(M)ask NOT! part 4 plus bonus!

Aaaaaah...what a fine day this has been...for AV(I)! Let`s see:

1. Good deed of the day that will ensure our accession in to the ` oh so holy and righteous` aerial kingdom of the pearly gates...check!

2. Doing some work on the project....check!

Ladies and archbishops, gents and nuns...I`m proud to present myself as...me! Having participated in the much anticipated sequel of fellow student Steven`s oeuvre Fun in the Square, I hereby provide the precious (preciousssssssss) video:

Numero 2...this is a draft of the video presentation of the avatar. The music will probably be the same (an excerpt from Ligeti`s Requiem, just like with the intro scene I`ve posted earlier), but I`m thinking of adding some text and overlay some images in some of the sections of the video. I changed the colouring of the mask and the overall tint of the animations, so as to make sure the elements that make up the showcase will form a harmonious whole, not just thematically, but also in terms of chromatic choice.

(M)ask NOT! part 3

Ok, so quick changes to the mask, and a bit of tinkering with the lights...and...voila!...something that looks more akin to what I want.

Next thing on the `to do`list: trying out different, and, hopefully, mind-blowing, camera-angles!

(M)ask NOT! part 2

What I`ve been trying to do these past days was making a more personalised mask, using it as a material for the 3d surface, and molding the NURB surface to give it a more `face-like` look. The problem now seems to be that I can`t get the light projector to cast the images unto the mask. I mean, it does so, but I think because of the texture, the reflections are barely visible. So, I`ll probably have to redo the colouring of the mask (maybe go for a darker range of colours?)

(M)ask NOT!

Today has been a rather....good day....for modelling...and projecting. My loyal and up-to-date fans, as you all know by now, I have embarked on a quest to build the avatar of my most sordid dreams with virtually no knowledge of 3D Studio Max and with a mounting sense of frustration. Yet, as of today, although of frustration I`ve had plenty of, the evil-spell has been broken....and I have finally come up with something that looks to me like a tempting prototype of my avatar.

Developments? Hmmm, well, I slitghly changed the idea of the surface unto which I would project. The face is OUT, the mask is IN! It fits the idea of volatility and uncertainty because... weeeeeeeell, because we all know that a mask is not someone you trust with your PIN number, right? (wink! wink!)

For this first attempt, I have used the map tool of the lightning effect to project a jpeg, but what I would like to try to solve is the sequence of different images. Might just do different AVIs and then put them together in Adobe Premier, or find a way to create a wide, panoramic jpeg that I would scroll across the surface of the mask...hmmm...will think of that...

IDeas, please!

Well, haven`t had an entry for quite a while now. Let`s see, what progress have we made? Actually, not too much, apart from the theoretical one. Didn`t manage to get my pixilation done as I wasn`t satisfied with the initial idea/story and I couldn`t come up with a new one yet. But, hopefully the next weeks will prove more fruitful.

What I have been thinking about is the avatar and some ideas for the general display of the box showcase. As much as the avatar is concerned, I was thinking of something along these lines:

The expressions change as the spotlight moves from side to side, but in a very subtle manner. The expressions themselves should be charged with different and contradictory meanings and messages. I`m not sure whether or not I`m going to use pictures of a single person, or several, but the overral look and feel, with the now infamous (I hope) chiaroscuro would be similar to this sequence of Turkish artist Tarkan `s clip, Verme.

Now, for the display options...I have two ideas so far. One, is to display the elements of the box in a circular, possibly mandala-like shape. That would mean not just a circle, but several layers within the circle, so maybe you could have a story within a story, as the elements that make up the box not only tell something visually as a whole, but also broken up in different segments, areas within the circle. Also, the logo could be displayed in the middle, or, alternatively, the avatar could hold centre stage.

The second display option is a sort of sequential, timeline based unfolding of the elements of the box in a sort of story. The idea is to create a connection between the objects that follow each other, each of them being somehow the effect of the previous ones. I have attempted something along those lines a few weeks ago. The main `story` can be followed by reading the diagonal, from bottom right to left, but it also branches out, signaling turning points within the story.

Chiaroscuro Back...

...although, it was never gone. This technique, applied in painting to produce some of the most `hip` works in the history of art has been picked up by movie makers and photographers faster than you can say `I want to bring sexy back in my composition`. Let`s face it, Murnau`s Faust (1926) or Nosferatu (1922) would be bedtime, clean, boring, family-fun stories without the magic of chiaroscuro (or, if you think that`s not fancy enough, some call it Rembrandt lighting). So, I had read a few things about it a few years ago with regards painting, and now, since I will most probably use it for the Identities project, I have done some looked up Youtube for some advice on how the technique is applied to more recent media (photos, films).

These are probably the most useful, as they demonstrate ways in which one can use the lighting in 3D modelling programs, or while taking a photo, so that you save a lot of time and energy by creating the feel you want right from the process of shooting, instead of massive editing.

Now, for some examples of chiaroscuro in painting...



...and in Kubrick`s Barry Lindon (1975)...

And, I thought I should try and mess around with the concept in Photoshop too. Ideally, of course, using adecquate lighting while taking the picture would give the best results, but I still managed to come up with what I think are some interesting results.

Me, myself and....avatar

This Friday`s Identities seminar was all about moodboards and talking about how they can be used to gather the necessary ideas for creating a representative avatar for ourselves. So, this is what I came up with, at least for now. I keep getting new ideas and I`m not yet sure whether I`m going to drop some of them and just choose a specific path to go along or whether I`m going to try and find a thread that joins up all of these apparently different concepts and make it all up into some sort of story...a coherent whole anyhow.

As I was discussing my moodboard it struck me that using the head in the hand combo might work pretty well for the avatar, as it can be used for some really expressive and theatrical poses and to convey some rather....here come the keywords of the project...ambiguous and ambivalent ideas. In this case I was thinking of control as a keyword. What I mean by that is that when it comes to control, the head (mind) uses the hands (oh, it sounds Metropolis...ish) as a mere tool to execute commands. Yet, here, the roles are inverted, the head being vulnerable in the hands of the....hand. The idea is connected to the picture in the foreground. If you are what you become and what you experience, and if we think of experience as a journey...hence, the path...and still the character is in a sleep-like position...the end result is...you are only partially in charge of your journey (still, it`s worth making the best of it).

What Roma suggested was that it would be a pity to loose the aetheral aspect of the character (I used a lot of clarobscuro-like image manipulation, partly because of the recent exposure to German Expressionist movies, partly because as I`ve mentioned in my earlier posts, the effect that this technique can generate simply intrigue me). So, apparently, a good idea would be to use a sort of projection surface...that is, the face would not be completly modelled in 3D Studio Max; instead, I should create a mask-like object unto which I can project the image of the avatar (or images...hmmmm).

Talk about projection...I remember seeing something similar on Susan Sensemann`s site. She projects different images using her face as a canvas. Now, if I could only remember the name of the other artist Roma has told me to look up,it would be great.