Butsky! Vutsky!

September 4, 2008 8:46 PM

Virtual Vaudeville[shockwave] Watch a 3D simulation of legendary comedian Frank Bush in a vaudeville performance from a variety of perspectives. Switch between any of eight perspectives at any time and read the extensive hypermedia notes to gain a richer understanding of the performance in its historical context.
posted by tellurian (11 comments total)

I have a feeling I'd like this -- if I could watch it.
posted by RavinDave at 9:18 PM on September 4, 2008

Hm, that actually crashed my firefox twice for some reason. Let me try it on a different browser.
posted by puke & cry at 9:32 PM on September 4, 2008

Ah, worked in chrome. Thanks.
posted by puke & cry at 9:39 PM on September 4, 2008

quicktime
posted by greensweater at 6:23 AM on September 5, 2008

have a feeling I'd like this -- if I could watch it.
Hm, that actually crashed my firefox twice for some reason.
quicktime

What's going on? There seems to be some difficulty with people accessing the site.
Can we work out what it is? This is a very cool implementation (yes, I know it's a bit old, but it needs more funding for its future projects and so needs more exposure). I'd like as many people as possible to be able to access it.

Works for me in Safari 1.3.2, OS X 10.3.9
posted by tellurian at 7:39 AM on September 5, 2008

This is fabulous, just really fabulous. A vibrant, enthralling representation of historical performance. Brings it to life. And the sidebar definitions, lyrics, explanations, insights... all so well done. This is an internet jewel. Thanks so much for this wonderful post, tellurian.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:56 AM on September 5, 2008

Tell me about it flapjax at midnite. The absurdity of fixing ripped pants with glass blows my mind.
posted by tellurian at 9:02 AM on September 5, 2008

Dude, this is Metafilter: Tired Rehashing of Political Commentary. I don't know why you're posting this best of the web stuff here!

By which I mean, holy crap, this is frickin' amazing. Video games and porn are nice and all, but not exactly revolutionary. They do make a great funding strategy for virtual reenactments of historical events!
posted by Squid Voltaire at 10:45 AM on September 5, 2008

Exceptionally well done. Amazing this didn't make more rounds earlier...
posted by Ogre Lawless at 1:41 PM on September 5, 2008

The next best thing to Virtual Vaudeville, is Disc Three of the recent three-disc DVD package of the "Jazz Singer". It seems that when Warner Brothers came up with its Vitaphone "talkie" system, they needed some way to show it off, so they gathered up all the loose vaudeville performers hanging around New York, and had them do their acts for the camera:

"This disc contains over four hours of rare and historic Vitaphone Shorts from the Warner Bros. Vaults, covering the years 1926 to 1936. They feature some of the most gifted vaudeville and stage performers of that period. In most cases, this is the only surviving record of their extraordinary talents. Among the 25 acts featured are Elsie Janis, Van and Schenck, Blossom Seeley and Bennie Fields, Hazel Green, The Foy Family, Gus Arnheim and His Ambassadors, Baby Rose Marie, Joe Frisco and Burns and Allen.

For anybody interested in early vaudeville, this third disc is a treasure trove."
posted by Faze at 5:29 AM on September 6, 2008 [1 favorite]

That's amazing! What a find, tellurian! I've often wondered about vaudeville and this is the first time I've seen it in action, so to speak.

I can't let a glazier reference go by without linking to my favorite Baudelaire poem, The Bad Glazier.
posted by Kattullus at 9:42 AM on September 6, 2008