OCTOBER

- Researched on new media projects (including installation arts, interactive environments, multimedia projects etc.)

-Researched on dreams. Looked at main figures that have done research on dreams in the areas of pschology and neuroscience, such as Sigmund Freud, Carl Gustav Jung, and many other contemporary researchers .

 

NOVEMBER

- Started testings in MAYA.

- Started shooting video, to build up a data of videos to incorporate into the project.

 

DECEMBER

- Finished animation for the first stage of dream projection.

- Put together a series of video we have shot, to go along with the first stage of dream sequence.

 

FEBRUARY

1ST WEEK (February 2 - 9)

- Did some sketches for storyboard

- Worked on Maya and After Effects to combine video and animation

2ND WEEK (February 9 - 15)

- We have been trying own to pin down the final version of the flow and scenes and combinations of animations of the whole piece (there will of course be improvisations as we go along and scenes that we haven't thought of might be inserted at suitable places - life is not very predictable after all!). And I am very happy with where it is going right now, although it is a painful process, because we are thinking of every possible meaning a scene will have within itself and the whole piece. We selected the videos we are going to use from our archive so far and decided on the new ones to be shot. We arranged the people who are going to be in the film, made a list of props that will be needed (blocks of ice, a ball etc.)

- I have done a lot of research for different techniques that I can use for the animations and/or effects to be integrated in the video. I have created scenes in MAYA with fog/cloud, fire and water, after getting more acquinted with dynamics in MAYA. Some other methods that I am experimenting with are taking video as a sequence of images, distorting them in Photoshop and compiling them back into a video (similar to the technique used in some scenes of Richard Linklater's "Waking Life"). I am also working on the "morphing effect" in After Effects to morph an image into another one (pretty cool). However this will all come together slowly as we get the videos.

3RD WEEK (February 15 - 22)

- First presentation! - I worked on a power point presentation for the project.

- I did some more modelling in MAYA. I created some hair and tried animating that, thinking we could incorporate that into one of the videos. We are going to be filming this whole weekend, so we will have more to work on, rather than working in MAYA hoping it would fit. So that will be helpful. Also we will film an ice carving festival in Middlefield on 25th of February, which will provide us with a lot of relevant scenes (hopefully!).

4TH WEEK (February 22 - March 2)

- This week was a little unlucky. We couldn't do the shooting at the Ice Carving Festival because the event was rescheduled to March:( So we worked more on story boarding and worked with the main character in the video, getting her acquainted with the project.

- I worked more in MAYA with particles, created a star dust kind of particle moving in the air (picture can be found on the process page). I will incorporporate this to the video we will shoot this weekend, with snow and steam.

 

MARCH

1ST WEEK (March 2 - 9)

- We shot videos of:

fireplace and ember

bathroom scenes: shower, toilet seat, mirror (putting make up on and drawing on the steamed mirror), feet

walk aroud the woods in snow

PS: Maggie Meimaridis is the main actress, and lead figure in the video. She is an English major, Theater minor student from class year of 2008

SPRING BREAK (March 12 - 27)

4TH WEEK (March 27 - April 2)

- I finalized the presentation, and presented in "Connectivity: 10th Biennial Arts and Technology Symposium" at Connecticut College.

 

APRIL

- Testing in the space, finalizing the projections (This was the goal)

1ST WEEK (April 2 - 9)

- I got very good feedback from the presentation and some ideas about the setting of the environment. Also, after the senior exhibition crit the place of the installation was determined. It is going to be installed upstairs in Cummings as a stand-alone environment built with sheets hanging from the ceiling.

2ND WEEK (April 10 - 16)

- More shooting, and capturing the videos on the computer. The shooting will be completed by the end of this weekend - due to weather (everything is reserved)

3RD WEEK (April 17 - 24)

- Editing, adding special effects.

- Exploring ways of installation. Testing with projection and deciding on final form.

4TH WEEK (April 24 - 30)

- Finishing up with the video and effects

- Building the pad, and installing the environment (to be finished on May1)

 

MAY