For the final construction of this project, I began with the completion of the visuals, using the images and animated videos Mimi had made and sent over, editing them together and then adding some of my own illustrations, collage material, and technical software to animate and combine with Mimi’s work.
Below are a few examples of the material Mimi sent over:
Along with the quilted frame/stage, Mimi also sent some other video animations that are included throughout the final piece.
One thing I know Mimi and I both struggled with in this collaboration was timing, we both have jobs and other priorities alongside this project and so we did struggle to find a balance with workload. Because of this, the material that Mimi created and sent over was less than I expected, and I thought she was going to include more textile related animations. That being said, I was very pleased with what she had made, and it gave me a lot of freedom to play around with both visually and sonically. I was able to combat the lack of material with looping certain visual cycles whilst using editing and software to slightly change the loop.
I used the hand animation as the base footage to experiment with Touch Designer, creating the digital contrasting effect. This, I thought, worked really well as I used newly learnt skills of; slit scanning and pixel texturising to manipulate the hand. See below:
I feel this technical aspect of the project was one that I found most beneficial to myself and my practice, it gave me a new confidence in using digital software and I feel motivated to continue leaning Touch Designer. Whilst the effects I used are somewhat basic compared to extent you’re able to achieve using the programme, I feel very pleased with the outcome as I had no prior knowledge of how to use Touch Designer before this project.
Alongside the digital elements that I added to this work, I also contributed an array of animations that appear in the final video. This includes: the wolf hand shadow puppets (from zoetrope work), the title lettering and coin, the tree, and the bow and arrow. Using hand drawn illustrations, magazine clippings and real life objects I created these additional layers of visuals.
My personal addition of visual elements was something we had planned since the beginning of this project as whilst my focus lay most on the sonic aspect, I knew I wanted to involve myself with the animations as I really love the process of it. I feel the combination of both mine and Mimi’s visual work really complimented each other and supplied a cohesive diversity to the piece.
I chose to include elements of previous works of mine, like the wolves from my zoetrope (expanded studio practice project), as there are a lot of drawings and illustrations that I have made that I haven’t really done anything with and I think it is really nice to give them a new life. As well it creates a continuity to my practice, which at the moment feels necessary as it is all over the place medium wise.
Because Mimi is new to using digital software I offered to compose the final edit of the work myself, using DaVinci Resolve to do so. I have quite a lot of previous experience working with programmes like DaVinci or Premier Pro and so I am fairly confident when it comes to using them. I will say though, because I took on this responsibility, I was pushed for time when it came to the audio production. Taking on too much and leaving things too last minute is something that I need to be aware of and improve as I find this to be quite a common occurrence in projects. This is something I communicated with Mimi and it was good to talk openly about in the collaboration as she was then able to take on a bit of responsibility which made the final process more balanced.
Finally, something that became quite obvious during the construction phase of this work was the difference from the original storyline, the final visual elements felt less attached to the original contextual reference of the Huldra folklore. This is something Mimi and I spoke about as we both felt it had become detached from the final image. Whilst this was the case, I still felt the relevancy of the story throughout the project and the connection to our Norse heritage was something I consistently referenced in the audio.
I know Mimi struggled in creating a character that accurately represented the story of the Huldra, and when we spoke about this, we both decided to view the storyline of the Huldra folklore as inspirational research, referencing particular aspects of it the final composition, but not have it rule our own narrative. As this series develops I would like to ensure that each piece has a clearer set of relational features to the certain cultural ancestry that is is about, as I feel this did get slightly lost in the work.
Overall, I am very pleased with how the visual element of this work came out, I think it represents both Mimi and I’s practice well in a collaborative way, and I really enjoyed working with her. Although there are certain areas I am not 100% satisfied with, I think that, as this is a collaboration that is to be expected and it has been crucial in learning how to speak up when I am not pleased with something.