Some extra bits!
Clancy Quay project.
My work for the Clancy Quay Studio was facilitated by NCAD Studio+, which is a year-long programme in which students gain industry experience by working for real companies and collectives. The moving image crew conducted and edited interviews of the Clancy Quay Studio that were used for promotion. I made the music for each interview and edited one of the interviews. I made music for other projects for NCAD Studio+, but this required most of my focus for the entire year.
Ode to Hilma: Research Project.
This was the outcome of a research project about rituals. The brief was open to interpretation, so I examined the life of Hilma Af Klint. Born in 1862 in Sweden, Hilma Af Klint was an occultist artist who performed rituals with four of her friends, known as 'the five' or 'the Friday group.' The artist attributed all of her art to these rituals and claimed that she painted her abstract paintings under guidance from spiritual beings. She also stipulated in her will that her work would not be published until 20 years after her death, as she believed that her work was for the 21st century. She chose to believe that the world was not ready to understand and accept what she knew was groundbreaking work.
I wanted to create ritualistic chants for her occultist group. I took a very 21st-century approach because although it is meant to serve as ritualistic music for Af Klint and her group, the outcomes of The Five and their work were not suited for the 20th century but rather the next century, according to Af Klint. I wanted my music to transcend their time, just like the art that was created throughout their years of working together.
Drawing on my research on medieval music, I decided to create a chant for Af Klint’s group 'The Five' while employing a minimalist approach to music notation and developing a formula that is an interpretation of Terry Riley’s 'In C.'
'In C' is a musical piece composed by Terry Riley in 1964 and is considered a minimalist piece. Riley is regarded as one of the pioneers of minimalism in music. 'In C' requires an indefinite number of performers but suggests "a group of about 35 is desired if possible, but smaller or larger groups will work."
My chant consists of over 30 sections and 50 instruments. Each instrument can play whichever section they prefer because regardless of the choice, the output will sound similar. I divided the chant into six separate audio files to be played in an exhibition space, each with its own speaker or output. The person in charge of pressing play can decide when to do so because the sections do not need to begin or end simultaneously. The more outputs used (more than six), the more textured the chant will sound.
Link for all the audio files: https://on.soundcloud.com/8sMWx
RSA Moving Pictures Brief Outcome.
When this brief was launched, I was initially very excited because the ways in which I could produce an outcome were endless, and I could try methods of animation that I had never attempted before. Unfortunately, I had very little experience with animation prior, which meant that I would have to learn a lot along the way. I am satisfied with the outcome in the sense that it was my first-ever full-length animation, not just with a narrative, but also my first full-length animation.
There are some parts of the outcome that I tried over and over, hoping to make them perfect, but eventually, I realised that my perfectionist approach would not allow me to fulfil the brief, and chunks would be missing. This is especially prevalent with the 'change is necessary' line that was delivered in the audio. You will see that I attempted to deliver that section with the best possible outcome but neglected to realise that I had to animate enough to support the entire audio, so some sections have received less attention than others.
Because this was my first time properly animating, I had no sense of stylistic identity that I could use to approach the brief, so that's why this animation depicts many styles. I wanted to try out a bit of everything, and that in itself has produced a stylistic identity - I know that this is something that only I could create, regardless of the standard, which I am aware could be better to some extent. The way I compiled the outcome is far from practical - it is composed of drawings made on Procreate, exported to Photoshop, and made into GIFs with transparent backgrounds there, and then compiled in Premiere. This was challenging, but I am still somewhat satisfied with the outcome.
My approach was to create imagery that was personal to my interpretation of the audio, which is why there isn't much of a narrative, but rather scenes that I imagined from listening to the speech. I wanted to create stylistic imagery rather than create a character and portray their navigation of the issues expressed in the audio - which was about personal and collective responsibility regarding climate change.
I chose the 'change is necessary' audio because my previous awareness and interest in climate change would allow me to appropriately fulfil the brief. The audio itself is impactful, but the narrator speaks with a lack of conviction and doesn't garner the same attention that the other audio provided, which had a more engaging narrator. This meant that I had a responsibility to create something that was engaging and dynamic, including strong and memorable imagery. This was another motivation to give my whole effort and nothing less.
(Research document provided via google drive.)
Waterways Ireland.
This was another short moving image brief from Studio+. We were told to make a video of any Waterways Ireland canal, so I chose Grand Canal, because I work on a boat there! Sound also made by me of course.
Made Just For Fun!
I used to make small animations for my music before college assignments swallowed me whole! Here are a few.