By Charlotte and Lee Hwa

Project Proposal

This project is an interactive soundscape installation that allows participants to experience a series of sounds that are built-up progressively through overlapping and layering techniques to evoke anxiety. This installation is created to show that participants are able to experience anxiety using solely the sense of hearing instead of the commonly paired senses of sight and hearing (Horror Films) or hearing and touching (e.g. Haunted Houses).

This installation would have participants placed within a brightly lit confined space, blindfolded for 2 minutes. The created space would be empty, with just only a stereo speaker in place for projection of the soundscape. Participants will be split up into smaller groups of four to five people each for maximum experience and asked to put on blindfolds to remove their sense of sight. They will then be guided by the curators to the installation space to experience the soundscape. Once the soundscape ends, participants will be asked to remove their blindfolds so that they can see the space and realise that all the while they were in empty space with nothing but just a soundscape playing in the background; realise that one is able to experience anxiety with just his sense of hearing. Participants will be allowed to stay on and quiety observe the rest of the participants’ experience and all will be invited to share their afterthoughts of the installation experience at the end of the session.

The anxiety-evoking soundscape would be made up of sounds produced and recorded by the foley technique or copyright-free sounds found online. Also, the reason for allowing each group that has experienced the installation to stay on is because alternatively, they can use found objects around them to help contribute to the soundscape they hear. This brings about interactivity in terms of role reversal – From participant to having a reign over the creation of sounds. Overall it is a soundscape created by repetition. Based on David Sonnenschein’s seven categories of sound, the sounds used in the soundscape will be soft to loud in intensity, slow to fast in speed, tonal in timbre and reverberant in shape. The interactive component comes in where participants get to interact with the space as they are able to move around freely while experiencing the installation. Alternatively, they can choose to stay in the same spot; it is up to them on their next move.


Process

Research & References/Material Samples
These were two soundscapes we chanced upon on youtube and used them as reference and inspiration for ours thereafter. For the idea of repetitive sounds in the soundscape:

For the idea of building up on speed of the sounds (fast and slow) in the soundscape:

Inspiration for the ringing noise:

A scene from the movie Saving Private Ryan that we viewed in class where at that one particular moment, the noises become muffled. In the case of our soundscape we got inspired to introduce a high ringing frequency noise. Another reference we had when creating our soundscape for the installation is a sound artist whom Lei suggested to us to check out to get an idea of working with surround sound for our sound installation: Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller – The Murder Of Crows (2008) http://www.cardiffmiller.com/artworks/inst/murder_of_crows.html Some of the sound excerpts from the installation:

Challenges Faced
We intended to book a four-walled space initially and these are the places we had in mind ranked in order to match our ideal set-up that was submitted in our original project proposal.

  • Empty space outside 2D Animation Lab (ART B1-4a)

  • The next backup location would be the meeting room on Level 4

  • Lastly, our Foundation 4D II Classroom (ART 02-23A) as a last resort

But you know, we eventually settled for our last listed location. Our 4D II Classroom we use for weekly classes only because when we wrote in to check the availability of location we did not get a reply. Not sure why though but settling with the classroom turned out for the better for so many reasons, logistics especiallyWe made use of the classroom to create a more confined installation space rather than using the whole class space. Mainly for safety precaution as participants would be blindfolded it would be less hazardous if they are kept in a smaller area with obstacles cleared. The
“confined space” as seen below.

Our test-trial

We tested out our installation according to our original set-up prior to installation day and here was how it looked like as a scale drawing:

Our scale drawing of the original set-up

Here’s the documentation of our test trial. We had 3 of our friends who very so kindly spared us a little of their time to help us test out our installation, whether the soundscape had any effect and if the installation space worked.

For the test trial we used just normal bluetooth speakers that didn’t have the surround sound effect so feedback from our friends was that it would be good if we could use stereo speakers instead, like the one in the classroom. Great thing was we happened to find a portable one that was placed below the television set in class and we need not go through booking procedures to use it. The sound system was awesome. The reverb was amazing and the soundscape effect was much stronger.

The soundscape wise, they suggested to make it less monotonous in a way that the one we originally tried out on them sounded very flat. There wasn’t much sounds that would make them anxious, the loudness and softness of the sounds in the soundscape could be more varied and also the ringing noise towards the back could be more intense. There was also suggestion for us to carry out the installation in total darkness as when they put on the blindfolds, they can still vaguely see the light source from below; being in total darkness helps build up the anxiety emotion.


Execution

How the sounds were created:
Our idea for soundscape was to create a tonal background contrasting with a high pitch sound to evoke anxiety. Foreground sound is created by hitting against the stairs rail that moves away from cliche Anxiety soundscape that utilises heartbeat or breathing. Our background tonal sound was created through garageband, that starts from a high note to a lower note. We then overlay it with the sound we recorded from the stairs, the reason why we chose the rail is because of the reverb that it produce and contrasting it to a low tonal background would create a tension. Further editing was then done in audacity.

Additionally to have a more immersive soundscape, we edited the sound perspective to give the feeling on the sound coming closer and to the back, the speed is also increase to build on the tension. We also added a ringing sound as to break away from repetition sound pattern, which helps to intensify the entire sound at the back.

The day of installation:

What went well: The impromptu decision of having the front groups of participants stay on to help contribute to the live sounds using found objects made the soundscape sounded even more real and thanks to the favourable weather conditions that day (it was raining). That made the installation space really dark and the extra sounds made by the thunder added on well to the reverb of the soundscape which really helped us achieve the emotion we wanted to evoke through our soundscape, anxiety as most felt fear which is an emotion linked to that. Our initial plan was to have participants stay on so that they do not return to the holding space and discuss it with the rest who haven’t experienced it. It would have spoiled the anticipation and also it would have been too boring just to sit there and observe the rest so why not contribute to their experience?

