Sunday, April 8, 2018

Chelsey Suarez: Projection 4 - Relief Mapping

Concept:

For the relief mapping project I wanted to work with creating content that was simple yet indicative of the chosen theme. After being inspired by a classmates previous "wall washing" assignment I decided to focus on biology and the body in general. With that being said, the heart and molecules came to mind. The mechanical orientation and function of a heart has always intrigued me and I wanted to create a projection that would have the same rhythmic and paced flow of the organ. Inspired by the rhythmic nature and structure of the heart, the speed and somewhat unpredictable nature of molecules and the way they function when heat in introduced was also an appealing element. With these two concepts in mind, together they would be an experimentation with speed and how the speed of particular elements in a composition can effect the audience in different ways. For example a hectic and fast speed for various elements in a composition could disorient the viewer and make them feel uneasy due to the rapid movement and unpredictable nature of the content. On the other hand the slow and structured pace of a beating heart can be more soothing and pleasing to the audience as there is a rhythmic flow to the way the content is utilized.


Preliminary AfterEffects Content


Process:

As usual the theme for my projection started at the content building stage. In After Effects I created a video of blob-like shapes that grow and shrink in a heartbeat like pattern. By using the time remapping tool I was able to repeat the motion for a 30 second piece of repeatable content. The second video was created by using shape layers to imitate molecules moving in three dimensional space on a loop. Each created video had a predetermined color pallet, the first of monochromatic red, and the second of warm colors.



Once I decided on the theme for this project it appeared that the complex mask relief sculpture would be the best canvas. The intricate shapes and surfaces would make a nice space to work with. To start it was important to use spacial scanning and UV mapping to calibrate the sculpture. By using the spacial scanned image of the sculpture in MadMapper I was then able to create lines within the tool for my composition.

After layering the content and line layers on top of each other I began to experiment with different textures and animations within MadMapper. For the heartbeat composition it was important to stick to the internal body theme focusing on fluid motion and the continual contracting and expanding of space. Similarly the molecule composition also used the fluid motion to represent it moving through molecular space. After the solid portions of the compositions were compete it was important to make use the the structure's lines in an effective way to complement the theme.

Initial Molecule Comp

For the molecule composition the mad lines were used to further emphasize the notion of life and motion. Three layers of lines all moving quickly and offset to be at different areas of the relief representing veins and the blood flowing through them. The quick motion of the lines in conjunction with the movement of the molecules are in place to support the idea of uneasiness within one's self. 

Initial Heartbeat Comp

For the heartbeat composition, because of the idea of a calming and systematic structure of a beating heart I wanted to ensure that everything was easy on the eyes and that no singular element could be singled out because the entire composition should be a stable and balanced. Similarly the lines animation was used in a subtle way to also indicate blood flowing through veins and the notion of life. With these concepts in mind I further explore possible elements for both the molecule, and heartbeat compositions to further solidify their theme. 

In order to utilize the external lite space outside of the sculpture I decided to create variation through extension. For the heartbeat composition I created a smooth fluid shape out of multiple quad layers to place the "heart" in context. The external area was also made up of slow moving designs to emphasize the work being conducted by the heart. The last element that was added to the heart composition was the waveform lines and the heartbeat sound clip. To ensure that the theme would get across to the audience I used three waveform lines to imitate the movement of a heartbeat. 




For the molecule composition I decided to use the quads to create an angular shape to play with the already developed notion of hectic-ness and movement. Similarly to the movement pattern of the individual molecule pieces, the lines that create the external space all vary in length and work to further the imbalanced nature of the composition. 


Interpretation: 

The theme for these compositions really did drive the entire piece from start to finish. By utilizing something in the physical world as a tool of inspiration could I use the content I had to further implement the driving theme for each piece. In addition I liked the way that the external space was used for each composition. Instead of using the entire projection space blindly, specific backgrounds were created to add further meaning and place the sculpture in context for the given idea.

 Below are the final two compositions. 


Heartbeat Comp

Molecule Comp


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