Today Ivan claimed to be radio-active.
He also stood at the front of the room cradling dolls but that's by the by.
Perception of Reality
Our perception of what is real is often challenged by modern media. The above sculpture by Don Mueck demonstrates this perfectly. Despite the size of the sculpture, the subject itself is photo-realistic - if the sculpture were to be placed in large room without spectators, it would look perfectly real in a photo. In this case I think the warped scale of these figures is necessary in order to seperate them from the crowd of onlookers - if they were actual-size they may easily be overlooked. In their enlarged or shrunken state we can view the pieces as art in their own right, however if they were created entirely true-to-life, spectators may find them uncanny.
The Uncanny Valley
← A character from the 2001 film, 'The Spirits Within'.
There is a certain eerie, soul-lessness about alot of realistically rendered humans. Some people (particularly older generations) can find them spooky.
When we watch a film with a clearly unrealistic human cast (ie; How To Train Your Dragon, The Incredibles etc) our minds fall more easily into the story because we are subconciously sure of the media. However, when a human is rendered to look real, it unnerves us. We are being told that it is real and yet we know it isn't.. yet it does look real.
Is it a lack of soul?
More recently animation seems to have stepped either side of this dilemna; if a film is to be told in a hyper-realistic manner, a fictional character is often graphted onto an actor. This gives the character a far more believable existance and gives it that 'soul' it lacks.
Our perception of what is real is often challenged by modern media. The above sculpture by Don Mueck demonstrates this perfectly. Despite the size of the sculpture, the subject itself is photo-realistic - if the sculpture were to be placed in large room without spectators, it would look perfectly real in a photo. In this case I think the warped scale of these figures is necessary in order to seperate them from the crowd of onlookers - if they were actual-size they may easily be overlooked. In their enlarged or shrunken state we can view the pieces as art in their own right, however if they were created entirely true-to-life, spectators may find them uncanny.
The Uncanny Valley
← A character from the 2001 film, 'The Spirits Within'.There is a certain eerie, soul-lessness about alot of realistically rendered humans. Some people (particularly older generations) can find them spooky.
When we watch a film with a clearly unrealistic human cast (ie; How To Train Your Dragon, The Incredibles etc) our minds fall more easily into the story because we are subconciously sure of the media. However, when a human is rendered to look real, it unnerves us. We are being told that it is real and yet we know it isn't.. yet it does look real.
Is it a lack of soul?
More recently animation seems to have stepped either side of this dilemna; if a film is to be told in a hyper-realistic manner, a fictional character is often graphted onto an actor. This gives the character a far more believable existance and gives it that 'soul' it lacks.
Actors Andy Serkis and Zoe Saldana actings for the films LOTR and Avatar.
Immediacy and Hypermediacy
Immediacy: the medium vanishes, eg; 'getting lost' in a book, suspending disbelief in a film.
(note; immediate in this sense means 'without mediation', ie; real)
Hypermediacy; the medium draws attention to itself, eg; judging a book. The medium becomes obvious through its immediacy.
I like the feeling of 'getting lost' in a book or a film. It allows us to transcend reality for that moment and believe in a world however-technically unrealistic for a while. Almost like a dream.
It isn't real and in the back of your mind you probably know it isn't real; but while you're in that dream it is real to you. I believe media aspires to rival dreams in that sense.
I believe it is the media that makes it real alongside the story and the animation itself. With an increasingly real media (ie; 3d cinema) the most unreal can become believable.
For example; watching a film like Toy Story on an old PAL colour-tv, you are aware that you are watching a film; however watching the same film wearing 3d glasses gives the audience a feeling of being there and in that world.
Perhaps the job of the media itself is to extinguish that subconcious knowledge that we are watching a film? Whereas the job of the animators themselves is to trick the concious mind?
Immediacy: the medium vanishes, eg; 'getting lost' in a book, suspending disbelief in a film.
(note; immediate in this sense means 'without mediation', ie; real)
Hypermediacy; the medium draws attention to itself, eg; judging a book. The medium becomes obvious through its immediacy.
I like the feeling of 'getting lost' in a book or a film. It allows us to transcend reality for that moment and believe in a world however-technically unrealistic for a while. Almost like a dream.
It isn't real and in the back of your mind you probably know it isn't real; but while you're in that dream it is real to you. I believe media aspires to rival dreams in that sense.
I believe it is the media that makes it real alongside the story and the animation itself. With an increasingly real media (ie; 3d cinema) the most unreal can become believable.
For example; watching a film like Toy Story on an old PAL colour-tv, you are aware that you are watching a film; however watching the same film wearing 3d glasses gives the audience a feeling of being there and in that world.
Perhaps the job of the media itself is to extinguish that subconcious knowledge that we are watching a film? Whereas the job of the animators themselves is to trick the concious mind?
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