Farewell Zbender

Exhibited at IDAS (Hongik University) Open House 2011.
Opiumblue_Media Art and Environment-Hongik 2011

Anaglyph Zbender

The Zbender

Post-production 2

I have about 10 more usable shots (out of over 60) that I'm planning on applying the same effects. At one scene I'm hoping to achieve a security camera look with 4 split screens.

Post-production 1

I have finished all the shooting and currently in the middle of the post-production. Below are some adjustments that I made;

1. Alternate plot

The protagonist inside the TV controls the Television using a remote control.

2. Effects

Photoshop for color correction and effects (halftone-line)

3. Quality

AVCHD

4. Stabilizer

Partial use of imovie image track function.

Z-trolley 002

When comparing to my previous trolley, it is much handy and easier to maneuver, yet less stable for Z-shootings.

AVCHD test

After reading all sorts of nightmarish posts on transcoding AVCHD footages online for days, I had been reluctant to try it out, however, I just found out that Premiere pro CS5 provides native support to AVCHD. To my surprise, I played around with the setting for a bit and manage to make it work in a few minutes. There is no way I will go back to motion JPEG, to say the least.

Crippled Z-trolley

I have color-corrected my new footage in photoshop.

On the way to this shooting, I lost one of the 4 wheels of my precious Z-trolley, then during this precise shot, another fell apart. ( a big jump during this footage was caused by the impact.) To make things worse, I lost another one on my way home.

Pulfrich effect

I attempted to add slightest anaglyphic effect to my previous Z-depth footages.

I'm currently trying to achieve the movie in movie image using After Effects.

Z-trolley test shoot 3

I shot the entire test footage on Motion JPEG at its maximum quality and now I know that it was the very reason why those footages are not crisp clear... I'll try to reshoot it on AVCHD this week.

Z-trolley test shoot 2

Model and production assistant: Damla Soyer

It's probably so 10 years ago of me to state this but I'm amazed by how DSLRs make film making and editing so much simpler compared to the formats that I had used before, however, as this is the very first time I'm shooting on non-film/DV (and it's been almost 6 years since I shot my last film... oh wow.) I'm a bit lost in tiny transition in terms of technical settings in general.

Z-trolley test shoot 1

The video quality is extremely low. I know that it's very grainy because of insufficient light, however, I'm sure my camera setting and iMovie stabilizing option are making things worse.

New Z-trolley

I took my trolly, which is hypothetically used as a multi-use storage, out for a test shoot this weekend. Although I was refused by quite a few taxies due to its size and ended up taking subways, it proved that it was stable enough and ready to Z.

Shooting in the middle of 광장시장 on Saturday evening was an absorbing experience on the whole. To say the least, people (under the influence) at the market can be extremely cooperative in after-hours.

Storyboard 2

The technical solutions that I have been testing:

To make it look as if the camera is going through (or sucked into) the next scene.

---> Testing on After Effects.

To achieve less shaky Z-depth camera movements.

---> Attaching the camera to hanger with dolly.

To create an surrealistic ending

---> Developing a cinemagraph image.

Storyboard 1

The movie will be constructed with 4-5 scenes. Each scene contains a part of next scene which will be located in the middle of the panel the actor is holding. As Z-depth movement comes closer to the panel, the next scene in the panel also starts to make its Z-depth movement.

Location ideas

See more location idea images

Locations and camera test

This is my hand held test shoot at some locations in my mind.This time I tired the stabilization function in iMovie and found its quality extremely poor.

Cinemagraph

I have been seeing a lot of articles on "Cinemagraph" these past weeks and I decided to give it a shot. It's basically a sophisticated version of traditional GIF animation and the catch is "more than a photo, but not quite a video." More precisely, a Cinemagraph is supposed to look like one of those moving pictures from Minority Report. So far, my first attempts failed. (aside from the above screenshot, I also tried the images of a flying kite, bicycle, rantan, man with his i-phone.) I believe I chose slightly complicated compositions to manipulate for this particular technique. If this works out, I would like to use it as a part of my scene. My only concern is though the process would definitely be much more time consuming than the actual shooting.

oh-so-coco, Kevin burg, How-to

Z-depth contents ideas 5

Z-depth contents ideas 4

Although it's not an impressive photoshop job, I created the above image as a part of my visualization process.

