multimediarnold-blog

[multimediarnold-blog]

[multimediarnold-blog]

Tserof

Tserof is a virtual forest set 100 years in the future which reflects on animals of the past which have all been extinct due to numerous factors such as deforestation. For example, the current rate of deforestation and the Neolithic period which saw a wide scale of deforestation for land to farm on. Tserof showcases the journey of the Calippo Caterpillar and its journey to transforming into a Butterfly showing the beauty and the ability of it to do so. The space also provided our observer the chance to see the different type of animal skin on their own body and the habitat the animals lived in. In addition to this we provided facts of the animals by a guide so that they could learn about them, providing that zoo like experience.

As a group, we wanted to show the juxtaposition of our forest so that the observer was aware that it is a synthetic environment which was also mechanical we did this by editing videos of the animals and adding the static video effect, having a humanoid robot and a human guide. The idea to do a rainforest for me came from the quote “Data and information will outlive us” (Lehmann, 2006:167), this made me think about the affect humans have on the planet and what would be left if humans were to become extinct. However, humans are causing various animals to become extinct due to numerous environmental factors caused by humans therefore various animals will become extinct before humans are that is why I wanted to focus on the animals to show how future generations could have to learn about animals of the past.

We began the process of creating our virtual rainforest with the discussion of the type of performance we want to put on, one of the ideas we had was a bushtucker trial in which we had different sets of boxes projected on with various materials inside which represented the animals projected. This then led to us wanting an animal based environment. The lecture on performing mixed realities influenced our decision to set out the room the way we did as in allowed us to create an intermedial performance. After further reading a certain quote stood out, “Intermediality can both be a creative and an analytic approach based on the perception that media boundaries are fluid and recognising the potential for interaction and exchange between the live and the mediated” (Klich and Scheer, 2012). This previous quote linked with the type of performance I envisioned in my head as we wanted to create a factual performance which was as much synthetic and mechanical as it was real in order to create the appropriate balance and not to distort our end goal. We decided we could begin to do this by creating a model box which mixes the physical form with a mediated form. The first idea we had was to project solely project the animal print only to the individual stood in front of our model box, we then further changed this to having the animal on them and another projection of the habitat of the animal back projected behind them so that they can be made aware of the animal’s habitat and its tendencies. However, when performing the observer has a choice of what animal they would like to be, we couldn’t link the images of the animal and the habitat so that they worked cohesively so to fix this problem I had to instead remove the hyperlinks on the habitat PowerPoint and then have it on a slideshow so that the observer would still somewhat be able to have a free choice.

When creating our fact section in which a pre-recorded video of the guides face was projected onto the masked face of a body in the space, we took inspiration from Sasha Velour’s video mapping works and also the Wooster groups performance of Hamlet (2012), in which a pre-recorded video of a previous actor is played on a screen whilst the same exact scene is being re-enacted simultaneously in reality. However, our twist on this was to have the guides face projected on her body to show a further juxtaposition as in a way they were two of his being in the room at the same time which further links to our goal to create an intermedial performance as the sound of the voice recording on the mobile device also worked hand in hand with the projected face which was miming the facts.

Throughout the module, I believed I have developed a better understand of intermedial performances and mixed reality performances as a whole. I believe this as I the work my group created encompassed qualities of a range of different practitioners in order to get our required reaction from our observers an example of this is the hanging sheets in which we played videos of nature which was found a hundred years earlier than the time in which we set in our performance. The idea of having the sheets hang whilst projected on was Influenced by research into Motionhouse and their productions of Broken (2013) and Shattered (2009). However, we wanted a thinner texture so that the video will project onto and through the sheet and floods the back wall further adding to the synthetic-ness of our performance yet also immersing the observers in a habit which is flooded by the sounds and visuals of nature. As a group, I also believe we worked effectively as we divided roles equally and worked to each other’s strengths, mine being problem solving, video editing and also setting up the equipment in order for everything to run as smooth as it possibly can do during the performance. We displayed strengths yet only having a couple of weaknesses to work on if we did produce work together again which are organisation and time management. I say these two not because I think that they were a downfall but that they would have allowed us to finish our performance much sooner enabling us to add more sections or to add much more detail to our performance.

