Week 2-4: Progress update

Experimentation

Mirror effect

Following up from my previous post, I went around and did some experimental shots at a nature reserve to try and have a feel of what I can come up with relating to the theme/mood I was going for. I played around with the effects in Adobe Premiere Pro (mainly mirroring and glitching) in order to bring out a kaleidoscope effect/generative art from a mundane piece of visual.

For this piece, I basically did some movement with the camera in the actual filming and then I added a single layer of mirror effect. I personally like this piece as the reflected image and the movement allows it to look like it is evolving within itself, creating a new and refreshing image with every frame.

Next, I experimented with more layers within the same clip and overlayed 4 different layers of ‘mirror effect’, each with a different angle to multiply the image to make it look more abstract. This produces an image almost similar to when we look through a kaleidoscope.

These are a few more examples I did experimenting around with the mirror effect to see the outcome of it.

Glitch effect

In addition, I referenced from youtube tutorials to learn how to make glitching effects, either to compliment a transition from clip to the next or just to give an extra layer of effect to enhance the clip.

Speed ramping effect

This clip below was a combination of the glitch effect I’ve learnt earlier and also doing a bit of speed ramping (which is basically speeding up certain parts of the clip and slowing it down).

Slow motion effect

I also tried out slowing down the time of the clips to test out how I can incorporate different speeds within different footages to give more depth to the entire film. The clip below was slowing down the time with a combination of a cant angle movement, resulting in a more smooth and stable shot.

Realisation

After experimenting with these clips and effects, I realised that I’ve been working on the 1920 x 1080 resolution instead of the intended Media Art Nexus wall resolution which is 3840 x 480.

I converted my files to fit the sequence settings of 3840 x 480. However, I wasn’t very satisfied with the outcome when my 1920 x 1080 footage had to be resized to 3840 x 480 as that would mean that I would have to double the pixel count on the long side which would result in a loss of quality of the footages. This also led to more problems that affected the storytelling I initially envisioned. Due to the ‘crop’ resolution, it looked like there was a narrow field of vision which didn’t portray the visuals I had in mind. A large section of the images were cropped out which resulted in an almost ‘zoom’ perspective of these images.

Timeline screenshot of the footage in 3840 x 480 resolution.

Example footage with mirror effect in 3840 x 480 resolution. There is a narrow field of vision as compared to what I initially intended.

Overall, these experiments have helped me to realise what actually works and what didn’t. It also allowed me to improve my technical skill of the software and workflow of the project.

2D Project 1, Week 6: Final

Hello my name is..

and I’m an adventure seeker

I love the idea of going out for an adventure, finding new and incredible things, and just being curious about the world. It has always been a dream of mine to want to travel to different parts of the world, experiencing new cultures, be it the city life or the countryside. I am inspired by the videos that I watch on Youtube almost everyday about how travelling brings new experiences that are never taught in classrooms. Finding adventure in a place is something I am working towards, going the extra mile to see places and do things I never thought of doing.

The items displayed in the photo above are some of the things that represent adventure to me. I included my feet as part of the photo because they are what I rely on to go for these adventures.

Hello my name is..

and i’m a tree hugger

I’ve always been passionate about nature and the environment since I was young. I enjoy going for walks in nature reserves, the parks and just being out and about. I included my hand as part of the photo as it resembles my idea of wanting to lend a helping hand for the environment in the future. I feel like right now, I am not doing much to help in the conservation of earth but I hope to be able to participate in conservation projects in the future. This is also in relation to my idea of seeking adventure.

Hello my name is..

and i’m observant

I’ve always been an observant person. I am quick to notice certain things in the environment. Sometimes, I just tend to notice things that people normally overlook and analyse them more in-depth in my head. The binoculars view implies the idea of using a binoculars as being observant, to look out and see things beyond what people actually see. It always amuses me sometimes at how I can remember small little details of people and objects around me that people don’t really take notice of. In addition, being observant feeds my habit of people watching. While waiting for my bus, I will sit down by the bench and just watch people go about in their daily activities. It is always interesting to see people’s reactions, how they walk, what they are carrying and I just wonder like where they are from, where are they going, who are they meeting etc.

