Month: March 2017

4D Project 3: Video Installation


Solipsism

C o n c e p t

ESCAPISM.
ɪˈskeɪpɪz(ə)m,ɛˈskeɪpɪz(ə)m/
noun
the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy.

To find refuge in the safe haven we created out of fiction and dreams;
An inner sanctum
Far away from the outside world
Rid of noise and hate,
Disappointments and curses
Complexity and time,
Impossibilities and limits.

However, are we just conceited to think that this is reality?

Living in such a peaceful and protected country, we are shielded from the many atrocities out there in the world. Sometimes, it is just so difficult to comprehend that such violence and hate exist. Many a times, we would like to believe that the world is just as peaceful:
No natural disasters.
No violence.
No hate.
No riots.
No nothing.

However, this is a mere delusion on our part.

If we just listen, if we just open our eyes a bit more, we’ll realise that the world is in a worse state that what we perceive it to be.
Artist statement
This installation seeks to break away from this false reality that everything’s okay. We will be creating a space where audiences will be dragged away from their walls of comfort to see what the real deal in the world is.

The Installation

In our installation space, we will have 2 videos playing concurrently.

There will be a video of our perceived reality–a place of comfort and peace–juxtaposed against a video of reality–chaos and troubles in different parts of the world.

The two screens projected on walls facing each other, with the ice installation in between.

Medium used

2 Video installations with an ice installation.

2 Videos

Mishmash of appropriated works that would display:

  • Our perceived reality
  • Chaos in the outside world.

Ice Installation 

A block of ice with a motif within.

Relationship between content and form

To convey our idea of escapism and ignorance, we decided to incorporate ice in our installation.

Why ICE?

It is used to preserve

Slows down the decaying process

The melting state of ice

Being a metaphor for the chaos in the world

The water molecules haphazard movement/lack of order in the liquid state vs the uniform and pristine structure of  the solid state

The frosted nature of ice prevents things to be seen clearly

Skewed perspective (due to not seeing things clearly) resulting in a misinformed worldview, (thus our idea)

Logistics

Two projectors
A block of ice
flower
Cloth partition

Location
Critique Room at B1

Artist Reference:

Diana Thater
https://art21.org/artist/diana-thater/

https://mcachicago.org/Exhibitions/2016/Diana-Thater

https://www.wsj.com/articles/film-and-video-artist-diana-thaters-first-retrospective-at-lacma-1446755596

She mainly deals with video projection , television monitors and screens placed on the flat ground. However, what my group is planning to focus on is the how she uses video projections to create an immersive space for her installation.
One example of her work is Delphine (1999)(Fig1),
Her usage of a video projector helps to break out the rectangular frame of the video and the dolphins projected on the wall allows the viewers to immerse themselves into the space and imagine the fluidity movement of the dolphins swimming in different angles. As for my group’s work, we are planning to use a video projector to project two screens, one is based on reality while the other is our perceived reality. By using a projector on a screen, we are able to let the viewers to immerse themselves into that video and be able to picture how each reality feels like.

Her main themes revolve around human and nature that is how humans have destroyed nature. Her techniques of juxtaposition and layering of animals and plant life. She then projected what she has filmed in different angles. My group plans to do a narrative that could involve some layering to tell how true reality can be hidden or blurred from perceived reality.
Bill Viola
We were inspired by how Bill Viola manipulates different elements to show reveal two contrasting ideas through his video installation.

Acceptance (2008)

For his work on Acceptance, he beautifully depicts the transience of life, stepping from one realm to another. Running water was used to distinct the two realms from each other – the effect created as the lady crosses the barrier is amazingggggg.

The Crossing (1996)

Using natural elements like fire and water, Bill conveys his message of the creation and destruction, placing both works side by side with the constancy of the man in both videos.

Bahar Yurukoglu
http://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/8558/the-artist-using-neon-geometry-as-a-means-of-escapism

“Fascinated by what happens when the extremities of the natural world and the synthetic combine, the artist is so bewitched by geometry she “sees squares and triangles rather than buildings and mountains.” Air-conditioning chills the space, and a recording of melting ice fills the air.”

Omar Fast

“Within the variables of spoken and stunning, visual narrative, Omar Fast challenges human susceptibility to preconceived notions within genre placing it under his critical hand. Skewing fact and fiction within digital arrangements of collaged appropriated news footage, as well as aerial shots  and cinemacially glorious self-productions. Within the facade of seemingly legitimate forms he pushes our ability to extrapolate truth in meaning within the assemblage of a discordant media forms.”

