Degree Show

     

Drumming up interest for the show at the Idea Generation Gallery
(opening night for Brian Duffy Photography)

Sunday 3
Made a QR code for my business cards : )

<img src=”http://qrcode.kaywa.com/img.php?s=5&d=http%3A%2F%2Fclairealonge.wordpress.com%2F” alt=”qrcode”  />

permalink:

http://qrcode.kaywa.com/img.php?s=5&d=http%3A%2F%2Fclairealonge.wordpress.com%2F

Made a second one for the list of film edit rules I bent.

Monday 4

Show space pics

Show space heights diagram

Tuesday 5
Managed to get the bead / string knot right which makes mini-cards easier to hold since the bead is like a bag charm. Need to get onto moo.com soon.

Despite feeling overwhelmed, I had success at the edit suite with a good chroma key and the completion of a couple of other sequences. Still feel on the clock though as I have to match the left screening which lasts 4.16 mins, thus more footage has to be generated from the rushes. Came up with another rule-breaker for my blurb.

Friday 8
Another chat session today.

Yesterday I had my tutorial with Ed. Must do the tut. form. Good to see PD work in a way that is meaningful to my intentions, at last. Lots of sounds to collect!

Tuesday 12
Following the class session I did some experiments filling bottles to create airiness around the tank, as opposed to solid plinth in close proximity.

The most exciting stuff for me has been the discovery of unplanned effects which are more vibrant than the original intention.

Show stuff pending but my project has much to attend to also. Not easy with limited access. Any progress is good and helps to pacify me, considering I am used to being able to work as and when. But change is an experience too!

Thursday 14
Was so happy yesterday to crack the movie-maker code problem on the last web-cam sequence which now completes my abstraction film for the triptych centre!

See link for abstraction film.

Was not able to upload film on memory, to be screened on the left, due to the size of the file. I will try later.

Cut various tints of acrylic to clip tracing paper behind acrylic screens. Need to order the pieces shortly, as well as 3 for the plinth structure.

Saturday 16
Found my early Dragon sequences so the final film will be completed this week. Worked on supplementary acrylic pieces to house the cable clips and for promotion (cards).

Need to:

• go to Selco skip for off-cuts to make my plinth
• continue to gather sounds for PD
• order components for PD
• assemble system with Ed

Tuesday 17
Progress:

• went to Selco yesterday for plinth stuff (see Karel on Thurs for when to build)
• did some sound work today – added new sounds to folder
• need to order the electronics – gulp (£!)
• added movie-maker ascii file to (previously ‘finished’) central abstract film

• lose border on parts of central abstraction because it is not needed
• colorise water sequence which is too real  (get another opinion)

Saturday 23
Tank experiments, measurements etc. Managed a very simple kinetic set-up which invites the guest to touch and create water disturbance which makes the light projection interesting.

May not now need the bottles which were to make a transparent structure below the tank if it was having the central film pass through it, although I may use them to support the light thrower. B&Q sell strip bulbs but what I need is a torch that is wired to the mains.

Tuesday 26
A good day because I started the plinth and found some metal to traverse the beams. Also did some worked on the floor weights, for which I will use 8 bottles. The other 2 can be under the tank. Will use bent acrylic to lift the tank off the plinth a little.

Need to get onto the HD split screen and the PD stuff, like yesterday! Also need to buy acrylic and electronics.

Wednesday 3 Aug
Been busy at the workshop as tomorrow is the last day! It has been good though as I have had to be quick and efficient at turning out options for the supplementary aspects of how to show my stuff.

Finished the plinth yesterday with removable panel for the laptop. Collected the sensors etc yesterday also. Moved the plinth to the showspace today and carried on with work on the shelf etc. Found a way to use all 10 bottles: 4 in the lamp and 6 under the tank with a wood bridge covering the tops and 2 acrylic bridges supporting the lamp.

Wednesday 10
Had tutorials with Ed on Friday and Monday. Addressed technical issues e.g. upgrades, PIR sensor giving random values. Otherwise successful. Extended wiring via solder for ease of installation.

Sent most electronic invites yesterday. Could not go in as uni. closed (riots). Trying to finish little jobs at home and in the showshpace. Need also to check 3D to see if my acrylic has arrived.

Friday 12
Been making progress yet much to do. Technical supplementary work e.g. box shelves etc is under way, and next week I will test everything in the space, for which I will need a helper to hold things.

