weeklyblogbycalvin

[weeklyblogbycalvin]

Week 13

Final Capitol showcase

I had a great time at the final Capitol show! A lot of astonishing projects were presented among design students, tutors and special people. I appreciated Darrin’s effort in constructing a smooth show that displays a variety of creative projects with different chosen states. It was fun to watch them finally coming together after 12 weeks of hard work from people. In terms of my final version of a “serene” heightened multisensory experience, I believe this is a solid work that successfully achieves the chosen state. It immersively expresses serenity through just the use of sounds and lighting, transforming the Capitol into a space of nature. The enhancing articulation of lighting compositions elevate the harmonious nature-inspired soundtracks into a vivid environment of nature and calm. 

If I were given the opportunity to improve more, I would spend more time on refining the first half of the experience, so that it represents the setting of a sunny forest even more immersively. Other than that, I am satisfied with my design choices of colours, sounds, nature sfx that contribute to the serene experience. Some compliments I received from other people watching my work were “calming”, “satisfying”.

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Week 12

1. Reflection

Week 12 was the final week where we will be receiving the last feedback from Darrin and Nik, also having the the last Capitol test before the final show. Bringing iterations last week to the Capitol, I feel like my serene hmex experience had finally come together. The feedback I received from tutors and other students was to refine more on the transitions between lighting and scenes, as well as improving the first half of the experience. Some said that the choice of using red to articulate birds chirping did not feel right, and red is also a bit too intense. This is something that I will focus on refining and making final adjustments on. The second half of the experience, however, was considered successful. It was bold, clear and calming. Darrin questioned a bit about the busyness of the rain articulation, but others said that it was quite subtle and immersive, which caused no distraction to them. However, I can tone down the hue, the speed to reduce the intensity and busyness of this articulation. I also planned to improve on the ending of my experience, as I prefer it to end slower, having longer fade-outs.

2. Research

Academic & Technical:

Since this was the last week of testing, doing the last few improvements towards our projects, no academic and technical research were necessary and improving the actual work should be prioritised. Looking or adding new ideas at this stage would be risky as there was no test left to be run inside the Capitol after this week to assure that the new additions work.

Creative practice:

Alana’s exhilarating experience

Alana’s Kingdom Dance experience was really interesting to watch. I really enjoyed how she articulated sounds with lighting, having some unique movements and combinations of parts in the architecture. I think it was really immersive, but what caught my attention the most was her use of colours. Her use of colours was spot on, perfect saturation, satisfying contrast, etc. This gives me inspiration to refine the saturations of my use of colours for the project.

Alice’s graceful experience

Alice’s articulation based on piano songs was beautiful to look at. She articulated the piano notes in an asymmetrical way, having the left and right wall articulating differently without causing distractions and actually making the audiences feel immersive. I somewhat use this asymmetrical lighting arrangement for my thunder articulation as well - which is why I appreciated this implementation. One thing to learn from the experience was the soft movements on the ceiling. She picked out small parts on the roof to articulate, pairing them with the pro-arch that enhances the beautiful piano melodies. This is something I can gain inspiration from to improve the 1st half of my project, as it was considered weaker compared to the 2nd half of the experience.

3. Project progress. 

Improving the first half of the experience

I improved the first half of my project by using subtle movements to lead one scene into another. The compositions were more refined, and the colours were adjusted so that the hue and saturation would be displayed accurately inside the Capitol. 

Colour choice for birds chirping 

Based on the feedback of using red was too intense and did not make people think of birds, I realised a warmer tone of yellow/orange would be ideal. It would be a perfect contrast to the green lighting used to represent the forest setting, yet being not too intense. The colour also tied directly to serenity, based on the colour study paper: “A method for exploring word-colour associations’, Color Research and Application (2019)” that I have retrieved from multiple times to implement for my project.

Improving the ending of the experience

The ending now fades even slower out, yet introducing the subtle roof lighting in a bit earlier to change/shifting audiences’ attention seamlessly and subtly, indicating the end of the experience yet still embracing serenity.

Creating the recorded presentation

This process consisted of constructing a solid script for the video, as well as the slides and providing Capitol recordings from multiple tests to create a cohesive, media rich presentation that explains how I achieved my final experience, how I feel and what I have learned over the course of twelve weeks. I manage to stay consistent with the 5-minute mark, thanks to constructing the script beforehand to estimate the time limit.

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Week 11

1. Reflection

This week, my focus was on refining my project since these were the final weeks before the showday. I maintained the process of listing out small tasks, addressing each element that needed improvement or implementation one by one. Tuesday was another feedback session where Pharos students are expected to bring their sessions to be reviewed by tutors. For my serene multisensory experience especially, feedback I received were towards the movements and fadings of lights. Observing the work from tutors' perspective showed that the coloured lighting faded out a bit too fast for serenity. The work requires more subtlety and slower movements to achieve the chosen state. Also another feedback was towards the articulation of birds chirping that I did last week, in which I used different colours for different times when birds’ sounds were introduced into the experience. Darrin suggested that I should be consistent with the colour choices to articulate birds to prevent complexity in a serene experience. Improving the project based on feedback given would allow me to create a stronger, cohesive experience that expresses serenity while being simple, subtle, calming. 

Another feedback session happened on Thursday, right before an additional Capitol visit to test and refine our work. The feedback received from this session was towards the use of blackouts and consistent lighting articulations to maximise the serene approach. Although the use of blackouts can contribute to a sense of subtlety, overusing or long blackouts might make the experience unnatural. This occurred when transitioning from the sunny to rainy section in my experience. I could actually use thunder sounds and articulation to lead the experience from sunny to rainy seamlessly, having a blackout moment here was unnecessary. Testing these iterations inside the Capitol this week, I realised more problems that could be tackled and improved. The experience indeed needed to be more subtle, in which I would need to reveal small lightings at once. Seeing how lights in my project ran inside the Capitol also led me to the conclusion that I should be using less yellow - as currently it is too bright which disrupts the serene flow. I like how the spreading movement of lighting creates a sense of openness into the space and it was immersive yet subtle enough to achieve serenity. This is something that I can implement more to give a soft, gradual fade-in effect that would make the experience immersive. Another successful exploration in this test was the rain articulation using the sparkle properties. It syncs with the rain sounds from the audio and with the right adjustment of speed and subtlety could make it less busy yet create an immersive yet peaceful/calming rainy setting. This is a crucial Capitol session that will help me make final changes/touch ups to create a bold experience that maximises the approach for serenity.

