time frame for the project. I was not holding up my end of the deal at this point; I lost a close friend of mine to a gruesome drunk driving accident and I fell into a depressive state. My brain was at a stalemate and I couldn’t think straight let alone do a project as important to my career as this one. Around this time my brother was also arrested multiple times, my Father had split with his spouse of eight years, and two of my dogs died—life was throwing itself at me all at once. All of these outside occurrences combined with the pressures of school provided for many unproductive and intoxicated nights for myself.
[jacob]
Micro happenings seemed like the natural step after egg 2. Let people see the rabbits doing normal things around the college and get used to the idea of them being around. I almost wish we did this for the rest of the happenings and then supplied videos as needed. But hindsight is always 20/20.
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“MICRO-HAPPENINGS” At this point we had not stirred up enough buzz to have any sort of street credit, except people seemed to recognize us on occasion when we were in the bunny or carrot suits. We decided to change our project structure to allow for more happenings with less planning. To that end we invented “micro-happenings”. The basic idea was that we all carry our masks around with us, and just gallivant across campus. The thinking was that it would give people more exposure to us, and would help build recognition without the need for as much planning as a normal happening. We also created a set of inflammatory phrases we could post up on social media and on posters around campus.
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THE USA IS THE MOST FREE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. JUST FIND YOUR OWN FOOD, LAND, AND WATER. GOOD LUCK. LOL. #HUNGERGAMES PEOPLE SHOULD STOP GETTING WELFARE BECAUSE IT IMPEDES THE GROWTH OF FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES. #CLASSLESSSOCIETY #AMBERWAVESOFGRAIN GROW UP. #ALIENATION DOES PRESIDENT LEATH PAY ROOM & BOARD? SALARY: $500,000/YEAR.
BEING EDUCATED IS A LUXURY YOU PAY FOR IN CHAINS. #STUDENTLOANS THOSE HELPLESS FACTORIES WHO ADVERTISE AND SMUGGLE IN THOSE EVIL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS! #AMBERWAVESOFGRAIN #BRINGMEYOURHUDDLEDMASSES
HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/URGFTBX87SA
HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/OI1YPISZROI
HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/AOY1KHUXFB4
WATCH ONLINE
WATCH ONLINE
WATCH ONLINE
RABBIT DANCING TO LESLEY GORE’S
CREEPY RABBIT’S FACE FOOTAGE
RABBIT CONSUMES MOUNTAIN DEW BY
SUNSHINE LOLLIPOPS,RAINBOWS
SMASHING IT INTO HIS SNOUT.
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EGG FIVE
Egg 5
theme:
corruption
message: buy the government 102
[layton]
[corbin]
[joey]
[jacob]
The big event for egg 5 was a poster blitz. The idea was to cake some areas of campus with posters. As much as I enjoyed doing it, there wasn’t much of a reaction. It’s hard to say if the problem was on our end or not. The posters were taken down remarkably fast; faster than I’ve ever even seen. Perhaps we should have left out the poster about President Leath. Regardless, this happening was somewhat unsuccessful because it was the first one to meet resistance.
We had what I thought was a pretty good plan for this one, but again I think our lack of drive for the project affected our execution. I was still dealing with my issues in a depressive way and my behavior began to impact my relationship with my girlfriend. Alleyway had quickly turned into a secondary concern for me.
This happening suffered from the fragmentation issues I mentioned in the reflection from Egg 4. Basically the idea was that were going to try and do a brute force poster blitz. We were going to carpet the campus in key locations with inflam matory posters to generate buzz. However, it seemed that basic planning had not been done and so I stepped in and helped with cobbling together a basic flight plan. At this point we ceased the t wo tea m idea altogether as it was not working at all, and the whole project was going down the tubes.
This egg was a bit disappointing; having woken up super early to post flyers, only to have them taken down in a matter of an hour and a half was not my idea of effective. Though we had created some interesting posters, it would have been great for people to see them.
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A POSTER BLITZ
and a mysterious disappearance.
In the previous section of the project we had been doing micro-happenings across campus, but we had been failing to get a huge response. So we decided we needed to do something that would get a buzz going. The idea we came up with was a massive campus wide poster blitz where we would carpet major venues with our inflam matory posters. We created a battle plan that began at 6:00AM in the morning and ended across campus at the Memorial Union. After we completed the blitz we were amazed at how quickly they came down. We speculated that this was because the posters called out President Leath for how much money he made. Later We would find out that this actually was the case.
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TIMELINE 6:00 AM We begin the poster blitz at the college of design and try to void the morning janitorial staff. 6:45 AM
Posters up at Howe Hall.
7:00 AM
Posters up at Hoover Hall.
7:20 AM
Posters at Parks Library.
7:40 AM
Posters at Memorial Union.
HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/OAMBLCJ5JD4
WATCH ONLINE JACOB SINGS IN THE
HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/HVB2P35BUXQ
WATCH ONLINE THE MEMORIAL UNION ZODIAC TANGO.
HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/Q7MZ9VPCIJS
MEMORIAL UNION CHAPEL WATCH ONLINE THE OPTIMISTIC ALLEYWAY BOYS “ATTACK THE PILLARS OF CAPITALISM”
THIS POSTER IS INCORRECT. PRESIDENT’S LEATH’S SALARY IS $500,000/YEAR
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**PROBLEM**
Later we were contacted by the Office of President Leath who threatened our group with libel charges for incorrectly citing his salary as ~$2,000,000/year when it was $500,000/year.
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THE SOURCE OF THE INCORRECT FIGURE. WE MISREAD THE AD AND ASSUMED IT WAS REFERRING TO IA STATE WHEN IN FACT IT WAS REFERRING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO. SINCE THESE FIGURES ARE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE, THIS MISTAKE WAS PARTICULARLY UNPARDONABLE.
This was the most foolish mistake we made in the entire project. However, on the other hand, we regard this mistake as some of the biggest exposure we got. I mean, the president himself took offense! Lesson learned however. Check, check, check, and check your facts.
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EGG SIX
Egg 6
theme: death message: die 108
[layton]
‘The Black Egg’ as we called it was the final happening, meant to take place on Black Friday. This was not the case for logistical reasons. The plan changed repeatedly, and it was my perception that the planned changed so much because no one was really 100% on board with what we were going to do. Essentially, it was a targeted add campaign against Walmart and Target (mostly Walmart, we toyed with the idea of including Best Buy). I think we were all sort of burned out and frankly, I wasn’t too optimistic that this would generate much hype and I sort of felt others were sort of on the same page. The issue of course is that we firmly believed what we were saying, which to summarize, is that Black Friday is a horrible aspect of American consumer culture that really shouldn’t exist. The problem with our plan was that the audience who this would inevitably see was less likely to listen to the message. The intention for this happening was to be the big thing, but it didn’t pan out for many reasons.
[joey]
Thanksgiving break had just started and my mood began to pick up, but it seemed the opposite for my teammates. I was the only one who I felt like actually wanted to be there, which was a definite change. I particularly liked this plan; I love to imagine the reaction of some unsuspecting mother grabbing a toy that tells her it was probably made in a sweatshop. Our video production session was actually a really good time though, it went smoothly and everyone was glad we were almost done. Plus, our video is super bad ass. We all loved this project and it has impacted all of our lives tremendously, but it was an emotional journey that expended all of us and it was very much time to finish. Looking back on it there was a lot we could have done differently, and we will in the future, but by no means was Alleyway a failure. Optimistic Alleyway made me question my life and where I go from here; why I occupy myself with all of this bullshit. A grid… Who gives a fuck about a grid?
[corbin]
Egg 6, or the Black Egg was originally planned as this huge thing that might get us arrested and etc., however, by this point in the project most of the team had checked out. One of our teammates didn’t show up and wouldn’t respond to our messages. Eventually he messaged Layton saying that he couldn’t come, but wouldn’t anyways because he wasn’t comfortable with it. Something which was understandable, but quite frustrating because this concern was not voiced until we were already in the car, about to go do Egg 6. Egg 6 ended up being this perfunctory thing. We went into department stores and put stickers on a bunch of their merchandise. We also printed out these large sticker posters that said “%50 of our employee’s dignity” which we stuck to the doors at Wal-Mart.
[jacob]
With this egg, I felt very uncomfortable in doing; to the point where I elected not to participate in. I may have a problem with the establishment, but I respectfully fear the reprisals of law enforcement. With government money helping me stay in college, I didn’t want to risk losing my only way of attending this school for the opportunity to vandalize WalMart and Target . I know my group disagrees with my about how bad it might have been if they had gotten caught, but I didn’t want to risk it. Though I wanted to suggest something different, at this stage of the assignment, I couldn’t think of an event that would be just as impactful as the one the group wanted to do. The final video was a blast however. I felt it was one of our most effective videos we had done, and it was a really moment for all of us to use our skills to create a create design. I might have to use videos in later assignments if I can. 109
WALMART & TARGET For this part of the project we planned to put tons of stickers all over a bunch of products in Wal-Mart and Target that explained to customers the misery that goes into Black Friday. The results were approximately luke warm at best. The coolest thing we did was create letter size stickers that said, “%50 off our employees dignity this Black Friday” that we stuck to the doors of Walmart. We also created a final video where the carrot kills the rabbit.
110
HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/0EOBEAUO-UI
WATCH ONLINE HANGING UP THE STICKER POSTERS.
111
WATCH ONLINE THE FINAL VIDEO
HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/JQVCNG7PM_Y
112
ADDENDUM
JUST THE OTHER DAY WE GOT THIS:
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