Had a meeting today with Jonathan and John Langdon, the archivist at the Tate Britain. It is important to start formal discussions re the future of art in a digital world, so that we can be respected as academic thinkers / historians / theorists / charters etc. Links with bastions of British art collection such as Tate Britain can only strengthen our position as an authority on this in the future.

Sunday 14
Been quite stressful in that I went to Basildon again and still did not retrieve my notes sequencing the films with categories and sections for the sound-player. The charity workers are saying they will post them but we might go on Monday to try again.

Meanwhile there is plenty to do with loose ends and tests. I need to make a camera obscura like the one I helped Bill with last year. His was a Budweiser tin, but I would like to use acrylic only no laser cutter access now. May paint and cut a small bottle since the LED bulb does not get very hot.

Sent more electronic invites and sourced screws, drill bits, wood glue and filler. Now I can assemble the box shelf, finish the lamp, fill the screw areas and also those near my curated area.

Monday 15
Made the box shelf and sanded the other shelf. Painted the lamp box and bridge for tank. Drilled holes for cooling, for the sensors and in the lower shelf for the punch.

Need to:

• export to HD tomorrow
• have a session with Ed also to complete everything
• write the final stuff after clarification of points today
• make the algorithm film tomorrow night

code art

Thursday 2
On Tuesday we kicked off the online show preparations. Next live chat on June 9, but wiki page is now up for contributions.

Andrew and I measured the space today and took photos, to be uploaded shortly. Need to check it was the right space, actually, as the building is like a rabbit warren.

Tuesday 6
Need to finish my films and have a tutorial for the sound plan. Films also need to be edited in synch. for the timing to fit, as the centre projection is abstracted from both adjacent themes.

Uploaded the diagram and some of the pics. See show planner.

Thursday 9
Had our 2nd online chat. Tried to define work areas/job lists, and some names for the show were tossed around.

Tuesday 14
Third online chat today. We seem to be making headway, and we are getting to know each other, which is important.

Good progress on the centre film: abstraction. It is being made in synch with adjacent themes, so I have used graph paper to measure the sequences against each other. 

Thursday 16
Every night I review the day’s .mov exports. Next day I make tweaks @ Cam. in FCP. Next week we are packing up and the Macs will be stored, help! Need another week or so: the films have to be the same length so I need to generate another couple of minutes on 2 out of 3.

Thought of a way round this: take exported .movs and import into a new FCP file at open access. I’ll have to be sure of the exports as they will not be editable (except via composite sections to paste over errors. Generic filters which will not be suitable).

Thursday 23
Went to open access yesterday and the files open ok, and because I will not be returning to the earlier version, there will be no issue with lack of backward-compatibity.

Also measured the space but no-one on chat today. Not sure if it was canceled, but it gives me time to upload pics and add the measurements to a new diagram.

It is strange to feel homeless, as we can’t enter the space until early July. We were not expected so may not be able to fully reside. Also I enjoyed rattling around like a ghost in Wilson Rd over the past 2 years, so that would explain my feeling of displacement.

Wednesday 30
Gave files to John Carbery for the foyers, so hopefully those will be shown soon.

Uploaded the diagram with measurements. 

Film screenings are also triggered by the sensors.

Film Triptych
This work, which extends the artist’s interest in film editing, began as an experiment to mix a stylistic edit (left screening) with a simple narrative (right screening).

Its development considered the effect of interaction on the final edit, and ultimately on the installation.

Code art was introduced (centre screening) to balance the work.

It tries to bend film & photography rules for dramatic effect:

• avoids Black & White for memory (uses eyes / finger* as reflective devices – left screening)
  
• sequences do not necessarily ‘observe the line’: before, during, & after shots of fast train; bird’s eye view composited over worm’s eye view of same fish (right screening)
  
• retains red-eye (left screening)
  
• stylistic edit prefers snatches of motion to a succession of still images (left screening)
  (also uses ‘stop-frame’ style with offset composite images to suggest motion blur)

• viewer reads type (driven by mathematical code) from the bottom or centre of the screen (left screening)
• wave formation simulates horizontal motion, although part-framed with border
  (central screening)
• narrative plot so simple it resembles / requires a second stylistic edit (plot synopsis: one return journey)
• uses chroma key at times without background (chroma green turns to black)
• asserts that iMovie transitions can be used in an art film

It exploits unexpected ‘accidental’ footage:

• the ‘blink’ sequences, intended as photographs, had the video setting on
  
• *’camera-through-finger’ on credits was accidental
  
• unplanned sound on video recordings used for interactive sound player
  

Left Screening: ‘ricordo’ 

