Agile Recorder: an iterative chamber of practice

This creative-practice research is led by the question, 'how can artistic inquiry be shared across digital and performance works?' It posits four modes for working across live and digital art-making contexts through four chapters: digital iterations, open development, shared ideation and real-time media. Through these modes and a series of creative projects, it tracks my path from documenter to media artist working collaboratively with performers: from being outside the work to inside. Digital Iterations of distinct digital works that share an artistic inquiry with a live work. They are extensions of live performance into digital space.  The concept of digital iterations emerged from an analysis of Melbourne contemporary performance company Chamber Made's digital and live artworks. This analysis is situated within literature of the intersection of performance and media. This research sits within the Agile Opera ARC linkage project between RMIT University, Federation Square, and Chamber Made. The Agile Opera project investigated new ways to bring distinct forms of intimacy found in contemporary chamber performance to 21st century digital platforms. In the Agile Opera project, I was the lead concept designer in the development of a digital platform Agile Recorder. I conceived a chamber in digital space as a chamber of practice, and so Agile Recorder is a process-oriented documentation tool enabling responsive collaboration in devising work. The four modes are substantially investigated through three creative projects, the conceptual design and testing of Agile Recorder, analysis of Chamber Made's Digiwork program and the methodology of the Agile Opera project. In doing so, I show that they enable artistic inquiry to be shared across digital and performance works. I present the four modes as a roadmap for media artists to work collaboratively with performers at the nexus of live and digital art contexts.