Time lapse

I started to delve deeper into the concept of my idea and began to think about what would be the most effective way of structuring and capturing the original footage within the library. I was naive to think that I would be able to use video footage and then be able to edit with illustration on top of it. I realised that this was not the case and I would have had to break apart the whole video etc.

I started to think of alternatives of capturing a period of time passing and remembered the technique I had previously used- time lapse. With time lapse, I would be able to sit a camera next to me in a static and solid based position and set intervals for the camera to take pictures. I would then be able to individually edit and illustrate the certain sequence of images I wanted and then import the image sequence into the stage of Flash. The clip below, is an example of time lapse that suits the context of my idea and captures the similar atmosphere and environment I will be capturing in the library.

Kinetic typo- clock

I came across this kinetic typography during my research, and although most of the animation and the subject means nothing and has no relevance to myself, I pinpointed the use of the animated clock as an element that would suit the context of my footage of time passing in the library. Instantly when you think of time passing, the fast-forwarded clock is an image that is instantly recognisable and I feel I could use a similar idea than they have to add some animation that focuses around a clock (as shown below).

Inspirational kinetic typo

I cropped this sequence from the film Limitless as it contains an example of a kinetic typography, that I find really interesting and that also suits the context of my footage within the library. My next step is to go out and try to re-create this similar style of animation. Firstly practising on still images and then moving onto moving, video footage.  

Illustration in adverts.

I came across this advert whilst browsing the Internet and it caught my eye by incorporating some of the ideas i want to use in my project. Although the illustration isn't over-laying physical objects the idea is still there, and it is good to see examples of how other designers have used the idea of the physical and animated/illustrative world interacting. This is show in how the words "knock knock" and "who's there" break apart as the man walks through their path.

1984- George Orwell

One of my favourite novels and a book that never seems to get old every time I read it. Orwell's 1984 was a forerunner for the idea of the 'Big Brother theory' and that in our society someone, somewhere, through one of the million computers is always watching you. The notion of surveillance was key to my project, as my real life footage with present the audience with a chance to become an ambiguous voyeur of peoples lives within the library and Orwell covers this topic fantastically in his dystopian fictional society in which everyones movement is monitored and controlled by the 'Big Brother'.

Limitless- Fictitious but based on a true concept.

Limitless is a 2011 thriller film directed by Neil Burger and starring Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish, and Robert De Niro. It is based on the 2001 novel The Dark Fields by Alan Glynnwith the screenplay by Leslie Dixon. The film was released on March 18, 2011. The film focuses around the myth/idea of a new nootropic drug, NZT-48, that has the ability for humans to access 100% of the brain's power, as opposed to the normal 20%. Although these stats are yet to be scientifically proven, there are many strong myths and beliefs dating back hundreds of years that support this claim and this is what Berger focuses the novel upon.

This theme is very similar to my idea of inner thoughts and the logic that the brain can create and receive a greater mass of information in a state of sub-consciousness or solitary mind set that I connected to after my experience documenting time passing within the library. 

Telling Stories

This weeks task was by far the most enjoyable and profitable in terms of directing me towards my final project. We were told to document a boring event in detail, or document time passing through drawings, textures and words. The idea of telling an unexpected story has always interested me and been in the back of my mind when thinking about what to do in my project and this task gave me the opportunity to experiment with this idea. Whilst I sat in the library on a cold and wet sunday afternoon, I decided to document every specific detail I noticed in a ten minute time period. Below are my findings;

During the time period, it felt I had lost control of my mind and body. It seemed as if I was unconsciously noticing things and noting them down, without even registering their existence. I was amazed with how quick I became lost in the library and was shocked in how quick the 10 minutes went, considering I expected it to be massively boring and drag on. Whilst reviewing my findings there was one drawing that caught my eye the most. I had referred to the ceiling lights of the library as spaceships. I looked up at the lights again and couldn't really see it, had I hallucinated the idea of spaceships? Did my mind make up this new identity for the lights as a form of entertainment? Questions flooded my mind about how and why I made this assumption during the 10 minute period but then failed to really reconnect with the idea after.

I began to think about 'day dreaming' and the power and control it can assert over ones mind. I liked this idea, I began to feel that this could be the platform for my project. All I was doing was sitting in the library, a building with a chilling silence and sense of concentrating radiating from the wall, yet I had picked up on so many details. Something as simple and non-existent as aisle signs, that we usually look at but fail to take in, interested me. I imagined lights as spaceships and the subtle whispering of noise as peoples brains speaking out loud and interacting. A task so simple and a venue so boring has led me on a tangent that I feel will work as the platform for my project, all I need to do now is develop the story/ idea.

