Weblink: A polaroid, a dangling shoe & a bear's head
http://raws.adc.rmit.edu.au/~s3162172/ezediaproj/proj.mov
Have you ever been to a haunted house? How did you know it was haunted? Was it something someone said? Did the
floorboards really creak? Or was it just your imagination?
Certain places inspire certain stories which are seemingly
unrelated to the space but which still feel intrinsically linked to that time
and space. As people, we are linked to spaces not by logic but by the
unconscious indicators within such spaces. We are unable to separate the
signifier from the signified and as a result our tendency is to create our own
stories based on our individual perceptions.
‘A Polaroid, a dangling shoe & a bear’s head’ is an
experimental media object designed to explore the evolution and mutation of our
relationships to a space, which in this case is the soon-to-be developed former
Carlton Brewery (Corner of Bouverie St and Victoria St, Melbourne). By using
objects found in the space to inspire fictional narratives the media object
aims to transport the user to the space and emphasize the imaginary world which
exists around spaces and which is created solely by the human perspective.
The Polaroid photo, the shoe caught in a barbed wire fence
and the severed head of a teddy bear were all genuinely found in the space and
have inspired the fictional narratives through the relationships between them
and the space, which have been conceived by the production team.
Credits
Created by;
Z. J. Wong
Andy D. Smith
Emma Jo Davies
Executive Producer
David Carlin
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Comments
3 comments
12.06.09 — Natasha Mitchell
(Note to wider public - these comments should be taken in the context of this being a university class exercise! These RMIT projects are very sophisticated, and we welcome much simpler and entirely amateur contributions to Gene Pool too!).
Hi team - Andy, Emma Jo and Wong
Thanks for contributing this to Gene Pool. This is a beautiful idea, nicely realised
A few brief comments:
- lateral exploration of the concept of evolution...the evolution of a public space, and our relationship to it. Great idea. So much there to explore, and some beautiful imagery and framing in this piece (got a bit seasick with the camera action at times though).
- evocative use of sound, location recordings and sound effects. The audio mix needs a tweak - Emma Jo's narration was a bit lost in the other audio tracks at times...a subtle tweak in the mix that can make all the difference. The written narration was really compelling - would have loved to have heard it more clearly.
- it might have been interesting to find a way to engage with the interesting industrial history of the site in your narration in some way, to explore a few different layers of the actual site that you selected - the personal, the public etc (although perhaps you wanted to explore more personal reactions to the site, which is fine to do too!).
- On the browser I was using I sometimes had difficulty getting the 3 films to play? Is that something you've experienced? Has it been optimised for a particular configuration?
Great project, and gorgeous idea!
Thanks again for adding to the Gene Pool. And good luck with your next projects. Feel free to add your thoughts here too.
Natasha Mitchell
Presenter + science broadcaster - ABC Radio National
http://abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind
+
Gene Pool coproducer
01.06.09 — Nicky
Hi Emma Jo, Andy and Z.J,
I really enjoyed your project for Gene Pool. You made fantastic use of sound. Such great attention to detail, very evocative and well mixed.
I loved the split portrait idea as well. It gave the sound the room it needed and helped create a sense of place!
Nicky Phillips
Producer ABC Radio National Science Unit
31.05.09 — Natasha Mitchell
Dear Z. J, Andy and Emma,
Thanks for uploading your RMIT project!
Looking forward to viewing it in the coming week...I'll pop some thoughts up here on Pool
Cheers,
Natasha Mitchell
ABC Radio National (http://abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind)
and Pool