I will analyse more about how I implement these changes in the project progress section. 

2. Research

Academic - Characteristics of colours, interior design and their psychological and physiological effects - NG ÇİÇEK, K Gökçakan (2016)

The paper analyses the signifcance of soft colour spreads and movements in contribution to psychological restoration. It was said that the movement contributed to a soft, calming effect in which have been used in airplane's lighting system to maintain consistent brightness yet still allow passengers to easily fall asleep without causing any disturbance. Understanding this concept allows me to refine and enhance my lighting design to another level, assuring that consistent lighting design would contribute to serenity, and without causing any distraction or disturbance among audiences.

Creative Practice - Cameron’s Relaxing HMex

During this class I also got a chance to see Cameron’s work. He created a calming video which had quite a long duration. It is being paired with a soothing soundtrack to enhance the chosen state. With visual connections to nature like trees and the presence of water within the video, the work definitely feels calming, relaxing. With subtle movements and soothing sound, his project achieved a relaxing state, but I find the long video being quite repetitive, which I expect to push the boundary a bit and present something special within the work so it would less feel like a background ambient video that you would find at a spa or clinic.

Technical

For this week, the techincal research, or I would say practice, would contribute towards the organising layout and lighting fixtures to assure better lighting design process.

As you can see, my previous groups of lighting fixtures was rather messy, repetitive; and there are times when it takes me quite a while to find out what fixture I am looking for, because there are too much. I approach this research by looking at others' pharos session, to see how people organise their groupings and fixture to have a more logical workflow that is efficient and time-saving.

3. Project progress.

Longer fade-outs / Smoother transitions

The progress this week was about improving the lighting compositions and movements. Based on received feedback, I worked on having longer fade outs while still maintaining the synchronisation with sound. The colour fades were more gradual, which contributed to serenity. Softer and slower transitions not only created a smoother experience but the colour stayed longer in the architecture that created a slow, dragging tempo which made it peaceful, calm. 

Colour spreads

The successful use of colour spreads meant that I could implement more of this movement to articulate sound. However, I tried to balance it out, avoiding over-using the spread movement to prevent repetition. The spreads could go horizontal or vertical, worked best with audio when creating a build-up, or revealing/opening up the space, enhancing the imaginative nature environment concept. 

Ceiling articulation

Through various tests inside the Capitol, I found out that ceiling activity can get too bright, which disrupts the experience or ruins other colours which are also displayed. Therefore, I have made adjustments in which the ceiling activity would be even more subtle and smaller. This design choice also allows audiences to focus more on other parts of the Capitol like walls and pro-arch, the ceiling’s subtlety is there to enhance, contributing to the immersive experience without being distracting or disrupting the serene flow.

[weeklyblogbycalvin]

Week 10

1. Reflection

These last few weeks are self-directed, as we are all focusing on refining our project. These sessions are also time for people to catch up with their work, extensions, etc. Particularly, I was observing Xinran’s presentation of her mesmerising project milestone which provided valuable insights for my own creative practice. I admired her use of nature visuals in a unique way, creating a mesmerising experience that differed from my focus on serenity. I appreciated Xinran's approach in incorporating a diverse range of academic materials to support her work. While some materials might have been slightly irrelevant, this observation emphasised the importance of carefully selecting the most relevant sources for my own research. Besides looking at other students’ work, I spent most of my time this week improving my project. I approach this process by listing out small tasks, elements to be improved/implemented one by one. This allowed me to be on track and not be overwhelmed with tasks, helping me to be consistent with the time management to finish these tasks. 

2. Research

RMIT Capitol Theatre Reopening Light & Sound Show - Produced by Darrin (2019)

I came across this immersive light & sound show when looking up on Youtube for similar projects inside the Capitol Theater. The variety of lighting movements in relation to the music produced by Darrin was really satisfying to look at. As I am enjoying the experience, I was also looking for some useful/new lighting combinations within the architecture that could help me improve my lighting composition for serenity. From this showcase I find the combination of ceiling and pro-arch lighting was really useful, as the colour spreads were consistent while maintaining dark walls on the two sides. The way lights are revealed gradually on the proscenium arch itself are also worth learning from. By revealing from the very top point of light into the triangular section, to the rectangle proportion and finally to the two columns it makes the reveal logical, smooth and satisfying to look at. 

I am also particularly impressed with this subtle lighting movement of pale green invading white on the pro-arch. It is subtle but impactful, catching my attention right away which makes me curious to test this out myself next week.

3. Project progress

Adding subtle elements/sfx to original track

From previous feedback sessions about articulating different elements for a more immersive experience, I realised that there was not much to articulate in the original track besides the melody. I have previously added in thunder sounds to articulate, but with this iteration I expanded further and played with sounds of birds chirping and tree rustling. Not only does this adjustment make the sonic experience more immersive, but it also contributes to opening up the space as if the sfx of birds chirping can be heard from a distance.

Composing light movements:

I made significant progress in composing light movements for my project. Through the strategic use of light my aim is to evoke a sense of openness and expansiveness. I experimented with more crossfades and colour spreads, intending to enhance the ambiance and make the experience more immersive with these serene colours. These techniques allowed me to explore the spatial dimensions of light, adding depth and immersion to the overall experience.

Articulating natural elements

With the addition of bird sounds and tree rustling, I also concentrated on articulating these natural elements using light. My approach focused on subtlety, aiming for an immersive atmosphere that envelops the audience. I experimented with various sparkle properties, strategically incorporating subtle flashing points to add depth and intrigue to the overall sensory encounter. As I experimented more, I found out that red and other colours close to red would be ideal to articulate birds chirping sounds, as it stands out more from the scene. However, I am questioning the intensity of red, which I will have to test out on the next Capitol session.

Seamless integration of articulating melodies and nature sounds

I articulated rain sounds, creating a background ambiance through the walls, adding depth to the architecture.  I also sync lights with melodies on the proscenium arch, aligning visual and auditory elements for a harmonious blend. Having melodies articulated in the front, whilst subtle sparkling of blue represent rain are played on the two sides, overall creating a more immersive environment, amplifying the rainy atmosphere at night which enhances serenity to the multi-sensory experience.

