Early Projects: The Projects – Draft 01

There was originally going to be two large projects and one smaller side projects created this year.  This has had to change through the realisation of the scope of my projects.  I will detail all of the projects that are on the cards here.  The actual projects went through many changes over the Semester, details of which can be found here.

Down in the Uncanny Valley

The original side project.

Research Areas

For this part of my Msc, I am researching two areas:

1. The Uncanny in Narrative Arts
   1. Major Research Area
   2. Researching how writers and film makers have approached the Uncanny.
2. Forms of writing
   1. Personal Research for Skill Development

The Uncanny in Narrative Arts

I am researching the Freudian tropes of the Uncanny in Narrative (according to Eyre, S. and Page, R. (2008) (Cannibalism added by myself, as it is a common theme found throughout the works of Freud (see Freud (2003) for example), and also throughout the works of those discussing the Freudian Uncanny (see Royle (2003) as an excellent example))):

1. Inanimate objects mistaken as animate (dolls, waxworks, automata, severed limbs, etc.)
2. Animate objects behaving as if inanimate or mechanical (trances, epileptic fits, etc.)
3. Being blinded
4. The double (twins, doppelgangers, etc.)
5. Coincidences or repetitions
6. Being buried alive
7. Some all-controlling evil genius
8. Confusions between reality and imagination (waking dreams, etc.)
9. Cannibalism

In order to do this, I will be using the “Down in the Uncanny Valley” on-line story project in order to research through practice.  I will also be reviewing narratives (primarily films, as they deal with the Uncanny in a visual manner) in order to see how other practitioners in the field of the Uncanny Narrative operate and execute their ideas.  The bulk of my Uncanny Narrative research will be located here.

Forms of Writing

The Research section of this blog will deal primarily with the research into forms of writing I can use to tell Uncanny Narratives.  At present I am looking at Haiku poetry.  It is short, expressive, and to the point.  I am also looking at the likes of Dr Seuss, who’s flowery, happy poetry is highly subversive and usually masking a darker vision.  My Progress blog here will also reflect upon how I feel my project is coming, and reflect upon the success and failure I find with parts of the project.

Uncanny Narrative Arts Projects

Working Title:  Head Morph

Research Areas

For this part of my Msc, I am researching the following areas:

1. The Uncanny in Narrative Arts
   1. Major Research Area
   2. Researching how sculptors and artists have approached the Uncanny
2. The Freudian Uncanny
   1. Specific Freudian Uncanny Tropes
      1. These are the main tropes that effect this particular project.  I intend to explore through personal writing and reflection the reasons behind this project, and to explore how I can strengthen the thematic delivery through the imagery I create.  The other tropes, if and where they factor into this project, will also feature in the discussion.
         1. Confusions between reality and imagination
         2. The Double
            1. Looking at the relationship between the self and the other.
            2. Looking at how we find elements of ourselves in others, and others in ourselves.
   2. Other Freudian Concepts relating to the Uncanny
      1. The return of the Repressed
      2. The Death Drive
      3. Dreaming
3. Technical Research
   1. Shaders
   2. Blendshape & Rigged Animation
   3. Animated Textures & Shaders
   4. Realistic Rendering (DoF, GI, AO, etc.)
   5. Topology

Working Title:  Zoetrope

Research Areas

For this part of my Msc, I am researching:

1. How a 3D animation can be replicated in a traditional form.
2. How I can explore the aforementioned themes using the traditional technology of the Zoetrope.

Working Title:  Mouth Piece

Research Areas

This project is intended as research into the following:

1. The technical hurdles faced in the larger Head Morph Project.
2. The themes of the Freudian Uncanny.

References

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 1:42 pm and is filed under Uncategorized and tagged with Draft, Research Areas, Status, The Projects, Update. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.