Final Project | Glitch Singapore

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5 Min Trailer Video:

Full Videos:

NAOMI:

Makeup Artist: JJ

JJ:

Makeup Artist: Naomi

NOKWAN (Rehearsals):

Makeup Artist: Joey

 

Group Members:

Nok Wan, Naomi, JJ, Joey

Setting: 

Hall Room in Pioneer Hall

This is my room.

 

Medium:

Instalive + InstaPoll

The Polling Results after the Makeup game

Introduction:

Our project “Fans do my makeup!” is a VLOG project conducted via Instalive. The story is about how two (girls?) people get ready for their individual appointments but need help in preparing their makeup! They hence seek help through Instalive in hopes to obtain good advice and opinions about how to put on the best makeup.

After their time limit is over (their uber came), their photos are taken and put up on a Instapoll to determine who has the best makeup done by the live audience.

However, here’s the catch; there is someone behind the person going on a date, helping them to apply the makeup blindly while pretending that their own hands belong to the Dating person.

The location that we picked is my room in Pioneer Hall despite previously considering places such as Clarke Quay (our first idea that never happened) and School (Our second idea which happened but failed). This is because we felt that a personal room is where people usually do their own private things a.k.a studying, sleeping, etc. which are rather intimate things. To allow people to intrude onto this personal privacy through a Third Space like Instagram, however, is quite normal for many people, which is weird because the Third Space consists more strangers than the people you interact with in real life. Hence, to us, this is a sort of Glitch in terms of social norms, and would also like to relate this concept to one of the requirements of our project; to show the contrast between real life and the Third Space.

 

How does it relate to DIWO + 3rd Space + Glitch:

Our project is a project that would only be possible, and was possible, with the help of online contributants through Instagram, which is a 3rd Space. With everyone contributing their ideas through their comments and us following the instructions given in putting the makeup, we could create a DIWO project made from the face as a canvas and makeup as its paint. However, there is also a second layer of DIWO, which arises from how there is a secondary person helping the first person put on the makeup. This is DIWO because the makeup is not done by the ‘protagonist’ of the video; rather, it is done by someone who is also a contributant. This makeup artist has the liberty and freedom to draw however he or she wants, in his or her own method of perceiving things. He or she can choose not to follow the instructions or not, and essentially becomes their own artist as well (can be seen from how some absurd instructions in the Instalive is not followed because it is too extreme such as shaving the person bald). It is clearly a 3rd Space project, because other than the makeup artist and their human canvas, all instructions are done via Instalive where not everyone knows each other and are not communicating with each other physically in real life.

Glitch comes in through the makeup and the comments given. Some of the instructions given are clashing, which creates a distortion in the final outcome. Each artist may have a certain appearance in mind when they give instructions on how to do the makeup, but their own plans are disrupted when another person, based on their own imagination, gives an instruction which clashes with their own. If we chose to do both makeup, it essentially creates a glitch two ways; firstly, because what was previously imagined by the audience is being interrupted by another’s ideas and secondly, because the makeup itself clashes with each other. Glitch in our project has a second layer too, which comes in through the human error; when we are not able to translate the ideas that are prompted onto our human canvas properly. This imperfection is essentially a disruption caused by our inability to replicate ideas and things end up not turning out like how we want it to be.

Then comes the polling at the end of the project; this polling is done through Third Space (Instapoll), and is meant to serve as a representation that even though different people come together and put their ideas together, there will still be preferences which shows that the concept of DIWO and the Third Space is essentially a glitch; because it is not perfect, yet successful at the same time because it is acceptable by all (shown by neutral results of the polling).

Hence, our project reconciles all 3 ideas.

Research and References:

We took our inspirations from very everyday things; YouTube VLOGS about makeup tutorials, dress-up and makeup games in childhood gaming websites, buzzfeed videos where hosts ask twitter followers for responses to decide their next actions, and even Q&A sessions hosted by YouTubers a.k.a creating content based on what viewers want and suggest.

Lolygames | Lindsay Lohan Makeup Game

Rainbow Hair Salon! | Girl Kids Dress-up Makeup Game

Xia Xue | All Time Favourite Makeup VLOG

Xia Xue | ISIS Makeup Tutorial

In a sense, we were trying to replicate being an influencer (even their personalities) hosting their own video channel. From our own experiences, it is these kinds of videos that attract a lot of online traffic because it is 1) Relatable 2) Engaging and 3) Interactive. The audience feels that they are part of the project regardless from where they are, hence feeling more involved because their opinions matter.

