Final Project Proposals

Over the course of the semester I have been drawn most to the kinds of maps that are

immersive and that offer a different kind on insight into the space that they chart. Beyond visual representations, multisensory maps engage my brain more comprehensively. In particular, I enjoy the combination of visual and audio representation. As we saw in the audio tours of Central Park created by Janet Cardiff, and then recreated in our vintage postcard videos and Tate Britain project, maps combining audio and video give the impression that the space as it was experienced at the time of the maps creation was an experience unique to that moment. Rather than aiming for accuracy or truthfulness over time, these maps embrace the fact that they are fleeting representations of that space as it was in that moment. Yes, many of the structures will remain the same from one viewing to the next, but that exact moment cannot be recreated or re experienced, except through that map. The place is simultaneously stuck in time and free from it, giving viewers a uniquely dimensional relationship to the space. This kind of map is what I want to create in my final project; a charting of space that is unique to that second, minute, hour, or day, and attempts to capture its three dimensionality in some way. I also want to create a map that speaks to my time in London or is in some way meaningful to my experience this semester. Given these preferences and goals, my two ideas are as follows:

1) A 360° representation of a space over the course of 24 hours, including audio. Following my previously mentioned interest in capturing time, I think it would be fascinating to chart space over a certain amount of time. It would offer deeper insight into a particular spot, and give viewers a less conventionally useful, but more evocative experience. This project would involve going to a significant place and documenting it over the course of a full day. I would use the 360 app to document the location every two hours, and then take a one minute audio recording. Later, I would take a one minute screen recording of the 360 creation and place the audio over. I would repeat this process every two hours so that at the end of the process I will have approximately 12 minutes of combined video and audio, documenting the location as it changes over the course of the day. In my quest to make this map as multisensory as possible, perhaps I could add a textural component, and make a frottage of the surfaces in the chosen location.

This project would allow for a fully immersive time travel experience. It would allow viewers to experience the place in much of its entirety. This comprehensive immersion would be balanced out by the relative stillness of the 360 recording. People would be fleeting or absent from the picture, but would be very lively in reality. Their impressions would be picked up in the audio, but their movements would not be present in the visual representation itself.

Questions I still have:

● What location should I pick?

● Should I do it more often or for a longer amount of time per session?

To complete this project, I would use:

● 360 app

● Voice record app

● Cute Cut Pro

● Microphone attachment

● Potential: frottage equipment

2) A representation of my pathway throughout the day, with audio. In order to complete this project I would use a GoPro to document my travel over the course of the day. Each place I went, whether by walking, tube, or bus would be documented on video and audio. I would plan a journey of London locations that are significant to me, and would follow my usual paths from one to the other. Examples of locations might be the FSU site, my flat, my internship office, the Sainsbury’s we always go to, our regular pub, our regular tube stops, the coffee shop I do work at, Regent’s Park, and other significant locations. Alternatively, I could slant this project to be less focused on me. I could follow a stranger on the street, or spell something on the London streets. Depending on the length of the footage, I would speed up the video so it wasn’t incredibly long. I would also like to incorporate the audio, although I worry that speeding up the audio would lessen the map’s immersive quality. If this is the case, I would separate the audio, and only use a section of it or use snippets based on major scene changes. Similar to our highgate mapping exercise, I could also add a GPS recording via Map Plus to document the route I take. I would also like to add a twist to my video recording by adjusting the angle at which I film; perhaps I could carry the camera low to the ground or pointed up at the sky. One variation or alternative for this project would be to combine a map plus GPS tracking with and audio recording of my journey. Viewers would only be given the path and the sounds, and could imagine street crossings, quiet streets, busses, and traffic on their own.

This project would draw on the work of other artists who walked with their camera, including Marie Preston, who documented her walks while holding the camera at the height of the saint’s decapitated gaze. Another similar work is ​From Here to There, ​in which a camera is mounted on a Jack Russell Terrier. Relevant themes arise from our readings on hybrid datascapes, in which artists combine GPS tracking with video or other alternative immersive visuals.

Questions I still have:

● What is my route? Personal vs artistic

● How can I make it unique? What twist can I put on it to differentiate it?

● How long should it be? Should I limit the time?

To complete this project, I would use:

● GoPro and gimble

● SD lightning cord

● Map Plus

● Cute Cut Pro