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CCC - refined film

CCC - refining my film

I asked Liv for some advice on how to improve my film and make it more effective. She suggested that I work on refining the details on each shot so that the message behind the film is portrayed through the whole film. For example, who is in the photo frames and what does this say about our lives been consumed by technology and screens. Below are the changes that I have made so far.

For the magazine shot I changed it from hand-drawn to a small print-out of an existing magazine. I used the magazine ‘Wired’ as I wanted to use something that related to our obsession with technology. The magazine also works really well for my film with the word ‘future’ written across the front cover, hinting towards my film becoming a dystopian reality for us.

For the shot of the hanging photoframes, I used photographs of my friends and I from times when we have taken pictures of ourselves using our phones. Again, I wanted this shot to highlight how integrated screens have become into our lives.

CCC - first attempt at filming my set

Below is my first attempt at putting my set together into a film. I wanted to try and show how quickly time passes when we are absorbed in screens. I used myself as an ‘actor’ in this film, which I think worked relatively well as I knew what shots I wanted to get and exactly how I wanted them to look. I also wanted to incooperate my previous work of ‘faces lit by screens’ which I think worked well in this context. The quality of the film and audio is not the best, but I just wanted to get an idea of how my set and other shots could work together in a film.

Planning a film in my sketchbook

CCC - experimenting with film

I also filmed the flickering of light from the television onto my set. Although this isn’t the best quality, I’m pleased with how real the set looks and the effect that the lighting has on the atmosphere.

CCC - television as the focal point of living spaces

After creating my set, I wanted to photograph it in the dark illuminated by a TV screen (which was my phone taped behind a hole in the wall of my set). I think that these photographs were really successful and highlight the dreariness of staring at screens in the darkness. I also found it interesting that the centre of most people’s living spaces is the television - as if life is focused around the screen.

CCC - creating a set to film

Below are some photographs of a set which I have created to photograph and film, hopefully to show the passing of time whilst a character is engulfed in social media and screens. The TV on the wall is a hole, so I will attach my phone to the back of the set which will work as a ‘real’ television.

CCC - screen lighting/ eye experiments

I wanted to experiment with ‘screen lighting’ as I feel like this is quite a unique form of lighting which automatically brings to mind the concept of technology and the idea of mindless scrolling/ watching. I think that these are relatively successful especially as the reflection of the screen can be seen in the eye. I would like to continue this experimentation within a miniature set environment.

CCC - research - Roos Mattaar

I decided that my next step for this project will be to move away from 2D work and create a 3D set to continue my experimentation. Whilst I was researching miniature sets and getting some ideas on how I could construct them, I came across stop-motion artist and set designer Roos Mattaar. She creates small sets which act as backdrops for her animations, using multiple materials such as plywood and metal. Although creating a set this detailed and intricate won’t be possible in the timescale that I have for this project, I would like to make a set of a living room or bedroom to experiment with ‘screen lighting’ and the concept of time passing.

CCC - more GIF experimentation

I decided to continue my GIF experiments as I found that the looping of the GIF worked well with the subconscious act of constant phone-checking and scrolling. I think that the video below highlights this idea well and demonstrates the reflex action most people have when it comes to ‘checking’ social media.

CCC - research - assessing my own use of social media

I decided that I wanted to find out how much time I was spending on social media to assess how integrated I had become into this ‘mindless scrolling’ culture. I downloaded an app which told me how many minutes a day I was spending on each form of social media. I was shocked to find that by the end of one day I had spent almost 2 hours scrolling through social media, which included over an hour spent on Facebook.

This has made me realise how much of a problem social media has become, especially to me on a personal level. Through exploring this concept within my project over the next few weeks, I am also setting myself the challenge of reducing the amount of time I spend scrolling.

CCC -moving image and GIF experimentation

I decided that I wanted to include the action of ‘scrolling’ into my collages. I thought that the best way to do this would be through moving image. I think that GIFs are a particularly relevant medium to use within this project as they are on a continuous loop, much like the process of endless scrolling. I think that this works effectively to highlight the idea of social media becoming a continuous loop of information and images that the individual feels the need to view and interact with.

Observing the use of screens and scrolling

CCC - research - Eric Pickersgill

I came across the work of photographer Eric Pickersgill who explores our ‘addiction to technology and hyper-connectivity’. He produced a series of photographs called ‘Removed’, where he observed people using their phones, removed the phones from the scene, then photographed the result. Pickergill said that he was inspired to start the project after witnessing “a family sitting next to me at Illium café in Troy, NY, so disconnected from one another.”

“Despite the obvious benefits that these advances in technology have contributed to society, the social and physical implications are slowly revealing themselves”

“…personal devices are shifting behaviours while simultaneously blending into the landscape by taking form as being one with the body”

“This phantom limb is used as a way of signalling busyness and unapproachability to strangers while existing as an addictive force that promotes the splitting of attention between those who are physically with you and those who are not”

CCC - more collage experiments

I also collaged using found illustrations from the decades ‘before screens’. I think these work effectively to show the difference that technology has made to our lives and our compulsive behaviours to scroll and ‘just check Facebook’.

CCC - collage experiments

After looking into Nastya Ptichek’s work, I decided to create some collages of my own which express the idea of obsessiveness over technology. I wanted to look at how screens and scrolling have taken over ‘normal’ everyday activities such as reading and talking to one another. I decided to do this by using imagery from times before iPads and mobile phones to show how quickly and dramatically times have changed since.

CCC - Nastya Ptichek

I began this project by researching into existing artists who focus on the idea of social media and how it has become a problem. I came across the work of Nastya Ptichek who uses world-famous paintings, such as the work of Edward Hopper, and re-works them to comment on our digital culture. Her work highlights how integrated technology has become into our lives, showing how obsessive we have become over ‘likes’ and ‘followers’.

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