Quinn Trethewey

Bachelor of Creative Technology

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CTEC703 - Interaction & Play - Week 1 These are my post-it notes from our first class. The idea I pitched during the session was a rap/vaping battle which would be done as a live performance. I also thought that the audience would be the ones to judge the competition. For ideas about what I am going to do for this paper project, I've been thinking about something involving an interactive display of some sort. Also including audio reactive ellements. #ctec703 #interactionandplay #bct2017 #semester2

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Trickster - Project

After lots of discussion and changing of our ideas, we have finally found what we want to do our film on. Doing research into tricksters and the stories behind them we came across the Norse mythology trickster god Loki. What made us decide to use him as the focus for the film is the multitude of stories and characteristics he has. From shape-shifting to him being a fire spirit there are a larger amount of attributes we will be able to use in our film. It is said that he is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. Also, that he sometimes assists the gods and or behaves in a malicious manner towards them.

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Trickster - Film production

Over the last few weeks, Anastasia and I have been filming and editing our film. I’ve been using Adobe After Effects to morph the figure in the film. This semester is the first time I've used After Effects so I am still quite new to it. But I have learned a lot about video editing and video effects which I found interesting added to my skills. I think I would like to dive deeper into visual effects so in can use it in future projects. Below are some screenshots of me working on the video.

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Trickster - Conceptual Statement

At the beginning of the semester Anastasia and I had a different idea for our project but after a few sessions talking with our lecturer and peers we developed the project into what it is now. Originally we were going to focus on emotion and look at emotion suppression but decided it wouldn't have enough of a trickster influence. That lead us to start researching the many different tricksters and their stories. We took a liking to the Norse mythology trickster god Loki. The reason we wanted to use Loki for our project was because of his characteristics and stories. Using him as the inspiration felt like there was lots to put into the film.

For the presentation of the film we came across lenticular art. Looking more into how we could create something lenticular we thought about using two projections aimed at opposite sides of a folded surface. The idea behind creating something like this is so that we could have the two projections being played at the same time, but depending on what angle the viewer is looking  from the experience changes. From either side you'll only be able to see one of the projections, where as if you look straight on both will be visible. This was a way in which we wanted to add a sense of confusion to the work without taking away from the film too much.

Once we knew how we wanted to show the film we began figuring out what the films contents would be. Using Loki as the starting point and focus we looked at all of his attributes and stories involving him. From him being seen as a fire spirit to giving birth to an eight legged horse we tried to find out as much about Loki as possible. We recorded some footage of myself in a dark room with light on my face from a profile view and some from the front. The shots mainly consisted of me looking angry, crazy or with my tongue out. After getting the footage we needed we edited and curated it into a short film. To distort and alter my face I used Adobe After Effects, for example the shot when my tongue is stretched out and curled up. This semester was my first time using After Effects so it was interesting learning how to create some of the effects in the film.

During the semester I had a lot of interruptions and setbacks outside of uni which led to the work not being up to the standard I would have liked. We also had trouble coming up with an idea that would fit with the trickster theme so our time frame wasn't the longest. Im quite happy with how the film looks and that it puts across what we wanted. The presentation of the project however was not what we had envisioned and I knew that might be the case from the beginning. Since this was my first time working with film and projections there was a lot i didn't take into consideration and if I was to do it again there are plenty of thing I would do differently and plan/test in advance.

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Trickster - Cotextual Statement

A Trickster is a character in a story which shows a high amount of knowledge and secrets to play tricks, disobey and oppose the rules or society. With the trickster archetype as the main influence Anastasia and I researched some of the tricksters and their stories. After reading through a multitude of folktales and stories we came across the Norse Mythology, more specifically the trickster God of mischief, Loki. The reason we decided on using Loki as the theme for the film was because of his characteristics. It is said that he sometimes helped the Gods but also showed hostility towards them. One of Loki’s attributes is his ability to shape-shift into creatures such as a salmon, mare and even an old woman. These parts of Loki are shown in the film through various ways. The figure in the film is morphed and changed to represent Loki’s shape shifting nature. We have scenes which show some of the things he transformed into but also what he created.

