| Sequencen (echo) | by: Michael Takeo Magruder - 02.2008 |
The Sequencen series of artworks are creative explorations utilising modern digital recording formats and ubiquitous mobile technologies within a technical and artistic framework informed by early cinema and motion picture devices. Within today’s culture of moving-image saturation, these works seek to extend the tradition of lens-based practice by augmenting the fundamental principles of the genre with real-time computational processes and outputs. In this scenario, compositional elements such as the still frame and linear soundclip are unbound from their finite states and give rise to unending moments and ephemeral narratives.
Sequencen (echo) explores the creative possibilities that arise through imposing thematic and technical limitations within a cinematic framework. The composition references the conceptual process used in the creation of the film, The Five Obstructions by Lars Von Trier and Jørgen Leth, in which Trier challenges fellow filmmaker and mentor Leth to remake one of his most celebrated short films, The Perfect Human, five times, each with a different set of obstructions.
In collaboration with:
Emma Puente ( cinematography )
Process:
Using two identical HTC TyTN II smartphones, a pair of audio and video streams were simultaneously recorded. Two video sequences and three audio clips were extracted from the resulting footage and used as the exclusive source material for the artwork. All cinematic effects were generated using the phones’ integrated processing functions during capture, and the final composition was created in strict adherence to the following five obstructions:
1. a theme of ‘first memory’ (the artwork references our first meeting in a corridor of Belmont Arts Centre)
2. no use of traditional AV equipment (mobile phones were used for both recording and in-production effects)
3. audio and video must be recorded separately (two mobile phones were used to simultaneously capture the audio and video)
4. the final composition must be a non-linear structure (the artwork is an algorithmic Flash sequence)
5. the film edit can only include sequences with time-code numbers made of 0s and 1s (the Flash timeline conforms to this rule)
Location:
Belmont Arts Centre, Shrewsbury, UK at 11:24GMT on 24/02/2008.
Requirements:
Internet browser with Flash 9+ plugin and stereo audio. 512+ kb/s connection recommended.
Without Whom:
Lisa Helin ( curation ) . Martin Sumner + Arron Fowler ( obstructions )
Funded by:
| The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation | [ ENTER ARTWORK ] |