Light

I have been wanting to do another workshop activity because I had such a fun time making the ‘Word’ video. The idea for the video responding to ‘light’ came after I got my sunset light projector.

I was scared that this light projector might be completely useless for Screen Project 1. I need to shoot videos in different spaces within my house yet not every corner has power outlets. Then a few days ago, my classmate Axel recommended a short film called Blue by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. It has a beautiful shot showing a fire growing within a blanket, which I reckon is the result of the overlay effect. Fascinated by the shot, I was immediately inspired to try out this technique myself.

I overlayed the light over a random video and tested out 3 blend effects called ‘multiply, ‘pin light’ and ‘soft light’. I honestly don’t have a lot of experience with the blend tool so I just picked the ones I liked best. I would imagine that the boys in the first shot are not having a fun night due to the gloomy effect. The second shot looks washed-out, which stimulates a vintage feel. I love the last effect because it makes the green light in the center of the screen look like it’s coming from the digital screens.

This overlay technique is going to be useful when I want to create and maintain a certain vibe. For example, there are 2 to 3 dominant colors in my music-inspired imaginary images. I could use this technique to apply a color to the videos that have the same vibe, thus separating them from other footage. One of the keywords I wrote down while listening to the music was ‘magic’. I believe lighting will play a huge role in forming that magical sensation.