you are not a gadget
Technology is amazing in increasing levels of productivity and efficiency but it also increases dangers and risks. Limitless but also limited. This phrase by Jaron Lanier in this book struck a chord in me (hah) which inspired the whole process of this project:
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“a music note was no longer just an idea but a rigid mandatory structure”
As someone who used to play the piano competitively, the analogy of music to technology resonated with me on a deeper level. There was always a drastic difference between simply playing the notes on the sheet versus feeling the notes on the sheet.
Technology creates a rigid structure and has only right answer; therefore, reduces all other possibilities and endless wonder into one rigid block—the midi synth note. I think the beauty of human nature is the mess that we make.
Creativity is wild, uncontrollable, unfathomable and to simply leave it to technology?
Using tracing paper, lights, piano keys, I aimed to emulate the organic nature of the human touch in the early half of the title sequence. Because humans are passionate, emotional, and fervid, the piano playing hands overlap and overwhelm the screen. But the straight piercing light represents the entrance of technology. At first it is beautiful and refreshing in the midst of the chaotic darkness of emotion and memories. But as it continues to grow, technology breaks up the creativity and passion into a rigid structure, system. Until the uncontrollable human nature becomes reduced into a single midi synth note. Restraining and choking out humanity.
I think one of the parts that really excited me was when I incorporated motion tracking into this piece!
I took a video of myself playing the piano and using the motion tracking feature in Ae, I placed points on my fingers, wrists, elbows, and allowed the points to follow my movements as I played. Using these motion tracked points, I created the vibrating crazy textures throughout the piece. Although it just looks like moving points with some kind of wiggle expression, it’s more than that :-) It shows the fervent nature of creativity, beauty, and emotion. Not just some numbers and letters in the computer.
Another fun part was trying to sneak in references as much as possible so I referenced DNA finger print sequences into the imagery. Is technology taking over our humaneness, down to the wiring of our brain?
Our project’s deliverables were motion tests and styleframes but I put together a rough title sequence to see what it could possibly become!