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Week 9

1. Reflection

This week's milestone presentation provided valuable insights from tutors, allowing me to gauge the progress of my multi-sensory experience development. Based on different materials and analysis that I conducted last week, I think I have successfully shown implementation of research to express serenity.  I managed to maintain a concise presentation within the 5-minute timeframe, addressing all the requirements outlined in the brief. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the Capitol visit on Thursday due to pressing deadlines in other classes, causing a slight setback in my schedule. However, I've devised a plan to compensate for this delay by dedicating extra hours to refine my project inside Pharos for the upcoming week. Reflecting on this week's experiences, I've realised the importance of effective time management and flexibility when it comes to presenting, balancing academic materials with visuals inside the slides. Moving forward, I intend to use this knowledge to explore creative and academic pursuits more efficiently, ensuring that I can maintain a consistent and focused approach to my multi-sensory project.

2. Research 

Due to the unexpected delay this week, I wasn't able to conduct any academic or technical research for my project. Instead, I shifted my focus to observe and analyse the presentations of my fellow students. I specifically paid attention to how they seamlessly integrated their research findings into their creative practices. 

Creative Practice

James Gousias’s “Music: Not impossible” project

During the presentation session on Tuesday I volunteered to test out James’ multi-sensory experience with the vibrating vest. I am particularly interested in this project because of his intriguing choice of the hypnotising state and how vibrations can contribute to such a special state. I really enjoyed the experience and found the subtle vibrations effective, enhancing the impactful beats of the music he composed. By experiencing fellow students’ work in progress, not only did I have a better understanding of how important sound is, but also how their project has developed and giving them feedback for improvements. I find James’ experience pretty long - which I don’t mind at all. However, since it is quite a long experience, I expected a more variety of rhythmic vibration to prevent a repetitive concept of subtle vibrations. Analysing this work also contributes to how I can effectively articulate sounds in my experience using different lighting compositions.

3. Project progress. 

The progress I have made this week would be towards the development of my presentation. The success of my presentation this week can be attributed to several key factors, notably the effective utilisation of academic materials to enhance my creative practice. By identifying and incorporating scholarly articles, research papers, and relevant literature, it directly contributes to the core themes and objectives of my multi-sensory project. While the progress may have temporarily slowed, I find doing my presentation a very insightful process that approaches my academic and technical research with renewed enthusiasm, better reflection on what I have done so far and a fresh outlook in the coming weeks. In the next few weeks, I will mainly be refining lighting and sound composition in my project, tying up loose ends which concludes to a solid heightened multi-sensory experience that effectively expresses serenity among the audiences.

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Week 8

1. Reflection 

Week 8 was about improving our projects as usual. However, this week’s sessions were also about planning contents and slides as we move towards the week 9 assessment 3.1 presentations. I find this an opportunity to reflect on my progress so far - as I write contents and analyse materials for the presentation. I found the feedback sessions on Thursday very helpful, and benefits towards the development of my presentation. Darrin’s recommendation of powerful AI tools made the academic reflections for the slides much easier. The individual consultation also allowed me to have a better understanding of the presentation’s requirements, specifically how to map the relationship between the research into the chosen state and the devices I have been employing in order to realise it. Different from the first presentation in Week 2, rather than just a literature review, this presentation required more evaluating on how academic materials are actually being implemented in the project. Darrin also suggested adding different screenshots of Pharos into the slides, and use them to point out the knowledge being implemented there. Other than that, this week was quite self-directed as we were all focused on preparing for the presentation and improving, refining our project and applying the feedback received.

2. Research

Academic:

In the process of doing the presentation, I went through the academic papers used for the first proposal. I found this as an opportunity to reflect and have deeper analysis on these valuable findings I have managed to conduct and evaluate on how I had translated these materials into my creative practice. The reason I recycled back to these academic materials, rather than looking for new ones, was because I find these materials valuable and helpful towards the development of my project. Therefore, rather than reinventing the wheel, I decided to use these findings to reflect on my project’s progress and also to look into the development over time, while making use of any quality resource that I might have missed.

"Perceived Sensory Dimensions: An Evidence-Based Approach to Greenspace Aesthetics" (2021)

The paper highlights the importance of surroundings perceived as peaceful and serene in green spaces.  It emphasised the need for an environment that exudes calmness, tranquillity, and safety while not necessarily being completely silent. Instead, it welcomes soothing sounds of nature that contribute to a sense of peace and security. The serene quality, I discovered, can facilitate the freedom of thought, allowing individuals to daydream, reflect, and turn their attention inward. This expressed the aesthetic I was going for, showing subtle movements and revealing small details that allows the audience to depict the peaceful forest setting in their own minds. It also led to the decision of choosing nature-inspired tracks that, when being paired with immersive lighting compositions, can create a space of nature inside the Capitol. 

14 PATTERNS OF BIOPHILIC DESIGN | Improving Health & Well-Being in the Built Environment 

[P3] NON-RHYTHMIC SENSORY STIMULI readings - While re-evaluating this material, I also came across another pattern that I have not covered in the project proposal. It centred around the profound impact of non-rhythmic sensory stimuli, particularly nature sounds, on fostering serenity and improving mental well-being. Drawing from readings on "Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimuli," I have learned that elements such as cloud movement, gentle breezes, rustling plant life, babbling water, and the sounds of insects, animals, and birds all contribute to a sensory experience that can significantly enhance tranquillity. This research has not only broadened my understanding of how non-visual interactions with nature can lead to perceived improvements in mental health but has also highlighted the potential of nature sounds as a powerful component in this process. As my project developed over time, and the decision of removing the screen element, I found this biophilic pattern a more suitable one for the aesthetic I was going for. The newfound pattern has greatly enriched my project, and also shows the importance of nature sounds as the non-rhythmic sensory stimuli in the design of a serene and restorative space.

Creative practice:

For this week I did not have any look into artworks or projects for inspiration, as I find doing the milestone presentation a more reflective process. Therefore, I focused more on evaluating academic materials and how these knowledges are being translated into the design choices of my project.

