Experimental media

Flora and I would like to do the experimental media project together, based around the ideas of tehcnology and it´s addictiveness. We want to explore the line between sentience and artificial intelligence. 

Our synopsis: 

In our experimental video we would like to explore the line between humanity and technology through dreamlike visuals. Today's advancements in AI and other smart technologies makes the question of what is sentient and what is not very relevant. For this project we would like to use experimental editing techniques and imagery, animation and green screen. One of our inspirations is Hito Steyerl and her work about resolution called How Not to Be Seen. We would be focusing on the controlling effects that technology has on our lives and to show how addicting behaviour can't be escaped easily. Being controlled by a higher power that is all mechanical is scary but that is what is happening to people every day, as their phone (for example) is an addicting technology that shapes your life. To still incorporate the AI aspect that we have, we would create an open ended story where we would have characters, one human and robot. The robot character would not know she is AI until the end. When she realizes she will try to escape technology and the abnormalities she can do with her mechanical body. 

Treatment: 

We would like to experiment with depth of field, as we want to play with what the viewer is focusing on, first the technology and then the effects it has on the person. We will be using the canon xf305 for the green screen studio and dslr´s for outside shots. For the studio we will need the camera, a tripod and at least three lights. For sound, as well as using non copyrighted music, we also want to create our own sound effects by using the zoom recorder and the foley studio, to create abstracts glitchy and mechanic sounds. As we are also using animation and effects that will be created in after affects and premiere pro, we do need most of our time for the editing, rather than the shooting. I already have a little bit of experience creating animations on my iPad, so this shouldn´t be a problem. I recently downloaded a new app that is specifically meant for animation (I used to use Adobe illustrator) so this will hopefully speed my working up. I´ve done a couple of test animations to get the hang of it before I start our final animations. I´ve also been learning After Effects, which is something I had never used before.

Our initial ideas: 

Human vs AI

Dream vs Reality

Using a lot of animation and After effects

No story or story?

Control

Addiction

Monkey eating planet or something else happening to the world

Water vs technology

Seeing advert and the going to buy the product (control)

Addicion (constant scrolling)

Plugging into computer

Glitchy people

Using CCTV footage

AI character who thinks she is human. Has super powers?

Back up idea: environmental film

Based off these ideas, our peer feedback and several discussions we had with Flora, I drew a storyboard. We decided to have a kind of story to it.

Flora recorded futuristic sounds and tested some green paint, while I was home. The green paint was too dark so bought a lighter green and tested that at my place. It seemed alright so we decided to keep it. Flora and I also filmed a couple of bits while we were there. We both wrote our learning agreements and the risk assessment. We managed to book a studio (G27) and equipment for the 19^th. We booked the canon xf305, a tripod and several lights.

This is were corona came and made things quite complicated. We couldn´t book any other studio for next week, because they weren´t sure if the uni would be closed. This meant we basically had to film everything during that morning. We thought it wasn´t too bad because our film will mostly be done in the edit, so the shoot wasn´t too important, as long as we had some green screen footage. I then had to leave and go back to Brussels, in case of border closure. I wanted to be home if I had to isolate. All this has meant that we have had to slightly change our idea so that we are able to do it all from home. Our main story is the same though; We have two main characters, one is an AI and knows in and the other (my character) thinks she is human. Through a series of events (glitches and strange dreams) she realises she is just a program. Throughout this she is being watched by through screens and other AI. I will make a new version of the storyboard, to work around the footage we have and added editing time.

For research I will look at

Norman McLaren

William Kentridge

illustrator Nate Kitch

Carol and Tuesday

Her!

Alan Warburton
Keiiji Matsuda and Hyper reality
Hito Steryl
Blade Runner
Virtual reality and augmented reality

Nate Kitch uses a mix of photography and illustration

Hyper reality