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The third part is achieved through the cooperation of the performer, projection, and video. In order to ensure the effect in the dark performance environment, the visual design of the projection in the performance is based on the video projected on the gauze, and the performer is docked with the projection behind the gauze to complete the performance. The main content of the video was filmed in real life and post-processed into the form of a shadow. The shadow in the video represents the inner part of the daughter and the performer represents the “daughter”, the daughter and the shadow push each other away and search for each other, and finally when the physical daughter and the shadow become one, it represents the daughter finding the balance between herself. As the last scene and the end of the video, the projected image represents the daughter going through self-discovery and struggle, and finally finding her inner self and reconciling with herself.
In the design of the video script content, in the process of the daughter exploring her inner self, the shadow representing the daughter’s inner self goes through trial and error, fear, confusion, and finally finds the balance between the self. The red residual shadow behind the shadow and the red line echo each other, the particle dissipation effect of the characters echoes the particles in the second act, the appearance of the mouth and eyes in the image is the third act to push the emotion of the third act to the climax, the daughter finally found herself in the dark confusion, and embraced with “herself”.
This was my first group assignment in my graduate studies. Difficulties and challenges kept arising during the process, and the group members worked together again and again to solve them successfully, and the final work was presented to everyone’s satisfaction. This group work has benefited me a lot, not only making us pay attention to integrating various resources, exchanging our ideas and organizing group members to share the work together, but also making me realize that hands-on practice, multidisciplinary exploration and cooperative communication are one of the important ways to learn, create and promote each other. In the following, I will share and elaborate my thoughts and reflection on this group work from my personal perspective.
My Role
This topic comes from my personal experience and I am happy to be able to resonate with you and make it happen together. In the invisible strings teamwork, I was mainly responsible for the video creation and editing of part1 and part3 of the performance, the installation design of part2, and the final video design of the performance. Since this is a large volume interactive performance, and we divided it into three parts to interpret it step by step, this requires the three parts to be visually unified as a whole. Because of the different materials, media and forms of visual presentation, and I have never taken over a project of such a large volume, it was difficult to unify the three parts visually. After a lot of case studies and expansion of ideas, we finally decided to use black and white as the main color, with red as the accent color, and also particles as one of our elements throughout the show.
In the shooting of the part1 and part3 videos, our group members again served as actors, directors, scenarists and action directors, which was a new challenge and experience for each of us. In the creation and editing of the video, since the design of the video affects the rhythm and mood of the whole performance, and also affects the subsequent design of the sound part, in this part of the creation process, I edited out the general mood of the video and provided it to my teammate Lerong, who composed the music according to the atmosphere and mood of the video, and then I continued to modify the details of the video according to the tune. It was an unforgettable and interesting experience for me to work on the same piece of work as two majors with the same goal in mind, from scattered footage to a complete video that could convey the concept of the project.
In part 2 of the installation, as the video footage shows, we encountered a lot of difficulties – there were so many ‘strings’ and bells that the installation was easily tied up in knots, even though we had spent a lot of time working on the installation. When it got so knotted that we couldn’t set up, we had to be ruthless and start from scratch, which was not only a test of physical strength but also of patience, but after the difficult ordeal, the moment when the installation was built was more than happy. Due to a temporary change in the construction method, the number of lines presented in the performance was half of what was originally planned, and in order to show the effect of the “daughter” being trapped in a cage of lines, more lines were needed to surround and submerge the actor, but the final presentation was much thinner and it was difficult to convey the feeling of the daughter struggling under high pressure, which was the most regrettable This is the most unfortunate aspect of the production.
For the final video edit, after discussion with my teammate Xiaozhuang Gao, I decided to narrate our entire project in the form of a group presentation, with documented images of the process throughout, and finally showing the full performance and audience feedback, so that the logic of the video would show both our thinking and inspiration and the creative project. As the process was very fragmented, it took a lot of time to select usable video footage, which made editing tricky, but in the end, through editing and tweaking, a complete video of the performance project emerged.
Conclusion
Overall, I am satisfied with the completion of the work, but what is more valuable is the process of continuous polishing over the semester, which will be a valuable asset for future creation and learning.
Finally, I would like to thank my three teammates for working together to produce this piece of work.
The first part of the main interaction design is the impact and change of the live real-time human voice input on the video screen. The visual design is dominated by the video projected on the curtain. The main content of the video is the creative concept of abstract plot expression using live filming, refining elements such as the mother’s reprimand and facial movements, and integrating abstract editing expression to present the audience with a conceptual video of the tension and oppression in the mother-daughter relationship. As the first act of the performance, the video plays the role of introducing the story and laying the emotional tone of the story, so that the audience can feel both the oppressive relationship between mother and daughter when watching the first act of the performance, and the flowing, unrestrained change of their own emotions.
The video focuses on the story of a daughter practicing piano who is constantly struggling under the oppressive scolding and gaze of her mother. In the design of the video script, some metaphors are used to express abstract emotions – “hand” as a metaphorical element to express emotions: a red thread tied on the finger as a clue and the beginning of the story, followed by a large and a small hand pulling each other, and a struggling hand behind the gauze. The two hands pulling each other, the struggling hands behind the gauze, etc., all express the mother’s constant manipulation and restraint of her daughter. The close-ups of the “mouth” and “eyes” are direct expressions of the mother’s attitude, and the close-up perspective highlights the intensity of her feelings.
In the shooting of the video, the props and the actors’ costumes and makeup were plain to create a sense of story, and the images of “mother” and “daughter” were clearly distinguished. In the editing and processing of the video, the overall tone of the original video was reduced from brightness to black and white to express the depression and suffocation between the mother and daughter relationship. The editing uses a “flashback” shot as a transition to express the mother’s control over her daughter as a subconscious irregular control and bondage, and the overlapping of the two scenes also expresses the struggle between the daughter’s psychology and reality.
On March 29, our group recorded the material needed for part 3, the content will be projected on a curtain in the form of projections, and the filmed characters will be post-processed into silhouettes to serve as a backdrop for the performers, and to interact with the actors and assist us in telling the story.
2.After debugging the touch designer, we realized the linear playback of sound and screen in the touch designer, and debugged j to solve the sound input and output problem of td, and tested the real-time sound input and screen interaction in the touch designer.
