Yes! A documented performance! This was quite interesting and had a great William Gibson/Cyber Punk feel. Incorporating dance with the visual/audio performance made it fun. The augmented suit, the mechanical sounds- it all worked nicely. The computer generated images were beautiful as well and made a nice parallel between the real and virtual.
I noticed a connection with the sounds, the colors and the movements of the performer. At about 24 minutes into part 1, the lighting was more rustic/orange and the performer was moving at more rapid, jarring speeds, compared to 30 minutes into the piece where the movements were more elegant, slow and soft. The colors 30 minutes in were also cooler and the sounds were softer.
The performance picks up with kung-fu like movement, as if one was viewing a one man climatic battle sequence. As movement picks up, the graphics in the background rapidly change.
Part 2 really falls into the perception of general female characteristics; beautiful, soft, elegant and full of emotion. (ie the floating heart shape, cool colors). It's a very interesting piece- what I would like answered is if the suits were responsive to the sounds or was it the performer? They are where the technology- so are they utilizing it or are they being enslaved by it? In other words, are they the driving force behind the creation or is the the technology the driving force in their mobility?
Can I just say...the link Raph provided for us...that website is awesome! I encourage people to go and watch the videos on the English homepage of it, because they are amazing. There are a couple, and in these videos there is a live performer who is wearing a type of motion-capture suit, and projected on a screen behind the performer we see the corresponding computer-generated image of that person. This was really appealing to me because I have long been fascinated with this type of technology, seeing as it is used in movies such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Beowulf, just to name a few. I'm not entirely sure how it works, but watching the people perform and seeing their images projected on the screen at the same time was eerily haunting and cool.
If you read the entire website page, it mentions that these suits can also actually control robots in real time. Did anyone see Iron Man? I loved it (and the comics when I was much younger), but the suits bothered me a bit because they sort of jarred me out of my willing suspension of disbelief. However, I guess that such a thing is, indeed, possible - using a control suit to power something like a robot. So awesome!
This is the sort of stuff that really fascinates me, and I, like Stephen, also really liked the king-fu and fighting styles that were obviously an influence (another thing in which I am deeply interested). Yes, I agree, the graphics were amazing, and I did see the correlations between the movement and the background, and I really liked it!
This lecture/performance was pretty awesome. To see the visual effects working with the performance of the dance. I have to say I was more drawn to the dancer that was manipulating the video and sounds, than I was watching the video that was being projected in the background. It seemed very futuristic, with the costume and the visual effects, almost like a commentary about what might happen in the future, and the background video for the first half fit in the futuristic feel that I got from the performance. The performer seemed to dance almost in a sword fight way and that reminded me of the middle ages, like we were traveling time. And I have to agree with Stephen when he said that the CGI images made a nice parallel between the real and virtual worlds.
The thing that I enjoyed most about this performance was it's originality and creativity. I really liked how there were projections of a body before the actual body suit was introduced, this in itself is an original type of foreshadowing. When the body suit is first seen, after the long period of almost pure silence and darkness, a small light slowly illuminates to show the body suit. The body suit itself reminded me of an older version space suit. In general, the very ambient noises along with the one light on the suit reminded me of Stanley Kubrick's "A Space Odyssey". Just the overall image of the body suit and sounds remind me of several scenes from that film.
Just as Steve said, I too was not entirely sure if the body suit was controlling the sounds and visuals or not. If not, I would love to see the body suit take a more demanding role to further control the sounds and visuals. With the suit being able to control the sounds and/or visuals with smaller movements, such as flicks of the wrist and/or fingers for example, the piece could go from just a performance to and interactive performance. The suit could be tried on by willing individuals and the audiences could then experiment and create their own performances.
I have heard about other augmented suit projects and they are really cool, but provide a interesting debate about ethics and the robot apocalypse. It's a neat metaphor to think about -- with these suits are we controlling certain technologies OR ARE THEY CONTROLLING US? I think it's a bit of both, but just an interesting question to ponder. A few years back someone made a augmented suit for their capstone, well was working on it. It was called "Club Suit" and was working with music and clubs - sharing music, etc. It was neat, wonder if it ever took off. I think people want technology to do all these things without thinking of the consequences. Neil said he wants to see technology be more demanding -- and though they don't have brains yet, when technology becomes demanding, who is enslaved by it? (we already are, actually). I just think technology should be a tool of convenience, and we shouldn't keep pushing it around. I believe in karma!
