Photos of my stand

♥ Find the answer in the water!

Website

I have nearly finished my animation and started making a functional website for people who are interested in my project. I’m using only text and the colours black and white (inspired by the Taiji symbol) to design this website. Many thanks to Cherry for teaching me Action Script (it did drive me crazy…)

Looking for music

I realised the matter might be the music I originally used, so I started looking for another suitable music. It was a very long journey…I spent a lot of time on it. Ultimately I found it :)

The music “Reprise” by Joe Hisaishi is from the soundtrack of “Spirited Away”, an amazing animation directed by Hayao Miyazaki in 2001.

Tutorial with Maria

We discussed the installation of my project. Maria was knowledgeable and gave me lots of advices (especially a meaningful story told by her that I liked). I am inspired with some new ideas and am going to redesign my installation.

Getting some feedback

When I finished the first editing, I emailed some of my friends the clip and asked for a feedback (with thanks to Noi, Shiei, Anne, Anna, Viola, and Palm-palm). They were really helpful to tell me their thoughts. Therefore, I will reedit the animation.

Meditation on Five Chapters of the Tao

The art work "Meditation on Five Chapters of the Tao" (Peggy 1998) exhibited installations of Chinese calligraphy, the art of writing, displaying five chapters of the Tao Te Ching.

Another shooting note

Two new ideas came in my mind.

Steam

I put a kettle under an acrylic board (it took some time to set it in a good position). I wasn’t sure of the result, and I looked stupid when I was filming…

Hot Hob

I filmed water on a hot hob (it didn’t work with low temperature) as if it was dancing. I was going to track a surrounding shot but I failed because the hob was connected against a wall and the movement wasn’t smooth…sigh

Sand Animation

Regarding my video, it is a series of experiments with water animation. Using a natural substance as a medium of creating animations is fascinating. Artists such as Ferenc Cakó, Ilana Yahav, and David Myriam are sand animators, who draw figures by applying sand to a surface with their hands. For my project, I used water as the medium and drew animations on distinct surfaces.

Inner Force

Another installation “Inner Force” applied to the same practice of wu wei, which was interpreted as “action without competitive or selfish goals”.

The work consists of a pool of water projected on the floor. The viewer’s task is to fill the surface of the pool with lotus flowers or to catch as many of the carp swimming in the water as possible. EEG probes will be attached to the viewers’ heads to measure the alpha wave activity of the brain. Forcing things will not work, the more peaceful the posture and the mind, the more successful the effort.

I've experienced this installation, it's really cool :)

Some notes in shooting

Concrete

I went to Greenwich Park for shooting. When I set up everything and started with my first shot, a car soon approached. Two men were in the car, and one of them stopped me. I was asked to apply for a permission to shoot in this park. After asking for relevant information, I quitted. It costs 50 pounds for a student plus a daily rate (oh my god).

Another day, I went to another place for shooting and was stopped by a security guard again. Fortunately, I was allowed to shoot after explaining my purpose. Therefore, I finally finished drawing on a concrete surface.

Plastic Chopping Board

At the very beginning, I had no idea how to deal with the water. It just returned to original position and did not change as I wanted it to as if it’d a consciousness. However, after editing the footage I realised that it was alive. I fully appreciated the result.

Jeans

I put two camcorders (thank Noi for another one) on the end of each side. I like the result.

Drop

I utilised Interval Record to film a daytime to night time scene which was reflected by a drop of water. I found it was boring because I waited for nearly 5 hours in Regent’s Park.

Human Body

A big thank to naked Palm-palm (my slave) who provided his big belly and hairy leg.

The Sea

I filmed the sea in Brighton. I was surprised that the beach wasn’t sand but stone (luckily I found a cute stone for my installation). It was a really windy day so I nearly took off…

Experimental Animation 04

Dem Bones Wiggle

This animation was done in a style called "pixillation." Human bodies are moved frame by frame. We used a digital capture system: there was a video camera feed into a Mac, and a frame-grab software called "FrameThief."
The "bones" are made of regular masking tape layed over black clothes, hoods, gloves and foot coverings.

director Lorelei Pepi

asst director Lisa Haber-Thomson

actors Harvard VES Fundamentals of Animation students 2005

Experimental Animation 03

One-eyed Rattlesnake Pete and the American Dream (2D Transformation Animation)

An interesting loop animation

Experimental Animation 02

Rabbit

A dreamlike but dark story of lost innocence and the random justice of nature, told with curious images from a distant childhood. When an idol is found in the stomach of a rabbit, great riches follow, but for how long?

director Run Wrake

assistant animator
Martin Morris
Barnaby Hewlett
Murray John

editor
Rich White

music
Howie B
Craig Richards

dubbing editor
Craig Butters

dubbing mixer
Cliff Jones

Experimental Animation 01

As the Crow Flies

An image of a bird migrates across the drawings of one thousand members of the public. In a process akin to Chinese Whispers the initial picture transforms and develops, producing an unpredictable narrative flight.

director
Carolina Melis
Susanne Flender

music Metronomy