UNFOLD-LA STORY

LA STORY

UCLA SUPRASTUDIO IDEAS 2019 - 2020 AISHWARYA RAJASEKAR AKASH RAGDE

UNFOLD A stroll in Venice Beach......

The film aims to showcase movement in time and captures its physicality as it relates to sound. Movement within a particular frame distorts with respect to the dominant sound in the environment. The effect is a result of spacial-time and auditory Synesthesia brought on by a drug induced hallucination, making the protagonist acutely aware of every little sound that he may hear. The protagonist also perceives distortion of time by the changing night sky, as it may happen in the state of hallucination. The entire episode takes place on Venice Beach, through the day and night. The state of hallucination rises exponentially with each scene causing a delirious state of mind.

CONTENTS

I. Synesthesia

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II. Making of the movie

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III. Shots from the movie

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IV. Transition shots

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I Synesthesia Unfold looks to explore the condition of Synesthesia in an L.A. context. As we all know, Synesthesia is a condition in which one sense is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses.

A common type of Synesthesia is auditory visual.

In our story, we are going to explore spatial-time along with auditory Synesthesia. This type of Synesthesia rarely occurs in individuals, wherein they perceive time differently due to the stimulus of sound.

The perception of time was particularly important to us considering the transformations it can create in film. We found LA to be an interesting place to explore movement and we were able to get some interesting results.

The film aims to showcase movement in time and captures its physicality as it relates to sound.

Auditory visual synesthesia is a neurological phenomenon in which a sound stimulus can elicit visual experiences. Unlike auditory-induced visual image experienced by non-synesthetic population, auditory visual synesthesia is involuntary and consistent. Auditory visual synesthesia is further categorized by the type of audio stimuli paired with specific visual responses such as sound colour synesthesia and coloured music synesthesia. ( Synesthetic experiences by a synesthete, Jane Mackay, University of Toronto.)

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“I’m a lot less biased in this realm than usual. It’s a very objective experience and there’s no one color I like to hear more than others. It’s not necessarily seeing the color but feeling it, actually hearing it, if that makes any sense at all. It’s just there you know. However it can get incredible (and overwhelming at times) when there is a color explosion happening. With my body reactions to sound, it can get difficult and almost painful for certain sounds. I get overwhelmed quickly in settings that are too loud/ where there’s too many people, and I blame it on my synesthesia”.

(Nat Girsberger, multimedia artist, Switzerland)

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“Absolutely, I think we all have that ability if we just let it happen.

It feels very abstract and it kind of just pours out of me because I gave up resisting it after a while. Basically, the collage happens after the expansion at that very moment that I think ‘today, it’s just not gonna happen’. When my ego gets out of the way, it finally makes room for the energetic process. I think we all have a connection to the universal part within and can allow it to teach us. However, in my way it’s mostly imagery rather than specific messages, kind of like dream imagery or the way we think in images”.

(Nat Girsberger, artist statement)

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“I believe and have experienced what I call our universal interconnectedness. I like the word consciousness a lot more than god or divinity, because those often get associated with dogma and I’m not a fan. But in the end it’s all the same to me, that meaningful inner spark that we all have that stems from one universal source. I don’t think that there is one universal truth but that it is constantly evolving with us, consciousness therefore changing.

This goes along with my belief in freedom and being free to find our own truths. I have been very much into connecting to the mystical and deeper, existential realms from a young age on, through rituals, meditation, breath techniques, dreams etc. etc. There’s so much for us to learn and it’s what I really care to think about”.

(Nat Girsberger, artist statement)

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“Like the unconscious, this dreamlike realm of time knows no barriers of what is possible, and therefore, frequently clashes with what we selectively perceive. I attempt to find a place where I can defy gravity and explore our planet and solar system. The visual outcome is connected to the core of our truly surreal existence. I create a more satisfying way of existing as a being of the present – a present in which I am quite capable of embracing my inner multiverse.”

(Nat Girsberger, artist statement)

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II THE MAKING...

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The moving birds in the sky are masked using roto brush and an effect called echo is added to the masked birds.

The birds on the land near the waves are masked using roto brush and then added an effect called echo.

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The girl is masked using a roto brush and echoed 50 times to create a stretched effect.

The birds in the sky are edited using time displacement method.

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The man on the shore is masked using roto brush in which each part is echoed at different times with respect to the sounds in the background.

The lights on the rope is masked using roto brush and echoed 30 times and tried to show the transition.

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The man’s head alone is masked in this frame and echoed 28 times to create a stretched effect.

The man on the skateboard is masked in this frame and echoed 15 times.

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The man is masked here using roto brush and an effect called echo is added to him.

The man is masked here using roto brush and an effect called echo is added to him.

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The man is masked here using roto brush and an effect called echo is added to him.

The man is masked here using roto brush and an effect called echo is added to him.

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The light from the giant wheel is masked and an effect called echo and time displacement is added to the masked layer.

The smoke is masked and echo is being added to the masked layer.

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The wall hanging is echoed by masking it.

The light from the giant wheel is masked and an effect called echo and time displacement is added.

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III SHOTS FROM THE MOVIE...

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IV TRANSITION SHOTS...

Whip pan technique