Month: October 2017

Process: WIP After Effects Tryouts 2

I continue to animate the story. I added a bird that would fly randomly which is similar to the forest animals: tiger, elephant and monkey. It creates an illusion of interaction among the viewers.

The boy picks up the flower so as to bring his love back to her original human form.

Next steps:
Add another rotation for the boy to create interesting effect rather than just walking.

Final Co-broadcasting Test 1

Hannah & Joan live broadcast

Co-broadcasting final test 1

Posted by Hannah Kwah on Tuesday, 24 October 2017

 

Cher See & Xin Feng live broadcast

Test broadcast

Posted by Xin Feng on Tuesday, 24 October 2017

 

Combine broadcast

XF, CS, HANNAH, JOAN testing

Posted by Goh Chersee on Tuesday, 24 October 2017

 

Roles: Cher See (Police), Xin Feng (Police), Hannah (Thief), Joan (Thief)

Co-broadcasting reflections:

One of the technical difficulties that we face while we were broadcasting was the lagginess of our stream. We kept on disconnecting with each other and the constant need to stay connected to the internet had therefore limiting our hiding spot. The problem was that our stream requires a certain level of responsiveness. The time delay between all of the live feed might cause confusion and disarray in our communications with one another.  

The audio quality was surprisingly loud and clear and the vocal communication between the co-broadcasters was smooth. At the beginning of the broadcast, we were all in the same room and the echo of audio transferred between the five devices was very interesting. The close proximity of the devices also created some audio feedback. At around 00:13 & 24:00, we experimented with this echo and feedback effect.

As the race started, the thieves headed off to various hiding spots and were able to converse easily through the broadcast. We also noted that the clear audio recording allowed the policemen to eavesdrop easily on the thieves’ conversation and deduce their locations. The comment section for Joan and Hannah live feed was smooth and did not run into any problems. Cher See(police) have posted some riddles for the Thief team to guess.

 

Future Improvements:

For the thieves, we could improve on our camera angle and reveal more of our locations so that it would create interesting footages. It would also allow the policemen to have a better idea and better regulate the race.

As for the riddles given by the policeman in the headquarters, if the thieves are unable to guess it another riddle will be given. If the latter are able to solve it, the policemen will reveal one of the numbers of the padlock.Maybe the police could change position with each other so that the police team would not tire themselves.

We could also add in special effects, sound effects and make our combine stream more aesthetically pleasing.  

Research Critique: Second Front

Second Front, founded by a seven member group in 2006, is the first performance art group in the virtual world of Second Life. The members are Gazira Babeli (Italy), Yael Gilks (London), Bibbe Hansen (New York), Doug Jarvis (Victoria), Scott Kildall (San Francisco), Patrick Lichty (Chicago) and Liz Solo (St. Johns). 

They are influenced by Dada, Fluxus, Futurist Syntesi, contemporary performance artists where they challenge traditional performance art and bring it into the virtual world.

Grand Theft Avatar. Second Front. Credits Randall Packer oss.

One of their works, Grand Theft Avatar(2008) is a live performance by Second Front in Second Life. In this virtual world they have their own currency, Lindens, their own laws, rules and systems where it allows people to live in a virtual world. They robbed the Linden Treasury, disguised themselves as different characters and do all sorts of crazy acts to flee from the bank. Grand Theft Avatar challenges the role of traditional game structure. Also they questioned game strategies, the authenticity of currency, rules and lifestyle to Second Life.

Grand Theft Avatar by Second Front performing in Second Life. (above) Credits: http://www.secondfront.org/Performances/Grand_Theft_Avatar.html

Grand Theft Avatar by Second Front, directed by Scott Kildall. (above) Credits: Patrick M Lichty (2017), https://youtu.be/RoHctMuI_HU.

Through the work done by Second Front, I am impressed and fascinated by their idea of a performance art. I have always thought that performance art must involve physical people but instead they used their own personal avatars. It brings a new experience and approach of how performance art could be further explored into. From the reading of their interview, I really liked how they bring gaming environment into their performance and how they make the performance a success despite the difficulties. They combined different areas together where virtual space through gaming environment and creating an avatar (making ourselves virtual instead of showing ourselves through a screen), and performance art which breaks the traditional conventions of one to many but creating a collective narrative performance art (many to many).

