Water colour & sound

Test with water colour and modified recording using chance process & some control.

Water Colour

Below is the last water colour animation I have carried out. This month I will be sorting out the sound for the interface as well as carrying out a case study. After the case study I will add more videos and perhaps water colour animations, as well as fix the method of interaction according the results.

water colour experiments together

Water colour

Previews from New Water colour

Water Colour

Screenshots from new water colour

Grid view of water colours

Created a new watercolour (top left) and trying it out with other exported water colours. Thinking about new ways to combine sound and chance with the water colours but will decide more on this in May.

New Watercolour rotated and multiplied

Original Watercolour

Watercolour with white background

Duplicated, rotated and multiplied with white background

Duplicated, rotated and multiplied with black background. Like the effect but perhaps the symmetry is a bit too much.

Watercolour flat

Flat version of the water colour digital distortion

Watercolour screenshots

Screenshots from today's watercolour:

Flat

3D layers

2 overlapping compositions

Video at Birgu

This needs to be edited down.. and I might still change it around

Water colours in 3d space pt.3Testing

New Watercolour screenshots and videos.

Testing how 3 water colours would look together on screen

Trying out various overlays / tints

Water colours in 3d space pt.2

This was actually an animated water colour that I had used in an experiment I carried out in December however I decided to give it the 3d space treatment. Since the selections in Photoshop were done with the Pen tool rather than the magic wand, the edges were slightly more stiff and less organic, so I decided to export the video, reimport it and duplicate it a couple of times using different transparency options and mirroring. Some interesting effects emerged although from this point on I think I will start using the magic wand, which although is a much easier and quicker way of selecting, the distortion in After Effects is more effective when applied to it.

All of the music I have been using in my experiments lately are by Beat Alice and Sonitus Eco the same two people who will be creating the music for my project.

water colours in 3d space

Yesterday and today I have been experimenting with After Effects and it has been a breath of fresh air to finally go back to "let just try this and see what happens". I find that I get a lot of interesting work done when I'm a) in a good mood, and b) without a care in the world. (This reminds me of the book Emotional Design which makes some valid points on being more creative when one is in a good mood).

Original Water colour

Multiple copies of the same layers using overlay transparency (+ spotlights and shadows)

Anyway, I'm still working with water colours but did some changes to make the process more fun. Rather than tracing each layer individually, I simply randomly selected batches of similar colours with the magic wand, cut and pasted them onto different layers. I distorted and animated these in After Effects, and then rotated them in 3D space. I then animated a camera around them. I tried various other experiments but unfortunately I worked on a large composition that is taking ages to render. 

Screenshot of rotating water colour in 3d space with no lights

Tests with videos & water colour

Testing out how the interface will look with both videos and water colour. At the moment I am only working with my exported videos (which might still be changed) but I think the water colours provide a nice contrast and a break from the videos. The top right water colour is my later experiment but I don't like the movement so it will need to be fixed.

Catfish & Interface tests

Short film review:

Two days ago I watched the film 'Catfish' which is more of a documented story. It's about a photographer from New York city who is tricked into thinking he is exchanging messages with a dancer who in reality is a middle-aged woman. He tracks her down, together with two of his house mates who also happen to be filmmakers. The films is  as 'real' looking as you can get since it is in fact a real story. Most shots are over exposed, badly framed, too long and offer no real drama, and yet the film keeps you hooked until the end. There is no real good and evil within the plot; some climaxes but only to a certain extent. In general, I found this film extremely interesting and relevant, in the way it portrays betrayal in the online world, but rather than making a drama over it, it is solved in a very natural and human way and no technology overload, yet still providing a fantastic outcome.

source: Imdb

Today I carried out some interface tests. In the final application I wanted phrases to 'trick' the user, however I wasn't use how these would look with the films. Today I did my first test (the graphic designer in me made me choose the overused helvetica neue as a first trial) and I was not too pleased with the result.

I tried two options: 1. misleading phrases. 2. phrases from the stories. I will need to rethink how they will show up because at the moment they are looking VERY cheesy. I might just forget about the phrases completely and perhaps make the films / water colours themselves clickable. More brainstorming needed either way

*** a few minutes later ***

Just trying out another experiment where rather than phrases I have pixel-like rectangles that are always moving around the screen (perhaps even the films could move around) anyway... it would look something like this:

less obvious, more abstract

A few more captures for testing

Reexported another video and tried out simultaneous playing to see how five videos would look together. Will definitely have to test with the moving water colours. So far so good although I have noticed too many face close-ups.

Testing with multiple videos at once

Tried playing four exported videos at one go to see how they would look. I'm quite pleased with the result and it's great to finally get a glimpse of the aesthetic of how the final interface will be like.

On the roof

More experiments with one of the stories filmed on the roof. This one was about body image and I'm trying to create a sense of not feeling comfortable in one's own skin, getting out of one's own skin I supposed... trying to exaggerate the overlaps. Screenshots below:

I will be updating my proposal section soon since it's a bit of a mess...

Moving Watercolour black/desaturated

Another water colour piece. A few things I changed from my previous ones:
Eliminated the symmetry (as suggested by my tutor)
Added an expanding mask
A close up of the water colour rather than than the whole piece
A more subtle animation (I found the noise interesting but a bit too much perhaps)

This can be used as a standalone video in the database or superimposed on one of the films.

Experiments with water colour and film

I've created some more moving water colour pieces. I still can't decide whether they should be separate from film or combine. I think I still have to find a better way to combine them; still not convinced. Below are some experiments:

Separating water colour from film.

Applying water colour effect to Kane only.