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Statement of Intent
We are interested in building a prototype for an immersive video environment in order to experiment with the techniques of construction, the generation of content and the experience of the participants. It is our intent to create an accessible forum for immersive art in order to encourage its creation and exploration.
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An immersive environment cannot be understood without being experienced first hand. We want to come to a basic understanding of our concept for an immersive environment by constructing a prototype and experimenting with a wide range of content. In order to have a diverse set of content, we hope to involve many artists in this first experiment.
Our current goal is to build the DimensionElevator for a limited time, for a day or a weekend. We would like to have at least 8 hours of time to try out different content. In order to do this we require a space in which to setup the installation, we require an additional 3 video projectors, and we require a 4 channel video playback system.
We hope to find an artspace or some other institution with an interest in the arts that will loan us their space for a day or a weekend. We also hope to find one to three other groups that work in video and own projectors that would be interested in collaborating on this project. We are searching for collaborators who share our fascination with the possibilities of this installation and would be interested in creating content for it. We have several strategies for building the 4 channel video playback system. But, we would like to consult with whoever we end up collaborating with to find the most appropriate setup in terms of cost, ease of content generation, and feasibility for an extended installation.
This is an experiment, what do we hope to learn?
When we build the prototype we will certainly just feel it, do it, sense it, play in it. But in order to try to get as much out of the effort as possible, we want to ask questions:
- What does it feel like to be surrounded on all four sides by projected images.
- When we play back an environment that was actually recorded, how realistic does it feel?
- What helps it to feel realistic?
- What are the main things that keep it from feeling realistic?
- What is the unrealistic sensation like?
- Are there certain recorded environments that feel more or less realistic? (city at day. city at night. kitchen. office. cave. mountaintop. streamside. rock concert. alone. with people.
- What does it mean to be able to instantly change the color of four surrounding walls?
- What does it mean to be able to change someone’s local perceptual environment.
- Can a person feel transported to another place with this setup?
- Do the nuances or subtleties of another environment come through?
- Is the lack of 3d projection a serious hindrance? i.e. Each eye sees the same thing.
- Do you feel like you are in a box?
- How much does ones perception change when you are close to a wall versus in the center?
- Once I am in it, what do I want to experience? That is, what content ideas does being in it inspire?
- How important is the projection screen material? Sheet/Tarp/Rear projection material.
- Should the floor and ceiling be black/white/reflective?
- How much does it matter that the floor and ceiling are not covered with video?
- What is the effect of four identical images on all four walls?
- Does it matter if four different kinds of video projectors are used, must they be the identical brand?
- Are the corners/seams between the screens a big issue?
- How accurately can we impart a sense of motion?
- Can you make someone feel like they are upside-down?
- Will people get sick, to what degree?
- What are good rules to follow to keep people from getting sick?
- How does the experience change when you are alone vs. with other people?
- How many people is a good upper limit?
- Are the dimensions of the screens good? or should the whole apparatus be bigger or smaller?
- Is it cool??!?!?!
This proposal focuses on building the DimensionElevator for the first time.
If the trial goes well, we will want to pursue installing the DimensionElevator for a public show. The trial will help us understand which of our ideas for content truly work and would make for a good installation.
We would like to publish plans for the construction of the installation on the web as well as information on creating content. Looking further out, we have talked about creating a permanent installation in Seattle which could coexist as an entertainment, education, and art facility. It would be interesting if there were installations in several cities and artists who created content could easily have immersive shows at any of the locations. We are also interested in the possibilities of live interactions between multiple installations and other forms of internet enabled interactions with the space.
When it is expensive to create content, then the content tends to be designed to make money. This is a constraint on the freedom of any artist. We hope to minimize this constraint so that people can experiment and create with a greater breadth and depth.
The installation is expensive, the materials for it will cost between $25,000 and $45,000 depending on their quality. But once it is build it can be used for many pieces.
Content can be created on standard consumer video equipment and computers.
3d and 2d computer generated can be made on a 1500.00 computer.
Video content could be shot with a 500.00 camera and captured and edited via a 1500.00 computer.
4 stream video could be shot with four 1000.00 cameras and edited on a 1500.00 computer.
Please see the Content Creation section of this proposal for more information.
We wish to visualize our imaginations. for ourselves and for others.
Our intention is to create a true physical space that can be transformed as fluidly as possible.
To create a space that can represent any other.
To create a living/changing space.
To create a space that a person can enter that could be anywhere, everywhere, nowhere
Experiment with the definition/boundaries of our personal perceptual realities. How much of our reality is based on vision and sound? What aspects of the vision are important? What sensations does vision give us, balance, motion, position?
By attempting to create realities, we hope better understand how we actually perceive reality. In the same way that one learns about music and sound by playing it, or learns about image by photographing and drawing, we anticipate learning about our perception of existing in a place.
We anticipate that participants in the installation will also come to question and to better understand how perception creates the reality that they regularly inhabit.
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