Degree Project - Week 19

 

Semester B: Week 19
Student: Tai Ser Yeet (22064351)
Programme: BA (Hons)(SW) Digital Media Design

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WEEK 19

Finding a Direction

Steve let me know that my project proposal did not give a clear direction for where I wanted my degree project to go, and I agreed with him. Although I had done the initial testing using a Kinect v2 sensor integrated with TouchDesigner and had the visuals shown through a projector, I still wasn't sure of the overarching conceptual framework of the piece.

I revisited my research on data visualisation, the art of representing information in a way that makes it easy to understand. In Valentina D'Efilippo's work with Miriam Quick, they extracted musical data from the song’s layered tracks and visualised it in a set of 10 engraved records.

I like the way emotion was represented in this piece, through intertwined lines and the messiness of it all. Oftentimes, we don't really know what triggers a certain emotion when we hear a soundtrack. We could be drawn to the dynamics, harmony, melody, bass, or even just an amalgamation of all those things. This visual is indeed an accurate depiction of the chaos that we experience in our nervous system when the music is that good. 

Since my project is all about being introspective towards our feelings while moving our bodies, I wonder if this type of visualisation is suitable. Just a random thought, the lines also look like strands of hair, and a friend once said to me that hair holds memories. I have observed that many people opt for a drastic change in their hairstyle following a breakup or a significant life transition. This could serve as a visual marker of a fresh start, signalling a shift in identity and a desire to reclaim agency over one's life. In the context of the project idea, emotions are evoked through life experiences. For example, hearing a song that played during one's first dance class might evoke "excitement." This could be a solid design rationale. 

Additional information on Oddityviz: Link to Article

Behance: Link to Project

Phase 1: Learning MATs