Media, Events, Experiments
Posts tagged video
Dream Sequences
Jun 22nd
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It’s the end of term one at Vancouver Film School, and a short video project has been completed, titled Dream Sequences.
The subject matter is dreams and reality.
Here’s a little background story:
I was traveling in China a few years ago seeing some of the sights off the main tourist routes. My path merged with a wonderful lady from Australia, and we journeyed together for several days. We had interesting discussions about the sites we visited, and had non-stop laughter and emotional connection throughout our time together… and then I woke up. The entire experience was a dream. Does the fact that this chance encounter in Asia was not ‘real’ in this world make the experience any less valid? The lessons learned from the dream are the same as they would be if it were real. I wonder if one day, I’ll meet the lady, perhaps somewhere else in the world, and she’ll have a shared memory of the dream? Would we recognize each other?
The subject matter of the film asks questions about the relative meaning of being awake versus the meaning of being in a dream state. At what point are we fully awake? What are the intermediary states? Wikipedia might have factual answers, but at this moment, I prefer the questions.
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Returning to study for one year is turning out to be a positive experience, not only for technical skill development, but also for the open opportunities to produce more theoretically and conceptually based design and art work.
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Underwater Filming
Jun 22nd
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I shot some underwater video for a student project which will be released shortly.
Here are some pointers for filming underwater video more successfully for the unexperienced.
1. Weight your camera so it is neutrally buoyant when filming underwater. If the case makes the camera float, holding a steady shot underwater is much more difficult.
2. Wear swim fins for mobility. I didn’t do this the first time around. I’ll definitely do it next time.
3. Larger goggles are better than smaller goggles for visibility.
4. A weight belt would also be helpful, to keep your own body neutrally buoyant. Just make sure that you can swim well enough.
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Sakura in Wadabori Park
Apr 13th
Hanami (Flower Viewing) has become my favourite time of year in Japan. The few days of blossoms remind me of life, renewal, and the ephemeral nature of living things.
Music by Boards of Canada, the song is Zoetrope.
Whisky Live! 2009
Mar 6th
Hfour worked with Whisky Magazine to help produce the visual content above the stage during the ninth annual Whisky Live! in Tokyo at Big Sight. The event was a success, with over 5000 people coming to sample some whiskies, learn more about the drink and to watch a lively stage show.
Yoga Video
Mar 2nd
Yoga teacher-in-training Geneva worked with Hfour to create an artistic view of yoga in a public space. As the pose is held, the people who represent the stresses of the city seem to fade away, creating a metaphor for the psychological benefits of yoga. The music is used with permission, created by Younger Brother. Further news about this video will be available spring-summer 2009.
35 Million Stories
Jan 27th
Hfour is proud to work with Five By Fifty, an Asian Consumer Intelligence company (trend spotting company) to produce a video for the Tokyo installation at the 2009 Pret-a-Porter Salon in Paris.
Prêt a Porter Paris is the global fashion industry’s most important event. The 65,000-square-meter exhibition showcases more than 1,500 global fashion brands, runway shows and art installations and receives 45,000 visitors over four days.
Around 500 square meters of Prêt a Porter Paris is dedicated to an inspirational trends area called Explosion de Modes, a space displaying colors, fabrics and ideas.
The theme for Autumn-Winter 2010 is “New Generation Cities”, with Tokyo, Rio, Stockholm and Los Angeles as well as Paris selected by Explosion de Modes curator Alexandra Senes as the world’s new wave of urban influencers.
Five by Fifty will recreate Tokyo’s pulse and spirit to convey current consumer and societal trends within the parameters of a 80-square-meter space. Utilizing the five senses to create a contextual experience, Five by Fifty’s trend director Nicole Fall has assembled a cast of collaborators to demonstrate the inspirational diversity and contradictions of the world’s most populous city.
The roll call includes musicians Yasuharu Ohkouchi and Jeff Wichmann, film creator Stuart Ward (Hfour), and scent creator Kaori Oishi.
35 Million Stories:
There are millions of interacting stories in Tokyo. Filming them all would be impossible, yet filming just one would do a disservice to the millions of other unique stories which would be ignored in the process. With such a regard, I created a film which focuses on slices of Tokyo life, snippets of the scene in totality. I investigate the individual as a part of a greater form, and the greater form being composed of seemingly insignificant pieces. Without the individual, Tokyo would not exist, yet without the greater form, the individual would not have a purpose.
I have found people to be most alone in Tokyo when in large crowds.
Shinagawa’s River of People Phenomenon
Dec 11th
Every weekday morning from 8-10am at Shinagawa station in Tokyo, crowds of people on their way to work flow like a river through the corridors of the station. Tokyo business commuters are famous for packing into trains to get to and from work, this video depicts what happens at a major business district when the commuting rush arrives in Shinagawa. This is quite possibly the busiest area in Japan at this time. Music by The MFA, the song is The Difference It Makes (original mix), from James Holden’s album, Balance 005. This video was captured on one morning in December 2008.
Thought Projector at the ICC
Dec 7th
If anyone is interested in the intersection of Art and Technology, they should hit up the NTT InterCommunication Center (ICC) next to Hatsudai station, near Shinjuku, Tokyo. There is a show called Light InSight, which features several installations which discuss light in Art. It included a machine which photographs retinas, a sonochemical observatory, luminescent walls, and interactive smoke tunnels.
The Open space featured more contemporary works of Art including a very exciting anechoic chamber, and a lot of interactivity in nearly every work.
NTT ICC
My retina image from the ICC
VJ Vault
Aug 22nd
Hfour recently uploaded a large number of loops to the VJvault.com website.
View them here. Sign up for a membership to download.
Experiment in Motion Tracking #3
Aug 22nd
This video was created using one LED tracking point.
Motion Tracking Experiment from Stuart Ward on Vimeo.