Some documentation of our installation: Before entering the installation space – giving instructions, leading the way




During the installation – the experience, interactivity between participants and the installation (contributing to the soundscape using found objects in the room)

Pardon our blurry and pixelated images (after editing) as this was the best we could get for our installation that happened in total darkness. Video footage wise it was way worse, nothing could be seen only the sounds can be heard thus we settled for image documentation this time round on the official installation day.

What could be better improved: We should have worked out a way such that all groups would be able to experience role reversal interactivity bit of the installation plus have the live sounds created be equal across all groups for a fair experience of the installation. For our case of execution we could have personally added the live sounds for the first group.

Overall, we felt that working with sounds for an installation to begin with is already a challenge what more creating sounds to evoke a particular emotion without trying to go for the narrative style/flow. This soundscape in particular as the emotion we were trying to evoke from participants was anxiety which could seemingly fall under as a sub-emotion under bigger emotions such as depression, stress etc. How one interprets a sound that they hear is very subjective but we think we managed to pull it off thanks to our classmates’ live sound contributions, our impromptu decision and of course the gloomy weather that day which made the atmosphere even better. Even though the deadline was tight, and the stress levels were high especially when it came to logistics, it was still a fun project to work on an explore!

Before coming up with a proposal and a solid idea to execute as a group effort for this final project for 4D II we are asked to do individual research on works on either video/sound/performance art and analyse the respective artists and their works, how some of them might be controversial. I am leaning more towards the exploration of using sound for the final art installation project.

Before searching up some examples, I searched up the meaning of sound installations and got the impression that it is a time-based art which sometimes can involve the element of visual to help support/complement the installation as a whole or change it to become a video art installation altogether. With the intention to explore the idea of using sound for the final project’s art installation, below are some that I’ve found interesting and possibly usable as references and inspiration.

I couldn’t really find much sound art installations that were deemed as controversial but my personal take on this would be that the whole idea of a sound art installation itself is actually controversial. Reason being that if you were to take in a sound art installation that is purely made up of sounds only, sure it’s meant to evoke a feeling in the consumers through the listening experience however the sounds are subjected to one’s perception as it’s pretty abstract. And because of that, artists that work with solely sound for their installations are able to get away with touching on controversial ideas. Unless the work includes the other elements like visual in the form of a video/image accompaniment where the audience gets an even clearer idea of how they are supposed to interpret the installation piece.


Haroon Mirza

Here’s one sound artist that has faced a little controversy though with his work I suppose – Cross Section of a Revolution (2011) which has two films being juxtaposed. One on cultural tradition and the other, a political movement and accompanying the installation is an electronic sound that gives a sense of anxiety to the work as the whole. Looking further, one is of drummers at a ceremony in Kenya and the other is about a man in Lahore making a speech about terrorism.

Quoting an article by theguardian on his work:

Mirza recorded his drummers at “a stick-fighting ceremony where the groom has to fight for his bride. My attention shifted to the drummers, who provided the driving force to the ceremony.” They drum on plastic bottles, anything that comes to hand. “A subtext,” he says, “is the place of music in Islamic culture. In some Islamic cultures, music is forbidden. An underlying theme to my work is a criticism of religious faith, and the dogmas involved in religious faith.

Easily when there’s culture/religious faith involved in a work of art, there’s bound to be controversy involved, people questioning the work as it could be sensitive to the identified groups. In this case, the people of that religious faith. It could get a little touchy with how the artist portrayed his topic through the installation piece.


John Cage

Taking a look at his famous or rather infamous piece 4′33″ (1952), this work of his probably fits the idea of performance art more since there’s a subject involved during the performance but I’ll be looking more at his interesting take on the use of sound in this piece.

Cage’s intention with the piece was to have the composition be made up of sounds present in the environment encouraging people to listen to the sounds around them but the impression they got in return was that they were subjected to silence because there was an a pianist present but he did not play anything after taking his place on stage. The sounds of the piece were actually made by the whispers that came from them which became louder as they grew more curious about what was happening in front of them.

Cage’s intentions eventually sparked controversy about the piece since the audience thought they were treated to silence for the whole performance duration of 4 minutes and 33 seconds.


Susan Philipsz

Next looking at how sound art has developed over the years, the public has definitely become more receptive about it possibly thanks to Susan Philipsz who was awarded the Turner Prize in 2010. One of the most controversial awards around because of its history, the questioning on how some past awardees works could’ve possibly been that good to actually have a meaningful effect on the reputations of well-established artists because of their actions and approach.

Philipsz primarily works with sound and her works often consist of nothing more than an empty gallery and a recording of her own singing and sometimes she would build soundscapes into unusual locations i.e. playing a entirely unrelated recording at her selected site for the installation. Nonetheless, her receiving the award helped sound art gained increasing exposure and is now in a better state of reception.

Lowlands Away (2010) is one such example of Philipsz’ style as mentioned above. She recorded three versions of this particular song which is of a man drowned at sea returning to tell his lover of his death and it was first performed under three bridges over the River Clyde in Glasgow and later on in an empty room at Tate Britain.


Jim Green

Leaning away from the controversial side of sound installations and looking at the idea of having an environment as part of a installation just like Cage’s intention with the use of environmental sounds,  I came across sound artist Jim Green who does it rather well.

