Light and Water Workshop

Today we did a workshop based on the effects of light shining through water, and had various materials provided to us which would create certain effects when dropped into the lit water. We used an overhead projector with clear Perspex bowls filled with water placed on top. This meant that anything dropped into the bowl of water would be projected onto a wall and enlarged. We experimented with various coloured inks, washing up liquid, coloured films, oil, prisms and magnifying glasses. We also tried different methods of delivery into the bowls of water, such as dropping inks from high up and dribbling them down the sides of the bowls. We also experimented with the effects made by blowing on the water and using a straw to create bubbles. These looked really good when reflected onto the wall, as the bubbles collected a deeper tone of ink around the edges and refract light within them. Some of the images looked like living things, such as microbes or bacteria. The oil and washing up liquid worked well with the water and inks as well because they don't mix, and so blobs of oil separate in the liquid, creating suspended islands of clarity within the inky water swirling in the bowl.
The videos we made had a very ethereal quality to them, and give an impression of balance and magic. I think therefore that this technique will be fantastic when used as a background in my 2nd film about mandalas and the Buddhist theories on the karmic balance of the universe. Other techniques I may use in this film might be pixilation and paper craft.

I attempted to make my own projections at home using a perspex tray and my lightbox, but it wouldn't project clearly enough so I just photographed the tray itself. I think they look like forming galaxies, which is very relevant to my project. 

Origami Mischeif

As I've been thinking about maths in art and the power of geometry and symmetry, a leap into the world of origami didn't seem that far a stretch. Some origami patterns share similar characteristics to mandalas; focusing around a central point, layering of shapes, symmetrical composition etc. Most people know how to make a simple origami fortune teller (a lost skill from their school days) so I thought it would be a nice little exercise to make an animation of the making of one. It was also a quick way for me to sample the new Zeitrapher app on the Macs in the animation studio. 

It's not the neatest animation as I only took photographs using my phone and did not use a tripod to keep the camera steady, but it's a jumping off point for future films. A discussion with my tutor led to the idea of using   green screen technology so the paper could be manipulated on screen without seeing my hands. This could also allow me to put further animation into the background perhaps. These little clips of origami manufacture could also be adapted by putting a kaleidoscope effect on the film to create a mandala-like image of origami structures. 

Mandala Meanings

Merriam-Webster dictionary describes the mandala symbol as follows:

1:  a Hindu or Buddhist graphic symbol of the universe; specifically :  a circle enclosing a square with a deity on each side that is used chiefly as an aid to meditation.

2:  a graphic and often symbolic pattern usually in the form of a circle divided into four separate sections or bearing a multiple projection of an image.

In Tantric Hinduism and Buddhism (see Vajrayana), a diagram representing the universe, used in sacred rites and as an instrument of meditation. The mandala serves as a collection point for universal forces. By mentally “entering” the mandala and moving toward its centre, one is guided through the cosmic processes of disintegration and reintegration. Mandalas may be painted on paper or cloth, drawn on the ground, or fashioned of bronze or stone. Two types of mandalas represent different aspects of the universe: the garbha-dhatu (“womb world”), in which the movement is from one to the many, and the vajra-dhatu (“diamond world”), from the many into one.

This is a fairly concise and clear description of what a traditional mandala form means, however, as with most symbols, the form has been adopted by other cultures and in many circmstances it no longer holds its sacred meaning. Traditionally Buddhist monks will work on a mandala collectively (as a group of 4), and will only be allowed into the 3 year long process after they have studied artistic and philosophical practices. The process requires meditative concentration and is a balanced construction with each monk working on their own quadrant in synchronisation with the others.

The mandala is traditionally made out of coloured sands, and at the end of the lengthy process it is customary for the image to be destroyed, often by throwing the sands into a nearby stream to distribute the positive energies. This process, although it seems destructive and unfair, is to remind the monks of the important fact that everything is impermanent - a central Buddhist teaching.



Spirals are EVERYWHERE!

