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The King is Dead!...Long Live the King!
Turf wars or maybe an abandoned ebay listing?
With thanks to unusualimage, tuppus and Steve Punter for their photographic assistance in such very cold weather.
News flash: www.flickr.com/photos/pranksy/4227862257/
The Turf Wars Movie - London, 2010
We have permission from the Boss to post a few of the official photos taken during movie production. These guys are policeman in real life (from the Met's anti-graffiti squad) and agreed to play 'The Robbo Cops' in a couple of scenes.
The script here actually calls for four 'Robbo Cops', but two officers unfortunately disappeared during action...the director was forced to improvise and still went ahead with the scene...
Prank Sky Media, London
With thanks to Her Majesty and His Majesty King Robbo for relinquishing their men and MJS 2009 for his hard work and steadfastness in the line of fire.
Not forgetting Reodism - for his charitable contribution to the Royal Robbo benevolent fund.
For more information about The Turf Wars, see:
The Turf Wars, Camden, London 2010
'Stacey' - by Prank Sky Media, London:
Still no official statements today from either the Government or the Queen - don't they even realise that a War is going on?
Stacey is our new heroine and so popular last night with the boyz in The Vic, that she has agreed to pose again today for Prank Sky Media - for a parting 'VICTORY' shot - and we have just agreed a big fat fee! This should provide a huge boost in the battle for eyes and minds!
Lucky girl - she's totally ecstatic - the StreetSmart people have found her a proper home, right around the corner from the Vic, plus the nice lady behind the bar said she could just come along and work there every other night!... Apparently the landlord of the pub just died in The Turf Wars and all their customers need a bit of cheer.
She's also had an offer today from a newspaper man called Rupert, who telephoned The Vic this morning, saying that he wants Stacey 'to brighten up his Page 3'.
All of our team had a good old natter with the regulars in the pub today and we all feel very optimistic, that with the Stacey and the Yankees on our side, The Turf Wars must surely end real soon.
Thanks to:
Stacey and Stacey's Agents 'The Suicide Girls', who allowed her to model once again.
The Sun Newspaper, for lending us a really old issue.
If YOU still haven't yet realised that there's a war going on, please update at:
www.flickr.com/photos/pranksy/4227258460/
LATEST - from our military investigation team:
Turf Wars Movie, Chinatown, San Francisco, USA
More hot stuff from 'The Battle of Commercial Street', SF....HRH Robbo's property empire is expanding...now that there are commercial opportunities in every medium...
This was the scene in the movie where the Demon Doctor tries (unsuccessfully) to deceive the people of SF and rent wall space from King Kung...
Thanks to El Payo and Slice of NYC for hanging around again last night and to the local philosophy geek for lending us his massage pix.
Bruce, Prank Sky Media, Highgate, London
More about the Turf Wars Movie here:
Turf Wars Movie, London, UK April 2010
Snap of the latest advertising campaign for Prank Sky TV who are providing round the clock news coverage of The Turf Wars, London, 2010.
Prank Sky Media, Highgate, London
With thanks to Shawn Allen, Einalem and the all the boyz from the Swiss Cottage swimming club.
For other shots taken during movie production, see:
Spotted by Alan in Tokyo on his way to the Taito Corporation yesterday...Team Robbo seem to have fans absolutely everywhere.
With thanks to our photographer JP Puerta and a small lab - probably the Minnesota Historical Society.
Dave, Prank Sky Media, Hackney, London
A Prank Sky Media exclusive:
Robbo's global warning clearly isn't a myth...new Team Robbo pieces on the giant LED screens of the five 'Pinyin Towers' in Beijing carry a stronger than ever message to an international audience..
It's probably just a matter of time before the Chinese authorities realise the artistic intention and demand that the pieces are removed. Until then the Graffiti Machinery Co Ltd is enjoying every moment of the fabulous publicity it is currently receiving round the world for it's new graffiti console that allows 'virtual graffiti' to be created in real city centre locations.
Lucqiu Yu, Prank Sky Media, Beijing, China
A big thanks to Schatz, for letting us re-publish his snap.
The Turf Wars Movie, London, 2010
Original (limited edition) recruitment poster used last year by Prank Sky Media around London, to recruit the actors who appear in the movie.
Of the 666 that were auditioned, 7 lucky writers, including Gilbert and George, made it through to do battle with the Demon.
Prank Sky Media, Highgate, London
With thanks to SarahHemCC for that sick balaclava and Rod Chenko for letting us use his super studio.
More on the movie here:
The Turf Wars Movie, London, 2010
The new Met squad softies - 'The Art Police' - protect their Soho Turf - 'NO ART OR GRAFFITI - POLICE WILL REMOVE' - Soho - West End, London, scene 12.
Prank Sky Media, Highgate, London
Thanks to Isaf Media and Ell Brown for catching the moment in the film when the police make their big advance...and of course a big shout to Paul and all the brave lads from Saatchi & Saatchi London who agreed to play The Art Police.
For more information about The Turf Wars, see:
Today we received this little snap of Boss Cat - out down south, walking the dog... we're just not too sure if that's Pranksky or Robbo.
With thanks to our brilliant photographer from Advers Media.
Dave, Prank Sky Media, Hackney, London
Turf Wars Movie, Chinatown, San Francisco, USA
A very exciting moment in the film when the action moves to the USA and the Demon Doctor tries to off-load an Equagesic on his opponent, the brave Kung-Fu Robbo, who confronts him in Commercial Street, SF and then tries to stop him distributing yet more drugs on the sidewalk....respect to King Kung...HRH Robbo Rules the World!
Thanks to El Payo and Slice of NYC for hanging around at the bakery for the rumoured appearance of the King.
More about the Turf Wars Movie here:
Turf Wars, Chicago, USA, June 2010
NEWSFLASH
Today 'Team Robbo' - known as the 'Graffiti Masters' in the States, flew in to Chicago after a 3-1-1 call direct from Mayor Daley.
The Mayor decided to bring in the professionals to deal with the runaway street art problem in the centre of Chicago, after seeing Team Robbo in action in the 'Battle of Camden' in London, UK.
The King's 'Graffiti Masters' deployed just 20 cans of special high octane, hot tar paint on various buildings, as used successfully in their campaign in London. They also managed to camouflage some artwork on one wall, as a purely symbolic gesture.
This year, the Team Robbo 'Graffiti Masters' are going to be celebrating their 25th year anniversary and are now hoping to be called in to many other US cities.
The Major made this announcement during a press conference this afternoon:
"As with the City's many anti-crime and beautification programs, Chicago depends on community groups, street writers, block clubs, chambers of commerce and individual residents to reach out for this invaluable service. If a building is struck again, the 'Graffiti Masters' have provided a guarantee that they will return immediately.
We shall continue to fight back, even though some street artists are bigger than the oil industry, bigger than the gas industry, bigger than Google, bigger than President Obama and the rest of them, but no community should have to tolerate them.
Please join us in thanking the King for helping to make Chicago an even more beautiful city and a big thank you on behalf of the City of Chicago, to our sponsors, a well known oil company - who provided some paint that was surplus to their requirements, totally free of charge."
