Out In The Dark - MusicVideo
"Out in the Dark" is a mixed-media-project, that combines animated painting and drawing techniques with projection mapping. A wooden sculpture is used as a mapping object and also functions as a stage-set for a live performance. The final product is aimed to be a music video for the band “Naked Superhero” that will perform their song “Out in the Dark”. The scenery for the film shooting and the mapping is a self build three-dimensional object with the form of a rhombi-cuboctahedron [1]. Nine surfaces are covered with special projection-canvas with front and rear-projection properties. They will be projected with animations that integrate real film footage and animated acrylic paintings, supposed to support the content of the associated lyrics. The members of the band will interact with these projections through a live-performance. The cluttered material will be cut to the recorded song and aims to be new advertising-substance for the band that helps them to create new audience.
Keywords
Projection-Mapping, Animation, Painting, Creative-Coding, Scenery-construction
Introduction
Music-videos are a great possibility to support emotional lyrics or messages that a song provides and wants to convey. They create a new dimension which supports the text or even gives the text a new direction that maybe wasn't even intended by the writer. In this case the storyboard of the video was made in constant communication with the songs author. I wanted to create an aesthetic interactive scenery that picks up contemporary media art and analogue techniques like traditional painting and drawing. The lyric-promoting projection supports the intension of the Author. Therefore the performance that is made in interaction with the projection gives impressions of the band-members and connects their faces with the music. It also also shows their behavior while playing music or acting in a music video, which is important for the reputation of the band.
Concept
The main goal is to unite different art categories like painting, drawing, projection-mapping, music-video, scenography and galanty-show in to a coherent Work. My intention is to build bridges between the techniques and connect them fluently. There are three working parts, that can be viewed differently.
Animation
The story represents an anxious state of mind where someone cannot escape from. The emotions loop in a never ending circle, but with the help of a friend the concerned person is able to overcome them. This aid is represented in a pictorial scene where somebody has not to be “alone in the dark” and can take the offer of a friend to share togetherness. The emotional state will first be represented with black and white two-dimensional animations and shadow experiments followed by colorful painting expressions that represent the change in the sentiment of the actor. The difference between simple black and white drawings and the power of expressive colors are working supportingly.
Figure 1. Screenshot of a drawn animation ©Respect Copyright
Scenography
The scenery is a futuristic and modern white painted wood-construction but can equally be interpreted as a cage the captured person has to escape from. The animation that picks up the picture of the cage creates a visual linking between the sculpture and the projection. Therefore the construction is used as a stage for the band-members to perform their song.
Projection Mapping
The sculpture is mounted with nine independent projection-canvases. Five squares and four triangles made out of a frame that is covered with special polyester that has excellent front and rear projection features. They can be applied and ordered in various combinations. Interactive live-mapping is possible through special software like Syphon and Madmapper. The animated content plays with this opportunity to share and mix the projected frames.
Figure 3. Mapping-grid for the projection ©Respect Copyright
Technology
A variety of programs have been used within the making. The animations are made with After-Effects, Resolume and Processing. The mapping is performed with Syphon and Madmapper. Extern electronic devices are two different beamers, one for low-distance projections on the actors faces and one for high-distance projections for the sculpture. The camera used for the performance-filming is a a sony alpha sII, which is light-strong and high resolvent.
Related Work
A stylistic device used by “Maxim Abrossimow and Mine” in their musicvideo “Du scheinst” is shadow-play. [2] They created strong pictures by connecting them with animations. Through this the observer is loosing the knowledge of watching a shadow pantomime. My project will draw on this blending technique.
Conclusion and Future Work
The builded sculpture will perform as a surface to present the finished music video in the graduation-exhibition. It will be projected with making of's and materials I used within the creational process. This reintegration is extended by interactive projections that the visitor can influence through sound-recognition.