We wanted to make a film where the viewer can interpret it how they want and not have an idea forced upon them. It is made to be an experience where there is no right or wrong and the viewers imagination drives it. The film portrays Loki through a figure that is altered and disfigured, with flashbacks to some of his stories such as a pack of wolves representing his birth of the wolf Fenrir, or an earthquake showing his power over the earth. The distortion of the figure is something we wanted to use in order to disturb and confuse the viewer. Overall Dyr is a film in which confusion and discomfort takes control of the viewer just as Loki would.

Looking at works from artists like Blake Neubert who creates paintings that he then scrapes away to reveal the another painting underneath. They often contradict each other in ways such as showing a face without skin. We expressed the influence of this through having the two films have snippets where they are different from one another. Looking for stories about Loki was a integral part of the project and we spent a lot of time collecting anything Loki related to include in the film. What we didn't want was the film to be seen directly as a depiction of Loki. We want the viewer to think about what it means to them rather than us giving it to them straight.

When conceptualising our project we decided we wanted to create a film, but not just a regular one. While looking into what we might want to create for the project we were inspired by lenticular art and printing. Which lead us to the idea of having two films projected at 45° on to a surface that has two surfaces at 90°. This means the viewer can look from each side of the surface to see one of the projections or look at it from straight on to see both at the same time.

We felt like this would to add to the confusion and discomfort that the film induces.

References

Norse Mythology for Smart People (n.d.). Loki. Retrieved October 14th, 2016, from http://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/the-aesir-gods-and-goddesses/loki/

Crystalwind. (n.d.). Loki: Norse Trickster God of Mischief. Retrieved October 10th, 2016, from http://www.crystalwind.ca/norse-mythology/loki-norse-trickster-god-of-mischief

Pagan News. (5 November, 2015). Loki - God of Mischief. Retrieved October 5th, 2016, from http://www.pagannews.com/wp/2015/11/05/test-post/?q=Loki

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Creative Audio - Final

My final submission is a collection of audio visualisations made in Adobe After Effects with audio from Blue Spirals by Jerobeam Fenderson. Each one visualises the sound differently while all having the same audio track. This was not my first idea but I have been working on these along side with the oscilloscope experiments and the idea of the vocal visualiser. I decided to combine audio which normally is played through an oscilloscope with the visualisations I made in After Effects. The results were quite pleasing as each different project reacted differently based on what frequencies they were reading and what spectrum effects were used. I would like to take this project further and try to find a way to use these visuals with live input rather than pre-recorded audio. Below are the videos of the visualisations. The journey I have been through this semester has been really interesting and has given me insight into a wide variety of new concepts. From looking into Cymatics, then learning about Lisajous waves and oscilloscopes, I now have a better understanding of where I could take audio visualisation in the future.

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Creative Audio

So for the final product of my research and experimentation, I’ve decided to put together a collection of visualisations made in After Effects that use Jerobeam Fenderson’s ‘Blue Spirals’ sound track. each one visualises the audio differently. I really wanted to continue with the vocal visualiser and creating it with a speaker but not being able to obtain a laser was my downfall. Below is the Jerobeam Fenderson’s ‘Blue Spirals’ video.

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Creative Audio

So after finding Jerobeam Fenderson’s amazing oscilloscope videos on youtube I've been experimenting with trying to create shapes using sound. I found an oscilloscope for maxforlive on Ableton which I've been playing around with. I've managed to load the sine wavelength sound which creates the most interesting shapes in the oscilloscope. Below is a video showing some shapes I could make using the Oscilloscope in Ableton.

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Creative Audio

I started constructing my own vocal visualiser so I could test to see if it would work with a speaker. Unfortunately the laser I was using broke before I could document any of the progress I made. Now faced with the misson of trying to obtain a new laser pointer, which has turned out to be a lot harder than first thought. I haven’t been able to find one anywhere apart from online. So it seems the vocal visualiser is going to be out of the picture unless I manage to come acroos a new laser before the deadline.

