Matthew Delbridge

Kapturing Kung Fu: Future Proofing the Hong Kong Martial Arts Living Archive

The Hong Kong Martial Arts Living Archive (HKMALA) is a relatively new collaborative project between the International Guoshu Association and the School of Creative Media at City University, Hong Kong. It seeks to capture and preserve the rich and diverse Kung Fu styles of Hong Kong using a variety of digital technologies for future generations, setting a benchmark for intangible cultural heritage projects in China. In this chapter we discuss the early history of Kung Fu, its arrival and subsequent export from Hong Kong, and similar movement based cultural heritage projects using digital technologies from across the world to place this project in an international context.

The ecological approach to visual perception and the actor performance captured in the gaming landscape

The use of Performance Capture techniques in the creation of games that involve Motion Capture is a relatively new phenomenon. To date there is no prescribed methodology that prepares actors for the rigors of this new industry and as such there are many questions to be answered around how actors navigate these environments successfully when all available training and theoretical material is focused on performance for theatre and film. This article proposes that through a deployment of an Ecological Approach to Visual Perception we may begin to chart this territory for actors and begin to contend with the demands of performing for the motion captured gaming scenario.