Category: Research

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FOUNDATION 4D PROJECT 4: POETICS OF TIME

PROJECT BRIEF

Choose a specific location in ADM, and create an encounter with any medium that expresses one of the following categories of time. 1. Measured time 2. Experienced time 3. Edited time 4. Biological time.

 

OVERVIEW

I started this project with research on two artists, Tehching Hsieh and Marina Abramovic who are the pioneers of performance art. I decided to have a performance art for this project after having a better understanding of it. Due to time constraints, my performance was recorded and presented in the form of installation. The purpose of this performance is to cause realization of the current issues. INDIVIDUALISATION

 

PROJECT PROPOSAL

PROJECT 4 PROPOSAL

 

PROCESS

I had 21 meals alone for 15 days, as I skipped some and there were technical issues for a few meals that were not recorded. All the video clips were edited to the similar scales to keep the consistency. The edited video was presented in the installation is 2 hours 11 minutes in clock time.

There is a speed up version of part of the original video. The scale and framing are able to capture my movement and the environment. There is no surprise in this artwork as all my movements are similar. The regular movement suggests my oppressive emotion, and also form a contrast to the irregular movement in the background. The contrast of an individual against the group emphasized my loneliness.

DINING ENVIRONMENT REFERENCE https://www.pinterest.com/pin/490118371940344390/
DINING ENVIRONMENT REFERENCE https://www.pinterest.com/pin/490118371940344355/
TRIAD COLOURS http://www.tigercolor.com/Images/Triad.gif

Moreover, the deliverable of this project is an installation of my recorded performance. I created a dining environment for my audience to experience the artwork. The images above are my references. The style of the dining environment is colourful and bright like where a group of friends normal hang out at. I used two orange, two green chairs, and one white table for my installation to achieve the ideal effect. I chose the colours according to colour theory that triad colour which are green, violet and orange to create the playful environment.

MENU REFERENCE https://www.pinterest.com/pin/490118371940398927/

TABLE SET UP
TABLE SET UP

Further, text is used in my installation to clarify the content and emphasize my emotion. I wrote down my feeling after every meal and consolidate those into a menu-like sheet with the performance art title and other information. It was placed on the white table for the audience to read while they are watching the video. Some small notes were also placed on the table to deliver my message to the audience.

 

FINAL INSTALLATION

INSTALLATION SET UP
INSTALLATION SET UP

The installation lasted for 2 hours and 11 minutes started from 1230pm on 20th November 2017 at ADM level 2 outside 2D studio. I invited my friend for lunch at my installation. That was my first time eating with friends in 15 days. My friends and classmates had pizza with me and also shared their opinions with me. The whole installation was recorded by Gopro. There is a five-minute video  of some moment above as I could not be able to upload the whole 2 hours video.

 

ALL IN ALL

SOCIAL EVENT
SOCIAL EVENT

This is the first time that I am having performance art and installation. I was always curious about those in the past. Finally, there was a chance for me to do so. Eating alone seems to be an easy task but it is difficult for me as I am an extrovert person who loves to socialize. I am also self-conscious that I care about how people think of me. Putting myself in the situation without company in the public is torture. I felt insecure when I was eating alone. In addition, I did not expect that this performance art would affect my social life that much. I missed several chances to enjoy great food with friends because I need to follow the rules I set. Actually, I only spent around 2 hours in total eating alone but I felt like the time was double. It is because those experiences are unpleasant. However, I felt that time past faster when I was sharing food with friends at the installation. This project is interesting that I never think about time in depth as it is just something we experience every day. I appreciate that we actually have the ability to design time. Lastly, I think this project also helped me to discover my potential, and decide my major.

 

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PROJECT 3: IMPOSSIBILITIES OF BEING

PROJECT BRIEF

Compose a one-minute video sequence in landscape format, HD resolution (1920 x 1080) pixels of the chosen location with the soundscape.

 

LOCATIONS

I listed down thirty places that I had never been to in Singapore. Haw Par Villa is the place that made me curious. I heard about it long time ago but had no chance to visit. Therefore, Haw Par Villa was chosen as the location for this project. Haw Par Villa is famous public park because of its range of Chinese folklore status. The status includes Monkey Mountain, Courts of Hall and etc.