It's amazing how your subconscious focuses in on something after it's been exposed to an idea. It's the kind of phenomena that means as soon as you buy a new car or dye your hair a new colour, you start seeing the same car/hair colour everywhere you look. The simple fact is that they've probably been around you for a while and you just haven't noticed until it was relevant to your life. This is what has happened to me since I started looking at the Fibonacci series and mandala patterns. I'm now noticing spirals and patterns everywhere.
In uni last week we had a guest lecture from Brendan Dawes, who tries his hand at a variety of different mediums and styles. I really liked some of his work; his happiness machine is exactly what I think art should be, entertaining and there to make people happy. It's his work for EE however which captured my attention in relation to my project. He created a way of visualising links in Twitter over 3 days and 11 different cities as part of their promotional campaign. His final design is based on the formation of sunflower seeds on the flower, but he uses different sized and coloured dots as a code for the Tweets, which gives the effect of a sporadic mandala pattern.
I absolutely love it when data is visualised by artists, hence the reason I'm so into maths for this project. My flatmate owns a book called 'Information is Beautiful', which is a collection of innovative ways of presenting data. I think Dawes' EE Digital City Portraits could easily be a part of the book, as it has made millions of tweets digestible in just a few beautiful images. I particularly love how one of the images shows an influx of tweets from the London area regarding a hurricane in New York, and the formation of Dawes' images reflects the structure of a hurricane as it follows the same Fibonacci spiral - a lucky, unintended stroke of brilliance in the work due to the data that came through.
http://brendandawes.com/projects/ee

16mm Film Test

I took part in a workshop this afternoon, which involved damaging, drawing and painting onto 16mm film. We used tipex, sharpies, nail varnish, spray paint and stickers to add to blank film, but then on film which was already exposed we used pins and scalpels to 'interfere' with the original images on the film reel. These created an effect which reminded me of the punk tendency to cut and stick and use existing images. It had a very obvious hand-made quality, but also the urgency and violent feel of punk videos. 

As a form of inspiration we were shown the work of Len Lye, and tried to unpin the materials he had used by watching 'Swinging the Lambeth Walk'. We decided that his hand-painted films were created using found objects, such as film sprockets and combs, to stamp and make marks. What impressed me most about Len Lye's work though was the perfect timing with every aspect of the music; it was like stepping into the mind of a synesthete.

Unexpected Inspiration!

I went to see Bombay Bicycle Club play at the Albert Hall last night and received some unexpected inspiration during the gig. Aside from the music and atmosphere being incredible, the group had commissioned animators and set designers to create a backdrop during the gig, which featured some beautiful animated videos. (All were created by Anna Ginsburg I think.)

The set consisted of five circular screens, on which the videos were projected, as well as further projections up the walls on either side of the stage and old organ pipes behind the band (a relic from the days when it was presumably a church). The animations themselves focussed on the movement of the human body and cycles within the world, such as the rising of the sun and moon in the transitions between day and night. Some of the animations were, I can only assume, rotoscoped images of the human body moving as they caputred the arc of dancers and athletes as they leaped through the air. The movements were captured and then repeated to create circular patterns (almost like mandalas made from the human form), which reflected the screen layout onto which they were projected. I managed to capture part of one of the many animations featured during the gig, which relates very closely to my research at the moment, as it shows a spiral made up of tiny human figures (cue Rachel jumping up and down with excitement at a fellow Fibonacci lover!).

The band have also used animators in their official music videos. For 'Carry Me' they enlisted the help of Grace Helmer, Jake Evans and Luiz Stockler, to work collaboratively on the animated music video. According to a post on www.itsnicethat.com, by James Cartwright, the video was originally created as an interactive piece that could be manipulated on screen, but after realising this would not work for the millions of Youtube users, they brought in Grace to create hand-drawn animations to compliment the shots. The project was overseen by Anna Ginsburg, who also created 'Luna' and 'How can you swallow so much sleep' by Bombay.

N.B. I think I have a new favourite person. Looking through Ginsburg's sketchbook washing line and showreel on her site is a way for me to spend hours of my life. http://www.annaginsburg.co.uk/index.html

Unit X - Briefing and Initial Ideas

Today we had our first group briefing for the Film aspect of Unit X. Around the theme of 'Lost Science' we started discussing what we might research for our films, and it was really interesting to see what theories have been lost to the ages and how certain cultures have put more store in alchemy/nature/exorcism etc.

 

My band of research has been geared towards the idea of maths infusing everything we do/see, which is a strongly accepted theory based around the Fibonacci sequence and the idea of the Golden Ratio. From flower petals to the formation of galaxies, this numerical sequence can be found, and the idea that there are forces governing our reality has a strong influence in science fiction and religion.