Z-depth contents ideas 3

Z-depth contents ideas 2

Part 1: Moving image -- a person standing on a busy street with a blank board ( the board has to be cut in a certain shapes so it would be separated from the background image)

Part 2: Moving image -- moving image inside of the board

Part 3: Animation -- merge #2 and simple CG animation of moving objects

Z-depth contents ideas 1

This is my first brainstorming sketches. As you might be able to skim my vague ideas here, my video would be consists of 3 elements. Simply put;

Part 1. The base moving image

Part 2. The moving image inside of the image

Part 3. The animation inside of #2

Z-depth camera test 2

What a depressing result. It was very shaky that the stabilizer function didn't seem as though it was responding well. (This is the row footage.) Using a beat up two-wheeled suit case was such a bad idea. The image quality turned out to be better than I thought. I must have an ok camera for video shooting?

Z-depth camera test 1

I just wanted to experience how Z-depth would look like through my camera and well... this obviously didn't work well at all. The camera fell, I cried a bit and I almost got hit by a car. Since I couldn't do what I really wanted to do in my previous projects, I'm hoping to make something out of this Z-depth project , however my brain is completely fried after a 3 straight days of Maya tutorial marathon. I'm getting a small shopping cart this week or build a small set.

Project 3

Although I think it's still lacking a media project feel, this is what I've got so far. (I'm still looking for an appropriate airport sound effect.) It probably required me longer time and concentration to finish this 40 second piece than actually vandalize a private premise which makes me regret that I faked it. A hopeless effort for vain... My next crucial mission is to find the solutions to add some sophisticated touch to my works...

The above image is a part of the footage from my airport split-flap display graffiti. The final piece will also be animated as seen in my previous test movies. I'm currently in the process of inserting slightly complexed twists to it, in hopes of adding more of a media work feel rather than a mere art piece. Stay tuned.

Test video, The Bandit Tree

The Bandit Tree

Another test graffiti before I proceed on to animating the airport split-flap display. This one was rather harder to work on compared to my previous Gagarin piece as it has more characters in it.

Test video, Gaga Wall

I made a test video using my Gagarin.

Gaga Wall

My Gagarin cutout on the wall.

I should probably put on my bandit hats on

The age of post-innocence

The new cut-out designs I created this week. Making stencils out of them and displaying them in public spaces without getting caught are my next challenges...

Walls in my mind

A few of perspective public canvases for my cutouts that I've found in the streets of Seoul. I'm hoping to put them together to construct a stop-motion, yes, I'm slowly going back to the first idea I had after all.

50th anniversary

I made another cut-out and sprayed over it. I had no idea Yuri Gagarin was only 27 when he became the first human in the outer space 50 years ago.

New method

Ok, it seems as though i'm gradually getting far away from the initial phosphorescent project but I'm still sticking with the concept of glow-in-the dark, night graffiti or whatever I've mentioned previously. What I did here is that I basically made a cut-out of a corridor ( can also look like stairs.) with Z-depth and project it on the wall using a portable pen light. I'll work on more optical illusion-isque cut-outs and double image some of them to see if I can make a short stop-motion piece.

An amazing tutoring offer

I found out that around Friday to Sunday, the streets of Seoul, especially Hondae area, are full of night club ads and party stickers, then by Monday they are all gone. I'm wondering if there are some secret troopers who clean up the mess while we are sleeping. I also wonder why Koreans always use those green duct tapes to stick things up on the walls. I found the left over of this green tape visually interesting when photographing.

Dr. Murakami for your speech therapist?

I placed it right under an English tutoring ad.

