Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Final Project Brainstorming Ideas

Laser Cave Prototype



I'm thinking of an interactive installation but I'm not sure how I'll be able to translate it through a projector. I like the idea of using lights, colors and sound to induce emotion. Or even something similar to the "what you see is - not what you get" video, where the instructions tell you one thing but I'm doing something obviously different.

Another one I'm thinking about is using silhouettes of the audience so they can be part of the work. Like in this video.

Night Lights

Max Lauter

Text Projection

How to build a silhouette screen

Video Projection Mapping

Or maybe video projection mapping. This is also interesting.

Imagineers in exile

The illusive world of video projection mapping using light sound to manifest imagination in the physical realm

Monday, November 11, 2013

Project 4 - Artist Statement and Thoughts

Video

A non-narrative about how a cemetery, a place where people bury the dead, can contain life within its borders like a garden would. Videotaped at the Evergreen Cemetery.

I liked the idea of showing living things that coexisted with the buried dead. I'm not sure how many people visit this cemetery, maybe more showed up for Veterans' Day, but when I visited, there wasn't anyone else visiting excluding me.

Despite this, I searched the grounds for signs of life, ranging from the obvious trees and grass to birds and smaller animals, such as ants and spiders.

I named the video "The Sacred Garden" because like a garden, the cemetery is self-contained to protect what it contains, in this case the dead. It's a sacred place for many people, a place where you can visit loved ones who have passed away, be it a natural death or a hero's death. It's also a historic site, containing some old graves from the city's earliest formation. What astounded me was how big this cemetery was. I remember visiting another large graveyard, but that was in Argentina.

When graveyards come to mind, most people might think of the dead rising from the grave (zombies), or a place where spirits walk the Earth restlessly or lost in confusion. Though most of this occurs at night, I wanted to shed some light on cemeteries in general. In the day a cemetery is still and full of life, that's what I want to show. A place where the dead are buried but life goes on, either ignoring or coexisting.

To be honest, I was creeped out when I was there. Partly because I was walking where the dead were buried but also because of how incredibly silent and peaceful it was. It's a shocker compared to city life and the noises it brings with it. So for those of you wanting a peace of mind from the city, I suggest visiting a cemetery to honor those who have passed away or to learn something about the city's past. Whichever you think is best!

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Project 4 - Videos Progress


My trip to the cemetery.

Project 4 - Cemetery

For this project, I will be photographing and videotaping the cemetery. When most people think of cemetery, they think of a scary place at night where the dead rise to devour the souls of the living. I'll be showing the exact opposite by showing it during the day.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Our Daily Bread

It's not the weirdest movie I've seen, but it was kinda weird without anyone talking, which is what most movies do. Since this was a non-narrative movie that would be expected and pretty much shows the daily life of the factory workers and the products that are grown and prepared for market. I thought the chicks part was cute, but I cringed when the machines started to throw them into the basket. How many chickens does there need to be produced to feed billions of people? A lot, apparently. I don't eat chicken everyday, but that was still a lot of chickens. The part where they had to electrocute the cows to give them a seizure also made me sad. I'm not sure how the factory workers can stand being around blood and guts all day, and cutting and slicing open the animals, but I guess they got used to it. There's that and one important thing here. This is pretty much how we get our food, from the farm to the dinner table. I just wish they had better living conditions, especially the chickens. A big sunroof will do wonders for those feathers. And space. Of course that would mean that factories would need space, far away from the city in order to harbor all of those animals and people.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Project 3 Critique

I liked George's Beat Sounds. Each item used in the video produced a different sound and beat, which i thought made it work well together. I also liked Ivette's Insomnia video. The mood was creepy and eerie, and the play Waiting for Godot as a way to tie it together was very clever. I think these were my two top favorites.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The Art of Noises

It interests me how the ancient work could be so silent compared to the modern world, since the industrial revolution with the coming of machines. There's so much more noise compared to what life was like back then. Music was born out of the first sound made by our ancestors through instruments of some kind. What the Futurists strive for is noise-sound, something that we seem to be getting close to. Another is musical noise, which makes noise more harmonious.
The Futurists seem to want to break away from what is already known about music. Something that use the same instruments, despite how well the composition may be. They want something new. When most people think of noise, they hear loud and discordant noises, forgetting about noises that could be pleasant to the ear. I liked the small excerpt by the poet Marinetti, where he adds the noise made by the environment to bring the story to life. I especially liked the 6 families of noises, where the pdf gave examples of each family.