The In-betweens explores the notion of symbiotic mutualism through breathing as a metaphor for the momentum between two coexisting entities. Breathing patterns illustrate interdependence; a cyclical system is generated when one’s ebb and flow affect that of the other, and in turn, affects the original.
The In-betweens aims to observe the relationship between two symbiotic entities at a fundamental level. When one entity changes, how does the other compensate: by rejecting or accomodating?
I started to explore filming myself to see how the body works with trying to encapsulate this thought space of sorts. For now, I took more close up videos to explore the proximity of self to the viewer and in some sense, intruding into the viewer’s space since it is so unconventionally /uncomfortably large and therefore “close”.
This was my first attempt.
I didn’t like this video. I felt that it fell short in a sense. I think these kind of movements can be better explored and conveyed in more full body shots. Also, I know the shirt tag is very obvious. I turned my shirt inside out so there would be no distracting designs (and I didn’t have a plain shirt). As of now, I’m looking at grey or muted colours so it won’t be distracting.
I think this feels the best of the three? It feels more lost and full immersed, like the body is taking over kind of thing, comparatively at least.
I will definitely try taking full body shots to see how that differs in the space continuum. I would possibly explore the idea of repetition more here.
Also, confession is I previously mentioned that I intended to borrow the projector to test projecting through glass bottle. Well, I procrastinated. So I’ll get it done and film how it looks like before next class.
I started to think of the idea of space. As I was looking back at my presentation slides, the sentence “how our thoughts take up space” sounded like something I could explore further. I started to think about the idea of reflection and the idea of a void being encapsulated by something. This led me to the concept of glass half full or glass half empty – a perception of the experiences and memories we have in a positive or negative manner.
Therefore, I went to get glass bottles and tested out videoing with a glass bottle in between the camera lens and subject matter. I got 3 differently shaped bottles to play around and see what warp effects the glass and the way its shaped could create.
First, I tried with a basil seed drink bottle. The bottle has a circular base and it tapers up to the neck.
I find that it has quite a nice and natural warping effect. It does significantly blur the subject matter behind.
Next, I tried out with a Jack Daniels bottle. It is more rectangular in shape.
I didn’t manage to scratch off the label fully hence the left over residue. I will have to scrub it off fully as I think it interferes with the camera such that it focuses on the texture rather than the subject matter behind.
Lastly, I tried with Bacardi bottle. It is a more cylindrical shaped bottle.
I had some rum in the bottle so I decided to try swirling it for fun as well.
I guess in this exploration, I wanted to try using tactile objects to create the warping effect other than just trying to make it on the computer. I have this idea that the next thing I could explore is to video something then project it through a glass bottle. I’m not sure if it’ll even work out, but I guess its worth a shot once I borrow a projector to test it out.
