The Brief

Brief

Create an installation based on the travelling of words It must have an underlying message Must be based around the subject of communication/miscommunication

Internet/Social Media

Research: Notes

After time spent browsing the internet looking into stories passed down to each generation, I came across an interesting blog that raised the subject of how the internet has interfered with the activity of passing down stories.

I found this quite interesting and decided to look in to this some more.

I also tried to create my own urban myth by telling people that Brad Pitt was filming a new movie at the Dockyard, although it didn’t quite get around as much as I had hoped.

Internet The internet has changed urban myths

Instead of being free-flowing and passed down they are written as whole and then copy and pasted, rather than being unintentionally edited through verbal narration.

Some tourists were driving in a car through the Australian bush when they hit a large old-man red kangaroo. What a great photo opportunity! The animal stood about six feet tall and would really impress the pals back home. So our intrepid visitors propped the roo up, and to add that little bit of humour, one of the blokes put his jacket on the roo. You guessed it! The roo was only stunned and promptly hopped off into the distance complete with jacket, wallet, passport etc. 

Social Media/Communication

I have listed a YouTube video that I believe is trying to send out the same message as the one I want to convey within my installation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dLU6fk9QY

I think this is an eye-opening video which highlights how society communicate face-to-face much less and how some people even think of it as ‘insane’ to have a conversation with a stranger on the tube.

Participation

Staged to Non-Staged Have an urban myth/story told on one screen (possible other screens that show the same story in different mediums)

The audience has to listen to the story and watch the screens then record their version on the same story

“A small brown haired boy and his parent were flying their brand new kite together in the golden sunshine when the kite was caught in a large oak tree. A friendly by-passer offered his help to get the kite out of the tree. The man climbed the tree and retrieved the kite. The small brown haired boy hugged the man and his parent thanked the man and they went their separate ways.”

The audience recorded their story as the second audience watch it live on screen and then they record their version of the recorded story in a chain reaction.

Sound waves

Create a sculpture of a sound wave using old wires and cables.

Allow audience to attach words/stories to the sculpture.

Final Idea

Event Statement The project is based around how social media interferes in everyday real life conversations. The idea stemmed from my own experience when talking with friends about things I had been up to. For example, I would start telling a friend about a music gig I went to the night before, but before I could get one whole sentence out they would say, "Oh yeah, I saw that on Facebook/Twitter" etc. and this pretty much ended the conversation.

I want to show my audience how a Facebook status or tweet, for example, only provides the smallest amount of communication possible whereas face-to-face conversations are elaborate and use hand gestures, tone of voice, facial expressions etc. which you miss out on in social media.

There will be three videos in total – storytelling, sign language and storytelling through imagery.

The storytelling videos are of various people telling the story behind a social media post of their choice. I'm looking to get 8-10 stories which are around one minute long each. The stories will most likely be on many different subjects.

The point of the signing video is to provide an example of another way of communication, and although not using a voice, we are able to communicate through signs, facial expressions and body language.

The reason behind the imagery video is also to show an alternative communication which is used most often with young children – picture books that tell stories. People are able to see a series of images and put together a story in their mind.

Another Angle - After speaking to Carol Willes, a student undertaking her post-graduate degree in interpreting, on the phone she brought up an interesting point that I felt was worth looking into.

“Deaf people are dependant on social media for communication”

- Carol mentioned how its not only Facebook and Twitter, but also texting, Skype, Facetime etc. that they are dependant on as they aren’t able to make normal phone calls.

- This was an angle I hadn’t thought about before but it is very much true and is something I would like to include within my installation to show the different uses of social media – deaf people use it solely for communication whereas others use it as a form of entertainment

Another Problem/Another Angle

- After thinking more in-depth about what Carol told me: “Deaf people are dependant on social media for communication” and the fact that I haven’t been able to get another interpreter to take part in the project, I have come up with another idea to put across the idea of communication through social media for deaf people.

- The idea is, instead of a BSL Interpreter, to have the story written out as though it was being typed out on Facebook. Therefore, you have the short status that non-deaf people write and the more detailed description written out in a way that a deaf person would communicate it.

- If I am able to get a BSL Interpreter, then my idea is to put their video into a Skype frame so it looks as though they are sending a video message via Skype (another social media platform that that deaf people depend on to communicate).

Facebook

“Deaf people are dependant on social media for communication”

Skype

“Deaf people are dependant on social media for communication”

The Venue

Ideal Venue

I want my installation to be held in a place that is centred around technology to highlight the point that the installation is about the positives and negatives that technology has provided for society.

My ideal venue would be an Internet Café or a library.

The Smithery, Historic Dockyard

- My chosen venue is the Smithery on the Historic Dockyard in Chatham.