 

From this briefing it has been made clear that we need to create two films which propose opposing ideas based on a similar theme. For me, this could be the idea of a real mathematical series which relates to life (perhaps linking to particle theory and the Hadron Collider in CERN) aka real scientific research; and then alternatively, the idea of karmic forces governing the universe, nature's connectivity, holistic healing, mandala patterns etc. Or even, to contrast completely against the idea of coding within nature, I could look into chaos theory.

 

Using a pinterest board, I've started to collect imagery around the idea of pattern-making and natural phenomena. http://www.pinterest.com/rachelmcmahon10/mandalas-patterns/ However, by mind-mapping my ideas, I've begun to see just how many connections can be made once you begin to spin out from a central mathematical code. To help me understand the maths a bit more, I've been watching a few TEDtalks on the subject, which have proved not only interesting but useful too.

 

Arthur Benjamin is SCARILY clever though. I can't even begin to understand his mathemagics perfomance on TEDtalks.

Trip to Yorkshire Sculpture Park

For the start of Unit X, our tutors organised a trip to Yorkshire Sculpture Park. We were encouraged to wander around the park and create a 2 minute film following the Dogme 95 manifesto, which followed the life of a member of our team. The rules basically comprise to create a very rough-looking film, as you are not allowed to use any special filters, effects, sound or props (unless already in the film or found on site). It all contributes to give the film the look of a home video.

 

Seeing as none of us were actors, we decided that a simplistic approach to the film (complimenting the basic rules) was the best way to go. We filmed one of our group walking through the scenery of the park and edited it later on iMovie to show her travels through the entire park in just 2 minutes.

 

I think this kind of film work is better when you are learning about camera angles/acting skills, as it takes you back to the basics of filming, so you can't rely on computer trickery to make it look good later. Although it gets you to think outside the box a bit as a film-maker by putting obstacles in your path, I'm not sure I'd like to be so strict with myself again. For one thing, I like a good soundtrack, and I think that is what's lacking in Dogme 95 films for me.

 

I loved the sculpture park though, having never visited it before, and took some photos of the art and my friends messing around, enjoying the fresh air. My favourite piece in the park was a screen erected on the edge of a large field, which showed a continous gif of a horse running. This reminded me of Edward Muybridge, whose work I researched when I was creating my own gif of a rabbit running. The idea of having animations outside in the middle of park had never occurred to me, and I am always interested in new ways film is being used as it will hopefully give me more avenues to follow once I graduate. The artwork is titled 'Galloping Horse' and was created by artist Julian Opie; it traces the park's history back to a time when there were once horses stabled there, and I think it adds some interest amongst the static sculptures.

Mr Rufus Immortalised!

Since a print workshop at the start of 2014, during which I printed an image of my pet rabbit, Mr Rufus, I have been wanting to animate him. This opportunity presented itself when I was taught how to create a .gif animation on Photoshop. I used both my new printing and computer skills to create this .gif of Mr Rufus running around.
I took many films of him running, jumping and cleaning himself, from which I edited the film I wanted. Using iMovie, I then separated out the image sequence, rotoscoped the images into a hand-drawn storyboard, and then photocopied these images onto acetate ready for screen-printing. After screen-printing the background and rabbit onto handmade paper, I then scanned them into Photoshop to create the .gif.

Final Squirrel Animation!

I've abandoned my blog of late due to a recently discovered love of Pinterest. I noticed, however that I completely forgot to post the final finished version of my squirrel animation. There a few bits that I'd like to tweak, but overall as a first attempt at animating properly, I'm rather proud of myself for creating the little bushy-tailed character and his friends.
It needs some credits and music adding, as well as possibly a quote/poem about friendship or nature at the end. Hopefully, this will all be completed before the summer so I can submit it to Virgin Media Shorts 2014.
Until then, this is the finished article...

Pinterest Obsession

Having recently discovered Pinterest, I've developed quite an obsession with the site. I find it excellent for collecting visual data at the start of a new project (as well as using it for my own projects and general research). I also love the way it organises images into a solid mood board, making it really useful for noticing connections and writing your own comments.
The link to my Pinterest boards is below.
http://www.pinterest.com/rachelmcmahon10/