For instance with his work below, Talking Fence (2010). How the installation functioned was when people walked past the installation site lined with fencing, activated by a sensor, it would trigger the fence to talk and interact with the passersby giving them compliments etc.as they walk by. Below’s a documentation of the installation piece and the responses from the public were great.

While browsing through more his works I chanced upon another of his installations which was amusing and brilliant – Laughing Escalator (2004). What I get out of this earlier dated work of his is that it has  the same intention like his later piece, Talking Fence above which aims to encourage greater interaction from the public with his works and bring across the connection with everyday life.

What I like about these two particular works of his is his attempt to make relatable and approachable to the public with that light-hearted and amusing touch to it. Keeping this in mind, it’ll be interesting to explore the idea of making our final installation art work based on something that the audience can resonate with.

 

References:

Pins & Needles

The soundscape is best experienced using earpiece/headphones 🙂


ARTIST STATEMENT

Inspired by Foley and how the mind works when asleep, Pins & Needles is a psychological soundscape that evokes a sense of anxiety through three kinds of common nightmares painted using sounds. A dreamscape of broken continuity, the soundscape is layered with sounds that stimulate nervousness, the ticking sound provides a built-up and countdown. Or perhaps the suggestion that it is all just a dream – The sound of a clock ticking. A specific sound is used to draw the listener back to reality at the end.


CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

Concept wise when we first got the brief I had zero idea on what to make my soundscape about. I was thinking of doing a sonic portrait since it sounded pretty cool – Making one paint a picture of the person just based on sounds but at the same time I figured it would’ve challenging as the person you have in mind (if taken the personal approach of creating a sonic portrait of your loved one), the sounds would’ve been very personal, unique and only recognisable to you yourself. It could be solved actually if I were to do a sonic portrait of someone famous perhaps… but didn’t go ahead with that anyway.

Still clueless, I just played around with the SFXs available on GarageBand first and put together some free sounds downloaded from freesound.org . Boy, GarageBand offered some really great sound effects for use! Eventually I came up with something for consult and the idea of an anxiety-invoking dreamscape kind of worked out from there.

Especially after I came across this website that lists the types of common nightmares one tends to get and I got ideas: http://listverse.com/2012/10/31/top-10-nightmares-and-their-meanings/

Painting scenes of claustrophobia, being chased, and being followed, these were some I had in mind and kind of went ahead with them.

Feedback was to have more layers (foreground/midground/background), to have a focus in each ‘scene’, have more variations (ASMR, Left & Right sounds) as it sounded kinda flat and a bit soft initially.


RESEARCH: THE REFERENCES

For research, the artists and video links were really helpful in getting a sense of what soundscapes are about and how we could go about them. I was super fascinated by Foley in particular and while browsing more videos of it on YouTube I chanced upon this TED Talk about sound design and it was a really interesting watch on how sounds can be deceiving sometimes.

One of the Foley videos I chanced upon (below). Foley was the main reference/style used to get the sounds for this soundscape. There wasn’t any specific artist/film that I referenced for my soundscape in particular.

Even Disney films in the past used the Foley technique!


CHALLENGES FACED

Plenty. Conceptualising was really hard. When we first got the brief I thought, yeah a soundscape would be easy, especially when it was just a minute long initially. I underestimated the difficulty of it. We just needed to come up with the idea and when the right sounds are produced, everything will just work out. I thought wrong. Especially when producing the sounds, there’s a lot of trial and error, a lot of exploration to get the right sounds needed for the soundscape. And also, to avoid producing sounds effects that when mixed together sound tonal (like there’s a tune to it).

For me my soundscape is made up of a variety – Self-produced sounds, sounds from online sources, and readily available sounds on GarageBand, the software I used for mixing the sounds to create the soundscapes some of the sounds I wanted to use were really hard to produce. Sounds that sound like a person’s drowning,  some muffled noises, hollow sounds. Ambient noise wise, it was pretty easy to record, just leave the recorder on and alone for probably 10 minutes, it’s good enough to get some good background noises.

Overall this was a challenging but fun project. It made me more aware and appreciative of the sounds around me. I think my senses have heightened now haha.


Sound Attribution

Those used from online source freesound.org

Alas, the video for this project has finally come together. The journey to finalising my concept for this 1-min video was not easy at all… but I guess I had the easier hand when putting the video together as it was largely made up of past footages based on my concept (so I did minimal filming). All in all, I’ve learnt a lot from this project – How to write monologues and also developing a story from a tiny little small idea you have at the beginning.

It was a challenging but super fruitful project. 🙂

The Dreamer

password: srt

Alter Ego: Sandra Riley Tang

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CONCEPT
DEVELOPMENT & RESEARCH | CHALLENGES

Identifying which character to portray was my first problem. I wasn’t sure which character to go ahead with. Even during the first in-class inspiration file exercise we did – writing a letter as a monologue, I was still undecided. I went ahead with Emma Watson, one of the characters I’ve narrowed down under the public figure category because of how I found an affinity with her because of her introverted personality beneath all the confidence she exudes when under the public eye.

Then came my second problem, the storyline. After consulting Lei, she advised me to go deeper into the character. If I was portraying Emma Watson though the quality I’m focusing on is the introvert side of her, I would have to give thought as to why she’s like this. Is it because of her family background? (the reasons behind it) but I was unable to get answers. Especially on the surface she comes of as a feminist with strong confidence but I’m the total opposite of that.

So I gave up portraying Emma Watson as my alter ego and moved on to the character as eventually portrayed in my final video, Sandra Riley Tang from local band The Sam Willows. Somehow it was much easier for me to come up with a storyline and act out the alter ego based on her. As mentioned in the earlier post, my affinity with her was her determination and drive to pursue the things she love and then the achievements you get out of being as such.