HAW PAR VILLA
TEST SHOTS

I visited Haw Par Villa on a Saturday afternoon. The whole place is relatively quiet and, there was only a few foreign tourist visiting. I was attracted to the vibrant colours of the statues. The outdoor area of Haw Par Villa is bright with the blue sky, while the indoor area only has some spotlights shining on the statues. The contrast inspired me of my video. I did around 70 test shots with my phone when I first visit to try out different angles and scales.

 

SOUNDS

30 SOUNDS

I started recording sounds before visiting the place. It is because interviewed some people about their opinions of hell. Most of them told me that their stressful daily life is like hell. Thus, I recorded thirty sounds with zoom recorder from our daily life, such as the sound of the curtain, door lock, turning off the switch, the MRT train moving and etc.

 

RESEARCH ON THE VISUALS

WIDE SHOT
CLOSE-UP

The video contents both still images and videos. Wide shots are used to show the environment at Haw Par Villa, while close-up shots are used to capture the facial expression and emotion of the statues. Both overexposure and underexposure are applied to show the peace and darkness. Flashing light effects are used to direct audience’s attention. Further, distort visions are used to evoke chaos.

BLUE
RED

Lastly, I referred to some experimental videos on Vimeo. Some are simply using colours to create the mood, for example, the video above (https://vimeo.com/143827409). Therefore, I applied colour theory to create visual contrast just like my first encounter of the location, the peace of the outdoor area and the darkness of the indoor area. Blue associated with stability. It symbolizes peace and heaven and has the calming effect. It forms a strong contrast with red, which associate with danger and power.

 

RESEARCH ON THE SOUNDS

Many say that horror movie is less scary when you mute the sound. Sounds play an important part in a video, and also has perspective like images. My video contents foreground and background sounds to create space of sounds. The rhythm will be regular and irregular at different parts, while the intensity will transfer from soft to loud to achieve the acceleration of the emotion. Also, there will be sudden changes of pitch, and speed to create chaos.  

 

LOW-FI STORYBOARD

I did a low-fi storyboard and a draft video to determine the rough sound effects and the timing of each sense. The video starts with peaceful sense with soft cicada sounds like the morning. The sound gradually speeds up while the senses become dark and cruel. Several feedbacks are gathered after the first presentation, and it helped me to understand what still images, videos and sounds I need to add in and improve to achieve the idea effects.

 

EMOTIONAL GRAPH 

After experimenting with images and sounds, I realized that the purpose of my video is to evoke certain emotion. Therefore, I rethink about the structure of my video and came up with an emotional graphic.

 

REFINEMENTS

Further, I added in flash of the scary image and random sounds at the beginning based on the emotional graph. Keyboards and some other sounds are added to boost the emotion of the video. According to research, the minor chords are able to evoke negative emotions, while major chords are able to evoke positive emotions. Thus, I experimented with minor chords and came up with a short background music for the last two third part of the video. Also, I punched my bed to create drums beats, as drums help to create a solid beat and rhythm.

BLEND MODE
TRANSPOSE RATIO

The video is edited in Premiere Pro. Many video and audio effects are used in this video, for example, adjusting the blend mode and transpose ratio for the last one-third of the video to achieve the distorted effects.

 

FINAL VIDEO

I named this video HEW PAR VILLA, as ‘H’, ‘E’, ‘L’ and ‘L’ form the word HELL. This video uses visual elements and sounds to evoke fear. Yet, the senses are made to be a combination of fear and pleasure. All the sound effects are created by using the daily objects, such as plastic bag, bed, door locks. It is more like a symphony instead of horror movie trailer with jump shots. The precise structure and the uses of elements, such as colours, are able to bring the audiences to walk through a museum of hell in one minute.

 

ALL IN ALL

This project is challenging as this is the first time that I creating my own soundscape. I used to edit video using existing background music, so I could follow its rhythm. However, I had to create my own rhythm. It required time and efforts for me to explore and execute. I am glad that my professor, classmates, and friends gave me constructive feedback along the way.

 

REFERRENCES

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24957406

https://historyofdrumsandpercussion.weebly.com/role-of-drums-in-music.html

http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_560_2004-12-14.html