Image result for human clock

Human Clock

Image result for yoko ono cut piece

Yoko Ono- Cut Piece

social turkers | Crowdsourced Dating

Related image

Amalia Ulman | Instagram Art

Jenn Im

The above listed are other examples we took inspiration from.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Human Canvas: Nok Wan (Rehearsal), JJ, Naomi

Secondary Makeup Artist: Joey (Rehearsal), Naomi, JJ

Video Trailer: Joey

Instagram Live: JJ

Instagram Poll: Naomi

Room and Makeup: Joey

Cameras (Video): JJ, Nok Wan

Cameras (Photos): Everyone

Process:

It was one wreck of a roller coaster ride. Our first idea revolved around getting someone to act like they were drunk at Clarke Quay and for the actor to latch onto a random stranger and their actions would be determined via Facebook live stream. This idea was very agreeable until we ran into hefty logistical problems. Then, we switched our idea to that of having a Collaborative Concert with people suggesting how to play a cover of a song through FB Live, instructing the players in another room. However, that failed badly too because of the time lag and lack of volume in the social media platforms we invested in.

In the end, we decided to go with this Makeup Vlog idea. Makeup came to mind because most of us do not have prior experience with putting on proper makeup. In fact, I was the only one who had a sort of idea (note: a sort of) in how to put makeup and its steps. Even I was not that sure about how to do it. Then we thought, hey, why don’t we ask other people to help? There came the birth of this idea.

However, we decided to increase the difficulty by including an obstacle, which is by letting a blind secondary makeup artist put on the makeup for us. This added another layer of DIWO for us as well, as mentioned above. It also made our project more socially inclusive because there is not only one individual involved in the process of the makeover and it requires collaborative effort to create a whole, realistic performance.

Nok Wan regretting her past, her present, and her future of makeup.

Nok Wan regretting her past, her present, and her future of makeup Part 2

When we did the Rehearsal with Nok Wan, we did it with her as herself but decided that it may be more fun to make the actual run seem like YouTube personalities doing their own makeup tutorials, showcasing the products used and explaining the steps a.k.a being very talkative. This blended the whole performance and its random additions more convincingly because it would seem that the “Influencers” were in more control of their actions and they know what they are doing. Also, this meant that everyone essentially became a performer.

JJ regretting his life decisions.

Naomi not knowing to laugh or cry at the instructions the viewers are giving.

“Shave her eyebrows”

Unexpected Elements + Failures:

There were so many unexpected errors popping out here and there. Other than the failure of our ideas from our past two ideas (which I mentioned in front), our current one also had problems such as how to make the secondary artist’s hands look convincing, personal space issue (the space between the secondary artist and the ‘Influencer’ had to be… pretty close. Yep. Pretty close.) and the inability to see which makeup we were supposed to pick up and put on. However, these errors eventually became happy accidents where they strengthened our concept of Glitch and DIWO. There was also a social media time lag, where the comments on the host’s phone was always on time but on everybody else’s phone, it was slower by a few seconds, which made it hard to reconcile. Also, the barrage of comments was quite overwhelming and we had to constantly scan through all the comments to make sure we did not leave out anything unintentionally. In this particular idea, some of our errors and unexpected elements ended up being Happy accidents, which made us pretty happy (maybe satisfied is a better word) about it.

Third Space Symposium Hyperessay

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Summarize the three day event (you will be attending two sessions) in a 500 word Symposium Hyperessay, with a focus on the two keynotes by Maria X and Matt Adams, the two performances by Jon Cates and Annie Abrahams, and the global roundtable discussions. 

Topic: Social Broadcasting: A Communications Revolution

In this essay, I will be referring to Matt Adams’ Keynote and Annie Abrahams and Co.’s live networked performance from the three-day Symposium. I would like to talk about how the Third Space allows people to come together and create a piece that can send a message to the messes.

I’m sorry I forgot about taking screenshots.

On Day 1, Annie Abrahams and her partners performed from their respective homes and delivered a performance by syncing their actions e.g. filming a white surface, etc. It started off with the participants announcing their latency and saying “eggcellent”, which in my opinion was messy but sounded therapeutic at the same time.

I felt that the Third Space in this performance was extremely well-explored. Not only did Annie and the participants make use of the live video feeds, they also made use of sound (which was very clear because it is through a video) and the appearance of the video feeds. With the perimeter of the screens lighting up at the same time whenever anyone spoke from their end, it added the effects.

