Thinking
This work is a mix-media video installation, inspired by Gary Hill’s artworks.
Three storylines have been embedded in the main videos which reflect the process of inspiration. The videos not only discuss the relations between imagination and reality, but also try to explore the aesthetics of video arts including the use of colors and video framing and structuring. The installation also tries to make use of multiple media and engage the audience’s visual and auditory senses as much as possible.
Team: Danica Cao, Ines Yin, Wendy Zhuang.
My Contribution: Research, Storyboards, Scripts, Video Shooting, Sound Recording, Video Editing, Soundtrack.
Hill, G. (1990). Inasmuch as It is Always Already Taking Place. http://garyhill.com/work/mixed_media_installation/inasmuch.html
01
Inspiration from Gary Hill
Gary Hill's works mainly investigate the complex relationship between language and images. His works mix visual, structural, and sound components together, many of which have installed speakers as parts. Most of his works are composed of
multiple screens, while those screens are not on the same horizontal plane, just as in the work Inasmuch as It is Always Already Taking Place.
02
From Inspiration to Practice
Having gone through all of Hill’s works, it is easy to find that most of the works are multi-channel or mix-media installations with sound. We referred to these features and try to enhance the interactions between the work and the audiences through synesthesia like him.
We decided on the topic "imagination and reality" and sketched a storyboard. When shooting the video, different perspectives were shot. The actions of the main character and the motions of objects were highlighted. The sound that corresponds to the moving images was amplified, whose purpose is to let the audience noticed the sound that they rarely notice in daily life.
03
Post-production
The contents are organized with a non-linear narration technique.
Visual aspect follows the inspiration training process: from one object, to the associations of the objects, and finally returning to the first object. Images of people and pigments represent reality; scenes of objects represent imagination. Such visual components mix together to create a feeling of non-linear storytelling. All the images were tinted and whitened to enhance the feeling of imagination.
Auditory elements like the intermittent sound of the piano and the human voice were interspersed, symbolizing that inspiration often comes off and on.
04
Final Outcome
Media:
Three Screens (2 iPad Pro & 1 iPad), Beer Bottles, Piano, Chair, Towel
Duration:
00:05:20
Main Channels:
The entire content was divided into two videos, with one (right) showing the imagining world, the other (left) showing the real actions.
Additional Channel:
The additional channel is the visualization of the soundtrack, composed from the sound of piano, the sound of the actual scenes, and a piece of voiceover.