Horace, Prank Sky Media Newsroom, Chicago, USA
Of course a big 'thanks' to their history plus Swanks a Lot and Roger Blackwell for recording today's events.
More on the Turf Wars, USA:
A quiet weekend, but we did receive this snap of a couple of 'veterans' - out down south, walking their pup ...we're just not too sure whose who.
With thanks to our brilliant photographer from Advers Media and his assistants, Oli Bac and Ed Yourdon.
Dave, Prank Sky Media, Hackney, London
© Copycat, Pranksky, London, 2011 to 2061 - Users may download and print extracts of content from this image for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Prank Sky Media's content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Pranksky. 'Pranksky' and Pranksky's 'Doggo' are un-registered trademarks or trademarks of the Prank Sky Media group of companies around the world.
Preparations were underway this afternoon for King Robbo's starring appearance in 'Graffiti Wars' on Channel 4 (as previously reported at: www.flickr.com/photos/pranksy/6034547667/in/photostream ).
You can rest assured - the London Metropolitan Art Police are out in strength tonight in Horseferry Road, to prevent any opportunistic street artists from getting close to the 'Robbo Inc' installation that was erected today by Team Robbo.
PSM are delighted that King Robbo is at last getting to be INCluded in Street Art and Graffiti History.
With thanks to Loz Flowers for allowing us to publish her Robbovision.
Dave, Prank Sky Media, Hackney, London
Whether good or bad, true artists never have much choice in the matter. Driven by space invaders and stencils they are relentlessly propelled to make something out of nothing in a world that is eternally at odds with itself - a world that can have the clarity of a single droplet of paint or be as complex as the undulating global economy.
Whatever happens, artists from all walks of life are at their most powerful when they reflect the world they see before them. Faced now with the imminent collapse of London's financial district 'Team Robot' hit their first mark in the east today and soon, slowly but surely, Team Robot - will rise up and take over.
Photo - thanks to Metro Centric and Manuela_J (10% royalty) for the inspiration.
Alan, Prank Sky Media, Docklands, London
Turf Wars, New York, USA, June 2010
A strange but nevertheless rewarding day...Alan and I went across the city to a secret rendezvous 'somewhere in Brooklyn?' and then were escorted by two quietly spoken guys over to the temporary 'operations room' of Team Robbo NYC.
We saw an amazing display of graffiti planning that crams what's usually a six-day process (a normal 'black book' operation) into about 45 minutes. Information is flying fast. At the centre of the 'Special Operations' room are two Team Robbo members, both sporting the same insignia of their London brethren. We gather round an aerial map of NYC on a huge LCD in the centre of the room and get a quick briefing. We learn that Team Robbo crew on the streets have today searched two parts of Cedar Street in Manhattan to determine if there has been any reoccurrence of the recent stencil attacks. There are too many unanswered questions, nobody can get confirmation via the net and that is leaving Team Robbo with difficult choices...order the task force to bomb the same locations again and accept a degree of collateral damage or call in the Doggo people (currently with HRH in Vancouver) to sort out the trouble? Everyone wants to see higher resolution satellite images and we just observe - fly-on-the-wall quiet.
Meantime, the unfolding situation for the Special Operations people is looking challenging. All eyes are on the chief officer - this tobacco-chewing bomber is also the task force's tactical operations officer. He plugs the coordinates given by the guys on the streets with some kind of stylus and another detailed sat photo appears - a horror show of modern buildings and dirty walls. "It's a f***ing high rise, Sir," he reports "we just can't get up!"
The mission is dead—for now—and the disappointment is palpable. But the quick response is impressive. Some members of the Team that we met here today complain about the sloth of the planning process, about opportunities lost and actionable intel wasted, but what we saw and experienced today is professionalism in fast forward.
Thanks to all the people at Pacific Northwest USCG for sending us the photo and also to Agilitrix for getting us all the necessary permissions.
Dave, Prank Sky Media, New York, USA
More on the Turf Wars, USA:
The Turf Wars Movie, London, 2010
From the final scene of the movie, filmed in Shoreditch, London.
Sir Pranksky is currently checking our description...to be released as soon as the director has cleared it....(he's a bit paranoid about giving away too much of the plot before release), so in the meantime here is a little technical information that will provide you with a basic insight:
This scene features The Art Police's latest technology - the 'Decurator' (Rapid Deployment CCTV System). It's a fully mobile art-hardened vehicle, fitted with a robot CCTV system that automatically seeks out pieces, before they have been completed.
Where the situation demands, the vehicle's on-board 'battlefield' computer can deploy heuristic software, that allows pieces to be de-curated rapidly and without any damage to an artist's or writer's reputation. In this scene the 'Decurator' determines that the best method for disarming a persistent decorator, discovered in progess in Shoreditch - behind heavy camouflage, is by offering the crew a very large wad of money (financed by the Hoxton Art Galleries' Association).
System consists of:
Camera module:
Mic1-400 camera
IP 68, high resistance to art and graffiti
Camera Sony FCB - Ex 480 BP-EX-view HAD CCD high resolution ¼″ CCD DSP color/monochrome camera module. 460 lines 0.7 colour lux 50 FPS, 0.05 lux color 3 FPS, < 0.01 lux B&W Lens F1.4 (4.1 – 73.8 mm), 18x optical zoom, 12 x digital zoom
User Controls IR. Cut filter in/out. Frame integration level (ANPR capability). Backlight compensation. Auto/manual focus. Auto/manual iris. Zoom. Variable speed pan and tilt. Video recording facility
Pan & Tilt Pan - continuous, tilt 290°
Maximum speed up to 90° per second in both
pan and tilt (depends on zoom level). Minimum speed 0.75° per second. No presets
Weight & dimensions (approx)
Deployment Unit including actuator HxWxL:
(4m x 1.5m x 2m)
Weight approx 15 metric tonnes
Poles Min. diameter rounds 1m, max.
diameter rounds .5m
Min. diameter octagonal 1m across flats,
max. octagonal .55m across flats
Video & telemetry options
Options 5.8 GHz multi-channel radio link
GPRS/3G via DVR - Wi-Fi
Battery type & operation time
Camera Head Lead acid up to 20 hrs., Lithium-ion up to 48 hrs.
Negotiation module - manufactured by Siemens - fully automatic device:
The software in this module can identify not only art and graffiti but also the crews behind it, by calculating over one million differential equations per second. Thanks to the collective capacity of this module, it's artificial brain even recognizes evolving street art styles. With 1,000 neurons on it's main chip, the Decurator negotiation module can identify art in real time. Following an initial training phase, the module can react flexibly to a variety of street art scenarios.