Theoretical and critical inspirations

The notion of surveillance:

Furthering on from my previous blog, I started to think and develop my 'telling stories' idea and investigated the theory of the 'notion of surveillance'. In a society so transfixed with the idea of the 'big brother' theory I felt it was an appropriate and up to date critical theory to look at. 

The birth of 'the big brother theory stems from a fictional character in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, named 'Big Brother'. He is the enigmatic dictator of Oceania, a totalitarian state taken to its utmost logical consequence – where the ruling Party wields total power for its own sake over the inhabitants. In the society that Orwell describes, everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities, mainly by tv screens. The people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase "Big Brother is watching you", which is the core "truth" of the propaganda system in this state. Since the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four, the term "Big Brother" has entered the lexicon as a synonym for abuse of government power, particularly in respect to civil liberties, often specifically related to mass surveillance.

Mark Dice expanded the idea of 1984 and wrote a book titled Big Brother: The Orwellian Nightmare Come True published earlier this year. Within the book, Dice details actual high-tech spy gadgets, mind-reading machines, emerging artificial intelligence systems, and government projects used within today's society that have a direct correlation to the details of George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.  First published in 1949, Orwell's famous book tells the story of a nightmarish future where citizens have lost all privacy and are continuously monitored by the omniscient Big Brother surveillance system. These fictional characters are manipulated and kept obedient to a totalitarian government. In Big Brother, Mark Dice illustrates how what was once considered fiction has now become reality due to societies obsessiveness and reliance of digital technology. Marketing tools through facebook, smart phones and other social media/ networking sites are highlighted and convey to the reader the sickening amount of personal information that is leaked and in the hands of large media business's and organisations.  Dice shows you the scary documentation that Big Brother is watching you, and is more powerful than you could imagine.

Telling Details:

As documented previously, I was keen to look further and delve deeper into the idea of 'telling details' and how certain details, words, pictures could summarise and paint a whole picture. I came across Ernest Hemingway's short story; 'A Clean, Well-Lighted Place'. Hemingway is known as a master of short fiction and his attention to detail and beautiful language used to describe an object is quite prefect. In the story, there was one description that stuck out to me as a 'telling detail'. 

"A girl and a soldier went by in the street. The street light shone on the brass numbers on his collar".

The description of such a simple and often unnoticed detail of the brass numbers is brought to life my Hemingway and in doing so instantly paints a picture of a soldier in my in my mind, in full suit with brass numbers, badges and medallions glistening in the street light. This is a prime example of the effect and influence of the 'telling details' that I want to pull out and include within my animation.

Relationship between the animated and physical world- Developing my idea

As the weeks have progressed and my research and experimentation has delved deeper, I started to think and develop on the idea of the relationship between the real and the animated world. Through my inspiration of illustration drawings over images, I recognised that this juxtaposition of real and digital creates very interesting viewing. I started to feel like this was an area I would definitely incorporate into my final project amongst my animation as it provides images/ videos with an interesting and heightened visual appeal. Below is a few examples of me playing about with using photoshop to place illustration drawings over the top of images of the physical world.

Self Ethnography

Our task for this week was to go out and explore the world, and document our experiences with sketches/ drawings, note takings etc. The task was inspired by the opening of the film 'Stranger Than Fiction' shown below and we was encourage to try to capture a set of data, similar to the film that we could then play and experiment with way of potraying that cycle of information in a digital form.

Throughout the week I decided to focus on; my Facebook usage and interaction and the time I spent driving around Brighton. Once I reviewed the data I collected I was surprised with the relationship that had clearly formed between the amount of times I looked at Facebook, to the amount of times I used and interacted through it. I found that I looked at Facebook on my phone almost 100 times within the week, however, I only acted used it as a form of communication through; status's, comments etc 7 times in a week. Practically once a day compared to the 15 times I looked at Facebook. What I started to think about was the effect Facebook is having upon us in today's society. With 24 hours, 7 days a week access through apps on our phones, we can access Facebook whenever and wherever we like. However, If my data is anything to go by, although we can access it, we don't seem to used it to its full potential. What I noticed during this task was that if I was bored or my mind was heading towards a day dream, my body would seem to unconsciously look and scroll through my news feed on Facebook. I came to the conclusion that for a lot of people that I spoke to about my findings is that we use Facebook as a past time. Its quick, easy access and harmless entertainment to scroll through peoples lives in photos, comments and hash tags. This leads on to a common topic that today's culture is heavily reliant on social networks, digital products and user-generated content.

Here is how I decided to illustrate my findings;