When the performance truly begun, the participants voiced a constant lull of comments which sounded very synced, comforting and attractive even though it is so random and illogical. There were also small mistakes made along the way such as Igor not being able to find a white screen fast enough but personally, it added to the beauty of the lack of symmetry. I think the magic in the piece lies in the incoherence in the webcam pieces are consistent.

On Day 2, Matt Adams talked about Blast Theory and their projects. He mentioned Kidnap, Uncle Roy All Around You, I’d Hide You, My Neck of the Woods and My One Demand. Their projects revolved around the concept of people being together in the same place and silent contracts are formed- this is different from a community. This contract tests people’s willingness and openness to embrace agreements on a platform they may not be comfortable with.

Blast Theory makes use of the Third Space as a platform to connect both the online and the physical people together. His works addresses cybernetic concerns for circularity, communication and control. There is also a utopian sense of responsibility and freedom, where social relationships are made possible by the internet. This would have been possible in the past where commons are shared, but with modern private ownership and privacy, sharing domains must be done through individual consent.

Blast Theory- Kidnap (1998)

His works also explored power flow between people, the audience and the set of performers. In society, there is state control over the body and power relationships, which foregrounds the way we experience and play with power. When someone holds more power, such as in Kidnap where helpless and unknowing members of the public are kidnapped by Blast Theory, the ‘victims’ can essentially experience more things that may not be within their comfort zone. On the other hand, people on the Third Space can see what is going on yet not being as intimidated or affected that badly because it is as though whatever goes on behind the screen is not real. This puts people on the Third Space in more power.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate how the Third Space allows people to entangle the fine line between a Telematic space and reality. While it engages the audience to come together as one to create a masterpiece as though they are not separated by distance and spaces, it may also generate a discussion about how far can people go to establish a sort of control over others, such that it does not become a crime-like while retaining its realism.

Micro-Project 7: Video Selfie | Paralysis

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We can be scared of many things, the imagination as innocent children distorting our happy reality. In the end, the dictation of our own imagination become the root of our own fear. We cannot gain full control of it.

 

 

Title: Paralysis

Location: Home

Music: Pokemon- Lavender Town Theme Song (Backwards)

Questions: How can the video selfie be used to alter identity? How might video be used to conceal identity? How do the objects that surround you contribute to your sense of identity?

My inspiration is derived from a photographer named Nicolas Bruno. He recreates his dreams during sleep paralysis (ever since he was 15) through photography. He is admirable and unique because not only he touches upon the genre of horror (which artists usually feel uncomfortable to contact with), he also explores how to visualize nightmares and fears, a feat difficult for many.

Nicolas Bruno Photography

Nicolas Bruno Photography

Nicolas Bruno Photography

Nicolas Bruno Photography

I filmed this video in my home, because it is the place where we always go back to; our safe abode. Nevertheless, it is also the place where our fears take root in because we can often find fear in the place where we take comfort in (bed, closets, bathroom, the garden, etc.). It is the most terrifying when even your safest haven is attacked by your fears and there is now no more back-up plan for you to hide in.

Furthermore, I emphasize this scariness by filming in complete darkness, highlighting how even in the place you call home, there is no light for you to go to- it’s an eternal darkness, and a trap you can potentially never get out of.

I also put on a Noh mask, which is a mask I am frankly quite terrified of ever since I was young. I want to use the idea where you become your own fears because your own imagination and ideals are what dictates what you are afraid of.

Next, I added one of my best friends; squawky chicken. It is a toy that I like to play with, which shows how childish I really am and perhaps, also the inner child in me. This chicken is a great personification of me in my opinion- childish, friendly in bright colours- usually a very comforting companion for me especially when I am bored and lonely. However, this time, I placed it in a scary and dark environment- not friendly at all, and the usual comical face of the chicken becomes one of petrifying terror. In a sense, I am transforming my comfort into my fear once again. It is as though the chicken (me) is trapped and has no way to escape because my own fears are overpowering me in the place I once call home.

Altering my identity through letting me conceal who I really am, and allowing me to change into another thing afterwards?

The video selfie helped me to alter my identity because it gives me an opportunity to become someone entirely different. It allowed me to express a message which I would usually not be able to convey in real life. It conceals my identity because it is not live and physical, meaning that should I show this video to a random person on the street, they will not be able to figure out who I am, and cannot do so either. In this video, I am no longer Joey, but a creepy masked guy with a terrified chicken. I would also say that the darkness and the concept of home being engulfed with fear contributed to the idea that I am my own nightmare, and the chicken is a personification of myself.