Automatic water canon (for emergency use only):
Main Water Tank Capacity - 2,000 Gallons (7,570L)
Water / Dye Canon Torrent - Located at front of vehicle
250Lb. (946L) Water Pressure with 600 Gallons (2,645 L) Per Minute Capacity
Separate 50 Gallon (189L) Tank Contains Semi Permanent Dye Compound
Dye Injected Into Water Stream Dye Compound used for easy identification and arrest of Art and Graffiti Suspects
Optional 50 Gallon (189L. - Tank with Oleoresin Capsicum - Pepper Gas
Complete Electronic Control Panel Gauges & Separate Joy Stick System
Control Panel Monitoring Supply of Water, Pepper Gas, Compound Dye, and Other Optional Deterrent Agents
High Intensity Halogen Light Module, Siren, and Bluetooth auto-voice enabled P/A (Public Address) System, with 'Artspeak' translation engine.
Prank Sky Media, Highgate, London
With thanks to Max (Max Not) for sharing his photo of this scene and to Elsie Esq Systems for lending us the 'Decurator' vehicle and driving it to Shoreditch.
For more information about The Turf Wars, see:
Look - we're not the only ones to be following the Bi-Shop... he's right here in this month's Weird Magazine - copy sent to us today... there's an interview too...
In the mag, Bi-Shop (alias The Thing King) has a big feature promoting his new game and here are the rules:
"Each player gets several million things.
Things are kept in crates that hold 4096 things each.
Things in the same crate are called crate-mates.
Crates are stored either in the workshop or the warehouses.
The workshop is almost always too small to hold all the crates.
There is only one workshop but there may be several warehouses.
Everybody shares them.
Each thing has its own thing number.
What you do with a thing is to zark it.
Everybody takes turns zarking.
You can only zark your things, not anybody else’s.
Things can only be zarked when they are in the workshop.
Only the Thing King knows whether a thing is in the workshop or in a warehouse.
The longer a thing goes without being zarked, the grubbier it is said to become.
The way you get things is to ask the Thing King.
He only gives out things by the crateful.
This is to keep the royal overhead down.
The way you zark a thing is to give its thing number.
If you give the number of a thing that happens to be in a workshop it gets zarked right away.
If it is in a warehouse, the Thing King packs the crate containing your thing back into the workshop.
If there is no room in the workshop, he first finds the grubbiest crate in the workshop, whether it be yours or somebody else’s, and packs it off with all its crate-mates to a warehouse.
In its place he puts the crate containing your thing.
Your thing then gets zarked and you never know that it wasn’t in the workshop all along.
Each player’s stock of things have the same numbers as everybody else’s.
The Thing King always knows who owns what thing and whose turn it is, so you can’t ever accidentally zark somebody else’s thing even if it has the same thing number as one of yours.
Notes:
Traditionally, the Thing King sits at a large, segmented table and is attended to by pages (the so-called “table pages”) whose job it is to help the king remember where all the things are and who they belong to. One consequence of Rule 13 is that everybody’s thing numbers will be similar from game to game, regardless of the number of players.The Thing King has a few things of his own, some of which move back and forth between workshop and warehouse just like anybody else’s, but some of which are just too heavy to move out of the workshop. With the given set of rules, oft-zarked things tend to get kept mostly in the workshop while little-zarked things stay mostly in a warehouse. This is efficient stock control."
Long Live the Thing King!
Thanks to dpstyles™, Arne Hendriks and Gustavo Duarte for alerting us and sending us the magazine and other things.
Alan, Prank Sky Media, Hackney, London
A very disturbing email came into our HQ today from the 'Watchdog', who has declared an 'all-out war' on our company.
In the biggest challenge to Prank Sky Media since it gained supremacy in the hyper reality media market in the UK over a year ago, the UK Watchdog has warned that he is not only going to force Prank Sky Media to sell on it's entire photo-library and movies, he will also intervene to try and prevent the company putting on the next show of Team Robbo artwork.
This action was sparked by our recent broadcasts on all our channels of the Bi-Shop of Bristol, which was allegedly embargoed for broadcast on any channel until later this year and was destined to coincide with the release of the new iCandy tablet device (an iPad look-alike, due to be released by a consortium of hardware and software companies).
Prank Sky Media wish to apologise unreservedly for the release of this confidential material into the pubic domain and promise to seek the formal permission of the Watchdog in the future, prior to any further publication or broadcast of such material. We also wish to convey our sincere apologies to the Bi-Shop (The Thing King), for any damage to his reputation that this breach of confidentiality may have caused.
Alan, Prank Sky Media, Hackney, London
Turf Wars - Highgate, London, June 2010
Media is now weary of war against street artists says Prank Sky News reporter...
Widespread anti-street art bias in the media means that artists now face an “uphill struggle” for fair coverage, said a former Prank Sky News journalist tonight.
"Journalists select the information they wish to report based on a largely anti-street art ideology", said the reporter for Prank Sky News who announced live on air tonight that he has now joined Team Robbo. According to the reporter he has also made his comments clear in a recent piece in Camden.
When asked if the younger audience in America and the UK still understands evangelical street artists, he said: “Not any more...it’s important to remember that what appears in Flickr is not an objective summary of the really significant things that are happening but an ideological selection based on the prejudices, agendas and assumptions of a relatively small group of people.Their ideology could be loosely defined as ‘street art will one day meet our needs’, so as with other forms of thought that deviate from that ideological view, evangelical street art is now commonly dismissed out of hand or reported in a manner that serves to reinforce the fact that the genre is actually dying out! Street Art and in particular stencilling, is now viewed as obscure, life-denying and regressive. On-line groups like the 'Wooster Collective' and 'Crack for your Eyes' face an uphill struggle to change that perception.”
In fact last month, HRH King Robbo who is the Patron of the Royal Society for the Protection of Ancient Street Art even accused The Times newspaper of a “blatant bias on street art issues”.
Executives at the BBC admitted today that they would consider broadcasting a scene where a piece by a Demon Decorator is totally buffed or removed but admitted that they would never do the same now with a Team Robbo piece.
A former BBC reporter is also writing a book on the subject. He names several street art critics among the BBC’s “in-house pariah groups”.
HRH King Robbo himself said in a recent interview in Chicago that street artists now took “more knocks” in the global media than writers and although he is still being invited to operate several search and destroy missions internationally he is now actively working to establish ties with artists that will allow them to integrate their work within the mainstream writing community.
Photo shows the former Prank Sky Media reporter after his announcement tonight in the control room in our studio in Highgate, London.
With thanks to all the PSM team for their assistance with this photo including The Tim Channel, Map Goblin, Ivy Field, DS Mous, The Girls NY, Mark Sebastian, Unusual Image and of course, the Indian Chef, for delivering some really delicious late night food.
Dave, Prank Sky Media, Highgate, London
In case you hadn't noticed, we are all currently on our annual vacation over here at PSM and we've left the inner city war zones to find a quieter space.
We spotted this today - just off an interstate in the US of A and thought that in the spirit of reconciliation, we should at least share this with you all.
It must be the 'Summer of Love'....all over again...
King Yobbo (Poster Boy NYC or a clone?) - in Hackney this weekend demonstrating cutting edge techniques to the Commissioner of the Met, plus a few of his assistants.
In an interview with PSM, the Commissioner was keen to stress that "the recent alliance formed between the Met and graffiti crews is becoming increasingly important...we are world leaders in policing, and are now intent to become world leaders when it comes to graffiti. We aim to make London a 100% street art free capital by 2012".