• Prelude prompting reflection is followed by selective memoirs
• Acrylic models connote childhood / toys
• Relocation from the Spey Valley to the capital is documented for its life changes, e.g. cross-culture marriage, children and a career in digital technologies (keyboard / puffin sequence)
• Relaxation has become a grounding practice in the metropolis; hence the reference to picnics

Centre Screening: ‘astrazione’ 

• Adapting mathematical formulae in Processing, these abstractions try to show how the artist feels about adjacent visual themes, e.g. poems about friends, the bendy-bus 12, an intercity train and Camberwell traffic.
• Text animations were dramatically altered via changing trigonometric values in the source code to logarithms.

Right Screening: ‘tratti’ 

• Diasporic rail trips from the capital to Morayshire, Inverness-shire and Ross-shire are referenced by an acrylic freight model (inspired by a rail bridge above River Findhorn, near the A9).
• The fish theme refers to picnics at Loch Ness, holidays by the Caithness / Sutherland Atlantic coastline, and day trips by the North Sea.

Music
Gregorio Allegri, Miserere Mei Deus, circa 1635
REM, Losing My Religion, 1991 (adapted and overlaid)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Rex Tremendae, 1791

David Bowie
We can be heroes, just for one day week.

Omar
When things aren’t working out to good, put yourself in a dream, where anything is possible…

Tinker It
I did it. Success!

Finn

• If you are struggling, try harder!!
• Steal ideas from your friends! (Finn’s words, re show)
  
• achieve great moment together
• show = part of excellence

Adamina

• You’ll be fine (she says!)
• Just show work you are happy with (I didn’t care what people thought)

Tich
…then you’ll have an MA!!

Jane (my sister)
I’ve booked flights… wouldn’t miss it for the world!

Constantina
You’re gonna be fine.

Jane (librarian)
(something positive)

Mum
I’ll try to help (£).

T
Yours is the best.

Busola
I want to help (£).

Feedback
Ed: we need an accoustics workshop

Jess: sound issue

Ed: speakers in studio can be used

JK: majority of assessment is the journey and how we got there

JK: can show work elsewhere and document it in our show

JK: individuals decide how long to test

Jess: I like the eyes

Presentation to peers re progress.

At the weekend I made a video sketch for a musician, using another metric montage. Using edit styles which I had been researching is fulfilling.

Wednesday 4
Experiments: follow coloured links.

1. liquid light - part of my storyboard on the narrative: example
   
2. challenge stereotype / break film editing rule: ‘observe the line’ for effect: example
   The rule concerns point of view, but I broke it to achieve dramatic effect.
   Outcome: it seems successful, and I avoided cross dissolves to heighten effect of the jumps.
   Another example of breaking this rule comes later where I showed a bird’s eye view composited over a worm’s eye view of fish sequences
3. film something in the background with a fast train passing in the foreground: example
   Outcome: dramatic effect achieved.
   Looked at a derelict building before a high speed train passed in front of it.
   Thought of getting someone to film me through a train (like at the end of Slumdog)
   did not want ‘jumper’ message, hence filmed cameras
   it was my luck that a freight train came, echoing the acrylic freight train in my stop motion sequence
   accentuated the cameras, given that there are no windows
4. attempted to simulate motion via stop frame composites (see blog header) which had a motion blur effect: example
   Outcome: at one point the movement appeared to run backwards, so a stop motion model train sequence was composited over it to disguise this
   
5. attempted to simulate motion via stop frame eye images: example
   Outcome: some successful, some not
6. used minimal effects on the Processing captions montage on the eye sequence
   the movie code file is the smaller text: example
   the larger text was a home video positional guide which I decided to retain
   Effects: ‘light rays’ on the large text, ‘bloom’ on the small text
   Outcome: it works well, particularly on the blink sequence, where the light effect echoes the flashing eye
   

I love to work with moving image i.e. cropping, timing and effects in the same way I used my undergraduate training in composition later on page layouts. It was a visual environment, yet editing is a visual language so my interest in film editing suits my new practice.

Sunday 15
On Friday my external hard disc fell and ceased to function. Disaster! I was forced to do other things and look at the next step, i.e. electronics for interaction via Tinker It site. Happily the disc is ok after a good night’s sleep, but I am now backing up the FCP source folder for the films.

Sunday 22
Yesterday I made the credits for the left hand film on memory. I will add these on Monday and continue with the centre and right films. Need to grab the chance to design interaction when I can get hold of Ed. May need Pure Data after all for sound hotspots.

