Mid-Crit Notes

Critique reflections:

• Look at Banksy's Dismaland 
• Look at pollution maps, most polluted place in the UK? Can we incorporate the visual style of a pollution map in our exhibition
• Does our piece have a conclusion?
• How are we exhibiting?

STATEMENT OF INTENT

TEST SHOOT

Perspectives using shallow depth of field and macro lenses

Perspective Research

X-Ray Reference

MUSIC VIDEO REFERENCE

The music video by the artist Sivu offers a different perspective of the human features by recording the singer through an x-ray machine.

Schlieren Effect Experimentation

Schlieren Effect

Today we attempted to experiment with the Schlieren Effect. This is a means of "visualising air density due to small changes in the index of refraction in air are made visible by Schlieren Optics. With a video camera and monitor, we can see warm convection currents rising from your hand or, alternatively, cold air sinking from a glass of ice water. Gases other than air can also be seen with this technique."

"The collimated light is focused with a converging optical element (usually a lens or curved mirror), and a knife edge is placed at the focal point, positioned to block about half the light. In flow of uniform density this will simply make the photograph half as bright. However, in flow with density variations the distorted beam focuses imperfectly, and parts that have been focused in an area covered by the knife edge are blocked. The result is a set of lighter and darker patches corresponding to positive and negative fluid density gradients"

Expected results:

Outcome:

Unfortunately when attempting to carry out the experiment, we could not achieve the above results. Upon reflection, we figured that this was likely due to the household concave mirror that we were using not being of optical industrial grade.

Schlieren Effect: how to visualise the flow of air

Set up:

BELIEF AND EXPECTATIONS - Conceptual Idea

in a narrative base, produce several films that create an expectation to make the viewer think that a situation is going to develop one way, to end up changing the outcome completely. We may want to use a clicheéd vision of how something "should be" to defy that expectation, perspective or point of view the narrative generates.

We could accompany this with interesting visuals that challenge the rules of filming, and use visual storytelling to manipulate the audience.

Handmaid's Tale

REFERENCE



How shallow depth of field can be used to show certain perspectives, manipulating the audience into focusing on one single thing, as intended by the director.

Richard Mosse (Inspiration)

Richard Mosse

Richard Mosse was a key source of inspiration when we began forming our idea. Richard Mosse (born 1980, Kilkenny, Ireland) is an Irish conceptual documentary photographer. In much of Mosse's work, he makes social statements by altering perceptions, often by experimenting with medium and different ways of capturing light.

Eastern Congo's Conflict

In this photography series, Mosse documented the Eastern Congo conflict in a completely new way, that brought attention to the severely under-documented humanitarian crisis. Mosse began experimenting with Aerochrome film in 2009. Invented for reconnaissance during the Second World War, it registers infrared light normally invisible to the naked eye, and turns things a kitschy pink in the process.

Critic Sean O'Hagan, writing in The Guardian, said "His images from there often seem to skirt the real and the fictional, simply though their heightened and unreal colours. He has made the familiar seem strange and the real seem heightened to the point of absurdity. This is war reportage – but not as we know it."

Heat Maps '16-'17, 'Incoming'

Similarly to Mosse's earlier work in the Congo, 'Heat Maps' uses the capturing of light in new ways in order to draw attention to a humanitarian, social subject. a series of panoramic images of refugee camps across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, created using a military-grade thermal camera that can detect body heat from a distance of 18 miles. By utilising thermal cameras in this way, Mosse immediately separates the refugees from their racial background, rendering them universally human and altering viewer perspectives. In this series, "the astonishing intensity of his film means he has succeeded. Mosse reminds us, is a human tragedy – our human tragedy. We are all implicated in its unfolding."

PREVIEW FOR FILMS

Here is a "summary" that I wrote for each one of the films. This illustrates each film's initial and broad idea and concept, parting from our group meetings and our idea development.

Perspective Idea Proposal 1

Using playful but simple visual metaphors/series mostly based around people and objects: mini narratives to create different perspectives on current societal issues.

Inspiration: Tomas Terekas - FISHFETISH

Mini sketch idea examples:

• Child playing traditional fair ground ride where you have to hook a duck and win a goldfish, but instead of toy ducks it is plastic bottles and the prize is a dead goldfish. Statement on pollution/overproduction/disposable culture.
• Woman erotically holding a 'model' of a penis, before biting into it, revealing that it is in fact a cake. Statement on sexism, feminist view, unexpectedly putting the woman in a position of power.
• Man showering in bath tub, but rather than water coming out, coins are. Statement on greed/Capitalism.

Recent thoughts on idea: 

Unsure as to whether we are challenging a frontier. The metaphors will be new and creative but the filming style will have limitations as it will likely be a studio based project - this may mean it will be difficult to challenge technical conventions.

REFERENCES

History Of Infrared

https://www.lifepixel.com/infrared-photography-primer

Tutorial with Jini and Jane

Notes
10/10/17

- Merged with Nina and Abril

Look at how film uses perspective - how do films position the viewers?
Research more inspiration - see what has been done and what can be taken further.
Important to focus on different perspectives as in VIEWS such as black vs white, male vs female etc - different sides of the fence
Roles - define before next week
Perspectives/styles in Art - research
Jon Berger - Viewpoint work (Ways of Seeing)
Light in painting
Western vs Non Western art
Japanese cinema - emotive lighting
Idea before next week
Simon Faithfull - Space/underwater/arctic/franks car park

Starting Points/Ideas

Want to do something that pushes boundaries and takes the format to places it's not been before, but can be used in a commercial sense. ie. music video/ad with new concept.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPNTC7uZYrI

Slow motion in real time
Film something when
Upside down Video - Camera upside down to create new perspective
Time Lapse that has never been done before - Animal decomposition from start to finish

Vertigo Effect

Helicopter Rotation - camera rotates with propeller

Size Perspective

Warp Stabilisation/post production experimentation (glitch)

Inspiration

OK GO - One Moment Inspiration

Synchronised swimming upside down video

DJI Instagram page

Space Idea

Send camera into space using helium balloons - could be part of a larger video about perspective/trick videography. Reversed balloon going into space - coming through window, part of a larger video?