“By engaging the contrived space of an online gaming environment the challenges to perform are exaggerated by the parameters that persist as the interface with the context, the others members of the group, audiences and the templates of performance as an art medium.”

A leap into the void: interview with Second Front, TRAN SPIRE a.k.a Doug Jarvis.

Performance art in their context could be both physical where they broadcast to people viewing it and virtually where they are the ones doing a live broadcast of ‘themselves’ a.k.a their avatars. In this way, it is bring the first and second space together to make the third space exist and create a collective narrative together. I would imagine myself as an avatar roaming around the Second Life world and being part of the narrative with the other players and also showing it via Live at different places. It just blows my mind of how creative they are in pushing the boundaries of performance art and making it something new.

“…but in order for VR to produce meaning that breaks from the real and from past artistic social practices, and to become a medium that produces singular works, the binary of the real vs
virtual must be dismantled. Only then, will we be able to look at VR not as a simulation of the real, but as a simulation of itself.”

A leap into the void: interview with Second Front, ALISE IBORG.

The current trend of technology is Virtual Reality (VR) where many games are exploring and/ or tapping into this resource. From the interview, the meaning of VR to incorporate into performance is by the combination of real and virtual. It is something that is happening now where the boundaries of both are blurred off. It is quite scary to think about how we would be more comfortable living in a virtual world and how we live our lives are based on the virtual world we have created. At the same time, it is quite interesting to incorporate both aspects into art. Elaine Warren, Los Angeles Herald Examiner, once said “A visionary premise … the lines between imagination and reality were blurred almost to distinction” and here we have the exact same thing said.

I could see that the Grand Theft Avatar performance could be another way of exploring the upcoming final project my group is working on. Each member could be portrayed as different avatars playing different roles. It is a brand new way of creating a live broadcast.

Overall I really liked this performance or Live broadcasting using avatar-based which makes me think of the different possibilities I could venture into when creating performance art or collective narrative with the use of first, second and third space. The artists have a common vision despite being in different places. Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz mentioned “create a performance place with no geographical boundaries…which is now being practiced by Second Front.

Process: WIP After Effects Tryouts

I struggled with using Unity as I was new to the software. It was difficult to implement the interactive element while using Unity. I could only figure out how to move the character from left to right but not the rigging of the arms and changing scenes when interacting with the object.

I decided that with about 1 month, it was quite difficult to be able to do all that I have planned out. Therefore, I decided to use after effects to complete my story instead.

I was also new to after effects and struggled on how I could do all the scenes I had wanted. However, I had tutorials to help me along the way which enabled me to figure what I could do with it.

One of the tutorial I looked into was morphing:

I decided to implement into the girl who changes into a peacock and moving the characters around.

I added the bird cage where the witch is carrying.

Next Steps:
Continue the story
Fix the background position
Flip the characters instead of going backwards
Change the birds into girls and make the witch disappear
Add an overall ending to the video

Research Critique: Jennicam

The idea started off with a friend joking about using the camera Jennifer Ringley bought to update her website to do a FishBowl cam of a person which pilot the JenniCAM. It started off as still images of her daily life from her webcam to her website where her friends was her main audiences in 1996. It later progress to become a real-time video as the technology evolved. JenniCAM was a worldwide phenomenon for seven years. During this period, she practically lived in front of the camera where she did all the things people would do in their personal life for 24/7. The project was not clear whether it was performance or showcasing every single details of her life. In 2003, she announced that she was shutting her website down since the audience started to die down and on 31 December it was completely gone. From then on Jennifer was practically uncontactable and there seems to have no information of JenniCAM or herself.

Jennifer Ringley started the JenniCAM when she was 19 years old. She was the first artist/ designer/ performer to broadcast her life in front of her Webcam.

JenniCAM. Jennifer Ringley on her bed with her cat on 5 Dec 1997. Credits http://web.archive.org/web/19980515012951/http://jennicam.org:80/gallery/69.jpg
JenniCAM. Jennifer eating on her sofa with her dog. Credits: Randall Packer.

JenniCAM is a inspirational and revolutionary real-time broadcast project as I was reading and researching on this. Who would have thought of showcasing their own personal life activities in the 90s where the internet was just starting to take flight or even to think of something extraordinary which was to broadcast live or even show still images of their lives, it was none other than Jennifer Ringley. This project attracted millions of viewers and subscribers where they just watched her life 24/7. I was shocked that so many people would actually watch this. I guess this was something that was fresh since she took a whole new approach to live broadcast where it was more common to see news live during the 90s rather than oneself personal life. 

