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AUDIO VISUAL PROJECT – IDEA PROGRESSION

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INITIAL IDEA

This project will be an interactive documentary installation.

Elements include:

 

• Audio interviews with refugees (5)
• Photographic portraits (5)
  • overlayed with text excerpts of the legislation that was in place when they came to Australia
  • this legislation could be screen printed with thermo-chromatic paint, allowing it to change colour when touched in reaction to human heat.
• Arduino based interactive system either based upon
  • motion sensors, reacting to the amount of people in the room to raise the level of intensity / volume / audio layers – if one person, or minimal movement, it will be quiet, with just one track (comprised of an interview excerpt) playing at a time, and vice versa;
  • pressure sensors (FDRs), which trigger particular interview excerpts to sound when particular sections of the portraits are touched

possible extras / alternatives could include filmed moving portraits projected within the space – could be more adaptive to different spaces, or used an addition to the portraits to create a focus for the soundscape, whilst viewers could look at the individual photographs when listening to specific clear interviews (<3mins in length) – could be too busy and detract from immersion, or could aid in immersion by setting tone of the space, instead of it just being set in a bare room.

Aim: 

This project features a series of black and white portrait photographs, altered with thermo-chromatic paint, situated within an interactive soundscape which changes in accordance to the actions of its audience.

 

The aim of this project is to share the stories of refugees, showing a diversity of experience, whilst simultaneously illustrating to the impact of the Australian public upon these experiences. The work is reactive to the viewers through sound and through touch. The more people are listening to the voices, the more voices are heard, and the louder these voices become. The viewer is made aware of their own impact upon legislation and the people this legislation effects.

 

The work could potentially feature individual listening stations, wherein viewers may stand in front of a piece and, using headphones, listen solely to the story of the person in front of them. In this way, the installation creates an encompassing immersive environment within the space, which reflects the environment of the room, whilst also allowing for individual immersion within specific portraits through focussed listening upon a clear narrative.

 

Very rough examples of text / photograph integration, and graphic HDR photographic style to be used.

 

Some paints are, for example, red or black, at room temperature, and clear when touched – this can be used over the top of things to hide them, and reveal them when touched – many possibilities here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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REVISION 1: 

• 3 – 4 interviewees
• moving portraits as floor to ceiling projections, faces projected over three walls of a room, possible projection on ceiling & floor of another face and ocean respectively
• speakers placed around the room, in the corners – speakers near each of their projections, so when you go into the room it sounds like a million voices at once, but when u go closer to the one image, you can hear them more clearly and listen to their story

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REVISION 2

Floor to ceiling projections on three walls of a room.

Projections are a series of three:

• three lgbtqia+ youth
• three asylum seekers
• three environments – desert, ocean, forest

 

The room will rotate between these three series, which illustrate the three most prominent issues in the Australian public consciousness today: lgbt+ rights, asylum seeker policy, and climate change.

 

The projections will be moving portraits of their subjects, with each series being set to a particular colour scheme (red/pink for lgbt+, blue/yellow for asylum seekers, and fade to brown/bleached for the environments).

 

In addition to the moving portraits there will be a soundscape comprised of layered excerpts from the interviews; creating an encompassing wash of sound within the room.

 

The full, properly coherent interviews may also be listened to through headphones, as viewers may sit facing a particular portrait and listen to their individual story. In the case of the environment projection, this may be scientists speaking about how that particular environment will be affected by climate change.

 

The runtime of each series will be approximately 5 minutes, at the end of which, the projections and audio will switch to the next series – changing the colour and soundscape of the room and creating a different atmosphere.

 

The project’s intention is for the audience to come, literally, face to face with these issues, and importantly, hear personal, individual stories, instead of simply hearing these people and issues spoken about it broad terms like ‘they,’ instead this piece shows the individuality of the situations and impresses with empathy why they are important.

 

While this is the full installation, it is sectioned, so it can be built upon or lessened depending on time allowances.

 

Equipment required:

• empty room with three blank white walls
• 3 projectors
• speakers (enough to fill the space)
• >3 sets of headphones
• chairs/benches/couches for audience to sit and watch/listen if they choose
• for creation
  • recording device for interviews
  • 3 lights & corresponding gels & stands
  • camera
  • 7 interviewees (3 for lgbt+, 3 for asylum seeker, >1 for climate change + field recordings of environments)

 

Timeline:

Week 8:

• Clarify ideas & work out equipment setup (what headphones will be connected to, what speakers are necessary, any other logistical issues)
• Purchase / source equipment necessary & source space

Week 9:

• Do lighting tests
• Contact people for interviews
• Shoot environments
• Shoot environment interview

Week 10:

• Conduct and edit interviews
• Edit soundscape

Week 11:

• Conduct and edit interviews
• Edit soundscape

Week 12:

• Finishing touches to soundscapes
• Finalise setup

Soundscape reflects the chatter of the media / speaking in broad terms, not looking at impact on the individual – it showcases the impact of focusing in on one story.

 

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REVISION 3

PITCH PRESENTATION 

FEEDBACK:

Notes from presentation:

• how immersive can interviews be?
• focus on one area, instead of the three areas under the theme of issues in the social consciousness
  • would this be able to hold attention?
  • how long would this be?
• how to make second project enticing for participants – remove self consciousness – make it look fun

Clarification: the moving portraits are like the ones in Harry Potter – no sound, and just a portrait of a person, but filmed so they blink, change expression slightly etc

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REVISION 4

• chosen issue to focus on: lgbt+ youth – most easily accessible, and relatable to the interviewer – allowing authentic, empathetic and informed content to be created.
• floor to ceiling projections of stylised moving portraits of LGBTQIA+ youth, with interviews layered to create a soundscape within the space. Individual interviews may be listened to coherently by the audience sitting before a portrait and putting on the headphones provided.
• this reflects the broad, lump terms that are used when looking at / speaking about lgbt+ people in the media, vs the real, individual people that such chatter effects.

possible change: create the soundscape out of found media – sound taken from discussion of current lgbt+ issues, protests etc within the media.