Technical:

In this week’s feedback session, Darrin recommended two powerful AI tools that provide more quality evaluation of the sources we gathered. Rather than using ChatGPT, we were introduced to ChatPDF and powerdrill.ai. The difference between these two tools is that ChatPDF reviews materials paper by paper, whereas powerdrill.ai is for suits of multiple pdfs that even give you citations. I had a grasp of ChatPDF quicker, and as each material I found is focused on different sensory elements, I decided to review paper by paper to allow a detailed, focused analysis of these sources. The technical process of exploring these new tools benefited me a lot in gathering information and evaluating data to retrieve knowledge from and implement from it.

3. Project progress. 

For this week I took a pause in refining my Pharos session, and instead focused on doing the milestone presentation for next week while making sure I am not going over the 5-minute mark. I decided to just focus on the presentation to make sure I am providing insightful analysis of my project development and how my ideas evolve overtime. However, I find doing the milestone presentation a very helpful process that allows me to evaluate the development of my project, understand more of the chosen state and use this as the opportunity to improve the current Pharos session. Also while doing the slides, I did project-planning for the next few weeks to make sure I am up to date with the final Capitol showcase:

Week 9.2: Improving lighting compositions, trials at the Capitol

Week 10: Refining project from last week & adding features to soundtracks to enhance the experience, trials at the Capitol

Week 11: Consultation with tutors for improvements

Week 12: Consultation with tutors & final touch-ups

Week 13: Final presentation & Final Project displayed at the Capitol

By having tasks planned out, the next few weeks of development will be stronger and clearer. From this, I can also determine what to test for future Capitol sessions. Specifically, for next week I will plan to improve the movements of light within my Pharos session based on feedback last week. The main challenge/objective would be how to create a sense of space, vast nature inside the theatre. I will attempt to implement various, but soft/subtle movements more to make a seamless experience that would allow the audience to immerse themselves into the middle of an imaginative forest environment, therefore feeling serene through nature from the soundtracks and the lighting composition.

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Mid Semester Break & Week 7

1. Reflection 

Last week we had an extra Capitol session during the break. This was when I turned my intention from week 6 into an experience to be tested at the Capitol. The experience was my attempt to create a forest setting inside the theatre, layering sensory elements and shifting attention across the architecture. I think this test was quite a success in immersing audiences in an imaginative forest environment. The feedback received from tutors was also very positive and helpful towards iterating from the current test. Analysing the design choices of lighting and sound, overall I managed to achieve serenity through the imaginative nature created by these design decisions. However, the play of the screen in this experience was considered unnecessary. More specifically, audiences might get disappointed when the video starts to fade in, and lights go away. My implementation was that the aesthetic of the visuals and the audio-lighting composition did not match, as the realisticity of the video went against the imaginative environment created with lighting and sound. From the feedback received, the screen can be removed as lighting and sound is already impactful enough to be immersed. By articulating different elements using light (melodies, nature sounds), audiences can free their mind and be submerged in the tranquility of nature, forest - therefore feeling serene. 

For this week, we also had feedback sessions and a final Capitol test until October. This week is also about iterating from last week’s feedback, coming off the break. As I did not manage to do much work during the break, thus this week was more self-directory, I spent time in class to refine my project and have discussions with tutors for valuable feedback. On Thursday’s last Capitol session in this month, I also brought my refined Pharos session to be played inside the theatre and collected feedback from tutors. Darrin emphasised the importance of improving the flow, particularly in the first half of the experience. The use of lighting colours should be more evenly distributed, creating an immersive ambiance that allows the audience to fully embrace the wonder of nature through light. While blackout moments are useful for scene changes and act as a palette cleanser, they were overused and disrupted the tranquillity of the light theme. There was a repetitive pattern of alternating between light and colour and fading to black, which Darrin found predictable and should be changed. My implementation of the given feedback was to break the repetition by incorporating subtle elements and different shades of primary colours in the background for variety. Overall, more seamless crossfades and colour spreads should be implemented to enhance the overall goal of creating a serene sense of nature inside the Capitol using smooth, balanced lighting movements. 

2. Research 

Academic

The Dramaturgy of Light Lecture (2023)

The feedback of removing the screen element from my experience made me feel the importance of lighting design in correlation to sounds to create an immersive experience, provoking audiences’ thoughts without any literal, assisting visuals.

Because of this, I recycled back to the lecture we had on Week 1, which I found very helpful towards the project development but was often being forgotten/missed out. The lecture explored the multifaceted concept of lighting dramaturgy, which involved the theory and practice of crafting visual compositions using light.  It involves analysing the decisions made by lighting designers; and it considers the impact of lighting on the audience, delving into what they perceive and feel. Lighting designers possess the ability to manipulate the audiences’ eyes and minds. Audiences, on the other hand, are inherently inclined to seek meaning and decode the symbols presented to them. Therefore, my interpretation of lighting is that we don’t need to show too much, rather let the audience figure out the message. By understanding how the eye works, we can create meaning through lighting compositions and colours. Overall, light plays a crucial role in generating meaning through visual dramaturgy, emphasising the importance of showing rather than telling. This material gave me great insight into the importance of lighting, and how the use of screen and literal visuals was unnecessary for this experience. From this, I could balance out when to be subtle, when to reveal more, etc. to overall create an immersive experience.

Creative practice

For this week I did not look into any projects or inspirations, as I had solid progress within my work, and focused more on the methodology and strengthened my technical skills. I often find myself looking back at past students’ examples, like Calum’s projects or Pat & Rob’s “Experience Exhilaration” project. I mainly return to these examples to see how they execute lighting in response to sounds, but that is pretty much it.

Technical

This week I had technical research on colour and sound editing.

Colour palette 

By looking at different colour palettes as inspiration, I can technically implement the knowledge acquired into designing light at the Capitol inside Pharos. For a sunny forest setting, I would stay consistent with the combination of greens and yellows. While for a rainy night setting - which also occurs at the same place, I would use blues and greens with some sparkling of white to implement rains. Obviously, the shades of the colour palettes I researched on are more detailed than what I can achieve inside the Capitol. From past experiences with Pharos, I would stay close to the original rgb colours to make sure I produce the best visuals and colour contrasts possible for my project.

Sound volumes

As I have little experience in sound design, when editing soundtracks, I often lost track of how loud the sounds should be. I find it quite easy to experience discrepancies where a soundtrack seems excessively loud when using headphones, but surprisingly quiet when played through speakers. Therefore, I did some technical research about the ideal loudness level. From multiple sources online, the ideal loudness level is typically around -6 to -3 decibels (dB) below 0 dBFS (decibels Full Scale), which is the maximum digital audio level before distortion occurs. However, it also depends on different sound genres that the loudness level may vary. At least through this process, I can keep track of my volumes and balance out between different tracks to maintain efficiency within the overall mix.