Bibliography Klich, R. and Scheer, E. (2012). Multimedia performance. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, p.71. Lehmann, H. (2006). Postdramatic theatre. London [u.a.]: Routledge, p.167.

[multimediarnold-blog]

Having spent a session in creating our model box with its intended purpose being to be able to show the environment and can show the skin or the fur of the animal onto human skin. We have decided to do this as it’ll be more effective to represent what the animals looked like in their natural habitat before they were all extinct in the time period that we will set. This will enable the audience members have a better connection as in a way they’re embodying the animal itself as they become the animal that they have chosen. This links into the reading we have done about mixed realities and crossing real and virtual realities. An example of this is “Mixed reality performance might simply be defined as the staging of theatrical performances [that occur] in mixed reality environments” (Giannachi & Benford. 2011)  this type of staging is done by various groups but the one that comes to mind is Wooster Group and their performance of Hamlet where the actors perform simultaneously with pre-recorded videos and sounds from of an earlier adaptation of Hamlet. Our piece will differ from this as we will be having a life projection with options of various skins and furs to project onto the body as well.

[multimediarnold-blog]

The picture above was our stimulus, a stimulus which led to an immersive piece which can never be completely the same each time performed. A piece which can easily be adapted through minor changes in narration that can lead to a change in the direction of the actors and the ending of the play. We discovered that this piece can either have a never ending narrative or you have the option to instil an ending. In creating the piece there was a great deal of focus on the structure of the piece in the space, variable different rooms. In the performance you are able to get a sense of this as the audience would be able to move around in to different zones where people had broken off.

[multimediarnold-blog]

Having watched Cécile B. Evans exhibition which presented the relationship between humans and tech, presenting how we are now emediated by technology. I believe the show itself was in a way a paradox as the robots described the girl on the screen as ‘not being real’ when they themselves do exist but exist as much as the woman on the screen does as an object…a thing that does not feel this made me compare this play to the way humans live now and hoe digitized everything is and how we basically live in a screen ourselves.

[multimediarnold-blog]

After a lecture in which we revised intermedia and how we can decipher the difference between the two we began experimenting and playing with the ‘Mixed Realities’. During this exploration I was often reminded of the impact of media when it is used in such way as I believe it has the same impact on the audience when they initially see a puppet in a play or an illusion even maybe a card trick. As in that instant their is a very slight moment, the length maybe subjective but it is a moment when everything and anything is possible like a rift has occurred in the time space continuum, a moment when we look at the event which has just occurred or is occurring ahead of us, a moment when we question reality and our being…deep huh. Through the time exploring I initially realised that manipulating the image so it is reproduced at the same stature of the real was quite tricky as the projection and the angle of the video taken had to be the same for them to be exact size needed. Through devising our larger group I found that roles would need to be split so that roles had to be split so that the process runs efficiently and everyone understands what they are doing but that is just a basic general observation of any group work, however I can’t put a finger on why it was slightly different this time when devising with technology. Adding the boxes which absorb the projection allowed us to manifest the real and virtual better, apologies for the phrasing, as we were able to use the shadow created from them as a type of porthole which in a way created the link between the two worlds.

[multimediarnold-blog]

It could be argued that A Trip To The Moon is one of the earliest examples of a intermedial performance. This work was created by George Mélies, in this piece he intended the film to be shot at a still angle from a point of view to engage the audiences’ mindset. The highly stylised stage design also complimented the film.

[multimediarnold-blog]

A piece created by DV8 and directed by Lloyd Newson which explored the stigma that surrounds homosexuality in our society. The piece uses projectors to highlight and emphasize the facts that are being shared on to a global scale. Storyboards are also created using projection to support the background of the character.