Creative Process
Week 1
World press photo
At the start of the main mission we were tasked with looking into a press photo with our groups and this photo would stand as the inspiration to our work. Maxim and I chose 7 images and narrowed it down to 'I am still with you' by Wang Naigong.
This image was really striking from the beginning because at first you just notice a family smiling and it seemed comical with its composition. When you get the context of the photo it takes a more serious turn and you find out it's of a mother dying with cancer. This photo was 1 from a series of photos the mother commissioned to document her time with her family in her last stages of life.
Inspiration
Inspiration
As a team, we discussed the themes present in the photos and how we could translate those themes into an installation. We mainly focused on the spiritual journey and inevitable death. As adults in our 20s, we aren't as aware of our own mortality, so we wanted to explore what comes to mind when we think about death. I thought about how we are small specks on the Earth, that's when Jack mentioned that it made him think of an art piece he had just seen titled "The Fabric of Life." Maxim and I liked this idea and decided to create something that reflected this art piece.
Iteration 1
Visuals: Maxim Audio: Marco
For the First iteration maxim made a visual particle board based on the inspiration and I made an audio file to go along with it. our main idea was to make a particle board that was interactive and changed based on the viewers proximity to the installation but we unfortunately learned Kinect doesn't work well with Mac systems so we weren't able to make it interactive.
Audio
The feedback was that this is a calming and soothing visual, it gives a feeling of life after death. Steff added that we could also look into what it is like for people who experienced near death experiences. the main priority for the next iteration though was to figure out the feeling we wanted to give to our viewer and wether that was the chaos and conflicting of before death or 'the after'. Overall Steff had amazing insights
Overall Steff had great insights on ways we can develop and change our ideas. not only based on his experience as a museum director but also with his 70 years experience with life
Feedback
Week 2
Inspiration
Inspiration
Maxim and I discussed the feedback and decided we wanted to focus on the conflicting feelings people have about death and the concept of an afterlife. Instead of creating visualsOur inspiration comes from various pieces of media, including one recommended in class, all of which revolve around a conversation with God or someone after death, reflecting on life and what has happened. over all we wanted people to feel conflicted with themselves and their own mortality. Most people who experience a near death experience all have witnessed a moment of reflection.
Iteration 2
Chosen Audio
For the second iteration instead of creating visuals, we decided to produce individual monologues to experiment with how people react to them. we decided to pick one monologue due to the others being more focused on 1 perspective. We wanted to leave the monologue open for people We then had people close their eyes and listen to the audios and describe their feelings afterwards.
Audio: Marco & Maxim
Other Monologues
Feedback
The feedback was a mix of reactions; some people understood the intended feeling of conflict, while for others, the feeling just didn't resonate. The main reason for the lack connection was whether individuals could relate to the mentioned topic, such as how often they saw their grandma. Therefore, we may need to leave the monologue more open to interpretation. The last part of the feedback suggested considering visuals could use to enhance the audio.
Week 3
Experimentation
Experimentation
With the feedback in mind maxim jack and I wanted to experiment with light and visuals over blind folds. we also planned to make a new more open monologue for viewers to listen to as the visuals play over them. we played with speed color and frequency to figure out the overall feelings people had when you changed certain aspects.
Iteration 3
Unfortunately this week there is no footage of the 3rd iteration, i made changes with Caro during presenting. jack was supposed to make the audio for iteration 3 while I made visuals but jack did not fulfill his responsibility. The audio that was made was recorded by jack but edited by me the day of presenting but wasn't the intended audio. Unfortunately maxim was also not present for this iteration either. overall at this point in the process the team wasn't really working well together and there was a clear problem with the quality the work.
Feedback
The feedback from Caro is that our team has to step it up and really work together, she gave us a few ideas for inspiration but her main point was that we needed to show a better improvement. other feedback was that the audio and didn't fit with the intended feeling and experiencers were left a bit confused
Visuals: Marco Audio: Jack & Marco
Week 4
Inspiration
Inspiration
The inspiration for week 4 was based on the feedback session of week 3. After discussing with Caro I came up with a new idea to do a pot type installation with some help from maxim. the idea was to give the feeling of the egg but with life flashing before your eyes in your moment of reflection.
Research
sounds and videos for presentation: Marco & Maxim
Visuals: Marco
Research
For the research it was mostly finding videos that are composed in a first person point of view. maxim focused on sounds and i focused on visuals
most of the sounds didn't fit the visuals so I had to find replacement sounds. After everything was found I put everything into after effects. At first I kept the same effect overlay as the visual from the week before but I removed it for the final iteration.
