Clarifying Projects
– What are your group ideas for concept, video content *and* model (How do they relate to the brief, and your chosen space?)?
– What are your assigned group roles (eg research, storyboarding, art direction, projection, model making, video making, documentation)?
– What is your project breakdown/ production timeline?
Projection Mapping Software
As outlined in this weeks email, it’s recommended each group use:
– Madmapper (mac only – with or without watermark) (see MM tutorials)
– or VPT (mac +pc / free) – (see extensive VPT manual – and intro to VPT video below: )
Projection Mapping Task for Week 7
Each group should be able to demonstrate projection mapping software connected to a projector,
and attempt some of the following challenges:
- Acquire or make, a test pattern, and project this, to test the differences between screen and final projection
- project onto multiple surfaces and colour each surface differently
- test different materials for projecting onto
- create an outline for your object or surfaces
- animate that edge outline
- make a graphic move from one surface to another over time.
- mask the background area around the object (easy in Madmapper – less easy in VPT, but several methods for us to all explore together.. )
Project Planning
– What are some considerations for your model? (Think through the wider possibilities -eg materials, transparency, layers, holes, silhouette or shadowcasting, depth, reflecttivity, colour, shape, etc tec )
– List 5 video parameters worth considering during the one minute of playback …
– Devise a simple notation system for showing how each of these change over time… (see notation examples)
“To represent a dynamic study on a sheet of paper, we need graphic symbols of movement.”
Dziga Vertov, “We: The variant of the manifesto” (1920), in Kino-Eye: the writings of Dziga Vertov, ed. Annette
Michelson, trans. Kevin O’Brien (University of California Press, 1984), p.7.
A famous example of designing motion for the screen: Sergei Eisenstein’s sequence diagrams for his movies, Alexander Nevsky and Battleship Potemkin.
“Motion Graphic Scores use the ideas of Graphic Notation and reconfigure them regarding animation, time based media and the digital domain.” – Christian Fischer , What is a motion graphic score?.
Inspirations
HC Gilje is the creator of the VPT software, and also an artist who has long been exploring audiovisual installation possibilities. Browsing his blog will reveal many projects and ideas.
“For many years I have been working with an over-arching concept I call Conversations with Spaces,
where I look at different ways of transforming and activating spaces using light, projection, sound and motion:
ephemeral media that creates temporary transformations of physical spaces which again influences how we experience these spaces.Motion:I am interested in how motion passes through spaces, objects, bodies and landscapes.
Light:I am not particularly interested in the light source itself but in how light interacts with physical structures.
Light is only visible as manifestations in materials through reflection, refraction and shadows.”
SplitScreen + Multi-Screen Inspirations
This split-screen music video for Pharrell + Cat Power – highlights some of the possibilities inherent with having multiple video surfaces to play with. (On a related front, the aesthetics of juxtaposition are also playfully visible in this Coldplay UP and UP clip, but showcase creative options available with compositing).
There are a number of online resources dedicated to split-screen effects in cinema, which could provide some inspiration and ideas for multi-surface projection mapping:
Split Screen is a weblog dedicated to the art of the split screen and other types of multi-layered visuals.
“I’m a big fan of the typical split screen: the frame is divided into two or more areas, and each area shows a different scene or a different view of the same scene, so that multiple images are shown at the same time. More generally, I’m interested in the simultaneous use of multiple layers of imagery – side by side, superimposed, and otherwise visually orchestrated – to add depth and richness in narration, meaning, emotion and representation of time and space.”
Split Screen video channel at vimeo
Double Trouble – Special Issue on Split and Double Screens
Expanded Cinema
Also worth a look is the area of ‘expanded cinema’ – which may similarly provide some inspiration for your projection mapping:
What is expanded cinema? (9 min video)
“Works identified as Expanded Cinema often open up questions surrounding the spectator’s construction of time/space relations, activating the spaces of cinema and narrative as well as other contexts of media reception. In doing so it offers an alternative and challenging perspective on filmmaking, visual arts practices and the narratives of social space, everyday life and cultural communication.”
Gene Youngblood book on Expanded Cinema. (and useful wikipedia summary of it)
Expanded cinema in Australia:
Otherfilm (Aus collective who focus on expanded cinema, and other forms of ‘expanded art’)
The Cantrills (at their own page, at wikipedia), Inner Sense on the Cantrills, Cantrills interview, Cantrills exhibition at ACMI (includes video interview).
Software Notes:
New updates / features for Premiere
New updates / features for After Effects
Need to clear up disk space before you install software?
Omni Disk Sweeper – (mac/free)- “OmniDiskSweeper is really great at what it does: showing you the files on your drive, in descending order by size, and letting you decide what to do with them. Delete away, but exercise caution. (Requires OS X v10.8+)”
How to Free up Disk Space (PC) + Analyse Your Hard Drive Space (PC)
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