The concept:  An inspirational one of sorts, with an influencer tone for the monologue. From young to me now present day, the things I achieved through the same passion I had since young using footages from my archives of the interviews I’ve done, the events I partook in etc. It will end of with flashbacks of my achievements and then an open-ended kind of feel for the end.

The underlying message: The last sentence in the monologue “Dream big and never stop trying. Who knows what you can achieve”. Basically being determined/driven to pursue what you love and to have dreams, the qualities of my character.


STORYLINE

Moving on to storyline… Following the identified affinity I had with my character, I came up with my own storyline of my journey in pursuing what I love, the arts and the things I was able to achieve with that same one passion since young across the span of growing up.

FILM/ARTIST REFERENCES

For my particular concept, it was more of referencing empowering speeches, inspirational and motivational videos of sorts given and done by public figures/influencers so as to figure out the right tone to have when writing the monologue.

Count myself REALLY lucky. Sandra recently put up a 2-part motivational video on her Instagram account. It even had a monologue. Thus, bulk of my reference for this project came from these videos. Taking inspiration from her video,  I came up with my own monologue based on my story and had myself narrate it in an influencer tone to get the inspirational/motivational effect.

PART ONE: One of my major highlights of 2016 was seeing my own face on Nike.com. TBH I still can't believe it happened; it was seriously a dream come true. I was having a conversation with a friend 3 years ago, and the question was, if you could be the face of ANY brand in the world what would it be? Instead of a like Gucci, I said Nike. Hahaha. And these kinds of questions are always just hypothetical, you know? Like I want a pony as a pet kinda thing. Haha. 2016 was an amazing year with a lot of firsts and achievements. And there's only one thing left to do for 2017, just keep moving. Being a #nikewomen has pushed me to be #betterforit. To accomplish things I never thought I had the guts to do. If you're looking for a sign, that push you need to do something that scares you; here it is. Don't overthink it, just do it. 2017 is your year. ?? P.S Dreams really do come true. ?:@oszkid Special thanks to @najeeb_rahim, @zahidmukhlis, @sarahjusto, @kkbyong, @benjaminkheng, @evolvemma, @fitnessfirstsg and of course the @nike team for making this possible. ❤️ #NikeBeautifulxPowerful

A video posted by SANDRA RILEY TANG (@sandrarileytang) on

PART TWO: '…and every journey starts from nothing.' I've realised in my life that everything I have or have achieved started from just simply a thought. A little mental note sent out to the universe. And perhaps that's all you need to begin with, faith as small as a mustard seed. And then you start to water it with love, trimming off the negativity and just growing among others that love and support you. Even if you get crushed, don't lose hope, you have to keep growing. I find myself being an optimistic realist, excited by small things, because the truth is, nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. ?❤️ The journey with The Sam Willows has been incredible and almost unbelievable. Thank you to everyone that has supported us. We wouldn't be where we are today without you. This year is going to be incredibly exciting. NEW MUSIC coming soon. ?? Special thanks to @oszkid for shooting this, @najeeb_rahim and @zahidmukhlis, @benjaminkheng for his writing prowess, @hypebong for shooting the throwback shots, @thesamwillows for being family and the @nike team for making this happen in the first place. 🙂 I am filled with gratefulness. ❤️✨ #nikewomen #Nike #sandraxnike #parttwo

A video posted by SANDRA RILEY TANG (@sandrarileytang) on

As for video angles since I was using a lot of past footages, camerawork was everywhere and somehow I felt that my video comes off seemingly like a vlog… And because of that my references were mostly of YouTubers and how they vlog to get an idea of how I’d like the remaining shots that I’ll be filming to look like. 


STORYBOARD

To be honest, I don’t have the habit of doing up storyboards just because I’m unable to visualise my shots prior to shooting them. I think that I’m more of a get-the-feel-on-the-spot person. Meaning I’ll just try out a variety shots on the spot and go with the flow from there. Same thing happened for this project again. Only several storyboard frames went according to prior planning. The rest were spontaneous shooting or already existing camerawork by other videographers since I mainly used past footages of myself.

storyboard1 storyboard2

MONOLOGUE

Growing up,
I’ve always had a penchant for all things creative.

Took up art classes at 5,
the one subject in school I would always score the highest in.
It was my favourite

Flash forward to 17,
I went into media studies.
Dabbled in areas like broadcast and even got to interview celebrities through assignments.
Still, I enjoyed the creative modules most.

That was also when I found craftwork.
I was able to create something out of nothing as friends see it.
I love doing it as a pastime.

Showcased my works through an art mentorship programme
and won my very first design competition all in the same year at 20.

Those were things I never thought I could achieve with that very same passion I had since young. It was self-affirmation for me.
It made me feel like I was doing something… right.

Dream big and never stop trying.

Who knows what you can achieve.

