Video: First Place

Heather Crank
California College of Arts and Crafts

Perception

Objective: The film “Perception” is based on my personal experience with the vision disorder called strabismus and the ways in which this disorder affects my work as a design student at C.C.A.C. I was attempting to communicate that the disabled designer has the ability to develop an acute sensitivity to visual metaphors, by engaging perceptual limitations as a spring board from which new forms emerge.

Tools used: This footage for this piece was shot using a Sony DV camera for the color imagery and a Tyco children’s camera from the 1960’s for the black and white imagery. The black and white children’s camera was used to create a nostalgic mood that contrasted with the colored imagery, as well as to set up a type of repitition and rhythm. The footage was then captured using Adobe® Premiere and put into Adobe After Effects® 5.0. I then used After Effects for editing the sequences, manipulating the levels for contrast and the layer transparency mode for smoother cuts. For the footage that transitions from color to black and white I experimented with the threshold option. This gives the experience of going from 3D to 2D in order to mimic a lack of depth perception. I also used After Effects to edit the audio noise utilizing the audio effects option and setting the audio levels by hand. The type was created on a slide shown through a slide projector. I then placed a small round fish bowl on a turn table and shot the slide through the rotating bowl onto a white sheet. I then filmed the type with the above mentioned Tyco children’s camera. The line art was created in Illustrator and brought into After Effects 5.0 as layered files. I then animated each layer using key frames.