Experiencing Dakota Crescent – Research Essay

Concept

Experiencing Dakota Crescent is an experimental and experiential film that aims to capture the atmosphere, mood and essence of the old Dakota Crescent estate before it gets fully reclaimed by the government for redevelopment. Through this film, it is hoped that the slow, leisurely lifestyle of the old estate so rarely found in the fast pace of Singapore can be accurately documented, while also showing how the modern pace of Singapore have affected the lifestyle of Singapore’s old estates.

The film is presented with the Google Cardboard in the style of a Virtual Reality (VR) experience, in order to create a totally isolated head space for the viewer to watch the film with minimal disturbances, and to ensure maximum levels of immersion. Video moshing, a glitch technique previously discussed in class, is also employed as a commentary on the limitations of such forms of documenting experiences, as well as the impermanence of digital memory.

Relationship between content and form

The clips themselves are shot in a roving, meandering style to create the immersive experience as naturally as possible by creating the illusion of a direct first person’s viewpoint of walking through the estate. Familiar public and shared spaces of the traditional HDB flat, such as the corridors, playgrounds and void decks are shot to build a sense of nostalgia for the viewer. At the same time, these shots of people’s living spaces are juxtaposed with the shots of empty lots in the old estate as a result of the redevelopment plans – showing not just a mere physical deconstruction but also a spiritual deconstruction of the Dakota Crescent estate. Certain iconic landmarks of the estate such as the Dove playground and the provisions shop block are also documented with a static camera shot to capture the atmosphere of the place accurately.

The shots are edited such that the motion of the camera is continued through the different shots, with the static camera shots dispersed between them to creae a sense of variation and rhythm. Vide moshing techniques are also used both as a transition between shots and conceptually to create a jarring difference with the slow, atmospheric shots. The sound design of the film was kept minimal to minimize interference with the moving image, but with the sound of wind chimes added to create a sense of nostalgia and transience.

Experimentation and presentation

The main experimentation for this project came in the format of presentation – the shots themselves were not driven by a narrative, nor were they edited sequentially. While the static shooting style was largely influenced by the film 03-FLATS, the roving camera motion was something that was relatively new and familiar, and therefore challenging to pull off. Another challenge during the process was the shooting of such atmospheric scenes in a slow paced way, while also keeping enough content in to keep the viewer’s interest.

Experimental video moshing techniques were also applied post-production as transitional effects – this was achieved via old glitchy software and intentional creating errors in the video files by erasing keyframes. The method undertaken was extremely risky as the errors created were randomised and permanent; hence a system of trial and error had to be employed to get the most satisfactory result out of the process. The use of video moshing was influenced by Rachel Whiteread’s deconstruction of physical spaces in her installation works, thus creating the inspiration for the use of data corruption to deconstruct a space digitally.

The film was presented in the form of the Google Cardboard, a VR viewer – although the film was not shot to be a VR experience due to the limitations in time and equipment, risks were taken to develop the film in that specific medium as the creation of an isolated, immersive space was crucial to the communication of the film’s concepts and message.

Care was taken through the shooting process to shoot in a slow, sweeping motion – to allow the viewer to fully immerse themselves in the film while still providing some sort of direction and focus in the film. Shots such as the exploration of the empty lots was also planned out beforehand to create smooth transitions without stopping at a particular point for too long. The soundtrack for the film was mixed between ambience sound recorded on location and sound clips of wind chimes to create some sense of musicality and transience in the film, while retaining the experiential, naturalistic style of the shots.

Bibliography

Desmond Lim. “People behind the Old Charm at Dakota Crescent.” The Straits Times. 9 July 2015. Web. 5 Apr. 2015. <http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/people-behind-the-old-charm-at-dakota-crescent>.

Yuan Bin, Lei. “03-FLATS Official Trailer.” Vimeo. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.

EXPERIENCING DAKOTA CRESCENT – Process and reflections

While the initial conceptualisation for this final project went by really quickly, the process for this was one filled with trial and error – the initial idea I had for the installation was a full sized “experience booth”, which was unrealistic for a solo project under such a tight time frame. I wanted something that was deeply immersive as it was a crucial part of my work’s concept – but the technology available to me was limited. After doing much research online, I found the Google Cardboard – a VR viewer that on could create at home. While I was unable to film a true VR film, the Google Cardboard could still be adapted to show normal films while creating the sort of immersive experience I wanted. Hence, the Google Cardboard was chosen as my presentation form despite my inexperience with it (and thus the risks involved.)

For the filming of the film, I visited the location twice – once to recce possible shooting locations and once to shoot everything. The recce session was crucial to the filming as there were certain shots that I had to scout out beforehand, such as the interior shots of the apartments. It also helped me to determine the time of the day for the final shot – for my initial plan, I wanted to film from day to night but I realised after the recce that most of the activity and the mood of the place was in the late afternoon. Hence, the recce session helped to narrow down my series of shots and the focus of the subsequent shoot.

For the actual shoot itself, it mostly passed without much difficulties. It was the editing and post processing that had many challenges. While the cutting and piecing together the clips was relatively easy due to the pre-shoot planning, it was the creation of the video moshing technique that was hard to do. The video moshing called for the use of a very outdated version of freeware, which was buggy and crashed multiple times while I was processing the files. The technique itself was also randomised – hence I had no control over the results and I had to try multiple times to get the result I wanted. Despite the difficulties, I learnt a lot about experimental processing techniques and I found it a fun an interesting experience.

All in all, I really enjoyed doing this project, and the results that I was able to come up with. Doing this project, however, really made me feel the limitations of working solo – I had to cover all the bases myself and so was unable to do much in terms of scope and scale. Hence, I think working together in a team will be something that I would like to work towards for future projects.

EXPERIENCING DAKOTA CRESCENT – FINAL