- This room is used as a Mac Suite and therefore suits my installation as it is a room used solely for technical work.

- The space is fairly large and the glass walls gives it an open, freeness feel to it with the natural light coming in from outside.

- The room has a good shape to it and I will be able to use that to my advantage.

- The room has ten Mac computers and I will use these as a type of border to my video screens. I want to put a moving sound wave travelling across all the screens.

Photos

The glass corridor leading into the room

The Macs bordering the room

The Macs bordering the room

Photos

The solid ceiling

Macs and the printer Entrance to the room

30ft

13ft

3.1ft

12ft

9ft

Floor Plan

10 Macs4 double plug sockets

Visual Identity

The Font

I wanted to use a non-generic font that gave off the sense of ‘technology’. I chose the font ‘Analog’ from dafont.com because it was modern yet similar to what you would see on digital clocks, messages and channel numbers on older TVs etc.

‘ANALOG’

The Event Name

Netiquette

I came across this word during my research into how social media is portrayed in the media. The meaning of it is how one is expected to behave online.

It includes how you should communicate what you want to say in the appropriate manner, as you can not use tone of voice or see facial expressions, so the use of the right punctuation is key.

For example, how do you communicate sarcasm through text? You could use emoticons or acronyms such as ‘JK’ meaning ‘Just Kidding’ etc.

Wires

The venue needed a visual identity to tie all of the aspects together.I have chosen wires – these physical attach things to each other and now visually too.

Mac Sound Waves

I like the way that the Mac screens border the room and can play as a type of backdrop to my entire installation. I want to have a sound wave that goes across them so that it doesn’t distract too much from the videos but also links to the piece.

TV Wires

To create my visual identity, I want to have wires going behind the tv’s to look as though they are all joined together.

Sculpture Interactivity

The audience will be asked to take a tag and write down a word, phrase or comment about their opinions on the message in my installation – social media and communication. They can then attach it to the sculpture using the crocodile clips.

Sculpture Tags

The audience will have the choice of either “FAIL” or “PASS” PAT test labels to write their negative or positive comments on.

Edited Tags

I have edited each of the tags so that there is a space for the audience’s comments to go as well as the date.

Problem Solving

Wire SculptureI recorded myself saying the word communication and zoomed in until it became a neat enough sound wave to base my sculpture on.

To create the sculpture, I wanted to attach the wires together and make it into a free-formed shape that did not need a backdrop to hold it in place. I used colourful cable ties that matched the wire colours and bendable wire to achieve this. I then spent time adjusting it until I was happy with the shape of the sound wave and that it looked like the one I was duplicating. I then attached two pieces of wire across the sculpture to give it more stability.

Hanging the Sculpture From studying the Smithery, I decided to try and hang the sculpture using transparent wire and tacks. I attached the wire to the tacks and pushed them into the rubber above the glass at an angle.

This worked well but I was concerned about the health and safety surrounding this.

Also, the sculpture did not look right in the space. It was too small compared the window I was hanging it against.

I considered other areas but came to the conclusion that the sculpture was too small to have any impact.

A New Idea After concluding that the sculpture would not work in the space, I decided that I would draw the sound wave onto the window using glass crayons. This would give a much bigger impact to the space.

I would then undo the sculpture and use it to go behind the TVs (as suggested in slide 50). The audience could then attach their cards to the wire and it would give a much better visual – the wire, TVs, videos and comment cards all in one area of the space.

Background Macs Originally, I wanted to have a sound wave that went across all of the Macs in the background, but now that I am drawing a large sound wave on the window, I thought something else would be better.

I feel that having a display of questions that are rarely used any more because of social media sites will have a bigger impact on the audience by highlighting this fact.

HOW ARE YOU ?WHAT WAS IT LIKE?

WHO DID YOU GO WITH?DID YOU GET ANY PHOTOS?

The Event Day

Details of the Event

Name: Netiquette

Date/Time: 15.05.14, 4.00pm

Where: Mac Room, Smithery

How: Guests are invited to walk freely in and out of the event, there will be no time limit on how long they must stay. Ideally, they should add a comment to the sculpture before leaving. The videos will be on a loop.

Refreshments: There will be strawberry laces and cables for the guests to continue with the wire theme. There won’t be any drinks provided to prevent any accidents/damages in the event space (see Risk Assessment).

Risk Assessment

Advertising I created a poster to advertise my event. I used a TV screen and created the static on the screen for the background and used my chosen font to display the information. I kept the information short and basic to create a slight enigma around the event in the hope that curiosity would entice an audience.

I sent out an email to all of the MFA Students and put up posters around the dockyard.

Final Photos