Impossibilities of being

The main inspiration for this photo series is old-school games I used to play as a kid. Back then, I could never see myself outgrowing games like Mario and Pac-Man, but I guess when life gets in the way… šŸ™

Getting used to the pace of ADM is still challenging, even after almost three months of starting school. Reliving a much more carefree time in my life is my way of running away from pressing school matters for a bit. Perhaps playing the games isn’t strong enough to quell my yearning for my old carefree life, and my imagination actually takes me into the game for an even more immersive experience.

ARTIST REFERENCES

I’m a big fan of British YouTuber KickthePJ and his style. His imagination is limitless, often implementing wacky and weird fantasies in his short films. This one has tiny people in it, which is where I got the idea for my series of photos. His kooky use of handmade props and lighting is definitely inspiring to me.

Another splendid example of stopmotionĀ is this game-themed one by PESfilm. I like the use of everyday food items to symbolise the food, and the atmosphere of gameplay was captured successfully without even using actual visual elements from the games.

PROCESS
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The set, consisting of items from the games, is entirely made from paper. Ā I printed out templates for the game items and folded them into the desired shapes, then used blutack and satay sticks to position them. I photoshopped the satay sticks and blutack away in post. For my mini-me figures, I took photos of myself doing various actions, then scaled them down and printed the figures out. The entire project was heavy on pre-production, which I wish i dedicated more time to, because I know things would have turned out nicer if more attention was given to detail. Nonetheless, it was pretty fun creating the figures and game elements.

FINAL PHOTOSET

In the photo series, I’m taking a nap in bed when I wake up in a dream, and spot a 1up mushroom sitting beside my pillow. Upon prodding it, I end up shrinking into a tiny version of myself (still in my jammies) as I begin to explore this new world within my old one. I’m interacting with things in my room in a whole new way, and discovering new perspectives of an environment I’m usually familiar with. Several elements from old-school games pop up along the way, and the dream ends with me completing the level and reaching a new high score.