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Creative Audio

Following the idea visualising audio on a digital platform, I came across a sort of Instructables video where they made what they called a vocal visualiser. It uses a laser and a mirror across a membrane to visualise sounds on a wall. I would like to try making this but see if I could use a speaker instead of my mouth to make the shapes with the laser. Below is the link to the vocal visualiser.

https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/vocal-visualizer

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Creative Audio

I’ve been learning to use Adobe After Effects and have been playing around and experimenting with creating audio visualisations. I would like to make something that visualises audio live rather than a track like it does on after effects. I’m going to look into live visualisation some more and see what I can come up with. Below are some clips of what I've made.

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Creative Audio

So after a discussion with Clint about the direction my project was going we came to the conclusion that doing something involving cymatics may not be the way to go, as I would just end up creating something that already been done. I decided to go down a more digital route and found some interesting stuff involving oscilloscopes and visualising sound waves. One artist I found interesting was a guy called Jerobeam Fenderson. 

He uses certain sounds that create shapes and patterns on an oscilloscope, which he then makes music from. Below are some examples of his work.

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Trickster - Emotion Through Eyes

I did some research into how eyes can be used to unconsciously portray our emotions. below are a few points that I've put together after reading various papers and articles.

Moving our eyebrows can be the fastest way to portray an emotion through our eyes.

The pupils can dilate up to four times wider when you are excited and constrict when feeling negative emotions such as anger.

Not directly connected to emotion but eye direction can be used to tell if someone may be telling the truth or lying.

Avoiding eye contact is something people sometimes associate with deception or dishonesty.

An obvious way in which emotions are shown through eyes is crying whether it be out of sadness or happiness, it is the most common way people show their emotions.

References

Vanessa Van Edwards. Retrieved 29 August, 2016

Science People. What the Eyes Tell You About Lying and Hidden Emotions. 2012.

http://www.scienceofpeople.com/2012/09/what-the-eyes-tell-you-about-lying-and-hidden-emotions/

Psychologist World. Retrieved 2 September, 2016

Psychologist World. Eye Reading (Body Language) What someone's eyes can tell you about what they're thinking. (n.d.)

https://www.psychologistworld.com/bodylanguage/eyes.php

Psychologia. Retrieved 23 August, 2016

Psychologia. Eye Reading in Body Language. (n.d.)

http://psychologia.co/eye-reading-in-body-language/

Nicole Titus  Retrieved 25 August, 2016

California State University, Northridge. Reading Emotions Through the Eyes. (n.d.)

http://www.csun.edu/~skang/psy321/psy321_sample_paper2.pdf

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Trickster - Artist: Blake Neubert

we found an artist who has paintings that have other hidden paintings underneath that are revealed when he scrapes the top layer off. This idea is similar to what we are looking at through the way that it is showing what’s hidden underneath like suppressed emotions are. But this is a much more literal expression of this idea.

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Trickster - Notes/Ideas

we have been note-taking and writing down our thoughts on paper

with our focus being on emotions we looked into what emotions we want to use in our video. We wrote down some emotions and underneath put the actions associated with those emotions. We drew up a quick storyboard of what we want to include in the film. we had the idea of having the two videos play in opposite. so one will be in reverse and one will play normally. We want to make the shot in the middle at the same time so the two will meet in the middle. next week we are aiming to film and start editing the film so we can start thinking about how we are going to present it for studio as soon as possible.

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Creative Audio - Research

Critter and Guitari

Looking into pre-existing technology that visualises sound Clinton mentioned a company called Critter and Guitari who have a device called the Video Scope. It is a video synthesiser which has an audio input and video output. One of the knobs controls the input gain and the other selects one of the four display modes. Below is a demonstration video of it in action. I really like the idea behind this device and would like to incorporate something similar into my project. 

Critter & Guitari. (2016). Video Scope - Critter & Guitari. Retrieved 25th August 2016 from https://www.critterandguitari.com/collections/video-synthesizers/products/video-scope

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Creative Audio - Carsten Nicolai

One of Nicolai’s pieces called milch is a series of images of milk being manipulated by sine waves from 10 to 150hz. The pictures were printed on aluminium. This is following the lines of cymatics that I have talked about previously. The idea of documenting the experiment and having it as a piece of art of as proof.

Carsen Nicolai.(2000). milch. Retrieved 25th August 2016 from http://www.carstennicolai.de/?c=works&w=milch