My interest in speech has been refined to an observation of the modes of communication we employ as human beings. Engaging with people through craigslist; navigating preparations for fruitful exchanges and generating enthusiasm for the project without disclosing the research, provided an intensive exercise in procuring research participants and collaborators. Examining my own communication style while experimenting with the vocal expression in interviews with strangers became a visual exercise in touch designer where I created audio reactive procedures that distort the image with each word uttered. Most recently, presenting the series of on-camera introductions, silent talking heads, as an expression of light based on the movements expressed when speaking personally for my final crit gave me insight into the importance of the presentation of an idea, even as a work-in-progress.
I created a version to watch as a single-channel video, above, and below is the projected series of videos, displayed side-by-side so that similarities and differences can be seen simultaneously.
The day after our final crits, I projected my work in a larger scale and in the darkest space I could find and was able to create a more immersive experience with the variable lighting. What I found when the individual light-videos filled the room was that I was no longer looking to decipher the form which the light was creating on the wall as much as I was experiencing the rhythmic qualities and the texturing of the space. In a way, I was engulfed in the energetic exchange of the interview experience. The amount of information the interviewee was offering in the form of speech translated to the degree to which the space was illuminated, allowing me to see the environment more or less clearly. It makes me think about the process of speaking and how we provide non-visual information to either draw attention to our physical representation or diffuse it. Taking this project further, I might look at building an environment which the light video reveals through the communicated gestures translated as light. I also might look at ways of pulling the light expressions into three dimensional space…