3. Project progress

With the two chosen tracks from Week 6 and the serene colour choices for the lighting: Warm Yellow (sun light) - Green (forest) - Blue (rainy night), I have managed to create an immersive, calming experience. I would say this would be the foundation/early version of my final experience, as I successfully achieve the aesthetic I am going for and somewhat create a sense of serenity.

The main changes made, since the extra Capitol visit during the break, were the removal of the screen element and improving the colour choices based on the last test. The articulation of melodies was kept pretty much the same, with some added subtle light movements in replacement for the screen. How I articulate lightning has also been enhanced, being asymmetrical which made it more realistic, being consistent with the primary colours to be simple yet effective, bold. The main difficulty of this week’s progress would be how to create a sense of space, vast nature inside the Capitol - using sound and light. Using combinations of serene colours have somewhat created depths in my current progress (e.g having yellow light on the ceiling to illustrate sunlight, while green light on the walls to illustrate forest’s surroundings). However, I can implement more to make a seamless immersive experience that would place the audiences into the middle of an imaginative forest environment and enjoy the tranquillity of nature. Audio-wise, I think my chosen tracks were relevant and played a crucial role in enhancing the experience, as these tracks mainly were combinations of natural sounds harmoniously blended in with soft, subtle melodies that are not too boring and meditative, but ambient and calming. Based on the feedback this week, I would opt to add in a bit more of raw nature sfx like bird sounds, subtle rolling thunder noises, etc. for variety and use this as a chance to articulate using light - as for this version of my project I mainly focused on articulating the melody, while missing out nature sounds/white noises in the tracks which I could also take advantage of to spread out the use of colours and opening up the space. 

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Week 6

Reflection

This week's reflections have been particularly insightful as I dive more into the progress of my ongoing project, and showing it in Tuesday's discussion and feedback session. I had the opportunity to present the second test of my serene audio-visual experience to the tutors, where the intention was to craft a journey from a sunny, vibrant forest scene accompanied by an initial chosen track, transitioning into a rainy night setting with a second track - having black-out parts in between for a slow-paced experience. Darrin's feedback was very helpful in refining my draft. One of the suggestions was to reconsider the pace of the first track in relation to the serene ambiance I'm aiming for. The first chosen track was quite busy/fast for serene. I realised that the choice of music is pivotal in establishing the desired tranquillity. Another feedback I received was to have the video fade in even slower, later in the experience as the 3rd element. By introducing video elements gradually, allowing them to take centre stage after the interplay of sounds and lighting, audiences will have more time to appreciate each sensory element. This concept of layering elements over time can undoubtedly enhance the overall immersive experience.

The Thursday session was about improving more from Tuesday’s. For now, I am using static/stock nature videos I found online to test with, but in the upcoming weeks I will have 3D forest visuals produced by myself, rendered out to be swapped with the stock videos. I have managed to find some new nature tracks that I can test with. The majority of the tracks are peaceful, not too melodic, abstract and most importantly, they are inspired by nature. I also have another chance for feedback on Thursday, and I talked through what I have improved on since the last session. The feedback I received was to be mindful of using virtual environments as it might be difficult to achieve realistic nature, and this might affect the overall serene experience. My response to this would be to use pre-made environments, detailed prefabs online and focusing on playing, experimenting with weather, natural climates to deliver serenity. This presents a fresh approach to infusing realism and depth into the visual component of the experience. Also, I should swap out the stock videos with my own footage soon for further feedback and adjustments. My intention is to have high quality rendered footage by the end of the mid semester break to have them displayed in the upcoming trial sessions at the Capitol.

2. Research 

Academically, I did not have any read into materials or research methodology. Instead, this week was more about iteration and refinement based on last week, also developing my intentions towards the next Pharos/Capitol session. 

Creative Practice

Danu by Personal Effects

This is a vibrant track that I came across when I was searching for a replacement for my previous draft. Compared to last week, this track is more ambient, calming that is more suitable for serene. The music was heavenly, not too busy or fast-paced. It also makes me feel like I am in the middle of a sunny forest. The melody was simple and subtle, which can easily be used to articulate with lighting in the Capitol.

Interlude by Domy Castellano

The second track immediately made me think of a midnight rainy setting. The track consists of rain sounds/white noise with subtle piano playing. This track is slower, sadder than the first, but the melodies were clearer which I can take advantage of to articulate using light. The slow pace can be calming, but might also be boring for the audiences. Therefore, I would mix in thunder sounds or other natural elements to create a bit of diversion, or emphasis to the track.

Technical

Another design research I did was to look at pre-built environments. This would achieve a more realistic aesthetic compared to my own version of a forest environment. Using these environments as foundation, I can then add tweaks and touch ups to suit my intentions, generating weather over the terrains. I would lean towards higher end environments as most of them include subtle animation within the trees and plants. 

3. Project progress

There were significant changes made to the project this week. Although I still keep the same concept of layering elements over time for a multisensory serene experience, how I achieve each element is different from what I intended compared to the last few weeks. Based on Darrin’s feedback and my iteration, I have changed my decision into using pre-made environments and prefabs to assure high-fidelity, high quality and realistic visuals. However, I will certainly add tweaks to the environment to express my personal artistic style, experimenting with different weathers within the space to create the serene visual for my project. I have managed to find some high-quality forest environments on the Unity Asset Store to work with, also to use proper render-pipeline for high quality exports. For the music choice, I am interested tracks that are calming, abstract and created a sense of large space, natural and vivid. From this project, I want the audience to immerse themselves, as if they are actually inside a forest experiencing different climates, therefore achieving serenity.

For the next Capitol session, I will be experimenting with the relationship between each sensory element, practicing my conceptual development of layering elements over time. For this test I will still keep the stock videos to test with, while focusing more on the sound, the lighting, and how lighting in the Capitol might affect the visuals being displayed on the screen (i.e., making the room too bright, interrupting the visuals being displayed, etc.). In terms of programming lights inside Pharos, I will keep the intensity low, with subtle movements to enhance the serene experience, with the combination of sound choices. This test will then allow me to adjust and refine my project later on with my own produced 3D visuals.