The Commissioner also warned that further artistic attempts at disrupting public life in London are “inevitable” and that, if not harnessed in time, the “consequences could be catastrophic”. He continued: “At present, the absence of street art does not equate to the absence of a threat”. The clear inference from this is that Londoners – and indeed citizens in all of the UK mainland’s major conurbations – need to be on their guard all the time. “I don’t want to induce a sense of panic,” added the Commissioner, “we’re not liberated from street art yet and we need many more trained officers within the Art Police - but with the help of King Yobbo NYC we can start to really cut through all the red tape.”
With thanks to Poster Boy NYC, Indy Slug, Design by Zouny and of course the Metropolitan Art Police and UK Home Office.
A scoop by Prank Sky Media, Chalk Farm (temporary HQ), London
Gail, Wim and I revisited the Met Art Police's HQ in Shoreditch this morning, to see how the new recruits are getting on. After signing in, we were immediately ushered through to the drill area at the back of the building. One of their officers (also named Alan) admitted that on their first day they had all been suffering from 'Writer's Block'. However he said that they had all managed to 'break through this' by putting 'one community officer in charge of each colour' and that gave them the inspiration to create a 'blockbuster' {sic}.
While they finished pumping up the action, Alan asked us what Gail and I thought....we answered politely by nodding and saying - 'yes, interesting' and asked if they had considered using any curved lines. Alan winked and said that the crew had all agreed to concentrate first on getting up some straight lines from A to B, because that seemed difficult enough at this scale. He promised that once they had all mastered that skill, they would be testing out a large 'flexicurve' which is part of their new kit.
We made our excuses by saying that we had to get back to the studio to send a few tweets...there was a weird silence then, but the whole crew looked seriously relieved when we said that will be visiting again next week.
Thanks to Gail and Wim Vandenbussche for taking a few photos today even with all that wet paint flying about.
Alan, Prank Sky Media, Highgate, London
Turf Wars, Los Angeles, USA, May 2010
We are staying with our mate Jacko in LA this week and we all had a chuckle about this email he received today from a prankster pretending to be a representative of MEGATOYS???:
Congratulations Jackpot Vetti on achieving the status of Stardom!
MEGATOYS have been acclaimed for having the acute ability to recognize talent and then garner the best opportunity to exploit that talent. With some annual salaries over $20 million, bonuses over $25 million, and personal services fees over $10 million each, every Pro Artist must have professional management, representation in contract negotiations and certainly investments. Through their integrity and innovation in the field of contract negotiations, business and personal management, financial and estate planning, MEGATOYS create Arts Based Business Empires. These empires generate additional revenue through publishing, licensing, commercial advertisements, product endorsements, TV, motion picture, personal appearances and other off street activities that spawn new opportunities for professional and financial growth. This in turn promotes greater rewards from the art in which you excel.
As a ”Superstar Artist” you are now entering into a period of your life which may be unlike anything that you have experienced before in terms of notoriety and income. During this period it is often difficult to concern oneself with anything more than the negotiations of a lucrative professional service contract with a professional art franchise, conglomerate or entertainment group.
MEGATOYS, as a founding management and art marketing firm, is world renowned for management and the negotiation of lucrative and unprecedented contracts in the realms of dollar value as well as structural design in the arts field. MEGATOYS have negotiated contracts that represented the highest paid street artists, as well as the unique and unusual. All with integrity, foresight, and innovation. The result has been a history of success characterized by our far reaching vision, ability to identify those opportunities, create a precise plan, and with superior performance, successfully accomplish them. Our contracts are not only multi-million dollar types, but also legally brick clad. MEGATOYS stresses essential contractual rights in negotiation and assures their compliance. Most artists do not have the time or skill to manage both a career and the many businesses, commercial, legal and financial affairs that are so prevalent in the art world today. Our goal is to allow you to realize your full professional potential in order to ensure your financial security with long term prosperity. To this end, we derive a comprehensive personal financial planning service with the aforementioned vision and performance to move you forward with sustained financial growth as the objective. MEGATOYS assumes many important responsibilities for you to allow you to fully pursue your professional goals. Some of those responsibilities that we assume for you are; providing the services of budgeting, accounting, scheduling, tax planning, and bill payment. We can even help with your legal negotiations, if you are foolish enough to get caught by the police.
MEGATOYS emphasizes the full development and exploitation of your professional and commercial opportunities through personal services contracts, licensing and merchandising, endorsements, personal appearances, broadcasting, publishing, and corporate affiliations. We actively pursue these opportunities on an international plane to secure contracts for you in these areas. Once you have developed that “special” persona that transcends art into real life, there are major endorsement dollars and corporate affiliations that can easily triple your salary as your image is synonymous with excellence and consistency worldwide.
However, that’s only a small fraction of the total number of matters with which a professional street artist should be concerned. There are matters which go beyond your career as an active participant in the professional art world. It is these matters which work toward the building of a personal business empire to secure the financial future for yourself and your family.
It is therefore essential that you plan with MEGATOYS your financial career skillfully in anticipation of the day when you will no longer be an active artist and will turn to those careers and business interests which you have been able to establish with the notoriety and substantial income MEGATOYS acquired for you from professional arts, motion pictures, television, entertainment, publishing, literary, licensing, endorsements, sponsorships, and commercial advertising.
Jacko is already becoming pretty famous in the states...will he actually need MEGATOYS?
Dave, Prank Sky Media, Los Angeles, USA
Thanks again to all the friendly photographers we met in the US including Don Hankins, M Hogan 35 and William Hook.
For those unfamiliar with Jacko Vetti's work, we suggest you see this famous piece:
Turf Wars, Boston, USA, May 2010
It's tough going to the Team Robbo convention for a single day especially one as large as Boston. Describing the experience, the rush, the thrill of walking into a giant hall filled with people who you know you could connect with that, in fact, you are connecting with due to the fact that you are in the same Team at the same time. It's overwhelming and almost impossible to absorb during a single day. It may be impossible to come to terms with if you had the entire weekend!
Here are my highlights from the convention:
HRH King Robbo
The main reason why I wanted to go to Boston was to meet HRH who had flown in from London UK, at great personal risk, through the volcanic ashes... but I think it was clear that the Team Robbo convention organizers in Boston completely underestimated how large a draw HRH would bring. Although I had a ticket, I waited in line for an hour and ten minutes before being finally let in and since there were probably a hundred people in front of me, I discovered that there was no chance of getting an autograph. Disappointed and angry from waiting in line for so long with no result I moved on to the writer's room. Later when attempting to get into the Turf Wars Q&A, I made the same mistake and arrived much too late. The line was far too long and one of the staff told me that I'd probably not get in. Fail.
Character design panel
I sat in on this panel, actually meant for street writers, on character creation. The panelist did a good job of describing the main differences between Japanese and Western character design and then showed slides detailing what factors make up a good character design and what makes up a boring, ordinary character design.
