A Parade of Artificial Things
Overview:
Controlled multiple moving lights are shone from the exterior of the building into the interior of the building, illuminating and animating a series of specific ‘actions’ and ‘narratives’ that are projected onto carefully placed rear-projection screens. The cameras are trained on the back of the rear-projection screens to collect the resulting images.
After editing, the images are ‘re-introduced’ back into the building, via a multi-projector installation, to create an ongoing ephemeral loop of ‘action’ projected onto the interior architecture of the building as if it was happening in real time…..
1 …a parade of artificial things… is a title taken from Plato’s The Republic (Book Vll / 514a – 515c). Plato uses it as an example in his explanation of the nature of our perception of everyday reality — written over 2000 years ago its relevance to cinema today is undeniable. Plato envisages the shadow of a parade of artificial things perceived by his, chained to a low ledge, populace believing that they are seeing the whole of reality when in truth unseen behind them is a fantastic three dimensional world that is the cause of the shadowy two dimensional world.
2 …controlled, moving light is shone from the exterior of the building… because the building is situated on a corner it is possible to travel the lights around at least two sides of the building and possibly more. The lights will scan the building shinning through the apertures (windows and dereliction holes) illuminating the ‘action’ and projecting it onto screens. There will always be at least two lights (sometimes more) and they will be in constant motion. The light will sometimes be direct and sometimes reflected through a variety of mirrored surfaces including two 5ft diameter parabolic mirrors mounted on a flat-bed truck.
When two sources of light ‘compete’ with each other to pass through the same aperture they create a pattern of interference that results in an ‘illogical’ image on the rear-projection screens. This is best described by “The Double Slit Experiment” which, although first performed in the early part of the nineteenth century, has become one of the back bones of Quantum Physics that has yet to be satisfactorily explained.
3 …animating a series of specific ‘actions’ and ‘narratives’… to be determined as the residency develops. The piece is being made and shown in a very specific place (derelict building, St. Roche, New Orleans, post-Katrina) and the narratives will almost certainly reflect this, but it is important that they be allowed to grow as organically as possible, and not be something that is imposed upon the situation. It is hoped that it will be possible to encourage participation from the local community both in terms of production and ‘in camera / on screen’. Although there will inevitably be an air of documentary about the ‘narrative’, other genres of film-making will be quoted from action/mystery through kitchen sink drama to slap-stick comedy. It should be remembered that no one is ever directly in camera, it is always only their projection as mediated by the exterior lights.
4 … projected onto carefully placed rear-projection screens inside the building… screens made from large sheets of plexiglass laminated with a frosted mylar. Some screens will be free standing and others will be on tracks to allow a variety of focus. The screens will be deployed as single sheets and also ganged up to make multi-faceted groups that will collect the projected images from different angles simultaneously.
5 … the cameras are trained exclusively on the back of the rear-projection screens… the cameras, both high definition video and super 8, are fixed throughout recording the animation of the action as mediated by the exterior moving multiple light.
6 … the images are ‘re-introduced’ back into the building, via multi projector installation… having captured the images, and edited them, the film is projected back onto the interior architecture of the building from multi-projection points to create a looping installation of the drama for public exhibition.