 

VIDEO FOOTAGE & MUSIC CREDITS
Since my video was pretty heavy on using past footages/online footages of the events that had me in it…(Footages not credited were self-taken)

SHINE Festival Urban Arts Mentorship Programme:
https://www.facebook.com/shinefestival/videos/1026106494092598/
https://www.facebook.com/shinefestival/videos/1021363687900212/
https://youtu.be/NCc65mjjfpA?t=1m51s

*SCAPE The Invasion 2016 (Design Competition):
https://youtu.be/kVwmT33VkoE?t=59s

Music: in love with a ghost – we’ve never met but, can we have a coffee or something? 
https://youtu.be/0XZJ5mD6nSU

For the first part of the project, we were tasked to list out 5 characters whom we have a special affinity with from across three different categories – literature or fiction/public figures/people we know or met. It can be qualities that we find similar with the identified characters or qualities that we admire and aspire to have. And so I realised my affinity with most of the characters identified are mostly on the quality of being an introvert…

Here’s mine:

CHARACTERS FROM LITERATURE/FICTION

  1. Piglet from Adventures of Winnie The Pooh
  2. Go Dok Mi from Flower Boy Next Door 
  3. Charlie from Perks of Being a Wallflower
  4. Dara Morgendoffer from Daria 
  5. 8th Prince from Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo

PUBLIC FIGURES

  1. Emma Watson – actress
  2. Audrey Hepburn – actress
  3. Oon Shu An – actress/influencer
  4. Mark Zuckerberg –  co-founder of Facebook
  5. iNCH (Inch Chua) – musician

PEOPLE YOU KNOW/HAVE KNOWN/MET IN PERSON

  1. Sandra Riley Tang – musician
  2. Nathan Hartono – musician
  3. Bernadette – friend
  4. Hsien Wei – cousin
  5. Abigail – cousin

Top 2 in each list & my affinity with the character

LITERATURE/FICTION

Piglet from Adventures of Winnie The Pooh

piglet

Piglet’s known to be a small and timid character who braves up when when faced with a crisis and given sufficient encouragement from his friends. These were traits of him that I identified myself to have an affinity with. I’m petite sized and I guess more often than not I’ll brave up and step up taking the role as a leader when the situation calls for it. If not most of the time I’ll just stay in my little bubble and shy away.


Go Dok Mi from Flower Boy Next Door 

godokmi

The character in this show acted by Park Shin Hye is an introvert who refuses to leave her apartment. She hides from the world and dislikes interacting with people. I identified ‘the apartment’ as her comfort zone and her character I dare say is pretty much me 70% of the time. I see her in me after hanging out at gatherings and taking part in socialising activities, drained.

PUBLIC FIGURE

Emma Watson

emmawatson1

One of my all time favourite actresses and probably one I’m slightly more biased to too because we somewhat share a bit of the same name. Her full name is actually Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson. That aside, I was surprised to have chanced upon interviews of her revealing that she’s actually quite an introvert behind the confident and feminist image she exudes. (read: http://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2014/02/the-bloom-of-the-wallflower-by-derek-blasberg/) The introvert quality is an aspect of hers I can relate to, being socially awkward at parties and all and her confidence is definitely something I look up to.

Audrey Hepburn

audreyhepburn

The classic actress. It’s hard to believe especially when these public figures are actresses and constantly under the public eye, taking interviews and appearing on shows. Especially with the characters Audrey Hepburn played. She was quoted: “I have to be alone very often. I’d be perfectly happy if I spent Saturday night until Monday morning alone in my apartment. That’s how I refuel.” Which is totally me, introverts tend to take time spent with themselves as time to recharge.


PEOPLE I KNOW/HAVE KNOWN

Sandra Riley Tang

sandrarileytang

A member of local band, The Sam Willows. I’ve interviewed her before for an assignment and through interviews, I’ve got the impression that she’s really quite a talent. She ran her own art collective previously, co-founded a home concept yoga studio, makes music dabbles in acting… She’s also an individual who is extremely driven and motivated to pursue the things she love and she never stops trying, something I find an affinity with in the aspect of my passion. Plus she loves doing hands-on DIY stuff too.


Nathan Hartono

nathanhartono

Another local musician I’ve interviewed for an assignment too back in poly days. Through the interviews done with him, I’ve learnt that he’s a learnt extrovert but introvert by nature because of his profession as a musician. He has to perform in front of crowds and mingle with people. And I guess because of that he believes in throwing yourself into situations you fear most and to take on what you think might be impossible to achieve will only make you stronger and you might just surprise yourself along the way. #inspiration

Right from the start I had trouble identifying a character as my alter ego for this assignment as most of my shortlisted characters/figures from each category only had small aspects which I felt an affinity to. I was stuck between choosing characters that were public figures at first – Mostly celebrities. Realised it was quite a challenge unlike fictional/literature characters that originally had a story to backup their personality and qualities.

My chosen character for the project is Sandra Riley Tang from local band, The Sam Willows. More about her, the qualities of hers I have an affinity with and also how I eventually got to choosing her as my alter ego in the final post coming up! (it’s a long story)

missbish-flex-zone-sandra-riley-tang-04-1680x1125


1. SONG LYRICS

Roar by Katy Perry

“I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar’

I identified my character as a fighter, one who always challenges herself to break her own boundaries and come out successful and confident.

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

” Don’t you know that
there ain’t no mountain high enough.
Ain’t no valley low enough,
ain’t no river wide enough.
To keep me from getting to you, baby.”

For this song, as literal as the lyrics are it shows that no matter how hard obstacles and circumstances may be, never give up as continuing is the only way to get to the end point. I feel that this song reflected my identified character’s personality well, very driven and motivated to get to the end point.

Survivor  by Destiny’s Child

“I’m a survivor
I’m not gonna give up
I’m not gonna stop
I’m gonna work harder.”
This song sings of one staying committed and working hard to reach their goals. Having a strong mindset and to never stop chasing their dreams. The message of the song is very similar to the song above and is very much alike to the character’s motto.

2. POEMS

Dreams by Langston Hughes 

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

A Time To Believe by B.J. Morbitzer (excerpt)

To believe is to know that
every day is a new beginning.
Is to trust that miracles happen,
and dreams really do come true.