CNN Concatenated (2002)

For video #2, we would like to use a similar technique to present chaos. By appropriating news footages, we can bombard audience with the happenings in the world and evoke a sense of discomfort in them.

Process

Idea 1 :

To create a space frozen in time, seconds before chaos happens.

Eg. a cup of milk almost spilling, chair tilting over

Juxtaposed against projections of the calm and peaceful which is what the audience indulge in.

Idea 2:

A pavilion of peace and dreams

Slowly disintegrating

Broken shards of crystals

Sound of chaos, (reversed or not)

Idea 3:

Video installation depicting the chaos happening in the world;

Poverty, disasters, riots, etc.

Fogged spectacles will be issued upon entering the installation space.

As the audience  see the screen through the fogged spectacles, they would see blurred images, colours/ phosphenes (the imaginary)

As the fog starts to wear off, the audience will slowly be exposed to the unpleasant realities projected on the screen.

Idea 4:
Video installation with interactive space

“Take me away
For I am not made for here

The palms of my hands cannot contain what the world has to offer
My shoulders,
broken and crumbled under forced responsibilities and duties,
cannot hold the weight of consequences
My knees give way when I chase my dreams
My feet heavy,
Dragging dismay and disappointment
The voice of my heart silenced by the reality of things
My ears deafened by the hateful noise of this world
My soul deconstructed

And this suffocating space
I cannot take
Bring me away
For I am not made for here”
Multiple video screens would be used, playing the backdrop to the inner sanctum – the fairytale-sque interactive space we created.

Through time, the video would slowly show cracks, slowly revealing the chaos/reality happening outside the inner sanctum.

This whole installation reveals the deep desire of an individual to flee from the harsh reality by hiding within herself. She soon realises there’s no point escaping; reality is inevitable.

She has to face it.

Possible content of narrative

A student who is bullied and misunderstood both in school and at home. She thus retreats within herself as that is her only form of escape, the only place that she feels safe in.

Idea 5:
Video Installation
Peace vs chaos.
Though we live in the same world, our experiences are almost polarizing from one another.

Example
Cutting chicken in sg
Vs
Stabbing someone elsewhere in the world.

The video shows the juxtaposition of peace and chaos around the world; just because you are feeling peace does not mean chaos does not exist.

Idea 6:

Layers of cloth acting as screens. Videos of the calm and peaceful projected on these cloths.

At the end of the walkway, there will be a screening of a video with collages of chaos walking past the cloths, towards the end, the chaos video becomes clearer (was blur at first as a result of the translucent cloth in front of it.)

Shows how one cannot escape from reality forever. The delusions that everything is alright doesnt make everything alright at all.


3D project 2: Disorientation

Thought process

When thinking about the word “disorientation”, I was actually thinking more towards having the sense of confusion which leads to illusion. Thus, I initially had a few ideas before arriving into my final piece.

When peter suggested I could do a wearable, I was thinking of the red and cyan 3D glasses. I had this idea where I put some images which look scary and they are monsters to make the viewers feel very scared and how this illusion of wearing the glasses is made possible. However, when I bought the glasses and wore them, I see that the illusion was not impactful  and scary enough.

Then, I browse through the internet and have searched a very popular moving animation where the artist use lines to create the illusion and the images move in them. However, I could not follow the tutorial based on YouTube because I was unfamiliar with the usage of the tools they mentioned.

Thus, I research again and found this artist named MC Escher who uses the tasselation method. This means he uses shapes that could help confuse the viewers so they could see a sense of illusion. Furthermore, the changing of Colours  at a higher speed would confuse and distract the viewers as they may not know where the bird is after looking at few of the slides.

For my installation, I was intending to make something related with my video installation by having birds as the subject matter and the movement as the concept. So, by using the corner of the classroom, I could get the viewers to feel the sense of illusion where the birds are moving. I have arranged them according to the size and the length of the wall which determines how my arrangement should be like, that is having more on the left side and lesser on the right.

Installation with origami birds

Video installation

 

 

Reflection

I feel that I could have made better improvements to my video installation. I was told during the review that the installation works better and fulfils the meaning of disorientation.

