Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Flying Machine Arena
SPARKED: SPARKED is a short film that combines human dramatic performance with a group of computer controlled flying machines, resulting from a collaboration between ETH Zurich, Verity Studios, and Cirque du Soleil. Its visual textures are real – no CGI or wires, slow-mo or fast-forwards were used to enhance what you see.
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This is an incredible work of art. These lamp shade drones move with such elegance and have humanistic qualities. They come to life through their smooth movements along with their synchronization. The quadrocopters themselves are tiny containing four motors with propellors along with a central console that powers the machine. This video was magical and looked like it was edited, but it was simply technology at its finest. The lampshades were alive as the actor played around with them. Each lampshade had its own personality shown through its design. I would love to be a part of a piece similar to this one day.
This is such a beautiful video. At the end, when it said that no CGI or special effects were used, I assumed that meant it was done with some kind of low-tech technique, like transparent cables. But then I read the article and watched the behind the scenes video and these quadrocopters are so cool! It's funny that the idea to put lampshades on them initially came from colleagues joking around. As the behind-the-scenes video mentions, these quadrocopters really seem to take on individual personalities just from having the lampshades placed on top of them. It's amazing to see a story like this that is completely without dialogue and it is such an incredible usage of new technology.
This is so cute!!! I thought it was great that Cirque was involved because I can totally see something like this being used in a cirque show. The video itself was very Cirque-esq!! These flying machines are incredible! We've all seen thing hovering or those toy helicopters that flew but they were always really wobbly and unbalanced. These machines flew with such grace and balance! It was so magical! The lampshades were such characters in themselves too! I just loved this!!!
The increasing use of drones in art has me on the edge of my seat and waiting for more. I absolutely loved this interaction between man and machine. The programmers did such a magnificent job with the drones that they almost seemed like living creatures themselves. However, what probably made this experience work out so well is probably the perfect sound track. The scoring was simply magnificent and created emotions and personalities and relationships when the robots couldn't themselves. The simple implementation of light shades was also beautiful in that it brought life to an every day object that we never expect to see move on its own.
There is a quality to art which is actually kinetic which I do not believe digital animation will ever be able to imitate. I would absolutely love to see this concept actualized on a stage for a live audience, because there, where no post-effects are even possible, the audience could appreciate the full magic that movement and timing can bring to a performance. Not to mention, the decoration of each shade is perfect. The contrast between the electrician's rough, dull look and the the glowing, fun lampshades is incredibly effective in giving each object (and the man) a great character which helps create a a beautiful story without the aid of dialogue. (Very Cirque!) The lines of text at the end of the film tugged at my kinetic-sculptor heartstrings. "A live interaction between humans and autonomous flying machines. Co CGI was used or needed." <3
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