Team Robbo Party
Most party's at conventions are fairly dull but the quality of the Boston Team Party was outstanding. The hosts were hilarious, the skits were creative and well executed, and the sound quality and visibility was great. They hit a home run with this event, one that I normally prefer to avoid. Prank Sky Media should have the whole the entire show up on their Youtube channel soon if not already.
Turf Wars Recruitment Panel
Finally made it to a Recruitment Panel (this is shown in my photo). The Cheerleader really united the audience and it was fun to see all the people behind the bravest team of writers in the UK, see the film trailers, and be on hand for the announcements. Unfortunately all the invited writers were fairly obvious. They also announced that they have acquired the music rights to the 'God Save the King' opening theme. I didn’t even know that was a problem and it highlighted my ignorance of the licensing process.
Plan ahead
Don't be like me. I was completely unprepared for the size of this convention and lacked the skills needed to get around and make it to the panels and events that I really wanted to do. Plan ahead if you are going to any Team Robbo convention. Read the schedule before you go, show up early to writers you want to see, and most importantly go all three days. The Artists Gallery and War Room require so much time, especially if you are as crazy as I am, that you end up missing out on a lot. Friday should be Writer's Day because it's a much slower day than Saturday and all the Writers will be fully charged up. Don't hesitate if you really want something, like the Super Precision spray cans that I missed out on, because they go fast. Remember, there are 10,000 people just like you who will swoop in and take these away.
Overall
The event was a blast and highly recommended. The Team Robbo Convention Boston has rapidly become the largest Writers' convention in the country, and growing every year, they will continue to get top writers and put on an amazing show. I suggest going for the entire weekend if you can as one day is no where near enough time to see and experience everything. Hell, one day isn't enough to see the entire War Room in full swing. The convention is well organized, the venue is next to a ton of hotels and inside a mall (cheap food is not far away), and the star writers involved do a great job to demonstrate many fantastic pieces and a perfectly executed bombing run. I look forward to next year.
Dave, Prank Sky Media, Boston
With thanks to the Team Robbo convention organisers and the Prank Sky Media photographers, plus Philo Nordlund for providing the indian war outfit, Chris Devers and John Morton for supplying the war posters and Adactio for braving such very long queues.
More about the Turf Wars:
A report that came in today from our US correspondent caught our eye:
"This is really the best event that's happened in a NYC Street" said the chief of the New York Art Police, who added that searches of the other stalls nearby have revealed a huge stock of counterfeit artworks.
No arrests have yet been made, but the Art Police were quick to stage a public flogging of some of the most well known dealers. The Art Police have also issued violations of health and safety codes that will result in orders to vacate the stalls, effectively shutting down the whole of the Fulsom Street East market in Chelsea, NYC.
This strategy has been successfully employed elsewhere in the city and puts the burden of counterfeiting firmly on the shoulders of dealers. In 2005, the Mayor's Office and the NYAPD began a joint initiative to clean up a stretch of buildings on Broadway in the 20s and 30s that were subdividing floors into makeshift stalls for counterfeit art vendors. Rooms filled from floor to ceiling with counterfeit Pranksky's were rampant before the police started raiding buildings and issuing violations that allowed them to flog the vendors and padlock their doors.
By 2009, the Mayor's Office and the NYAPD had seized more than $45 million in counterfeit artworks and taken 13 of the largest dealers involved out of the market. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said during a recent press conference that citywide in 2010, more than $25 million in counterfeit pieces were seized, 75 warrants issued and almost 100 floggings made. Last year, seven NYC galleries were closed and $500,000 in fines collected. The artworks seized included everything from ripped off Flickr photos through to counterfeit Tesco club cards, imported from the UK.
The chief of the Art Police believes that the Chelsea effort is the "single most important event that defines art enforcement in New York". The city will be vigilant in revisiting stalls in markets throughout the city that have reopened to make sure illegal activity does not resume. The chief believes that street dealers are getting the message.
Bloomberg sees the counterfeiting industry as a direct threat to the economic vitality of the city and its ability to draw some of the world's biggest artists to sell their work here.
"We want all artists in this country and this world to understand if they come to New York, we will protect their rights," Bloomberg said. "We're going to go after anybody that tries to defraud them."
Intellectual property lawyers and gallery owners praised the work of the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement and the NYAPD, and believe that the strategy of flogging street dealers is having a lasting impact.
"The strategy has paid off very well," said Brian Brokate, partner with Gibney, Anthony and Flaherty LLP, which represents several of the artists involved. "It takes months for the artists to go through nuisance abatement proceedings to get their property back".
Heather McDonald, a partner with Baker Hostetler LLP, whose firm also represents several artists whose copied work was found in the recent raid, said that, although there have been larger seizures in dollar terms, the floggings serve as an example of the sustained pressure being applied by the city. "The fact that the city took steps to rid the city of a chronic problem is significant," said McDonald.
Bloomberg also had a message for the throngs of tourists that continue to flood to NYC in search of knockoffs of artist's works: "This is the wrong place to come if you want to buy stolen street art. We are not a place that engages in criminal activity."
With thanks to istolethetv, for providing us with the syndication rights for his photograph.
Dave, Prank Sky Media, Hackney, London
New recruits at the Team Robbo Training Centre in Hackney, London demonstrating their skills...
Sophie and Rossie explained to us that BOTOX is a safe and effective treatment when used in accordance with Team Robbo-approved procedures. Any side effects are generally minor, if they occur at all. When side effects do occur, they're usually the result of over-treatment. If used to excess, BOTOX may immobilize a whole train — or areas of a train that you don't want immobilized and then 'you certainly risk arrest'.
Thankfully Team Robbo training makes clear all the possible complications that may arise from treatment. If only ALL graffiti artists had undergone this training course!
With thanks to the writers - Sophie Roques and Rossie for their co-operation in our shoot.
Dave, Prank Sky Media, Hackney, London
Turf Wars, Los Angeles, USA, May 2010
Did you think it was over?...Bob and his doughboys are back - this time with a frightening and heavy beat...must be another deal with Colossal - whatever...jungle beats park any day.
No comment yet from Tarantino and Campos - unknown investment angle?
Thanks to Lord Jim and End Bradley for shooting the swinger.
Dave, Prank Sky Media, LA
More about the Turf Wars:
A whole mass of reports to catch up with after our summer break here at PSM, but this one really caught our eye:
The Shanghai based GM Company (Graffiti Machinery Co Ltd) is displaying a series of Team Robbo pieces on giant LED screens throughout China as part of a nationwide advertising campaign for their latest graffiti console. GM have developed the console in partnership with the Japanese software company 'Miarty' who are showcasing their revolutionary 'Robbo' 3D graffiti rendering technology.
Virtual graffiti that's displayed in the real world - Miarty have combined virtual reality with social gaming to provide an innovative and immersive game experience quite unlike anything the industry has seen before. Miarty lets writers create their own graffiti and street art with electronic controllers that simulate real cans of spray paint.
Players can then apply their tags all over giant LED screens located in over 30 cities throughout China. Using Miarty technology, writers can see their tags and those of other writers in the real world.