 

Thank you and sorry if you got scared by the video. Have a cookie!

Research Critique 3: Glitch & The Art of Destruction

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Instructions:

Write short 300 to 500 word essay about your Art of Destruction project and incorporate  (1) Menkman, R. (2009) “Glitch Studies Manifesto”, (2) Randall Packer, Conversation with Jon Cates (2014) Hyperallergic and (3) Interview with Chip Lord into your research critique post, using at least one quote from each article and/or interview to support your own research and analysis.

Review the following questions in your essay:

  • How does your project embrace problems, inconsistencies and accidents?
  • How is the medium in your work transformed from its original state through the act the deterioration and destruction?
  • How is glitch and destruction an act of artistic expression?

Group Mates: Celine, Amanda, Joey

For our Art of Destruction project, our group decided to go with video as our art medium. We decided to put together different definitions of glitch to create a whole glitched video. First, we took random videos filming weird and every day scenes that were inconsistent. Then, we edited the videos we took to make it unnatural; speeding up, slowing down, adding filters, etc. These changes took place gradually, from the little glitches until it wildly subverted our expectations and had no calculated order.

These were the first 2 glitches; one because it does not make sense, and two because it was not natural. Yet, a sense of continuity and a small curiosity about what random scene would come next was still retained. The final glitch occurs because as three people in a team, we have different editing styles and ideas with regards to how to glitch our videos and what scenes to take for our video

As Jon Cates has stated in his interview, “this approach to noise, or noisiness, or dirt, or dirtiness, is a way to foreground as you say, an aberrance or perversion of normative message or what we might perceive to be logical reasoning”. This project embraces the abnormalities as an addition to a complete artwork, with each layer concealing a different original idea. Also mentioned in Glitch Manifesto, “destruction can change into the creation of something original”. It is precisely because each part is so broken and incomplete that they complement each other despite not being cohesive. As a result, it becomes something original because it is not an artistic norm. Over here, we can highlight how destruction helps to piece together a new form of art.

Art is defined as the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form. In society, people are usually accustomed to normal ideas because of what society imposes on us. The abnormal is rejected and regarded as a disability. As a result, everybody’s ideas end up similar to be accepted. Glitch and destruction is an act of artistic expression because they become original by breaking down normal ideas with creativity and imagination. As Chip Lord has implied in his interview, to create a new form of original art is to go against the currents of natural currents of conventional expectations. They ignore social norms and create something entirely new to be appreciated. It is when “problematic ideas” become accepted that they become less original.

Hence, the lack of cohesiveness, the disturbances to the natural sequence of our videos and the randomness of the scenes which discourages understanding creates a destructive art piece; one that is illogical yet still a complete whole in the end. It is imperfect, but we recognize this imperfection and flawed art piece as a proper composition.

 

Micro-Project 4: Exquisite Glitch

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Here are my eyes.

I don’t really know what happened, but I was reduced from a human being to some sort of micro-organism or amoeba.

 

Describe how this process of collective image creation and decomposition creates a glitch transformation.

How is each transformation creating a new form of its precursor?

Research Critique 2

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A Normal Day for a Normal Girl doing a Normal Activity by Tanya and Joey

Tanya and I worked on a project revolving around a normal girl doing a normal activity (Studying, surfing the net, etc.) on a normal day. It all sounds very normal, but there is a certain intimacy in this normal moment. We believed that but portraying a personal and private moment, we are recreating Third Space; a virtual platform consisting the fusion of the physical and remote space for displaying any ideas.

We break down the walls of a physical environment in the same way as Third Space does; this scene is not something someone would willingly show to other people and is meant only for themselves, yet they may post about it on social media, a Third Space.

We further reinforce this invasion of privacy by recreating the girl’s activities with two people; Tanya being the face of the girl, and me being the one who controls what she does. Despite being in two different places, we can recreate a moment of intimacy, reinforcing how Third Space allows us to form intimacy through exposure.

As Maria Chatzichristodoulou mentions, “the absence of textual narrative and the focus on movement and visuals made such explorations more intuitive.” Without any text or verbal communications, we have to coordinate our actions based on instincts and careful mirroring.

This is also a ‘fracturing of perception’, as Randall Packer has mentioned. There is a distinction of being in the first (Me) and second (Tanya) perspective, yet also simultaneously depicting the same scene. Third Space allows this distortion to happen, like watching a reality show on TV.

