Edge of the Universe
For this project, I wanted to create a video that felt mysterious, yet oddly satisfying and calming. I chose to capture myself in a way where I am standing on top of a glass surface where I'm looking at a swirling galaxy below the glass. Clouds and glowing stars are slowly moving around me. In the background there is an image of two horses from a massive sculpture in London that I captured a photograph of. I wanted there to be hints of blue and pink to exaggerate an extraterrestrial, starry feeling. I also inserted the skyline of a city in the background to give the video a modern, futuristic aesthetic. My overall concept was to have myself standing between reality and the unknown, essentially watching as a dream consumes you. I wanted the viewer to wonder where the subject had disappeared to.
Galaxy and glass paneling created by Adobe Firefly
Video by Ali Mehdi from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/video/blowing-cigarette-smoke-in-the-air-5152378/
Video by Samphan Korwong from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/video/illustration-of-a-galaxy-6961824/
Video by Borys Zaitsev from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/video/stars-on-sky-12336923/
This work (Thompson) shows an individual standing on what appears to be a glass rooftop, looking down into the building which contains a galaxy and stars. The environment around her includes a futuristic city set among the clouds, with what appear to be large horse chess pieces or horse shaped buildings. The work has a cooler tone, with blues and purples.
ReplyDeleteThe image seems to be presenting a moment of reflection or wonder. The artist mentioned wanting to create a feeling of being between reality and the unknown, and that concept works well. The work has a direction that follows this sense, with the individual looking down into the galaxy beneath their feet.
Evaluating this piece, the work does a good job at using the environment to tell the story. It uses an environment that feels out of place from our usual world. The floating clouds, horse shaped buildings, and moving stars help to reinforce the idea that the subject is suspended between worlds. Some of the things that could have been improved would be the brightness of some aspects; the background / right side of the screen feels very flat. I think that is because perhaps the saturation is down. It just feels very grey. Another thing that could have been improved would be the effects. The clouds have an odd movement pattern, and the smoke that comes out towards the later end of the work just feels like it doesn’t fit. The rest of the work is great.
This piece could connect to trends of digital surrealism and the blending of portraits with fantasy aspects. The piece could also connect to feelings of uncertainty, further connecting with the between worlds ideas. This piece could also be about the uncertainty of the future, and how to navigate that.
In summary, this work successfully creates a mysterious yet calming tone that the artist intended to create. The scene successfully uses color and movement to express the experience of standing between what we know and what we do not.