I have a ready made test centre at home: the family.

• ‘Why have you made a film about London buses?’ (my husband)
• ‘Other people might find your text animations boring.’ (my son, aged 16)
• ‘Why do you have so many pictures of your eyes?!’ (my son, aged 16)
  

I’ve learned 3 things on FCP this week: opacity, crop, rotate. I enjoy the progress, although the pace is upped and their is much work ahead, i.e. the other 2 films and the interaction experiments.

Monday 11
So true that the making is pivotal, I am able to express concepts differently and more concisely than original intentions via my recent notes, experiments, observations and ideas. It is taking a while because I have to go in to college and is comprised of stills.

What I am finding interesting is the ability to suggest motion within a stylistic edit via stop frame or even just 3 before, during and after shots e.g. a bus passing by. Usually they are a set of visuals which which shows how the artist remembers or feels about something.

Also I am finding I have to believe in myself and risk myself in making the film, which is a good / scary thing!

Tuesday 12
Good and bad: managed to get the chroma keyer to work properly today, and also the opacity / keyframe system. Not sure if my USB is corrupted though.

Friday 22
Will shortly review manual and start using video camera. Was sent mails by Ed and Darren so will try to sort video / Processing issue also. Need to review FCP so far and organise next steps.

Acrylic model

tank from behind
 screens

tank for central
projection

screens from
above

projectors on
shelves

2 of 3 screens

Tryptich: 3 films with overlay triggered via interaction.

Visual for my tutorial with Ed on 08.03.11

Thinking overlay will be too much going on visually, then I thought of vertical projection of algorithmic effect. However the cross projection may disrupt the screenings. May have sound hotspots triggered via infrared sensors. Could also project vertically from beneath the tank, but again it may corrupt the film result. Could have down-lighters to enhance the speaker effect. There will be 4 different sounds: 2 of my children laughing, a waterfall and a fast train. Also LEDs or similar could be added near sensors, like the hand dryers in MacDonalds.

How I See It:
(to be confirmed – pre-show ideal intentions)

See tutorials page (scroll to 08.03.11).

See visual.

Friday 11
Opening of Ellie Harrison’s show at the Watermans Centre.
Highly recommended: 3 installations, 2 of which run off PD, til May 2.

Tuesday 15
Fun trip to some galleries with the class. Loved the Gagosian – Douglas Gordon. Lunch was fun too : )

Trying to assemble work for photo-montages from various PCs at home, prior to starting FCP at Camberwell.

Friday 18
Went to the Syd Barrett exhibition, Art and Letters. Really liked it: well curated, even for non-art or music appreciators.

Revisited the installation at the Gagosian. 53 mins long. Almost watched it all when they asked us to leave due to light testing?! Douglas Gordon would not have been happy!

Visited Gerald Laing so did not have time to catch the Moving Image forum. Hope to get to the next one, however there is an event at Chelsea next week on the cognitive science of how people view / understand film.

Saturday – Sunday 19-20
Working on the stylistic edit via pairs of photo-montages which simulate motion via ‘stop-frame’ effect.

Monday 21
Started work at the edit suite in Camberwell in FCP for my stylistic edit. Wanted Processing captions, but for fly-pasts the hassle of exporting to video seems not worth the learning curve / code. Fine if it was a few more seconds. Made videos of the exported files using my mobile.

Saturday 26
Been making more home videos of my Processing sketches. I like the filmic effect which matches the stills and clips well. May try with a proper video camera to see how much better the quality will be. But a video of a video or TV always has the syndrome caused by the frame count or something – can’t remember but it’s there.

Need to speed up the work. Had a dream last night that all the students had to finish everything by next week. Even the lecturers were making stuff. Ed was making two different scale models of one of the college buildings, and adhering paper nets to the sections via Pritt stick lol!

• bracelets with heat or motion sensors can increase the alpha on a layer with fish / transparent background to swim over entire interface… get XBee wireless transmitter
• impact sensors on bricks could do the same with a train crossing interface diagonally
• web-cam with viewer’s face on bus window, bus = perspective shot with lights. Use blob-finder and alpha on layer for web-cam

Ascii mirror by Ben Fry with my code adjustments: font, size, content e.g. purely numerical text string to imitate bus no. 12

Hit image for video
(phone video disadvantage: ascii code streams towards the light.)

Impressionist mirror by Daniel Shiffman: my code adjustments: cell size

Hit image for video.