JenniCAM. Jennifer in different scenarios in 1999. Credits http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37681006

What impressed me the most about JenniCAM was the courageous act of the 19 years old Jennifer. The act of giving up what I call personal space or life in Jennifer’s case she is willing to expose it to everyone. It would never cross my mind to show everyone how I would lead my personal life as I felt that it was intruding my privacy.

“Because I don’t feel I’m giving up my privacy. Just because people can see me doesn’t mean it affects me – I’m still alone in my room, no matter what.”

Jennifer Ringley. JenniCAM. Credits: http://web.archive.org/web/19980124154026/http://www.jennicam.org:80/faq/general.html

In the quote above, she felt that this project does not give up her privacy means that she viewed it in a different light. I found it interesting because her idea of privacy seems that when people are in the same environment as her and watching her then it means giving up her privacy when millions of people are watching her via the internet.

JenniCAM. Jennifer showing a how she feels with a paper. Credits http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37681006

In JenniCAM the interaction with the audience is through an email where they could make suggestions of what they would want to see or give her feedback of the project. Jennifer would read it and may reply to the emails sent to her but other than that there seems to be not much interaction with the audience via live. I am curious on how the interaction would be like if the technology had allowed the interaction be both ways. But she did change the way of live broadcasting in the present age.

TV show talking about JenniCAM with Jennifer Ringley and David Letterman.

There are many live apps such as Twitter, Facebook where people around the world show their everyday lives. In Korea, many celebrities use the social media: Instagram and V Live to communicate with their fans and to share their personal life. They can see comments by their fans and talk to them via live without having to type back to them. It creates an interaction with the celebrities and fans around the world. 

Image result for korea live stream app
A screenshot from V Live App, where Korean celebrities talk about their blood types and other personal details with fans. Credits https://www.techinasia.com/video-streaming-apps-insights.

In China, millions are also broadcasting their personal lives through broadcasting apps ever since the popularity of it. A 19 years old student Nic Li spends 3 to 4 hours streaming online where she talks and sings for her viewers and feels a sense of satisfaction. She likes attention from her audience since she feels lonely and this could be a way to kill boredom and create conversations.

“Sometimes I feel lonely and want to talk to people,” she says. “It feels nice when viewers are paying attention to me.”

Nic Li, 19, China student.
Credits: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ywang/2016/06/02/in-china-millions-are-broadcasting-their-personal-lives-online-including-the-countrys-richest-man/#28a176781a0c

Online web performer Wang Weiying, 18, broadcasts a live stream from her smartphone in a cafe in Beijing in February. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein). Credits https://www.forbes.com/sites/ywang/2016/06/02/in-china-millions-are-broadcasting-their-personal-lives-online-including-the-countrys-richest-man/#28a176781a0c

Through one person starting the trend of broadcasting herself live which created an uproar of streaming apps around the world where people openly share their personal life or even chatting with people. If Jennifer Ringley did not start JenniCAM we would not know of such platform of live broadcasting and probably we would not have Facebook Live or other streaming apps. Personally I am impressed by her ongoing live broadcast for 7 years even as technology evolved she tried to keep up with it. Her openness to showcase her life from sleeping to eating to being nude in front of the camera made me respect her courage as I would not been able to do it. She has inspired me to be more open to broadcasting about my life but there are some restrictions I would take such as being nude in front of the camera.

Co-Broadcasting Experiment

Co-Broadcasting Experiment

Before the broadcast, I was quite shocked that we could do a split screen via Facebook Live. I was excited that we could do that since it tied in with the final project my group was about to embark.

When the live broadcast was starting, I was facing some difficulties with the internet connection in school (as usual). I had to seek help from my classmates on how to do the split screen after inviting my partner, Joan. After struggling for some time, I finally got the split to work and the both of us was very excited about it.

It was interesting that we could hear each other from both side but only the person who invited the other person could see both sides. The other person could only hear the invited person voice but could not see the face. The only problem was that both sides could not see each other.

Overall, it was quite an experience where we could co broadcast without finding other means to see each other face-to-face. I enjoyed the experience. 

Co-broadcasting

Posted by Hannah Kwah on Thursday, 12 October 2017