Paint splashing test

I have done some testings for my still on-going phosphorescent graffiti piece. In the meantime, I'm searching suitable phosphorescent materials to paint, I used a black water paint, portable light and mini spray gun this time. Although I intended to draw a balaclava multiple times, things came out to be some meaningless patterns. The image above turned out relatively nice, resembling an alien donut or something I would expect to encounter in the outer space.

Missing a glow in the dark cat

After a bit of contemplation, I ended up placing the lost cat notice on an utility pole.

Nonchalant graffiti 3

This one might well fit on a school bulletin board?

Nonchalant graffiti 2

I would need to find a nice public bulletin board to stick one of these.

Nonchalant graffiti 1

The image of the glow-in-the-dark cat was taken from http://ohfortheloveofscience.com

While I'm still contemplating on how I could achieve my phosphorescent graffiti piece, I decided to work on something rather relaxed and with wits that hopefully makes some people giggle for a moment. I that sense, I came up with 3 hoax bulletin notices which I am planning on posting in various public spaces. Although I am not sure wether what I've done here could possibly fit in the terms of the conventional graffiti, I would like to call them the "nonchalant ones".

Production ideas

I'm still trying to mix my stop-motion and phosphorescent graffiti ideas somehow. As this little brainstorming sketch suggests, I would need a wall where I can either paint or hang a phosphorescent materials. On this wall, I would project a character which are printed on sheets of transparencies. Instead of drawing the wall in live, I would use a set of transpariencies to achieve stop -motion effect.

Light Roller

I should probably ask this for Santa...

PixelShade by rAndom international

When the cat glows

I found a little report that might turn into a good theme (when used effectively, of course.) for my phosphorescent graffiti ideas. Back in 2007, South korean scientists reported to have cloned cats that have the ability to glow-in-the dark when exposed to ultraviolet light. Apparently those phosphorescent felines enable the scientists to artificially create animals with human genetic diseases, which process could be used to develop treatments for a range of genetic illnesses. It was also said that it could also help clone endangered animals like tigers, leopards and wildcats. I couldn't find further progress in this experiment. I'm curious wether PETA had left any comments on it.

A location idea

2011 Yuri Endo

This might not be too dark enough to work on the phosphorescent graffiti but I've been wanting to do some performance art under this bridge. The place in the image above is located by the Han River, close to Shinsa Station.

Tempting... phosphorescence graffiti

2011 Yuri Endo

After a few sleepless brainstorming nights, my professor gave me a tempting idea; phosphorescence graffiti. Above image was taken in my flat using a phosphorescent object that I am using for my projection mapping project. The problem of this object is that its luminosity is not intense enough and unsustainable. I needed to build a little dark room and ISO 800 in order to take this photo. I believe I'm willing to give a shot on this idea after all.

luminouspaint Phosphorescent products Essence of Fluorescence DIY Glow-in-the-Dark Sketch Wall How to make your own glow-in-the-dark-art

Mat Collishaw - DELIVERANCE

A Wild Style 4

Another inspirational work of somewhat ecological and vandalization free graffiti. After watching those amazing works, I am jealous and slightly depressed.

A Wild Style 3

http://www.ecrans.fr

This is another fun and ecological approach for modern graffiti which I am also interested in trying out.

Sandrine Boulet, Oakoak, Liberation.fr

Random notes from the underground ch.4

So what would a person like myself who is, no Banksy, slightly apolitical and agnostic, be a little creative in hopes of gaining maximum 3 minutes of "wow" from people, do for the upcoming project? In that sense, stop-motion meets graffiti sounds like my prospective direction. Having said that, I would like to take full advantage of my nice camera and newly acquired 3D skills. The story would be based on my short sketches which are under development. I would further seek for the extra ideas and methods in order for me to able to work at my own little dark crib rather than actually vandalizing public spaces. In the mean time, I would try to get inspired from geniuses' works and try not to get depressed.