[weeklyblogbycalvin]

Week 5

1. Reflection 

Week 5 was about gathering feedback for improvements and creating new/updating existing trials for the Capitol session. I was in a bit of a progress delay due to sickness, which I missed the feedback session on Tuesday. During this time, I had a slow progress looking for what music/tracks to be used for the project since the updated announcement of using commercial music for on-campus activities. I started going over Reddit, Spotify, etc. searching for ambient sound artists. Evaluations I collected through this process would be to find tracks that are more abstract, instrumental instead of melodic or lyrical tracks, as these can cause distractions for the audiences, also since I am already using sounds and lightings and visuals. One factor to also avoid is going into a more meditative state, which can be different from serene.

On Thursday we had another trial session at the Capitol. I did not manage to bring one to class on time, but from other students’ works I have managed to gain some insightful evaluations. Light’s video-lighting composition was very interesting to me, since he also uses the screen and the lighting to create a multisensory experience. Analysing this interesting trial allows me to learn from it and adjust for my own project. The relationship in Light’s trial experiment was not strong/impactful enough in my opinion, since a lot was going on with the visuals and the lighting combined. I feel more immersed at some parts when the lighting is subtle (small activity, low intensity) because I can focus more on the visuals - the lighting is there to enhance the experience. Retrieve from this: If the audio-visual component is already too much/complex, be subtle with the lighting design therefore the two components work together harmoniously. Another method I thought of during this session was to use the video on the screen as the background, playing on its own while letting the audiences focus on the beauty of lighting and sound. Additionally, from other students’ trials, I realised that the majority of the lighting activity happening on the ceiling can be too bright, which might affect the projected screen. Therefore, I will avoid over-using the ceiling’s lighting. It will only be used for small details or when a big moment/climax comes up, shifting audiences’ attention from the screen.

2. Research

There was not much research being done this week, all contributing to producing the next trials to be tested. I mainly look into sound artists, ambient tracks in order to find the best ones for my project. At first I had a quick scroll through Youtube to see if I could find any, but almost all of the nature-music on Youtube was sleeping, meditative music that is 10 hours long. Although most of them were copy-right free, they did not suit the aesthetic I am looking for. Having quite some difficulty, I started to look on other platforms, where I ran into a reddit post that I found very helpful for my research.

This reddit post was about seeking recommendations of nature-inspired ambient-tracks. The author of the post was looking for artists or albums inspired by nature, preferable by forests of (northern) europe, yet minimal. There were so many recommendations that I did not manage to listen to all of them. However, from the responses I have managed to find two interesting tracks that I can test with.

Stars by Yosi Horikawa

This track is calming yet quite vibrant. There are sounds of birds chirping in the background, then soothing single piano notes fading in, which makes me think of a slowly-revealing forest on a sunny day. Nature and birds come into play and create a serene atmosphere. I found this track quite abstract, which hopefully will not provoke audiences thoughts and let them free their minds. I would love to use the first two minutes of this track, combining with vibrant lighting and visuals to make audiences feel like they are in a vibrant, calming forest setting. With a few editing of fade-in/fade-out, and maybe adding some additional forest sounds, I can create a serene foundation to then combine with the visuals to create a calming experience.

July 23 by Fila Brazillia

The second track starts off with raining sounds and thunder. The music then starts to fade in which I find very calming and makes me think of a rainy night setting. I wish the artist kept the rain sounds a bit longer but I can edit more in if I want too. The track was also quite abstract, a bit repetitive in which I can have more room to either edit, or keep the track like that and let more visual activities like the lighting or screen come into play. With this track my approach to the multisensory experience is a midnight-rainy forest setting, in which the use of lightning and thunder can create a bit of chaos, but proves to still make the audiences feel serene. The goal is to embrace the chaotic, calming beauty of natural events through these recreational experiences of extreme weathers.

3. Project progress

There was a slight change this week in terms of progress. This week’s progress is divided into two main tasks: Sounds and Visuals.

Sounds: The announcement of being able to use commercial music for on-campus activities helped me shift my focus towards the progress of looking for ambient tracks for my project. I  spent some time going over Spotify, Reddit, etc in search for ambient sound tracks/artists and recommendations. It was quite a challenging process finding a track that really suits the aesthetic I am looking for - some tracks are too meditative while some are too suspenseful, abstract. The iteration is that I will be using two or more music/tracks, with some free nature sfx like birds’ noise or sounds of thunder/storm. My goal is to mix up the preexisting materials to create a solid track for the experience. It will be a mixture of the chosen music, with some non-music parts where there will just be organic nature sounds/vfx come into play to overall create a calm, ambient sonic experience - embracing nature events/climates while avoiding feeling meditative.

Visuals: The Capitol session on Thursday also helped me in refining the ideation process of creating visuals for the projected screen. The natural climate visuals for the screen will be static, and having a black out where necessary (changing of scene, weather, …). By revealing small and not everything at once, the experience will be more immersive, shifting audiences focus on different parts of the experience whether it is the screen, or the lighting system, or having everything in black to appreciate the music. Below is a rough flowchart I have drawn to illustrate my idea of shifting attention towards different parts in a scene. 

For the next trials my idea is to have 2 static nature videos in a forest setting, one being sunny and the other rainy. From this I can then use chosen tracks, having black out parts where necessary to create a calm and tranquil experience and having the transition into different scenes smoothly. To be more specific, the experience starts with a sunny, vibrant forest with the first chosen track, then the visuals and lighting get blacked-out, as thunder sounds are played, the experience transitioning to the rainy night setting where the second track comes into play.  This draft will follow the order that I have drawn out in the flow chart.

[weeklyblogbycalvin]

Week 4

1. Reflection

Week 4 was about presenting our project proposal and receiving feedback from tutors. Overall I find my presentation quite successful. My evaluation of this session was that I could have planned my script a bit better, therefore my presentation would be more fluent, and prevented me from going over the 5-minute mark. However, I find my research and academic context to support my ideas and projects to be very strong, and this benefits my overall skill of doing presentations in the future. Being able to see other people’s presentations was also an opportunity to learn something new. From these projects I can discover innovative solutions, fresh insights, or novel approaches to common problems that I hadn't considered before.