Overall, I feel that this project can be quite difficult as it requires us to think deeply from what we understand about the word. We then have to create an installation based on that word alone to critic on what we understand from that word. However, this is also quite an interesting project because it allows us to think in a narrative way based on a theme given to us and allowing us to find out what type of style we have when we interpreted a word.

4D Project 2 Sound and Image

Thought Process

Before this editing project, we actually had a group project that is about parallel storytelling and the point of view. We were also given scenarios to chose from and we were suppose to decide on how we could run the sequences in order to fit the genre or story that we are trying to tell.

So, my group has chosen a comedy genre and the scene we have chosen is about an employee rehearsing how she will ask for a raise and another scene where two managers are discussing how they will fire her.

Research and Processes 

By looking at some old cartoons including some Mickey Mouse old short films, I have realised they do use alot of sound effects especially when Mickey fell down from the stairs, the wind blowing. However, despite that this film was meant to be how this mad doctor is kidnapping Mickey’s dog and planning to experiment on him, the sound effect of this short film has helped to liven up the tone to become slightly less scary and more whimsical and comical.

  Technical Process of Sound through Audacity

It is through Audacity that I managed to record my own gulp into the video. I explored different ways and tones based on what I have recorded through the tools displayed in Audacity but mostly on the Reverb and Equalization.

I realised that the use of Reverb function helps to either expand or decrease the size of the room which then makes my voice to sound as if it is from a distance as shown in version two. I noticed how the different distance could affect the level of my voice because for version 2, I employed the larger room size technique. However, for version 1, I made the room size smaller so that you could hear my voice much clearer and the emphasis of my gulp can be heard in the video.  Not only that, I also played with the Equalization function that could make my voice sound different.

Gulp by Audrelia Lim

Gulp(version 1)

Gulp(version 2)

Curious Funny Comedy Music by The Crazy Venezolano Soundtrack

In the case of Curious Funny Comedy Music, I used the function of Equalisation to make it sound as if it is coming from a telephone. And just like how I was being influenced by the old cartoon, I employed a similar technique that could reflect the atmosphere of a sense of cheeky comedy towards the scene. Unlike the original which is much clearer, my take on this music seems to resemble the kind of atmosphere which you can find in an old cartoon just like “Dennis the Menace.”

When one listens to the music in the background, it takes on a more light hearted approach, however, the sound may not be that clear and loud enough which could actually help further dramatize the impact of the characters in each scene.  It is the type of sound they used that matches the scene of the characters. For example, when the dog starts to slip across the floor from 12:52 to 12:53, it not only creates an effect of how the dog is going to crash onto something but the sound frequency that seem to be more imbalanced blends very well into the scene and making it more comedic.

Exploring Comedy through Visual forms

Though this project is mostly playing with sound, I have tried other ways in exploring comedy. The sounds that I have used is mostly dramatic and it is also suitable for a typical and cheesy type of comedy. American comedy television series including “How I Met Your Mother”, “Two And A Half Men,” mostly played with dialogues from the characters and the laughter in the background is just to enhance the comedic effect that brings out from the characters towards the scene.

However, these shows are just television series and how the characters are  portrayed does not seem to have a strong impact towards the viewers as the angles portrayed are on the same frame. Thus, this makes the whole series to appear” flat” and  have a lack of cinematic appeal towards the viewers. Viewers are unable to draw themselves towards each scene of the characters and they could not feel the comedic effect happening in each scene.

Visual Comedy and reference artist/director

Edgar Wright, a director and master of  films that mostly deal with visual comedy including “Spaced”, “Hot Fuzz,” and “Scoot Pilgrim vs. The World.” He seem to have played a lot with the camera angles and how each scene or character should be framed in each scene. He has also played with the transitions of scenes that involves on how the character enters or leaves the scene. The comedic effect does not just come with how he played with the camera angles but also the expression of the characters that could help enhance the scene to become even more funny. The use of visual comedy acts as a support for the scene but it also plays a significant role in bringing out the sense of humor in the scene and the characters.

For example, in this video from the movie “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,” there is a lot of exploration in visual comedy. From 4:12 to 4:19, Wright played with the transitions of the characters in this case of Scott, he is leaving the scene, however, he only left when the other character said that he had left. Furthermore, the act of showing Scott leaving by jumping out of the window shows a more comedic effect instead of just showing him running away and hiding which may seem very boring and predictable, making it less interesting to watch.