Suguro's work kind of scares me with all the robot talk and crazy suits. It feels rather dehumanizing. People should be scared of the possibilities of technology and not specifically by other home users, but if you can press a button to launch a missle, then technology is scary.
I agree with Elana with the motion suits and the LOTR/Beowfulf piece. I really like that. It was sort of a 3D version of them, and live all at the same time. Kind of makes the originals a little funny because they are so "flat"! haha.
Overall, I think the project was neat. My reactions above are not specifically for this project, but the possibilities make me a little apprehensive.
I’m going to have to agree with Matt on this one, though it would be cool to see virtual reality take over the world, is that really a good idea? We need to make sure that we are the ones to stay in control and that we maintain our control over what world we are living in. it is important not to confuse what is the real from the unreal.
In the piece I felt that it was certainly beautiful, and had some amazing instances of movement through time and space some very interesting visual. Also that the movements of the person in the suit were at times very mechanical, almost as if the suit itself was controlling their movements. Again I ask is this really the way we should be moving forward with the technology that we are creating and utilizing, is there a way to do something similar in a less bodily invasive way? Creating something that is less mechanical but more organic in the way that it interfaces with the user, something that utilizes the environment of the user opposed to directly using the body of the user. Again it’s a question of what is right and what is too much. Like I said before I think the idea of a complete virtual reality is very interesting but that we need to ensure that we are not going to create something that we can not dismantle if the circumstances were to come to a completely autonomous system of creating a mechanical life
6 comments:
Yes! A documented performance! This was quite interesting and had a great William Gibson/Cyber Punk feel. Incorporating dance with the visual/audio performance made it fun. The augmented suit, the mechanical sounds- it all worked nicely.
The computer generated images were beautiful as well and made a nice parallel between the real and virtual.
I noticed a connection with the sounds, the colors and the movements of the performer. At about 24 minutes into part 1, the lighting was more rustic/orange and the performer was moving at more rapid, jarring speeds, compared to 30 minutes into the piece where the movements were more elegant, slow and soft. The colors 30 minutes in were also cooler and the sounds were softer.
The performance picks up with kung-fu like movement, as if one was viewing a one man climatic battle sequence. As movement picks up, the graphics in the background rapidly change.
Part 2 really falls into the perception of general female characteristics; beautiful, soft, elegant and full of emotion. (ie the floating heart shape, cool colors). It's a very interesting piece- what I would like answered is if the suits were responsive to the sounds or was it the performer? They are where the technology- so are they utilizing it or are they being enslaved by it? In other words, are they the driving force behind the creation or is the the technology the driving force in their mobility?
Can I just say...the link Raph provided for us...that website is awesome! I encourage people to go and watch the videos on the English homepage of it, because they are amazing. There are a couple, and in these videos there is a live performer who is wearing a type of motion-capture suit, and projected on a screen behind the performer we see the corresponding computer-generated image of that person. This was really appealing to me because I have long been fascinated with this type of technology, seeing as it is used in movies such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Beowulf, just to name a few. I'm not entirely sure how it works, but watching the people perform and seeing their images projected on the screen at the same time was eerily haunting and cool.
If you read the entire website page, it mentions that these suits can also actually control robots in real time. Did anyone see Iron Man? I loved it (and the comics when I was much younger), but the suits bothered me a bit because they sort of jarred me out of my willing suspension of disbelief. However, I guess that such a thing is, indeed, possible - using a control suit to power something like a robot. So awesome!
This is the sort of stuff that really fascinates me, and I, like Stephen, also really liked the king-fu and fighting styles that were obviously an influence (another thing in which I am deeply interested). Yes, I agree, the graphics were amazing, and I did see the correlations between the movement and the background, and I really liked it!
