I have followed up Stephen Farthing’s suggestion to produce a script/treatment for a Mixed Reality /Digital to Physical artwork for my MA Final Show.
The piece is about the plight of refugees fleeing to Europe in small overcrowded boats, which often capsize, drowning the occupants – unless they are rescued – and then what?
I am grateful for Stephen’s advice to date, but going forward, and in order to avoid any conflict of interest, I will be using my MA Fine art Digital tutors and MA colleagues as a sounding board for the development of this work for my MA Show.
Here are my early inspirations and ideas:
Strange Fruit
Strange fruit – Billie Holiday, Cafe Society, and an early cry for civil rights
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Strange-Fruit-Billie-Holiday-Society/dp/1841952842
Billie Holiday – Strange Fruit (CD)
The Optician of Lampedusa
Book – The Optician of Lampedusa by Emma Jane Kirby https://www.waterstones.com/campaign/books-of-the-month
Emma-Jane has agreed to meet me early in the New Year.
Original Interview (in French) with the BBC Correspondent/Author, Emma Jane Kirby
Original Interview with the Optician of Lampedusa
http://www.prixbayeux.org/pbc/radio-trophy-prize-awarded-by-the-d-day-landing-committee/?lang=en
Last Dream (On Earth)
I saw the original stage production at the Edinburgh Festival, August 2016
Ideas for Video Clips
I have ordered the Vuze 3D 360 degree camera, to make the backdrops to the Holographic 3D images of the actors
Ideas for accompanying Bronze Sculptures
Using scans made, using the Veronica Scanner, of my wife Suzy and I, to represent drowning people. This is Suzy. I have yet to get mine, hopefully in the next few days. I will 3D print the files in castable PLA, in several pieces that I will need to bond together, to make a life sized bust.
http://www.factumfoundation.org/pag/253/The-Veronica-Scanner—Live-3D-Portraiture
Acknowledgements
I have no experience of making a film (but I have had very minor roles in a couple), let alone one in Mixed Reality. Nor have I written a script or film treatment. So I have reached out to others for guidance. I am grateful for the help of the following mentors:
Michael Mueller, Director and Producer, Scoop Films To guide me in the process of creating an artistically engaging piece of work.
http://www.scoopfilms.com/about/
Albert Kim, CEO and Founder, DoubleMe – Holographic Virtual Reality Experiences For his kind offer to make up to 10 mins of Augmented Reality film for the Microsoft Hololens (equipment I have ordered) in their studio, alongside Ravensbourne University. In return I have to make the filmed holographic 3D objects (actors) available for others to access on YouTube, and for use in their own work under a Creative Commons agreement.
and
Hopefully, through contacts Kai Fischer and the National Theatre of Scotland, who in any case I need to obtain permission to incorporate some of their ideas into my artwork.
Show Presentation
The Hololens Augmented reality headset, through which the viewer immerses themselves in the artwork. They will be able to walk around the actors and into the scenes, and listen to the same sounds playing outside on the projector screen.
A back-projected large screen of the images as seen through the Hololens headset (but in 2D) . This is for viewers who are not using the Hololens headset.
Stereo sound using a Feonic audio-source on the rear of the projector screen, so that there are no visible speakers.
Two plinths, each with a foundry bronze life sized sculpture of the bust of two survivors, before their rescue from the sea. Similar to:
Two Google Cardboard type headsets, duplicating the view of the Hololens experience but in Virtual (totally immersive) Reality.
This will be a downloaded version to the iPhone in the BoboVR headset, linked to a tracking by a VicoVR, full body controller for mobile Virtual Reality. This is similar to Kinect but for mobile devices, without connection to a computer.
vicorvr.com/#slide-get.
A Holographic Display, which I have ordered from H+ Technology, Canada. This will play the video footage and sound from the same 3D Virtual Reality file on an iPhone or iPad.
Summary – A Comparison of Experiences
- Traditional projected video and sound
- Mixed Reality
- Virtual Reality
- Holographic Display
Perhaps, each installation could be in a separate place in the MA Show (as at last year’s MA Show for Peter Mansell). Potentially, due to space considerations, I may have to pair this back for the show itself.
The viewers will be asked to say which one they preferred. This will be part of my Research for my MA. I will try and introduce some of these displays, even if unfinished, at our Digital Maker Collective events at the Switch House, Tate Modern in Feb/Mar next year.
terencemquinn91 