Hello my name is..

and i’m a visual storyteller

I’ve always been fascinated about cameras and different tools of storytelling. I developed a strong interest in photography and videography since I entered polytechnic back in 2010. My interest amplified when my mom bought me a Canon DSLR as a birthday gift and up till today, I am still using it for different purposes. As the years went by, different cameras were introduced to me and I was intrigued at how each camera has its own way of defining itself and its delivery methods. Therefore, I am now using these tools as a way of telling my stories. I like to film and take photographs when I travel to different countries, and put up short videos on Youtube so I can share it with the rest of the world. It is one of my ultimate goals to travel around the world and film. Also, the reason I chose to photograph parts of my name in different polaroids and then combining it together because its with these different parts of my life, when brought together, becomes a whole picture.

Overall, I had a good learning experience from making each individual composition all the way from the thought process up to the execution process, facing certain problems along the way but eventually finding out the solution to it, as well as the generous feedbacks from my classmates during consultation and during my presentation 🙂

You can view how I did all of these compositions here, BEHIND THE SCENES!

2D Project 1, Week 5: Behind The Scenes

This is the behind the scenes of my final product for Project 1! If you’ll like to check it out, click HERE!

Adventure Seeker

For this piece, I had to go around the house finding objects and items that meant ‘adventure’ to me. Initially, I wanted to play around with the idea of negative space which was brought up by Daniel during the group consultation. However, after much consideration, I felt that the use of negative space would mean that I would have to find even more objects around the house and that was already a challenge to begin with. I decided to settle with my initial idea of using objects to make the typeface instead which require less work. Below are some the images that eventually led to the final output of this piece.

Setting the scene

Making sure the items are placed properly

Side perspective of the scene

Test shot #1

Test shot #2 (without shoes, tighter crop)

Tree Hugger

For this piece, there were a lot of hands-on work to be done prior to the execution.

Firstly, I browsed through the internet looking for a suitable font. This font is called ‘Cheddar Jack’, I typed it out on photoshop and printed it out to act as a template.

Once printed, I cut away all the white spaces to form my template.

I laid the template over a piece of cardboard to create a much more sturdy template as compared to paper.

Just like in step 1, I cut the negative spaces out.

Materials for the next step

Next, I used PVA glue and sprinkle the moss over the top.

Completed product

Next, I had the idea of placing it on my arm because it relates to my idea of wanting to lend a helping hand in conservation projects in the future. It took me several different shots and how its placed to get what I want. As the sun was setting, I had to make a quick decision of which composition that I want in order to get the best lighting possible. In the end, I managed to get exactly the perfect shot which is in the other OSS post.

Test shot #1

Test shot #2

Test shot #3

Test shot #4

Observant

My initial idea for this piece was that I wanted to feature myself holding a pair of binoculars looking out and fitting letters of my name in between the lens, but after the group consultation, they suggested that I can consider using the inside view of the binoculars, basically in the perspective of the user using the binoculars. Therefore, I resorted to the use of Photoshop to bring out the binoculars effect and create my typography from there.

I started out with an A5 sized blank canvas.

Next, I found the binoculars effect on google and decided to put it first as part of my composition.

Next, I used a photo from a photowalk about a month ago in Coney Island. I really love this photo as it fitted with my overall theme of having earth and nature tones.

Next, I typed out my name letter by letter and painstakingly placed it in different parts of the path/forest. I decided it was best if the letters were spaced out throughout the composition so it doesn’t look like its squeezing to one side. Then, I played with the opacity of the letters so it does not look as striking and bold to make it fit into the forest. I also erased parts of the letters so as to make it appear that the letters are sort of hiding behind the trees and leaves (gives more depth to the letters).

I went to look at more examples of how the view of a binoculars should look like and I added more details to it, giving it a measurement bars, making the whole binoculars effect more realistic.

Visual Storyteller

For this piece, there were a lot of preparation work to be done before actually getting to the final product. Firstly, I engaged the help of my friend who is good at doing typography to mimic a font called Edo SZ.

We first tried it on paper first to get the feel of how it is going to turned out.

As I wanted the ‘paint’ look, we used gauche paint and a thick paintbrush. After numerous tries on paper, we were confident enough to do it on the acrylic piece itself. The idea of painting it on an acrylic piece is so that I could manipulate the background easily. As it is transparent, I was able to hold it up to any background that I want with ease and took a polaroid photo of it. Below are the shots that I manage to take with my polaroids.

It wasn’t easy trying to frame the shots and getting the polaroid to come out the way I wanted. It took me a few wasted tries to finally perfect the form that I wanted. As it was taken with a polaroid, it felt like a surprise every time the photo comes out because even though you frame the shots, the outcome will be slightly different even with a slight change in lighting conditions.

The whole acrylic piece itself against the background.

Visualizing the outcome of the final typography with each picture combined

Putting it together.

Test shot #1

Test shot #2

Test shot #3