This lecture/performance was pretty awesome. To see the visual effects working with the performance of the dance. I have to say I was more drawn to the dancer that was manipulating the video and sounds, than I was watching the video that was being projected in the background. It seemed very futuristic, with the costume and the visual effects, almost like a commentary about what might happen in the future, and the background video for the first half fit in the futuristic feel that I got from the performance. The performer seemed to dance almost in a sword fight way and that reminded me of the middle ages, like we were traveling time. And I have to agree with Stephen when he said that the CGI images made a nice parallel between the real and virtual worlds.
The thing that I enjoyed most about this performance was it's originality and creativity. I really liked how there were projections of a body before the actual body suit was introduced, this in itself is an original type of foreshadowing. When the body suit is first seen, after the long period of almost pure silence and darkness, a small light slowly illuminates to show the body suit. The body suit itself reminded me of an older version space suit. In general, the very ambient noises along with the one light on the suit reminded me of Stanley Kubrick's "A Space Odyssey". Just the overall image of the body suit and sounds remind me of several scenes from that film.
Just as Steve said, I too was not entirely sure if the body suit was controlling the sounds and visuals or not. If not, I would love to see the body suit take a more demanding role to further control the sounds and visuals. With the suit being able to control the sounds and/or visuals with smaller movements, such as flicks of the wrist and/or fingers for example, the piece could go from just a performance to and interactive performance. The suit could be tried on by willing individuals and the audiences could then experiment and create their own performances.
I have heard about other augmented suit projects and they are really cool, but provide a interesting debate about ethics and the robot apocalypse. It's a neat metaphor to think about -- with these suits are we controlling certain technologies OR ARE THEY CONTROLLING US? I think it's a bit of both, but just an interesting question to ponder. A few years back someone made a augmented suit for their capstone, well was working on it. It was called "Club Suit" and was working with music and clubs - sharing music, etc. It was neat, wonder if it ever took off. I think people want technology to do all these things without thinking of the consequences. Neil said he wants to see technology be more demanding -- and though they don't have brains yet, when technology becomes demanding, who is enslaved by it? (we already are, actually). I just think technology should be a tool of convenience, and we shouldn't keep pushing it around. I believe in karma!
Suguro's work kind of scares me with all the robot talk and crazy suits. It feels rather dehumanizing. People should be scared of the possibilities of technology and not specifically by other home users, but if you can press a button to launch a missle, then technology is scary.
I agree with Elana with the motion suits and the LOTR/Beowfulf piece. I really like that. It was sort of a 3D version of them, and live all at the same time. Kind of makes the originals a little funny because they are so "flat"! haha.
Overall, I think the project was neat. My reactions above are not specifically for this project, but the possibilities make me a little apprehensive.
I’m going to have to agree with Matt on this one, though it would be cool to see virtual reality take over the world, is that really a good idea? We need to make sure that we are the ones to stay in control and that we maintain our control over what world we are living in. it is important not to confuse what is the real from the unreal.
You know, though now The Matrix seems to be cliché, it really validated some important points about what a world that is so rapped up in creating a mechanical, or technological reflection of itself would look like and what it could be like to live in a world of that sort. It made it clear that if we were to create a machine that is capable of replacing us that it would then take over and become our fear opposed to the revelation in our own ability to make more connections to the technology both physically and psychologically. Technology is a good thing until you allow it to take over your entire life, and allow it to control you. I believe that there is a balance and that there is a line that is undefined, blurry, and unclear as to what is too much.
In the piece I felt that it was certainly beautiful, and had some amazing instances of movement through time and space some very interesting visual. Also that the movements of the person in the suit were at times very mechanical, almost as if the suit itself was controlling their movements. Again I ask is this really the way we should be moving forward with the technology that we are creating and utilizing, is there a way to do something similar in a less bodily invasive way? Creating something that is less mechanical but more organic in the way that it interfaces with the user, something that utilizes the environment of the user opposed to directly using the body of the user. Again it’s a question of what is right and what is too much. Like I said before I think the idea of a complete virtual reality is very interesting but that we need to ensure that we are not going to create something that we can not dismantle if the circumstances were to come to a completely autonomous system of creating a mechanical life
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