To believe is to know
that wonderful surprises are just
waiting to happen,
And all our hopes and dreams are within reach.

If only we believe.

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost (excerpt)

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

The above three poems inspires me to come up with the monologue for my alter ego as my character’s all about pursuing her dreams, determined to succeed. She takes on challenges and is optimistic about life. To which I feel that all these poems have same message in common –to never give up on chasing your dreams and not miss out on golden opportunities as once they are gone, they are gone forever and it’s hard to come by.

 


3. ARTICLES/SPEECHES/QUOTES

“If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” – Conrad Hilton

10 Success Tips from Today’s Most Inspirational Women

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/10-success-tips-from-todays-most-inspirational-women.html

These pieces I believe would serve as inspiration for my character to push herself even further, knowing that there are women figures out there who’ve done it/made it possible. Especially with the speeches/quotes by Walt Disney and Conrad Hilton, they speak on behalf of her spirit.


4. PICTURES

picture01

Finishing a marathon

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Yoga practice

picture2

Concert scenario

The three pictures chosen reminded me of my character’s accomplishments in life. Especially the first picture, I felt it portrays one accomplishing something in life – the finishing point being a metaphorical representation and pretty much like my character’s personality, making sure to see that she work on her dreams until their fulfilled. It inspires me to write about my character and her accomplishments. For her story, it was reaching a milestone in her music career, venturing into her newfound passion and also learning more about herself (self-discovery).

 


5. HEADLINES

These are the headlines I chanced upon while researching and below are my reasons for choosing them and the stories I’m able to come up with based on them.

“Ups and downs of actor-directors”
Being a public figure, what you see of my character may not always be the truth. More often than not it may be all facade/a front my character is putting up to the public. So it can be a story to show the life she lives behind all the glitz and glamour.

“Seven tips to organise your closet”
My character is an avid DIYist, used to run her own YouTube channel project (The DIY Project) and this headline inspires me to write a story based on how this creative side of her came about and how this idea started and branched out into her pre-existent art collective business RileyArt.

“Chameleon of a performer”
This particular headline helps me in coming up with a story riding on the fact that my character is creative and very much all-rounded in different areas not only musically. She’s also a fitness inspiration, takes up BJJ and practices yoga. Plus she’s dabbled in acting, theatre and business ventures too. The headline works as a supporting title.


6. PERSONAL CREDO

I firmly believe that every individual is able to attain success and it’s possible so long you have a never say die attitude.


7. EMOTIONS

  1. Optimistic
  2. Eager
  3. Short-tempered
  4. Intrigued
  5. Stubborn
  6. Bubbly
  7. Challenged
  8. Confident
  9. Spirited
  10. Timid

Favourite: Spirited

I feel this particular emotion encompasses the qualities of my identified character really well. She’s full of energy, enthusiasm and determination and that trait of hers is very much evident in everything she does in life. She dares to take risks, venturing into a businesses and pursuing her interests.

Least Favourite: Timid

It’s the total opposite of my identified character’s personality. She’s one who never shy away from challenges and strongly believes in challenging herself.


8. SENTENCE STARTERS

  1. I love a good challenge.
  2. I have always wanted to do martial arts.
  3. I know what it’s like to have many interests and the struggle to stay committed to them.
  4. I remember my first failure.
  5. I would like to try out new things.

 


9. FOCUS OBJECTS

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Bronze & Gold Medals

Medals signify a milestone in my character’s life, when she won her very first competition in something she was passionate about. It served as her motivation.

focus02

Yoga Wear

Yoga wear is important to my character as it’s a representation of a passion she found a few years back that led her to where is she currently, at another milestone/success in her life, the co-founder of a home-concept yoga studio.

focus03

Nike Shoes

A pair of Nike shoes. My character’s a strong advocate of the brand and she lives by their slogan – ‘Just Do It’. The brand is something iconic of my character. You’ll find her often dressed in sportswear, sporting a pair of Nike shoes.

Accessories - Rings

Accessories – Gold Rings

Rings are another iconic look of my character. Aside from her sportwear fashion, she would usually accessorize herself  with unique looking rings, often in the colour gold.

Percussion Set

Percussion Set

The final object that is important to my character is a percussion set, something I believe my character holds close to her heart. It reminds her of how everything started, her beginnings in music. In the band that she is in, she plays the percussion.

Password: wonderland


CONCEPTUALISATION
When we were first given the assignment brief, I was totally clueless as to how I should go about with this project. But after giving it much thought and looking at it simply, I managed to come up with an idea/concept. Since one of the suggested ideas in the brief was “Dreams” I immediately associated it with it as being whimsical of sorts. That led me to gain inspiration from Alice in Wonderland, one of my all time favourite films.

aliceinwonderland

The roadblock faced was when I remembered we have to show at least three key transformations in the sequence. My initial idea was simply to adapt a miniature concept based out of the film by making it have an “everyday life situation” kind of concept but realised I couldn’t bring out three key transformations.

I was stuck for a while but later on realised that I could achieve it by taking a step further having been inspired by the movie. Instead, I decided reference a famous quote from the movie/book:

“Sometimes I believe in as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” – Alice

The six impossible things that she believed in are:

1. There’s a potion that can make you shrink
2. And a cake that can make you grow
3. Animals can talk
4. Cats can disappear
5. There’s a place called Wonderland
6. I can slay the Jabberwocky

I used each impossible thing as the key transitions for my sequence and formulate a storyline out of it, with each impossible thing being tweaked into a more realistic/personal context as follows. They were portrayed in respective frames (according to its order of appearance):

  • There’s a potion that can make you shrink:  I conveyed this idea this through photoshopping a layer of text over the original tagging of the teabag in the font of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and the same text on the shrinking potion bottle found in the film.

potionshrink

  • Animals can talk:  For this, I got inspiration from medium techniques like Dadaism and collaging, superimposing open mouths over the animals to make them look like they are talking and also, them being significantly larger than me since I was small in that world.An artist reference used here would be Hannah Hoch (below are some of her works) in comparison to my frames.