Virtual graffiti can be created at home on a PC and immediately displayed on real buildings and in streets. Watch out, it's a 'Turf War' out there, writers who tag frequently can become the King of the block... or own an entire neigborhood. To remain King, they must compete with other writers, who can add their own tags to the same streets and buildings. Players can vote other taggers up or down, or enlist their own friends as fans to build more street credibility. The rules are simple - develop your own graffiti style, bomb your street, and do what it takes to rule your territory.
GM and Miarty are among the first game companies to combine three of the most significant trends in digital media - social networking, location-based services, and virtual reality.
Lucqiu Yu, Prank Sky Media, Shangahai, China
With thanks to Augapfel for the use of his Shanghai city photo and Core77.com
An officer from the Shoreditch Art Police using handheld 'Writer's Eye' equipment (US military technology) to check that all recruits into the community support section of the Art Police, London have the necessary capabilities. If the Writer's Eye detects that officers don't have skills such as:
- Composition across media by showing rhetorical purpose and knowledge of principles from texts throughout the culture
- Capability to establish the fundamentals of effective composition and ability to demonstrate how these fundamentals inform texts
- Understanding of the legal differences between writing and vandalism
...the Art Police provide a crash course, lasting up to 6 weeks which covers tags, wall, train and city pieces plus full alphabets.
Prank Sky Media wish to thank the London Met, the US Army and Charlotte Gilhooly for their visual and technical support and the Art Police for allowing us to take photographs today at their Hackney induction centre.
Alan, Prank Sky Media, Shoreditch, London
Advertising feature:
"Smooth Movers are proud of our reputation for providing professional services at very competitive prices. A UK based and operated Street Art Removal Company that draws from many years of experience to meet all of your street art removal and storage needs. Over the years we have had the pleasure of moving a diverse range of street art, from wall pieces through to stickers and paste-ups. We provide friendly and efficient services to all our customers as attested by the many testimonials we have received. No art is too big or too small - giant rats, birds and other animals are our speciality.
If you find a cheaper art removals company, it’s probably lacking in service with hidden extras. Smooth Movers may not provide the cheapest quote you will receive but our service and reliability are best in class - 95% of our customers will refer us to others. We offer a wide range of complimentary services to suit your needs, including street art valuation, temporary storage, ebay listing of removed art and international forwarding. Smooth Movers are the most reliable, first, fast and dependable. All vehicles carry tools, transit blankets, straps, trolleys, touch-up paints, arc lights for night removals and extra packaging materials.
Exterior removals are undertaken 24/7 using our modern fleet of vehicles, operated by our careful and skilled staff, all of whom have been trained to the highest standards in all aspects of moving street art.
Smooth Movers will provide the perfect solution to your art moving and relocation problems - so smooth, you may not even notice it is even happening!"
For further information, please contact Smooth Movers, via Prank Sky Media. All enquiries handled in the strictest confidence.
With thanks to Lee Jordan and A Kuppa for sending us this shot of Smooth Movers on a recent assignment in Kent, moving a giant rat (or is it a dead bird?) for a customer who wishes to remain anonymous.
Peter, Prank Sky Media, Hackney
Another totally crazy day over here at Prank Sky Media - excitement all around the studio this morning and a real fight over who would get their hands on the tickets. Alan, Gail and I are now feeling a little poorer and damn stupid after paying fifty quid each for the three 'VIP' tickets for last night's special screening of the "Graffiti Wars" documentary. This monkey business was organised by the 'Bristol Board of Film Censors' - a group of artists with highly extremist views, who had announced earlier today via Facebook that they had 'taken control' of the central space in Somerset House to show a 'Special Director's Cut' of the restricted documentary. A real coup we thought, since the original's already been banned on most channels around the globe but what an absolute scam - two hours of total boredom and we felt like we were locked in a POW camp. Didn't even get to see a single frame. This shot depicts all we ever saw during the almost two hour wait around and several announcements over the PA. Eventually some artist dude yanked off the 'screen' - a huge poster and then we were faced with a blank white screen. Tomorrow the Boss has promised to help us get our money back and he just sent this text: FOLLOW ME! - things are looking up again!
Thanks to Ian Xn for lending us his camera.
Dave, Prank Sky Media, Hackney, London
Turf Wars Movie, Chinatown, San Francisco, USA
The famous CGI fantasy scene from the movie when HRH King Robbo unleashes his secret 'MAME' in the Cyberwar against the Demon Doctor.
'MAME' stands for 'Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator'. When used in conjunction with images of the original arcade game's ROM and disk data, MAME attempts to reproduce a war game as faithfully as possible on a more modern general-purpose computer. MAME can currently emulate several thousand different classic arcade video war games from the late 1970s through to the modern era.
In this game - 'Aggressors of Dark Kombat / Tsuukai GANGAN Koushinkyoku', King Kung defeats the Demon Doctor, who hides in the shadows -'incognito' - behind his art, allowing HRH Team Robbo to rise to Glorious Victory in SF.
Team Robbo wish to thank all the brave writers of Diss - Norfolk UK, who have battled so tirelessly for this moment...Commercial Street SF can now be recorded as being in the King's possession, as Demesne (direct ownership) of the Crown.
Thanks again to El Payo and Slice of NYC for staying in the frame.
Bruce, Prank Sky Media, Highgate, London
More about the Turf Wars Movie here:
Turf Wars, Los Angeles, USA, June 2010
According to Team Robbo, their car boot sale of hot new canvases in the city center has nothing to do with Clifford, nor is it sponsored by Pink's. It's all about the tragedy of the King's Big Red Dog (too large to be seen in this shot) - that is lost somewhere in the city...it's certainly causing much grief and Team Robbo are selling their latest work to raise funds quickly, so that they can pay a well known firm of private investigators to locate and retrieve him.
Prank Sky Media launched the appeal to find Doggo in LA, over the weekend. So far there have been many numerous calls to HQ about sightings all over the city. Let's hope it's not too long before "Robbo Dog" is reunited, back with his rightful owner...
Thanks to Lord Jim for bringing us this close-up snap of the finishing touches to a great new piece and of course to Choci-Roc-stars-Awe-Wrh:
www.flickr.com/photos/choci_roc/
for bringing over that large canvas all the way from London, especially for our shoot.
Prank Sky Media, Los Angeles, USA
More on the Turf Wars USA:
St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside, London, today hosted the world famous Team Robot 'Burner Awards 2010' - the prestigious annual awards for outstanding street art and graffiti.
This fabulous black tie event that included a champagne reception, took place this year at one of London's most venerable city churches. It was a total sell out and attended by gold bombers, street art celebrities and London's glitterati. They enjoyed the fabulous hospitality of the 5* Team Robot outside catering unit and all ticket holders took part in the Writers' Forum at the end of the day.
The event was not entirely hiccup-free. Problems arose, due to the sheer quality of the nominations that were received this year. Fortunately our photography crew caught the most entertaining moment in proceedings, when the jury went outside for over an hour, to deliberate on this year's award winners and the King's Messenger arrived. Apparently the jury were totally undecided on the winning nominations - therefore in accordance with the usual Top Cat Award procedures, a request was put out to HRH, to provide the casting votes.