Wright has also played with the sound from 5:23 to 5:36. When Scott was preparing to go into the battle, the music started off as tense from 5:23 to 5:31, then it stopped as Scott was tying his shoelaces from 5:32 to 5:36. The silence brings out the sense of comedy because of the irony from how he was supposed to be very tough and getting ready for the battle to a more careful and delicate person when tying his shoelace. This sound is also influenced in my video as when Anna talks about how she thinks she is very good and contributes a lot to the company, there seem to be angels that surround her and have voices that echoes around her depicting her as a “goddess.” However, it stopped when she started to demand for a pay. This act of silence was to bring out a comedic effect as there is a sense of irony being played in that scene from a very “holistic” person to a very demanding employee who is very greedy as she asks for a pay raise.

In terms of camera angles, Wright has used quite a lot of dramatic close ups of the characters. This makes the scene much funnier as in combination with the expression of the characters and how they are viewed as very close, allows the audience to focus their attention towards the characters’ expression and the comedic effect in the scene. For example, from 4:27 to 4:35, the camera seem to be zooming in towards the lady who is charging towards Scott and making us as viewers to feel that she is also charging towards us. Then, from 4:35 to 4:36, he revealed how the character looks like by zooming in to her face and the words she said has reflected her facial expression that she is angry but in a less serious manner. Moving on to 4:37 shows Scott’s reaction after he heard what she said, he seem scared as he does not know what she will do to him. The close up on his expression makes the scene more dramatic and enhance it’s sense of humor.

 Final Video

 

Music

Easy Stroll by Jay Man

Dun Dun Dun Brass Music Sound Clip from Orange Free Sound

Curious Funny Comedy Music by The Crazy Venezolano Soundtrack

Gulping sound by Audrelia

Hallelujah Sound Clip from  Orange Free Sound

Project 2

For the sounds, I was thinking more of a light-heart and cheery tone in order to express the comedic type of genre and feeling in this video. Thus, when I think about the tone I wanted to portray, I would think of old cartoons including Loony Tunes, Dennis the Menace and other old cartoons from the 1990s.

I notice how old cartoons would portray sounds that could create an impact between the character and the objects. For example, the sound of falling down the stairs and the act of slipping across the floor , helps create a certain comedic impact towards the viewers on how such interaction with objects and the emphasis of sound between them can draw their attention and linking it towards the characters in the scene,making the scene appear more funny.

Reflection

I feel that sound does play a significant role so that audience would know how they should be feeling in that particular scene. Some sounds including non-digetic does play a significant role in my video because my characters do not deal with a,lot of objects and to set the mood of the video, I had to deal with non-digetic sounds that could help liven up the atmosphere in this short film. Although, I could have used Audacity to record my own voice for the gulp because I thought my character’s feeling of being scared could be further emphasized. Audacity has allowed me to learn how the use of ordinary objects can be turned into the ones which we usually hear in the movies just like how the sound of a punch can be the sound of someone stabbing on a cabbage. It is the function of such tools including Reverb, Equalization that makes the sound changes and lead us into the illusion that that could be the sound heard in the movie when it is actually something else.

However, it is not just the sounds that contribute towards the story, it is also the how the characters portray themselves and match along with the sound in the background, bringing out the impact towards the viewers.

 

Art Science Museum Trip: Future World Review

One moving image which I found really interesting would be “ Story of the Time Where Gods were Everywhere.” This work is done digitally but there also appear to be some calligraphy designs added into the work. The calligraphy designs are most probably the hieroglyphic characters. These characters would have the viewers to be curious and touch then do they could turn into elements such as rain, wind, trees and mountains.

What I like about this work is how interactive it is as viewers can touch it and they can create their own story. They are able to see the story evolve into their own which is expanding our own creativity.

This interaction is also most probably the artist’s intention to tell viewers that new visual worlds in nature are constantly being created by us, humans.

Another work that featured a moving image is the Universal of Water Particles. 

I find it very interesting and impressive on how the artist managed to render this whole work digitally to give the impression that the waterfall looks real.

The artist strictly followed according to the law of physics to create the lines in the waterfall. So, it is the movement of the lines that actually gives viewers the impression the waterfall is coming towards them as the waterfall seems to be portruding outwards and towards the viewers.

I am thinking that the artists’s purpose of using digital as their medium is because of the need for movement in their works. Without movement, the viewers may think the work is just a still life image. However, with movements being added, it helps with the effect of being more realistic as it is coming towards the viewers.