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animaltalk

animaltalk1

 

  • Cats can disappear: This was shown through consecutive frames, the first one filled with cats and the next without, similar to a stop-motion.

disappear1 disappear2

  • I can slay the Jabberwocky: Rather than taking the same story idea of Alice slaying the Jabberwocky (the dragon monster in that world), I decided to take on a personal approach of me conquering my fears instead. As I dislike cheese, the monster in this context is a Cheese Monster as created by me. I drew the monster and tried to portray me overcoming the fear of cheese by “shooting it away” using an imaginary catapult. Afterall it’s a dream haha.

cheesemonster

  • A cake that can make you grow: This is shown through the final few frames when I return back to the normal world. I felt that the idea of this particular impossible thing could have been further developed in the sense that there could have been frames showing me growing back in size since evidently I shrinked before entering the world that is Wonderland.

cake

cakegrow

  • There’s a place called Wonderland: This impossible thing I would say was this whole short sequence of 90 frames itself which conveyed the idea of an alternate universe existing and that I’ve visited that world, in my dreams.

EXTRA EMPHASIS: I made the duration of these two particular frames slightly longer than the rest so as to place emphasis on the timings. The first frame showing 8.05am and the second 8.20am. I wanted to convey the idea that this whole thing has been a dream. However I felt that this idea could have been conveyed better as I think one would only understand after hearing my explanation, that it couldn’t be interpreted without knowing the context.

Starting frames:
Me waking up to the sound of the alarm when actually it was in my dream that i woke up

wakeup1

wakeup

wakeup4

time0

Final few frames: 
Me waking up to the sound of the alarm again but this time going back to sleep after checking – the real scenario

wakeuptime

wakeup2


Below are some of the images and textures I created and combined to use as overlays over the frames to achieve the overall whimsical and nature theme of the short sequence. The floral ones were watercolour patterns found online. Whereas the others were images from my archive of photos.

peach-peony-ipad

watercolour-floral

transition

transition1


TRANSITIONS & PACING: The following few frames shown below were shot with the idea of using them as transitions. The similarity between these shots would be that they are mostly of converging paths and bright flares. And to give the idea that there’s a transition/I’m walking through that path without me being in that frame, I used the concept of pacing by increasing these frame durations to 3 seconds/frame instead of the usual 1 second/frame.

transition3

transition4

transition2


SHOT SIZES: I tried to achieve the idea of me shrinking while the world around me becomes significantly bigger in size through superimposing myself in various environments as a small figure with the help of photoshop. But there were some frames were just shots taken at wide angles/top down to achieve the miniature size with minimal editing required.

size

size1

size2

size3

Lots of close-ups and wide angles were used throughout the whole sequence for emphasis and to achieve the miniature concept in the other world (Wonderland) after I’ve shrunk in size.


MUSIC USED: For the background music, I chose this particular instrumental track from a Korean drama that I’ve watched previously as I feel that it further helps to bring out the whimsical and magical feel of the sequence.


SOME INSPIRATIONS: Prior to conceptualising and shooting my frames, below were some of images i used as reference to help me get an idea of how I want my frames to look like in order achieve the whimsical feel.

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c4lwirwpn4j36iwsbjej

enchanted-forest-1920-1052-fantasy-fairy-dragon

I think the biggest challenge for me while doing this project would be the storyboarding as well as the editing process. Coming up with 90 frames wasn’t easy especially for someone like me who couldn’t exactly visualise it in frames. Rather, I shot the frames based on the on-the spot feeling that I had.

All in all,  I feel that this project has allowed me to exercise my creativity and to apply most of the concepts i’ve learnt thus far in 4D. For example, various shot sizes to achieve a certain mood and message of a frame or a tone as explained above.

I had fun doing this project nonetheless! 🙂

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Q1.What is your interpretation of the poem? What theme do you think Frost is addressing? What mood does the text evokes? It may help if you re-read the text and reflect.

The poem discusses the potential end of the world, either destroyed by fire or by ice. On a more metaphorical level, intense emotions are what will bring an end of mankind. Ice suggesting sharp coldness that bites at one’s skin represents the intensity of hatred, while fire being ferocious signifies desire and passion. Overall, there is high tension between the two contrasting elements. However, the poem ends without a conclusion of the initial discussion as Frost suggests that both fire and ice are equally capable of destroying the world.


Q2. Without being too literal, what are imagery will you use to express the theme and mood of the text? It may help if you start by working on small section of the text.

We will use water to express the theme and mood of the text. Water is expressive, full of potential and energy. A single drop of water may be insignificant, but a large body of water like a tsunami becomes undoubtedly powerful. Ways in which the water is manipulated creates different connotations to the image. For example in our series of images when water splashes are taken, it expresses the outburst of energy and when a water vortex is taken, there is a sense of chaos present.

We were taught the Signifier and Signified in our third week of class and had to choose and object to illustrate both concepts. I chose an empty drink bottle that was full earlier when I bought it before class. Well here’s what I got:

SIGNIFIER

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A direct representation of the object would be as such. In the 1st image, a drink. The 2nd image, a prop in the popular game of “Truth or Dare” among youngsters (more info about the game: http://www.playtod.eu/how-to-play-truth-or-dare/) and lastly, in the final image, the bottle as something that can be recycled.