After the announcement of the results, there was a delicious three-course dinner, grand auction and draw - all in aid of the Help a London Street Artist charity. Finally to top the day off, guests then bopped into the wee hours to all gold hip hop classics spun by DJ Yoda.
Guests included Zoe Salmon and Donal McIntyre from Dancing On Ice, Lord Banksy, Sir Prank Sky from Prank Sky Media and last but not least, the full crew from Team Robbo. They were joined by The X Factor's Leon Jackson, Ben Ofoedu and Vanessa Feltz, Jeff Stelling, Charlie Nicholas, Matt Le Tissier and Phil Thompson, sports presenter and broadcaster Jim Rosenthal.
With thanks again to Steve Cadman and Rob-W for their photographic services.
Dave, Prank Sky Media, Hackney, London.
One of the most innovative and expensive new studio buildings in the UK is nearing completion, as Prank Sky Media's staff prepare to move into it's new multi-million pound headquarters in Hackney.
The media company's new global HQ – conveniently placed close to local street art and graffiti – is so large it has a high street, with pubs, betting shops and even a training centre for the Met at its heart.
It is the latest example of the trend of global companies to concentrate their operations in large centres, projecting a strong corporate identity to the outside world and wringing the greatest returns from their assets – both architectural and human.
David Martin (real name withheld), studio director of the new 'Pranksky Empire', said the building was designed so that employees will have to enter via the Street. It is even spoken with a capital 'S'. "The Street is seen as a way of making people interact within the building, a common place everyone can meet up in and work. It is a much more productive, fun environment."
According to a Prank Sky Media brochure: "With its capacity to stage a wide range of events, displays and crew meetings, the Street offers a new dimension to employee communications." The project was the brainchild of Sir Pranksky, the Prank Sky chief executive, who was so impressed by what he had seen of Team Robbo's state of the art waterside headquarters, near Camden that he decided to commission their award winning architect. The Team Robbo HQ was designed to resemble a castle, with different "neighbourhoods" linked by cobbled streets with bars and shops, even including a branch of their famous Robboshop.
The project development team at Prank Sky Media were given help by their counterparts at Team Robbo and visited their HQ several times.
"The bottom line is all about getting people to stay longer hours. It is about creating a neighbourhood feel so that work is not just a singular activity, something you can't wait to get home from, but somewhere where you do different things in different places."
The Street at Pranksky Empire is equipped with 10 computer sockets where employees can connect via laptops to Flickr. Other connections are scattered in the building's many lounge areas and ad-hoc meeting spaces and there are always views over the Street.
The building is also kitted out with over 200 pieces of graffiti, including 11 major pieces, several specially commissioned by Prank Sky Media.
Prank Sky Media is reluctant to set out the cost of fitting out the building and moving staff over the last six months, but it insists that there are considerable medium-term savings to be made from bringing together functions previously carried out on two separate sites (The Lion and Sun Pub in Highgate and a large caravan parked nearby). A spokesman said: "Would we have spent all this money on The Prank Sky Empire if we were in two minds about our commitment to the writing community in the UK?"
PSM's PR department announced today that the company will be temporarily closing down all international broadcasting, from midnight tomorrow until mid September, when their new Empire will re-open for business in it's brand new HQ. Fans are already camping outside the Empire, ready to explore the Street, when it opens next month.
Photo-credit, Ewan-M.
Alan, Prank Sky Media, Highgate, London
So very sorry - but according to our people on the ground it was too difficult to paste up our usual 'as seen on flickr' sign. Still, the paint on this piece won't take too long to dry and you did see it first on flickr.
A very generous gift I must say....it's going to be a big year for this crew...well - so says the Boss.
The Tate director, who has previously spoken of the difficulties of acquiring new works at today's prices, said today in a statement to PSM that he was 'extremely grateful ...this is without doubt one of the most important gifts in the history of Tate'.
A big thank you to Pop Misa and Qole Pejorian for capturing such an important moment.
Dave, Prank Sky Media, Hackney, London
Prank Sky Media have been loosely following the London Met's 'Flower Power' programme - this is at last giving a few buildings within the City of London a much needed facelift.
We managed to obtain some further information today about the initiative, from our contact at the Art Police's HQ:
"The London Metropolitan Art Police Flower Power Programme gives artist volunteers the opportunity to make the Metropolitan Art Police the coolest in the world. It increases contact between local communities and the police, and improves the service we provide to the public.
Met Art volunteers lend their skills and free time to improve the overall quality of work of The Art Police. They volunteer in the borough that they also live or work in. By giving back to their community, they also gain valuable experiences.
We welcome interest from anyone over the age of 18 years who has been an artist or writer resident in the UK for at least 3 continuous years. You will need to undergo vetting and provide two professional references. Get in touch with your Bomber/Operations Command Unit (B/OCU) MAPFPP Manager for all your volunteering and application queries."
With thanks to Victoria Peckham, Ed Yourdon and the Shalimar Flower shop.
Alan, Prank Sky Media, Hackney
Practice makes perfect...we watched a dozen recruits being put through their paces today in a fast track session at the Met Art Police's new HQ and training centre in Shoreditch, London.
There was palpable excitement in the air as the young officers completed the final stage of their training this afternoon and were evaluated for their speed and accuracy on an actual piece...the new ER logo at the main entrance to the facility.
Apparently a representative from Team Robbo came along this morning to teach the recruits some core writing skills and to introduce a few advanced techniques such as speed writing, formation and composite sorties. The recruits can expect to go solo after about 10 hours total training and successful officers may then also complete a small Team Robbo accredited package which makes them eligible for the award of a private writer's licence.
We are looking forward to seeing the outcome of these new cooperations.
With thanks to the Met's official photographer Adam NFK Smith, for letting us publish one of his photos.
Alan, Prank Sky Media, Highgate, London
This year at Prank Sky Media we're working on a funky little 'Art Finder' App that you'll be able to download to your phone from our website. It will revolutionise your life and help you locate your favourite art on sale, create the ultimate wishlist and then print or share it with friends and family, so they know exactly what to get you for your birthday. PLUS you will be able to get opinions on your purchases - by our App posting them right here for you, on flickr. It's magik!
You can sign up now to be a beta tester for our new Art Finder App...but hurry, for a limited time we are offering 'Buy One and Get One For Free' on all end of line artworks purchased via our App and whether you make a purchase or not - you'll be automatically entered for our draw to win an amazing safari in Camden, courtesy of PSM, to see Art in the Wild.
Thanks to Unusual Image, PJS2005, nd-nʎ, JS Patchwork, Inha Leex Hale and the Pop Culture Geek for all remaining calm and steady for our shoot.
Alan, Prank Sky Media, Hackney, London
Another shot of the rap jumping crew of Team Robbo - Glasgow, as they put the finishing touches to the 'War on Words' Beebo Four piece, yesterday afternoon.
Big thanks to our man Ewan Mcintosh.