Feedbacks I received from tutors were very helpful in the early process of developing my project. My project proposal was considered quite ambitious, and I should be cautious about being in an overload of work. Concept wise, the content I will be producing for the digital screen should be static and simple - this is so that lighting and sounds can come into recognition. Trying to recreate real-life nature is a hard and long process, it can also be provoking, curious when the audiences are watching, which failed the purpose of achieving serenity. Therefore, my iteration is to have an abstract approach to the visuals. Simplicity will make the audiences have less attention and thoughts, being able to let their mind free and just enjoy the beauty of nature through visuals, lights & sounds will achieve serenity.

2. Research & Inspiration

Academic: ARTmine (1 June 2018) ‘Your Guide to Understanding Abstract Art’, ARTmine, accessed 12 August 2023. https://art-mine.com/collectors-corner/2018/06/understanding-abstract-art/

From the feedback of tutors, I started diving in some concepts of abstractionism, how I can or might implement this to produce visuals for my project. The incorporation of abstract movement into my immersive project holds the potential to liberate audiences' minds, creating a harmonious balance between simplicity and the expression of serenity and calm. This innovative approach is minimalistic, yet still creates captivating visuals and offers viewers a unique and tranquil experience.“The most important thing to understand about abstract art is that it does NOT have to have a meaning, narrative or even a singular explanation…Abstract art is also the ability of the audience to then try to connect to the artist’s intention and free their own mind of visual restrictions.”(ARTmine, 2018) The most important term here is “free their own mind”, as I don’t want audiences to think and have a sense of curiosity - which failed to express serene. Subtle shifts, undulating patterns, and gentle fluctuations can transport viewers into a realm where visual stimuli merge with emotional resonance, in which all can be implemented into my project to express calm and freedom of minds. 

One of the 3D designs I looked into while creating my project proposal as well as looking for inspiration for my overall experience was this “Cinematic Animation Video”. The static scene which starts at 0:13 with the fast transition of different weathers in the same setting creates a very interesting experience, somewhat calming. This is something I want to take inspiration from in terms of concept. The video is also a 3D render using the D5 render software, something I also have an interest in technically.

Technical:

For this week not much technical progress was made, basically since I have to focus on creating the project proposal to present in class. Still, I had a look through some powerful rendering software like D5 Render, Lumion,... to see how they work, are they difficult to use and are all of them subscription-free. I also have a read through  Unity’s website, to understand its rendering method (URP vs HDRP) so that if I decided to stick with Unity I will maximise its rendering capabilities.

Unity: Understanding URP, HDRP, and Built-In (occasoftware.com)

“URP is ideal for developers who want to create high-quality graphics while maintaining optimal performance. HDRP is ideal for developers who want to create highly realistic graphics for high-end hardware. Built-In is most compatible with older assets on the Unity Asset Store and is fairly flexible, but I would generally recommend choosing between either URP or HDRP as your baseline.”

3. Project progress. 

I found my project proposal quite a successful progress. The proposal will be a strong foundation for me to develop my project further. From the feedback I received from the tutors, for my project I have decided to have a simple, abstract approach to the visuals that will be projected on the 4K screen. From insightful materials and feedback this week I will then start to create some mock-up visuals to test on the next Capitol visit session. For now, I will mostly use copyright-free nature sounds to test with the lighting and visuals. I will attempt to produce my own ambient soundtrack for my project, which I intend to be very subtle and simple, and play a role in enhancing the visuals and lighting. However, I should be getting into trying out sounds soon so that I am able to receive feedback from tutors and reiterate from that.

The challenge I am having is to decide how I will create visuals for the projected screen. Unity is a safe option for me, though there are more powerful software with efficient rendering capabilities that create high quality and fidelity media. I really want to try out Unreal Engine 5 and 3ds max, though because of the time constraints and recommendations from tutors I might have to discard this intention and stick with Unity.

[weeklyblogbycalvin]

Week 3

1. Reflection

On Tuesday we explore the implementation of vibrations to create a multisensory experience. “Music not impossible” was a very interesting project. However, from my evaluation not all media forms work well with the vests. I feel like the vibrations were not enough to make us feel immersive, while too much vibrations can actually cause irritations for the users. Therefore, I’d prefer to stick with the Capitol Lighting system for my multisensory project.

On Thursday we each had our Pharos trial to be tested at the Capitol and receive feedback from other students and lecturers. My 1st trial was an attempt to achieve serenity through a midnight setting in the middle of a thunderstorm. The objective was to make it simple and subtle. I tried to recreate lighting by having the roof flashing white lighting, not sure if it might be disturbing for the audiences. From this session I have received quality feedback that directly benefits my project progress. One of the feedbacks was to only attack certain parts/sections of the roof, with flickerings of white to create lightning that looks more natural. The more asymmetric the lighting composition is, the more realistic it will be. One powerful way to achieve serenity is to start with other states, then transition into serenity to emphasise even more. Implementation of real lightning: Seeing lightning on the night sky -> flashes revealing the clouds and raindrops for split seconds. I found this idea very interesting, and can use this implementation of lightning to pair my visuals on the projected screen with the lighting design.

2. Research & Inspiration

Academic: 14 PATTERNS OF BIOPHILIC DESIGN | Improving Health & Well-Being in the Built Environment

This is one of my favourite materials that is applicable to a wide range of projects that are related to nature. In order to practise biophilic design and apply it to my project, studying its patterns and principles is beneficial for understanding design opportunities and effectively enhances health, well-being and fosters calm emotions. The process of analysing this material also contributes to my Project proposal presentation. I have chosen “Non-Visual Connection with Nature” and “Connection with Natural Systems” as the main principles to produce the visuals for the screen. While the first pattern tackles the lack of nature in an environment by applying digital methods to replicate nature and bring a sense of calmness to the space, the second pattern is more focused on the seasonal cycle, weathers, … which I can implement its concept to create contents for the projected screen.

Technical: Pharos, 3D softwares

This week I also watched tutorials on the modules to understand the Pharos Designer 2 software. This process serves the purpose of creating our first trial on Thursday. The software was fairly easy to get used to, but from my evaluation I have not explored all of the lighting presets & effects yet.

I also look at how designers create virtual environments using powerful software like Unity, 3ds max or Unreal Engine 5. Having a watch at these design processes and explanations help me to identify strengths and challenges of each software. For now, the safe option for me is to stick with Unity, while I want to explore 3ds max and Lumion for rendering high quality visuals.

3. Project Progress

After deciding to approach the Capitol as the chosen project offer, this week’s progress mainly focused on ideation, conceptualisation and methodology. These steps are being executed as mentioned in the research section above. For the initial idea, my intention is to create a serene journey through the beauty of natural events/climates. The project will be a 3D immersive video projected on the 4K screen, complemented by ambient nature sounds and harmonious lighting design within the theatre. 

One of the early progresses being executed is the test trials on Thursday, which is creating a lighting composition based on a soundtrack of thunderstorms. The objective was to make it simple and subtle. I tried to recreate lighting by having the roof flashing white lighting, not sure if it might be disturbing for the audiences. By receiving feedback and evaluating my trials, I am looking forward to the next Capitol session where I will have new different tests for iteration.

[weeklyblogbycalvin]

Week 2

1. Reflection

In Week 2, I learnt and had some analysis about the Circumplex Model of Emotion. From Tuesday’s session I had my focus on the Relaxed Calm emotion (Low NA), which was in between the range from Low Arousal to Positive. In this session we also had a writing activity about a stage play - The Human Voice, analysing the lighting & sound design choices in relation to emotion. Some retrieves from this activity: sound effects were in sync with the acting to create suspense emotion, the suspense background music with the volume going up create tensions, the lighting were in sync with the intensity of the music while the voice of the actress also raised with sound - these sensorial relationship really enhance and amplify the intended emotion to a higher level. 

I also gained an interest when looking at a past student’s example: Shinjuku Thief - a Jazz Catastrophe. The sound design choices in this example really make me feel a sense of confusion, overwhelm - also with the assist of the material used for visuals.

Thursday’ session was a site visit to the RMIT Capitol Theatre. From this session I managed to look at past students’ projects and have a deep analysis of their chosen state, design choice, etc. From this session I also gained inspiration for my project, mostly from the lighting and the architecture of the Capitol. 

2. Research & Inspiration

Patricia Summers & Rob Curulli - Experience Exhilaration

Analysing this Pharos session helps me to know how to approach my project both conceptually and technically. I like how the lighting at first was rather subtle -> in order to build up tension. Pat & Rob managed to consistently use red and purple throughout the session. Another design choice to learn from is how they attack light at certain parts of the capitol rather than revealing everything which can be greedy and ineffective. The main focal point of this experience was the proscenium arch, building up to the climax where they introduce the ceiling lights to set up a grand moment of exhilaration. I think this way of presenting lighting in relation to sound makes the audiences shift focus on different parts of the soundtrack, overall making the experience more interesting and immersive.

3. Project Progress

As an update from week 1, the site visit on Thursday plays a crucial role in helping me choose what project I want to approach for. I have decided to discard my VR-project idea, and shift focus on creating a multisensory experience for the RMIT Capitol theatre. However, I wanted to have a play at the 4K projected screen inside the Capitol, to see the relationship of sounds, visuals to lighting. I started to think about natural visuals I would produce for the screen that would achieve serenity, with addition to cool-temperature, low-lighting. In terms of sound design, I have not had any idea on how to produce or collaborate with someone to have tracks for the project. But one of the early ideas was to use raw, natural sounds as materials to edit with.

[weeklyblogbycalvin]

Week 1

Reflection

I have great interest in the “Dramaturgy of Light” lecture. My interpretation of lighting is that colours can set out different moods and emphasis. We have to understand how the eye works - therefore creating meaning through lighting compositions.

Mind that we don’t need to show too much, rather let the audience figure out the message. This helps directly to how I should be thinking about lighting in my project, this plays a crucial role in creating emotions in an immersive space.

Through the “Colour studies” I also find bright, vibrant colours have more emphasis, and be used close-up, whilst cold colours are used faraway or in the background. No colour or neutral colour are also important in any compositions - the choices of colours & contrasts we make can create different effects.

Obviously visuals should be paired with sounds to create a multisensory experience. In this week’s session I managed to understand how sounds and visuals being paired together in different ways would create different emotions. Implementing this to my project I would have soft, warm/cold lightings for soothing tracks and more bright intense lightings for fast-paced & loud tracks.

2. Research & Inspirations

Light projects:

Lightscape (Botanic Gardens)

Lightscape | Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (rbg.vic.gov.au)Links to an external site.

The colour-changing light installations in the Royal Botanic Gardens created a mesmerising experience for guests to walk around and appreciate the beauty of nature at night. I am inspired by how they use different colours of lighting, combined with soundscapes to achieve how immersive the experience is and embrace the beauty of nature. I also like how large-scale sculptures are also invited into the space, creating a mix of nature and artificial - in an efficient way. The variety of lighting features, with efficient composition throughout the 2km-trail are something that I can learn from to implement to my practice.

VR Projects

A nature inspired immersive VR journey - Beeing (animationsinstitut.de)Links to an external site.

This VR project is journey-based, where audiences would have a perspective of riding a bee, flying through the wonders of nature. The immersive experience is being created in Unreal Engine, a high-end 3D software that I am also interested in. I like how the journey started off as us having a train ride, then transitioned to the back of an insect exploring a fantastic and ominously dissolving forest of ghosts. There is context/storytelling within the ride, expressing that in order for nature to be enjoyed outside of VR in the future, it must be maintained. This inspired me to come up with a good context/message for the audiences, which enhances the progress of making any immersive environment/experience.

Technical wise, this week I have a first look at how VR works in Unity, how to export projects to be viewed in VR glasses. I have not determined what software I will be using for now, but as I identify the potential and challenges, I would opt to stick with one software that is suitable for my practice and the constraint of deadlines.

3. Project progress

For the first week I have only thought about choosing an adjective that suits my preferences, and also how to approach it by developing a multisensory project. I also have a read through the project offers and work them out which one would be suitable based on my practice. 

For now, I am deciding between developing a project inside the Capitol lighting or a self-directed project in which I will be producing my work to be an immersive space that is being viewed in VR devices. Obviously, this would require proposing my own project ideas to the studio leads, but for now there have not been enough materials for me to show what I really want to do. 

I have kind of decided ‘serene’ as my chosen adjective, in which my immersive environment would build around/expand from this concept, tying to nature. Still, I have only scratched the surface and would need to look into more examples and artworks related.