SIGNIFIED

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Following the signifier, these set of images are the signified. The way they are shot connotes a new meaning to the object. For instance the first image, the bottle is balanced on the palm to establish the sense of gravity. The second image shows the inside of the bottle where the symmetry and geometrical interior design of the object gives it the look of one peeking into the eye hole of a kaleidoscope.  In the final image, the bottle is taken from an illusioned point of view, making it look like it’s a vase holding the stalk of flower. The bottle is actually in the foreground of the image while the stalk of flower in the background.

To conclude, I found the exercise interesting despite having to rack my brain for ideas on how I could shoot the object and give it a different connotation. But it was through this exercise of having to illustrate these concepts (Signifier & Signified) on objects we can easily find around us that made it clearer how something can have new meanings to it when shot in a different context rather than in its literal function.

TASK 1: ME

Task1_01

Task1_02

Task1_03

We were tasked to creatively introduce ourselves using 3 photographs and the concept behind these photos came quite naturally. I thought hmmm creative… why not incorporate something that I enjoy doing, handicraft to introduce myself?

For the first photo, I purposely hid something underneath a random mess of lace in which the item is later on revealed in the last image. With the soft and dainty feel of the lace and something hidden, I was trying to portray my introverted personality.

Following which, the second photo is a direct representation of materials that I usually use with the intention wanting to try out flat lay and I took reference from and was inspired after looking at this website: https://www.enlightapp.com/blog/7-fantastic-tips-for-fabulous-flat-lay-photography/

And in the last photo it shows me working on a handicraft piece. I reveal myself with a literal representation of my name, the object that was hidden under the pile of lace in the first photo while not forgetting to express my introvertness still by doing a over the shoulder shot, hiding my face from the camera, shying away.


TASK 2: OBJECT AND REPRESENTATION OF SELF

Task2_01

Task2_03

Task2_02

This set of photos revolves around an object that is of significance to me and it would be this patchwork quilt that was handmade by my paternal grandmother who I never got to meet. She passed on the very same year I was born and the quilt was later passed to me from my parents when I was told The Story.

Through the images I wanted to show my feelings for the object (the quilt) and personally I feel that it is synonymous with the feeling of protection. One of the photos compositions being me hiding behind the quilt to portray my fear of thunder and lighting, how I would hide under it whenever it strikes especially since I sleep alone. While the other photo portrays my longingness, me missing my grandmother. I felt that it was a pity that I was not able to meet her.

Recalling the feedback from my peers during the critique session, what I could have done better for this set was by showing the stitches of the quilt rather than taking a full shot of the quilt for the first photo since I mentioned that the quilt was a symbol of love to me as every patch was painstakingly sewn together to form the quilt. I wanted to show the beauty of it.


TASK 3: MY WORLDTask3_01

Task3_02

Task3_03

Task3_04

The final set of photos came about with the idea of wanting to give the audience a glimpse into my everyday life, a 360-view of the surroundings and sights around my HDB estate. Especially since I grew up in this HDB estate for 10 over years and I walk by these areas everyday as I go to and fro from school or when going out and these areas in particular are meaningful to me.

The first spot –  The corridor  I walk down everyday without fail. Something unique about my level’s corridor is that it’s the floor with the most number of potted plants. My neighbours, even my family included are avid “gardeners”. They would sometimes exchange their plant seedlings and all, it’s a really nice gesture.

The second spot – The open area at the lift lobby. As my block is structured in a way that the balcony of the apartments are facing each other, it creates a triangle open area whereby when the sunlight is able to enter and cast light on the walls of the block. I felt that it was a beautiful sight and wanted to capture it. It brought out the architectural beauty of the block.

The third spot – The HDB void deck. In this photo is one out of the three void deck cats that moved in several years ago and every day without fail, there will be this lady who comes by with her red trolley and cat food to feed these cats. The lady is captured in the background, off focus. So happen it was their feeding time that day as I was going around to get shots for the assignment. Caught the “The Golden Hour”! 🙂

The final spot – The Resident’s Corner which I would walk past everyday without fail on my way to the bus stop as I make my way to school in the morning/afternoon. Usually in the mornings, around 10am, there will always be this same group of aunties that gather here for their daily chit-chat session which I found really amusing. They are really friendly and would greet me every time I walk by.

I enjoyed photographing for this task the most as these are places around my HDB block that I walk by everyday but only got to realise the beauty of these spots when doing this particular task.


DOCUMENTATION AND LEARNING/TAKEAWAY POINTS

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Photo Cr: Xuan Fei

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Presentation layout for in-class critique session

Here’s the documentation of the photos displayed on the wall along the hallway during the critique session yesterday and to sum up the project, some takeaways.

Through feedback from by my peers and Lei, I think I could better improve on layout especially for Task 3 by having the open area photo placed at the top to balance out the colours of the other images as that particular photo was very jarring in a way that made it stood out from the rest. Suggestion given was that I could have made it the first photo of the series to create a smoother top-down viewing in terms of contrast.

Paying attention to tactility and that my photographs focused a lot on textures – This was something that I did not realise recurring across my photographs until Lei pointed it out to me, linking that it’s probably got to do with my love for handicraft.  Guess the observer sees one the clearest haha…

All in all, I really loved how this assignment allowed us to get to know each other better through the photographs we took. There’s a story behind each and everyone’s photos and probably my biggest takeaway from this project would be how photographs are magical. They’re able to tell a story like they say, “A picture is worth a thousand words”.

Till today, I’m still amazed by the power of photography.