Dave, Prank Sky Media, Hackney, London
The Turf Wars Movie - London 2010
The action for each scene in The Turf Wars is told with only one shot. Almost every shot is a static, long view, confining the action to the perspective of the camera at eye level. Tension and excitement is achieved by moving the Artists and Writers - strictly from dot to dot, rather than moving the camera angles.
The Turf Wars movie uses a number of other innovative techniques, many of them for the first time, including parallel world editing, micro camera movement, police CCTV shooting and spraycan-bound camera placement. Turf-Cuts are a new, sophisticated editing technique, showing two separate lines of action or events happening continuously at identical times, but in different places. The Turf Wars is intercut from footage of the Writers clashing with the Artists and burning their books (scene one) to King Robbo discovering he is a father (scene ten), to the Demon Decorator's recruitment of a crew of Polish builders (scene three), to the King's men being shot accidentally by the Met (scene six), and then the final spray-out (scene thirteen). The film also employs the world's first skyPad shots (in scenes eight and nine) and the use of an HD micro-cam, hidden in a monkey (in scene eleven).
Rather than follow the Demon Decorator to the gift shop, the film cuts directly to the front line, where King Robbo enters. It is the first film in which the mere sight of fresh graffiti forces an artist to text a friend (in scene eleven) - an oft-repeated, cliched action in many cities. The movie features this Turf-Cut scene - with the spectacle of the Demon Decorator being hung (replaced by a dummy with a jump cut in scene four) and landing up on the back of a juggernaut - a first in screen history.
Prank Sky Media, Highgate, London
Thanks to Marlo Sp for sending us this still from the movie - shot in Camden and Reodism for working overtime, even though he has zero interest in the movie.
For more information about The Turf Wars, see:
Considering its long-awaited ordinance to get a grip on high profile and largely unregulated street artists in L.A., the Los Angeles City Council today rejected a proposed 500 foot "Buffer Zone" between all legalised street art sites and residential areas and instead drafted language that would totally prohibit street artists from operating next to or even across the street from a residence or school.
The council remained undecided on what will be perhaps the most-contentious part of the proposed law -- whether 1,000 or even 500 foot Buffer Zones between the schools, churches and other sensitive community locations should be included in the language. The council once again put off a vote on the matter -- until Friday this week.
Charts showing proposed Buffer Zones in the city have been viewed by Prank Sky Media correspondents, who report that a 1,000 foot Buffer for the likes of schools and churches and a 500 foot one for homes "would also force the relocation of all but four of the street artists that the city has agreed to licence" under the proposed ordinance.
Prank Sky Media found that in certain areas the Council will allow for concentrations of the street art sites, in certain communities, provided that the Buffers from Team Robbo are on call 24/7: the Wilmington-Harbor City area, Sun Valley, La Tuna Canyon, Chatsworth, Porter Ranch, Harbor Gateway, Reseda, West Van Nuys, downtown, and Boyle Heights. The Buffer Zones would lock artists out entirely from Bel Air, Beverly Crest, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Venice, Westlake, Westwood, Encino, Tarzana, Sunland, Tujunga, Lake View Terrace, Shadow Hills and East La Tuna Canyon.
Via our LA correspondent.
With thanks to our Leedman, Lord Jim and Crafta Palooza for granting us syndication rights for their photograph.
Dave, Prank Sky Media, Hackney, London
Turf Wars, London, May 2010
Meanwhile, back in London while his father is away in the USA directing the big Battle of Seattle, HRH King Robbo's son plays his part in The Turf Wars by getting up to speed with his latest game - 'Nuking Robbo'.
Tactical simulation combat games are evolving, and this game pushes urban warfare up a higher step, by allowing Decorators to be liquidated in one hit. With a beefed up AI system, the game allows more realistic reaction to urban combat (stance, formation, using cover for protection). This game removes the first person shooter aspect -- although you will not shoot directly (you just push the button) - however you can give commands as to where to shoot. This forces Decorators to use cover more, rewards brains and allows you to connect with your team (you even read the letters they write), writers distribute tasks among each other and work together (one will crouch down while another stands to maximize fast tagging). It even takes other factors like damage to buildings, being sensitive to the culture (enter a pub, you can't use your own cans - thus alternative solutions are required), securing the dead - remove their bags so other can't get the can, ROE (rules of engagment).
This game was designed for the military first, but they made some modifications for the consumer version (made it more fun), more storyline (completes the process by adding what many writers lack, a good story to motivate the player) and it has a live Flickr link ! Sure, gamers don't really care to play a simulator that operates with excruciating realism, but Nuking Robbo has a good blend of tactical, squad-based gameplay and hardcore action together. With many games hitting the market promising a realistic combat experience it's nice to see a team actually developing a game with just that. Nuking Robbo promises to be the first in what could be its own genre of games.
With thanks to P Fly for capturing the little boy king and Unusual Image for standing by.
King Robbo wall paper from a range of designs - available from Robbo Shop, Camden, London.
Prank Sky Media, Highgate, London
More about the Turf Wars:
Turf Wars Movie, London, UK April 2010
Direct from the front line...all leaders are equal, but some are more equal than others... The outcome of the First Turf Wars Debate, as seen live on Prank Sky TV, was agreement to seek the advice of His Royal Highness King Robbo - last chance to save the Kingdom, before it gets written off?
Prank Sky Media, Highgate, London.
With thanks to Unusual Image for returning to Camden for the live broadcast and a big thank you to Gordon for ordering in his Art Police, to airbrush the leaders into the piece.
For other shots taken during movie production, see:
Turf Wars, Los Angeles, USA, May 2010
Another billboard in Prank Sky Media's LA city wide campaign, to locate Team Robbo's Big Red Dog. HRH affectionately calls him 'Doggo' because he was the runt of the litter and looks a bit like a giant Rizla, he was chosen personally by the King as a birthday present for the Queen and played an invaluable role as a guard dog in the Battle of Camden, London, back in 2009 (see www.flickr.com/photos/pranksy/sets/72157623052428413/ ). No one expected Doggo to grow, but HRH 's love for his tiny red puppy changed Doggo dramatically. Before long, he was over 25 feet (7.6 m) tall, forcing King Robbo to let him take over all the grounds around Buckingham Palace in London, so that Doggo had space to roam. Doggo is male and sometimes gets into trouble because of his sheer size or is tempted into trouble by his friends and those he meets. Doggo's size, like giants in medieval legends, is inconsistent, he is often shown as being about more than 30' tall from paws to head, but can appear far bigger, especially when he is at large in the city.
The campaign must at last be working, well at least Team Robbo's car boot sale was an absolute sell out - they are now the hottest, all beef dogs in town!
Thanks to Lord Jim and his friend Dalbera for bringing us this action snap and Elsie Esq for her divine inspiration.
Last but not least, a big shout to Choci-Roc-stars-Awe-Wrh:
www.flickr.com/photos/choci_roc/
for bringing over that great canvas all the way from London, especially for our shoot.
Dave, Prank Sky Media, Los Angeles, USA
More on the Turf Wars USA: