During Experiment

Post Experiment

Ricardo Rivera - Video Mapper

I chose Ricardo Rivera as I enjoyed reading about his early endeavors in video mapping.  When first experimenting, he writes that he used an old school overhead projector with adobe programs such as photoshop and after effects to achieve his video textures.  

What I enjoy most about his work is when he plays with simple textures of surfaces.  He makes solid form such as concrete walls appear to be fabric or liquid.  This approach is most interesting to me as it goes beyond simply putting videos on odd surfaces but is a direct way to manipulate the perception of the surface itself.

This was the end 10 sec. video I made during the video mapping seminar.
Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted the original files and so of course was not able to reproduce the mapping screenshots.

The seminar was actually extremely valuable and has given me many ideas for my final project for this class. Im curious on what exactly will pan out from it but just knowing that videos, like pictures, can be manipulated and arranged so easily with these programs was worth the time put in.

Issues:
lack of preparation: would have been better if the seminar instructor told us what to look for and gave us examples before the seminar itself (what pictures, what videos, what ideas to think about, etc.)

I also felt the instructor expected us all to be super "new media" engaged... as in we all had thorough background in using programs like the ones discussed.  I think she was easily frustrated with our inabilities which didnt go over so well.

using my ipad and imovie, i was able to produce this simple stop motion animation.  Although not very clean and not very well executed, it definitely helped me understand how these are made and really, that they could be made at all and pretty simply in a classroom setting.  It just takes time

Stop motion animation  can be an exciting tool in classroom applications as it can bring the children's artworks to life.  Im sure every child would really be into this... i certainly loved it!

(i chose this russian cartoon as my inspiration for this animation project.)

Heres another inspirational video, probably the most beautiful video i've ever seen:
Hedgehog in the fog by Yuriy Norshteyn



the way Norshteyn uses glass plates and reading further, using very thin papers to produce the fog is just perfectly beautiful... He achieve this very sincere depth of feeling through the material as well as the movement and coordination.  What also interests me about the video as well as many russian cartoons of the time is how they can be equally moving for adults even though they at first appear as made for children.  The mature themes used to tell stories come through in a very honest manner that can be adapted to all ages.  Its nice that they were made keeping children in mind, which in turn references their openness with children without being in any way condescending.


Svankmajer

Svankmajer is another video maker who uses stop motion however he often combines with live characters.  By combining the two worlds, a third surreal world develops.    The videos often have "dark" undertones and reference surrealism in attitudes and dimensions.  He uses angles often to develop infinite spaces which i found really interesting but to point out single moments and characteristics is really difficult as his work spans in so many different directions.   He uses sound as a predominant tool in setting the atmosphere (very little verbal dialogue if any) and often the speeds of which things are animated is changed according to the current moods ( i hadnt really seen much of that before in such a purposeful way) .  Youtube is a great resource for his videos but Im interested now in the "full featured' ones which i can only see snippits of.

Scanography Sets

Set 1: plastic, mayo, ink
http://www.flipsnack.com/jjs2233/fdtnq99p

Set 2: plastic, paper, foil
http://www.flipsnack.com/jjs2233/ftp56ffi

Set 3: glass, sage, smoke, light
http://www.flipsnack.com/jjs2233/fdxp0jjk

Set 4: sweaters - (tester)
http://www.flipsnack.com/jjs2233/fdh9y33j


Lesson Plan:
Through making a scanograph of a natural material, using a scanner with a laptop in the park, children will learn that nature has intricate details that can come to view when looked at in a different way.

By using a scanner, which is essentially a set focus camera with a huge lens? children can deeper appreciate nature using new media technology by scanning leaves, flowers, earth, stone, mud, insects feathers, etc...  As we move more toward new technologies, we should perhaps use them to further appreciate nature so both the electronic, digital realm can inform the physical world and vice versa