Luminous Specimen: Video

Luminous Specimen from Yuri Endo on Vimeo.

The above video shows the final test results of the project, currently titled as ひかりの標本 (Hikarino Hyohon) / Luminous Specimen.  

Although the course work for the semester has come to the end, I plan to further develop this project for the upcoming semester to conclude my thesis work.  On that note, please keep visiting this blog for more updates.

Prismpod test video 004

Yuri Endo 2012

Prismpod test video 003

Yuri Endo 2012

Prismpod test video 002

Yuri Endo 2012

This experiment is the sequel test to Prismpod test 001* For this test, I replaced the rectangle prism with triangle one. Personally, I felt as though that this shape created far more interesting reflection comparing to the prior, however, I would like to further experiment with a dorm shaped as well as a triangle with 4 reflecting surfaces. 

Prismpod test video 001

I run a quick test to see how a motion picture playing on a LCD screen  would look through a prism. 

On that note, I followed the same procedure as my first Prismpod test, however, this time, I placed a video footage inside of the rectangle.

Upon attempting to capture the moving images from various angles, this exact position was the most I could observe the interesting reflection created by the prism. In that sense, this rectangular shaped prism may not be cut out for the intended light installation.

Last but not least, I would like to note the solution for the technical difficulty that I encountered while exporting the base video to iPod, so I won't repeat that struggle ever again. (It was rather sluggish of a media student, it took me a while to figure out converting the video to play correctly on the iPod.) When I tried to import footage (both H.264 and MOV.) straight from my computer to the device, iTune constantly gave me an error message saying "cannot be played on this ipod." After a numerous trials and errors, I came upon a method that worked the best for this particular case; Export the 960×640 footage as MOV. format > Open it with Quick Time Player > Under "Share" manu, choose iTune > import the footage to iPod

Prism×Projection test*

Yuri Endo 2012

As a continuation of the previous prism experiment, I projected a short animation sequence, created with After Effects, on the prism. During the shooting process, I also shifted around some DSLR settings to achieve electric visuals. 

Light + Slitscan 002

Upon my first attempt, I got rid of 2 filters in front of the LED light to see if I could capture much visible light movements.  

Light + Slitscan 001

This experiment was my first attempt to merge slitscan and light painting techniques.

In that sense, I followed the same procedure as my previous Mr. Roboto experiment, yet, this time with  a LED light box (with a blue filter)  on a black shiny form board.  

>Clip. 1  Original

>Clip. 2  Center slitscan, traveling down to up (2-pixel each frame)

>Clip. 3  Center slitscan, traveling right to left  (2-pixel each frame)

>Clip. 4  Cadence  slitscan, traveling left to right (2-pixel each frame)

>Clip. 5  Cadence  slitscan, traveling right to left  (2-pixel each frame)

>Clip. 6  Cadence slitscan , traveling down to up (2-pixel each frame)

Consequently, I was not able to capture much of its light motion, probably because of the LED light inside was rather invisible, due to the fact that the 2 filters (a transparent blue and half-transparent milky white) were set in front of it. 

Presentation 001: Supplemental Video

As one of the reference visual materials for my presentation, I created a video clip retrospecting various types of my previous works concerning light.

Presentation 001: Opening Video

Utilizing a long lens of my DSLR and by shifting its focus, I video captured the car head lights alternating their shapes and colors. 

Slit Scan Test 003: Video

For this experiment, I filmed the Mr. Roboto slowly rotating 360°on a fan and applied 5 different scanning options to the original footage. Surprisingly, the fan made stable rotation come true and  I was able to achieve less wavy images than my first experiment.

>Clip. 1  Original

>Clip. 2  Center slitscan, traveling down to up (2-pixel each frame)

>Clip. 3  Center slitscan, traveling right to left  (2-pixel each frame)

>Clip. 4  Cadence  slitscan, traveling left to right (2-pixel each frame)

>Clip. 5  Cadence  slitscan, traveling right to left  (2-pixel each frame)

>Clip. 6  Cadence slitscan , traveling down to up (2-pixel each frame)

My next step is to produce creative motion pictures using the similar method and also try out  the Processing program for interactive slit-scanning.

Slitscan Test 001: Video

I filmed the wooden artist's model slowly rotating 360°on a tripod then import the movie into After Effects for post-processing as I noted on my previous post. Following Mr.Visnic's precise instruction, I scaled down my full HD 1080p footage to 720p, in order to reduce render time.

This  1280X720 composition is consist of  360 layers each with a 2 pixel hight mask. The top of each frame is 15 second earlier than the bottom of each frame. As seen in the video, the time and motion in is represented in the image vertically. Alas, I couldn't achieve the clean effect this time due to the fact that I failed to rotate the tripod smoothly. Additionally, I also tried to process the same video using 720 layers with a 1 pixel high mask which did succeed in creating greater distortion as observed in 3 images from my previous post, however, due to the layer amount and rendering time, my computer refused to finish up the entire footage.  

A short documentary, Concise History of The Origins of Cinema, explores the world of light and optic illusion, from the persistence of vision theory to the beginning of the talkie in such compact and tasteful manners. Its sequel , Louis Le Prince, was rather too concise yet also informative which features the achievement and mysterious disappearance of one of the pioneers of cinema, Louis Le Prince, who wasn't covered in the previous movie.

Reference: Brief Cinema History 

Eat the Sun

Another engaging film referral from Professor Hall, Eat the Sun, focuses on Mason Dwinell's journey into the world of Sungazing, an ancient practice of looking directly at the sun for long periods of time as a source of biological and spiritual nourishment.

According to HRM, Mason's indian sungazing instructor, one's goal is to reach 44 minutes of looking directly at the sun, which could take 9 to 12 months to achieve. In the process, one would be cured all mental and physical aliments and consequently would be able to subsisted solely on solar energy and water without the desire or need to eat food. Many also claim that it also results in better eye vision and more vibrant and productive life. 

Unsurprisingly, there is neither a scientific proof nor biochemical possibility to support this practice. As a result, many sungazers including the protagonist himself had damaged their eyes in the process. Despite this fact and even after the guru, HRM, himself admitted that he eats when his body compels him, apparently avid followers still exist (or might be expanding its numbers as organizations) all over the world. 

After having experienced the horror of The Sarin Attack on the Tokyo Subway, and also surviving the notorious teenage battlefields in Japan, the mare thought of belonging in a group, either spiritually or socially, already makes me skeptical to begin with, unlike the individuals introduced in the film, I never had the urge  to seek some form of salvation through ritual activity or spiritual knowledge. In that sense, this film was an intriguing reference for recognizing one particular brief from "the other side,"  and its connection with Sun as energy which they believe as a component one can physically collect and consume for nourishment. 

Last but not least, I cannot help but wonder if this practice had any measurable effects on human circadian rhythms which believed to be directly connected with daylight and our performance/well-being. ( Not in the sense that Sugazers clam but as a scientific fact.) On that note, I would expand this notes to further research on this particular biological process. 

Light Fantastic

Upon referral from Professor David Hall, I just had a Light Fantastic marathon.

This four-part television documentary series by BBC concisely explored the phenomenon of light from several points of view, from the historical events to renowned science and physics discoveries and helped me further understanding the experiments I have done so far. I particularly  enjoyed;

>The in-depth story of Alhazen's theory covered during the first episode, Let There be Light.

>The third episode, The Stuff of Light, which unfolds the subsequent development of the modern technology in relation to the discovery of light's nature.

>The fourth episode, Light, The Universe and Everything, which features the color vision mechanism.