Changes
Following last weeks feedback, I was planning to experiment with several changes for my third prototype:
• set up in the larger room
• one video zoomed through the browser
• more light effects
• fan for sound / wind
• film with tripod
I especially focused on creating more ambient effects, experimenting with different glasses, colored cloths, liquids and lights. Using a fan positioned behind a blue glass of water, I managed to create a wave-like light effect which I think worked very well.
I then combined this effect with the screens and projection. For the video, I decided to stick to underwater only footage in a similar blue to the light with one scene showing humpback whales and another with deep-sea animals. I also found that I was able to zoom into the browser in Safari, which allowed me to break the window into different sections, which I roughly matched to the screens’ positions.
Takeaways
I think the light and single-video setup worked very well and this was my favorite setup so far, so I think I will keep these two elements for my further progress. There is still some areas I want to experiment with and decisions I have to make:
• Sound: what audio should be played? (underwater, waves, music, whale sounds)
• Video elements: what elements should and can I include? (browser bar, subtitles suggested videos)
• Synchronicity: should I work more on making the videos fully synchronous or keep the slight delays?
• Filming: what is the best angle to document? Should the documentation be a video with cuts of several angles and video footage (like the prototype video) or one static video?
• Audience: should there be a person in the documentation video? (prefer the empty ones but still need some more experimenting)
I also have to consider the final outcome of this work; is this more of an installation or video/documentation project? And what should be featured in the final exhibition? While it is not crucial to decide on one of the two for now since I am both developing my prototypes and documenting anyways, I have to make the decision at some point to be able to prepare.