Micro-Project 2: It’s Storytime!

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MICRO-PROJECT 2: It’s Storytime!

It’s Storytime! Micro-Project 2

Members: Celine, Nok Wan, Naomi, Joey

In our game, everyone sits beside each other and write a story together. Everyone is only given one or two lines to write within 30 seconds before they must pass the story on. Three people will also have to ballot a genre, a variable and a catchphrase to include in the story. There must be a plot twist and a character must disappear. After the story has been finished by everyone, it becomes an art piece.

Balloting Slips, Micro-Project 2: It’s Storytime!

Instructions for Micro-Project 2: It’s Storytime!

The viewer of this textual art must contribute their interpretation of the story and creativity to complete the story. The artist is only present to provide the boundaries and limitations to guide the story along. It involves social interaction because a co-creator must view other co-creator’s responses to the artwork and how they interpret it before they can build onto it. Essentially, it becomes a collective artwork where artists share different thinking to succeed a shared aim.

At different points of time, people’s perspectives and way of thinking may change, which can affect the flow of the story based on their mood. Also, when people from faraway and different places come together to write the story, it can introduce different elements that we might not have thought of due to the difference in how people are raised in their respective environments.

Our D.I.W.O artwork is a departure from traditional art because instead of how an artwork is pre-planned and personal, our collective artwork provides a collaborative platform which evokes a sense of unpredictability and unplanned creativity. Adding obstacles and requirements also serves to raise its levels and to make it more challenging and controlled to establish a common goal.

More pictures heheh

I believe that through D.I.W.O, artists can bond together through social media and collaborations with communities. It also helps people to ‘connect people with other cultures, outside of their own nation states…ideologies.’, as stated by Marc Garrett. This is a departure from traditional artists because they must suffer to maintain a stable finance, threatened by ill-informed perspectives and a rigid infrastructural tie and framework.

Our crowd-sourced time-based artwork is different from the other artworks shown because it incorporates text as a form of art. Also, it is passive, and there are hidden elements that certain co-workers would not know about. This inspires more creativity and difference in portraying the result of the artwork because of how everyone thinks differently.

However, it is also similar to Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece. Each viewer must contribute their part, based on what the others before them has already done. There is a line where you must wait for your turn, and the art piece will not be as effective should everyone contribute simultaneously. The viewers are in full control and are placed in the artist’s shoes. A good comparison would also be the Human Clock, where viewers submit their own image to capture that moment of time. The beauty of the art work is in how a single person’s actions is now obvious and significant in creating the artwork.

 

 

Micro-Project 3 – Tele-Drift by Tanya and Joey

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Posted by Joey Chan on Monday, 29 January 2018

Micro-Project 3- Tele-Drift (FB Live Collaborative Video)

Brief Description:

For our micro-project 3, we used Facebook live to create this video about a girl going about her day. The video was made within ADM, with Joey stationed at the basement and Tanya at an outside bench.

Objective:

The objective of this video was to capture two perspectives of a girl as she carried out her daily activities as a University student; Joey filmed the first-person perspective while Tanya filmed the second-person perspective. To do this, we had to make sure the timing of our actions was synchronized. For example, when we wanted to show the girl throwing her paper ball behind her shoulder, Tanya had to watch Joey’s side of the Facebook live split screen to know when to continue the arm motion.

This concept of a Third Space was actually a platform for long-distanced intimacy in my opinion. One is able to connect to another person despite a physical distance being there. By using a platform where we can react simultaneously and almost immediately to each other, we can become side by side through a digital screen.

The reason we decided to film such a mundane scene (a girl doing her daily things) is because it is something that is usually not seen, and not shown to other people. It is a scene that is personal, and is not considered something desirable to be displayed (other than for proud parents and teary-eyed professors who are amazed that there are actually students who do study). Hence, it provides a more intimate feeling when both Tanya and I, two separate people, work together to enact a one-person scene. We violated personal space by creating a third space where two people get to experience how it is like to be a single person.

Overall, it was more difficult to carry out than we thought, especially since distance kept us from communicating efficiently to one another. Nonetheless, through scripting, some practicing, and a few retakes, we managed to get a more synchronized version of what we had in mind. However, it was still difficult to carry out our actions at the same time due to the video buffering on one side and the error carrying forward onto the other person’s video perspective. Also, videoing with only one hand also resulted in a lack of stability in the video we wished we could have avoided.