For our final project we'll have access to some digital projectors and possibly a device that works along side a program called Isadora which allows for manipulation of digital format media like video and sound, with an emphasis on video. I have a horrible tendency to think up these grand ideas and elaborate designs but always find myself a bit overwhelmed with application. I kinda feel that way with this project right now so I'm attempting to keep my idea simple, sweet and effective by breaking down the various elements.
So the idea is this: Experience.
We all sense the world. We create an understanding out of our senses and we translate this in our brains and psyche into an "experience". Others may observe the expression of our experience but they may only see fragmented bits and pieces of our expressions and form cryptic guesses at what happens in our heads.
I don't usually try to explain what I do in detail until after I've done it because my full understanding of it usually matures enough at that point to verbalize it. Everything I described here most likely will change as I work through the projects and run into road blocks and revelations. I'm using this post as a verbal sketchbook to have something I can keep track of, maybe help me keep focused and remember details; something to look at and analyze.
Anywho, onto the technical aspects. I'm thinking about having a chair. And upon this chair a person will sit. And near this chair a helmet, or box of some kind shall set. This is the veiwing environment, only accessable by one person at one time. (I haven't figured out logistically which will work best. Perhaps I can prototype with a box and upgrade it to a helmet of some sort it if seems plausible.) The person sitting on this chair places their head inside the box or helmet. If I can find a cheap portable dvd player or an lcd off a broken phone or camera I would like to have one lcd screen mounted in front of the veiwer's eyes (inside the helmet) which will play a stream of abstract video I'll create in final cut pro. Also inside the box/helmet will be a set of earphones which will play accompanying sound to the video. All this seems simple. The only hitch would be the time it takes to render, but with a few days of taking photos and a few late nights in the McKenzie lab I should have that done easy enough.
That covers the "experience" of the person in the chair. I would like to add one more element to bring the idea a bit fuller circle. I would like to have a secondary "experience" created for an "observer" who would be able to watch the person in the chair. On the outside of the box/helmet I would like to project in various places the individual elements that make up the most recognizable facial expressions of a human face. Eyes, nose, mouth, eyebrows and perhaps the forehead. These elements would be projected in various expressions and in random correlation to the element it's next to. I would like the experience for the person outside of the box/helmet to be relatively silent. The only connection to the person inside the box/helmet would be their body language and the projections of facial elements onto the box. It would be nice to have the person in the box stay silent while observing, but perhaps allowing them to attempt to verbally communicate the experience would be beneficial as the next person would have a near impossible time experiencing the same thing and would be limited to the mixed and varied signals at their disposal. Very much in line with the whole ideal.
I feel that to encourage a different "experience" for each person the visuals and audio should play for at least 5 - 10 minutes with unique material before looping, and perhaps the audio could be slightly off sync and play for a longer time so that no audio matched up to the same visuals more then every once in a while.(audio is easier and less demanding then video and will take up less space to record) It would defeat the purpose of creating unique experiences for each person if everyone could see and hear the same thing if they sat long enough, although it just might happen regardless if someone is patient enough. Kudos.
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