Week 01: Initial Ideas + Research

Ideation

Out of the 3 main themes that were presented (Data, Illusion and Play), I knew I wanted to explore deeper into the theme of ‘Illusion’. There were 2 main ideas that I wanted to explore under ‘Illusion’, mainly playing on the idea of manipulating ordinary everyday objects and turning them into a completely new subject. Both of the ideas are categorised under experimental film:

  1. Timelapse/Long exposure
  2. Kaleidoscope effect + the mixture of nature and cityscapes

Timelapse / Long exposure

I’ve always been intrigued by how long exposure alters the image completely. It is something we don’t normally be able to capture with our naked eyes but more so with the help of technology. There is also a sense of movement running through the image even though it is just a still image.

This video is an example of how timelapse and long exposure photography can work together to display a sense of movement through the city. I love how the lights from the vehicles, buildings and street lights enables this sense of dynamic flow within the city.


Kaleidoscope effect + A mixture of Nature and Cityscapes

I’m leaning more towards this second idea. I’m inspired by how Central Park in New York City is a whole plot situated in the middle of the city full of buildings and skyscrapers and I was wondering how I can combine these two different elements of nature and city together into a cohesive piece.

Top view of Central Park

I’m looking to create an experimental film combining the elements of nature and cityscape, putting Singapore in the context of how there is still nature all around us despite how technologically advanced and urbanised Singapore has become. Building on this idea, I want to also include specific visual elements that will allow the film to evolve into a more abstract piece instead of just a narrative.

I did a little research on how Singaporeans can connect back with nature despite the urban growth and came across this article. 

https://www.thenatureofcities.com/2015/05/31/community-in-nature-reconnecting-singapores-urbanites-with-nature/

The article talks about how “there is a growing disconnect between the people who live in cities and the natural environment” and that they are trying to bridge the gap between nature and the community.

“This initiative aims to synergise and coordinate all nature-related events, activities, and programmes to better reach out to the community to encourage them to bond over and with nature.”

I found it interesting that there are efforts being placed to encourage the growth of conserving nature and how we as Singaporeans, living in an urban city can learn to start appreciating nature and coexist with one another.

I found some videos online that allowed me to visualise my project, and piecing together different parts of inspiration and ideas into one complete project.

 

The mood I’m going is roughly reflected in these two videos, with certain scenes reflecting nature in its quiet and untouched form. The videos evoke a certain mood that I want to apply to my project.

This video shows the kaleidoscope and mirror effect applied to reflect an ordinary image to turn it into a more abstract piece, giving a fresh perspective of what is normally seen. I want to incorporate these 2 elements together and there is definitely still a lot of experimentation to be done through filming as well as the editing process to achieve the desired outcome.