Blu, Lucia, Heart Skips a Beat, James Gulliver Hancock, Chocolate, Dragon Stop Motion

Random notes from the underground ch.3

2011 Yuri Endo

A graffiti found around Hondae station. It's nothing too intriguing, yet I'm fun of its colors.

Luckily or unluckily, graffiti nowadays is becoming considered as high art rather than the sign of social corruption or vandalism which I would like to let my mother, who used to tell me "where there's a graffiti, there's a crime," know. ( It actually does make sense. The crime rate in NYC said to be dropped significantly after wiping out graffiti and brothels under Giuliani. Moreover, think about some American or French movies, the high schools where all the delinquents go to is filled with eye-abusing graffiti. In nay case, those films usually start out with a open scene where some teenagers shop-lifting or tagging their names somewhere in the "hood".

Random notes from the underground ch.2

2005 Yuri Endo

My favorite piece found in yet again Dresden.

I got a little disappointed with myself for still being a complete beginner to the world of graffiti. I shamelessly admit, thanks to Wikipedia, I found out some intriguing facts on its hitory. Firstly, the term "Graffiti" actually stemmed from the Italian word, graffito, ("scratched" ) and is one of the legitimate art techniques. The earliest forms of graffiti dates back to some 30,000 BCE where they used to cave paint. Last but not least, the early example of modern-style graffiti is considered to be an advertisement for prostitution in the ancient Greek City of Ephesus (Turkey). My conclusion is very simple, graffiti was not all about Banksy, subways, name tagging and gangster signals. Shame on me.

A Wild Style 2

2008 Yuri Endo

I believe these photos are taken somewhere in Paris. Although I am not particularly found of this legendary duo per se, I thought the compositions and colors were quite striking.

A Wild Style 1

2010 Malin Sjoberg

Apparently somebody has tagged my name on a wall in Prague. This is a proof photo taken by a friend. Too bad, it was not me who did it...

Random notes from the underground ch.1

Yuri Endo 2005

Dresden, the graffitiville

Here are some of my notes upon my initial brainstorming sessions for the upcoming Graffiti project:

My early memories of graffiti dates back to mid 90's in Tokyo. Whenever I got a chance, I used to spent significant amount of time hiding out in The "Backstreet of Harajuku (裏原 Urahara)" where there used be filled with crazy graffiti and highly trend-concious neo-hippies selling useless handmade accessories on the street. For about a month or two, I went trough a phase where I attempted to sell my handmade woven bracelets there. Sadly, my little business failed and I decided to concentrate on people watching, especially, amateur graffiti artists tagging their names on the walls which was the most exciting and inspiring memory of my youth in Tokyo. Unfortunately, we'll see less graffiti and artistic inspirations in that part of the city.

Some 10 years after, I still can't help myself stopping in front of nice graffiti especially while I'm traveling. I consider myself as quite a globetrotter and the graffiti paradise to me was Dresden and the former East Berlin. It seemed as though this art form was literary taking over the city and blend perfectly and tastefully in with the scenery. To my surprise, I did not find many works contained political agenda except for what I found near the former Berlin wall.

Bandit on their little planets

I feel as though the outcomes are much exciting than my actual stitching works.

Final.. yet again a miss

High contrast Click here to watch

Original Click here to watch

Bandit's hand became a nightmare...

Wondrous little planets 2

It is amazing how much you can play with images for only a few clicks and typing. Click "read more" button for more images.

Wondrous little planets 1

I created some little planets using my old photos. Click "Read more" for more images.

Making Little Planets in Photoshop

The nice bandit on second try

I managed to get the bottom part this time, however, the bandit's hand is misplaced. I'm planning to further work on this piece as my final. Hope he would sparkle on third attempt... Click here to watch

Angry luminance

I ran another test by using my newly acquired light-painting skills. Since I quietly tasted it in my room (by myself) I couldn't manage to shoot on 360 panorama. Click here to watch

Just a little light

My very first light painting piece.

F 5.6/ Shutter speed 15"