Iteration 4
For iteration 4 I put together a visual that is a point of view of someone dying and they have their memories flash before their eyes. the intended feeling was to make people aware of their own mortality and the memories they have. I put the visual and Audio together In after effects sticking in the sounds with the videos. The set up was done by Maxim and I and it was set up like a hospital bed with a white sheet hanging over the viewer.
Feedback
The feedback from Steff was that the 'POV' is played out and that, for the most part, he felt immersed in it. However, because it was based on a woman, he lost connection with it, and if we were to stick with this, we would need to explore different perspectives. Steff also mentioned that the depict only happy moments, but life is more complex than that. Another piece of feedback was to look into 'The Editor,' a movie about someone who edits people's memories when they die.
Visuals + sound: Marco
Week 5
Inspiration
Idea Visuals: Marco & Maxim
Inspiration
Based on the feedback, I developed a new concept: a funeral where memories rise through smoke emerging from a casket or urn. The smoke would symbolize the soul, and the memories would represent the experiences of someone’s life. Maxim helped me create a 3D version of what it could potentially look like. From this, we considered space requirements and what would be feasible for the expo. That’s when I decided that an urn would be the best option, and since we couldn’t use a fog machine, fabric would have to serve as a substitute.
Inspiration
Similar to the previous week, Maxim and I found images and videos for our updated version. We used a range of different emotions and life experiences, moving away from being too "POV." Maxim used AI to generate the photos that would be included in the presentation.
Iteration 5
For iteration 5, I created the presentation and the visuals projected onto the fabric to represent smoke, and I handled the majority of the audio. Maxim played memories from Maroon 5 on his computer. We set up the urn on the table with chairs and had the fabric flowing out of the urn. I masked the shape of the fabric so that the visuals weren’t visible on the sides.
Mask: Marco
Visuals and Sounds: Marco
Feedback
The feedback from Caro was that there needs to be some movement in the fabric, and the videos should be more from the point of view of the person dying. Additional feedback suggested working on the audio to make it more distorted when the memories appear, along with some equalizing adjustments. Class members mentioned incorporating more decorative elements to make the experience feel more immersive.
Research
Sounds and videos for installation: Marco & Maxim
Final Installation 5
Visuals and Sounds: Marco
Visuals and Sounds: Marco
Week 6-7
Research
For week 6, the research primarily focused on feedback. To add movement, Maxim and I discussed using a fan, but the available options were too large and caused the mask to move. Instead, I decided to incorporate smoke effects over the fabric and add more movement by having the memories rise out of the urn.
Maxim and I also created a new layout for the videos and photos, arranging the memories in a gradient from good to bad, so they gradually worsened. I then filmed original POV videos to fit each scenario, with Jack acting as our performer and additional help from other students. Lastly, I experimented with effects and managed to create a more realistic and seamless look for the memories and smoke.
Research
Idea Ai photos: Maxim, Idea video recordings: Marco
Iteration 6
Setup: Marco & maxim
Visuals: Marco
Presentation Visuals: Marco & Maxim
Mask: Marco
Final visual 6
Feedback
Sounds: Marco & Maxim
The feedback from this round was actually really good. for the most part we were ready to go to the expo. we needed to fix the visuals slightly as some memories from the urn were in-audible and some were not visible enough. there was some interesting tips for decoration to make it more immersive that we took into account but overall the concept was good and the message was clear.
Iteration 7 - Final Iteration
Mask: Marco
Setup: Marco & maxim
Visuals: Marco
Presentation Visuals: Marco & Maxim
Reflection
After these last 7 weeks, I have learned a lot about patience, growth, and death. This minor has taught me so much about projection and visual design. At the beginning of the course, I didn't know a thing about After Effects or projection mapping, so it's really nice to see how far I have come. Within my own team, I learned how to really push forward. Unfortunately, one of my team members was missing for a good majority of our project, and it was hard to split up work with my other teammate.
Another point of struggle was our individual ideas and the need to compromise and meet in the middle. Although this was a bit challenging for my team, it still brought us to where we ended up. Overall, in future teams I will be more aware of these struggles and try to resolve them more quickly. I will also apply everything I've learned about visual, narrative, and experience creation to future projects and my work.
Final visual and Setup
Sounds: Marco & Maxim
Setup: Marco & maxim
Feedback
The general feedback and reactions from the viewers during the expo were really good. I overheard a lot of positive comments, and from what I could tell, people understood the intended meaning and feeling I wanted to achieve. I'm happy with how it turned out.
If I were to redo this expo or further iterate it in the future, I would make the scene even more realistic by using a bit of fog with the fabric and playing with different textures or fluff. Although I'm really proud of what I created, I definitely see areas for improvement or experimentation.