Week 5-6
These last couple of weeks I haven’t had much inspiration for my final outcome, I had just been getting stuck into the research and I thought that maybe my idea would develop through my research findings. I did however think it was getting quite late in the process and that I should probably sit down with what I’ve got and brainstorm some ideas. I knew I wanted to create some kind of sensory experience that would build on the research I already had. The reason why I wanted to choose something sensory is that film for me has always been more than just viewing, it has been a sensory experience and an enjoyment for the senses. I’ve always felt drawn to the sensory elements of film, such as the soundscapes and the strong narratives. I wanted to work out what it was that was drawing me in. Previously, I hadn’t thought much about film in theoretical sense. I didn’t know anything about spectatorship let alone cognitive motor spectatorship. I knew I was engaging and interacting with the content I just couldn’t explain how or why. I want to build on these sensory experiences and create something that is not only viewable but tangible. After my talk with Ben, it was suggested I look into film outside of a cinema setting and in settings such as exhibitions and public spaces. Initially, I had thought that maybe this would rip off Ben’s work as my project and his work have similarities, but Ben gave me the go ahead to explore these settings.
Initially I brainstormed a few ideas
Sensory subscription package
I thought about creating customised sensory kits tailored to specific themes and genres that included tactile elements such as scents, fabrics, and soundtracks to enhance emotional resonance. These kits could include items like textured fabrics, scented candles, and curated playlists to evoke specific moods and atmospheres.
Initially, I thought this was a strong idea as it was almost like a home cinema 4d experience. The only issues I had with it was that, it wasn’t very practical, although the there was a novelty to having tactile elements, it might not work with the stages of the film. You would need to match up the tactile elements with certain parts of the film and that could be more distracting than engaging, which would mean you would either have to interact with the box at the start of the film or at the end which just seemed a bit too complicated in the end.
Immersive Film Installations:
Design immersive installations or pop-up experiences that bring key scenes from films to life through sensory elements like film projection, tactile fabrics, ambient lighting, and spatial audio. These installations could provide individuals with an opportunity to physically immerse themselves in the world of the film, fostering a deeper emotional connection.
This was an initial idea before talking to Ben, the only issue I had with it was that it was quite similar to Ben’s work. It was an idea I had at the time, but I didn’t know if the project was speculative or if we had to actually design a real finished outcome. I thought about designing a title sequence for a film in a specific genre and then tailoring the experience to that genre with matching fabrics, sounds, music, and other tactile elements.
Therapeutic Film Workshops:
I thought about involving the community and offering therapeutic workshops or group sessions where individuals experiencing anhedonia can explore films in a supportive environment. These workshops could incorporate film analysis, guided discussions, and sensory exercises to help participants identify and process their emotions in relation to cinematic experiences. This just felt a bit too out of my comfort zone. As I’ve said before I suffer with anhedonia and difficulty interacting with people. I felt that setting up a workshop would be too difficult considering my difficulties with engaging with people. As much as this was a nice idea, I also think it would be quite difficult and time consuming to set up.
Virtual Reality Film Experiences:
This was just a speculative idea but I thought it would be different to develop virtual reality (VR) film experiences that allow individuals to step into the shoes of characters and interact with film narratives in a fully immersive way. By using VR technology to simulate sensory-rich environments, these experiences could provide individuals with a heightened sense of presence and emotional engagement. This idea in the end just seemed a bit far fetched and complicated to do. It sounded great in theory but felt too complex for a 24 week project. It was inspired by the van Gogh immersive exhibition, where you can see his paintings in 3d through a vr headset. This transports people into the world of the artist.
Film-inspired Art Therapy:
Integrate film-inspired art therapy techniques into therapeutic practices for individuals with anhedonia. Participants could engage in activities like painting, collage-making, and creative writing inspired by themes and imagery from films, using art as a means of self-expression and emotional exploration.
This seemed like a nice idea at the time but it felt too heavily focussed on art as opposed to film and I wanted it to be an immersive experience that I created for myself for the viewers to immerse themselves in rather than them having to do all of the work.
Personalised film recommendations:
Develop algorithms or platforms that generate personalized film recommendations based on individuals' emotional states, preferences, and past viewing experiences. By curating film selections that align with users' specific needs and sensitivities, these tools could help individuals discover films that resonate with them on a deeper level.
I thought that this was a really strong idea. It was something that I personally feel I need a lot of the time. Although streaming services like amazon and Netflix already somewhat offer this service, through recommending similar films based on your ratings, I have often found that the recommended films didn’t match my interests or mood at the time. I thought of developing this through some kind of questionnaire following the film that tracked your mood, your engagement with the film and film preferences, this would be used to fine tune and personalise film selections suited to the persons emotional states and preferences. The issue I had with this idea that it is quite late into the final term. Ui/UX has never really interested me and if I’m honest I avoid anything to do with UX when it comes up in job posts. I’m yet to learn Figma but it’s not something that I’m really that interested in and I wanted to focus this final project on utilising my current skillset. I felt that if I were to go down this route, I would end up feeling dissatisfied. And overall, I wanted the experience to be a sensory one, which this platform wouldn’t provide.
After my talk with Ben It was advised that I look into sensory experiences which I hadn’t done yet. We discussed making some kind of exhibition that would be a sensory experience that would involve film outside of the cinema. In the end I thought this was the best Idea of all of them. As the project can be speculative I thought of doing some renders of what the exhibition could look like in photoshop. I would include a film of a specific genre, I could then have some tactile elements in the exhibition such as fabrics and other elements. I would probably create an atmosphere with nostalgic soundtracks and snoke machines with tailored scents and tactile elements.
So far I haven’t started on my critical report, I thought I would leave this until later on in the project. It was discussed that I was choosing to do an autoethnography and that I would use my own reflective journals to guide my process and design. Ben advised that I should open my critical report with a couple of paragraphs talking about autoethnography, what it is and why I have taken this path. I’m not sure yet what needs to be included in the critical report. But I think It will be a breakdown of my research and my aims for this project whereas my pdf will be a breakdown of my actual process.
I started on my pdf a week or so ago. I don’t know if in hindsight this was a bad idea. I have been struggling to keep up with the workload as well as other commitments outside of this course. It’s been a balancing act this week of an abundance of freelance work, to the point where I’ve been tearing my hair out a bit, leaving a little bit of time for this project. I decided it would be best to start off the pdf as I was desperate not to leave it until the last moment. The only issue I had was that I was updating it as I went along which meant that it was all in present tense and usually my pdfs are in past tense and a breakdown of what I did and how I did it. This time there was a lot of speculation about what I might do as opposed to what I did. I struggled with working out what we were supposed to be doing for the define stage of this process, and so I started off by including my research findings and developments from those findings. I’m not entirely sure If I’ve structured the pdf how it should be. I was thinking towards the end of the project I would include some kind of brief breakdown that includes a similar layout to the other briefs such as marketing, objectives, analysis etc. I struggle to see how else I will fit the brief requirements in. I decided after my talk with Ben that I was going to include some kind of breakdown of my processes for this phase, what worked and what didn’t and which direction my project was going in. I still need to research sensory experiences as this will most likely guide my project direction and outcome.
Week 6-8
All the research I conducted into various sensory film experiences served as a rich source of inspiration for developing my own idea. As I delved into immersive theater productions like "Sleep No More," interactive art installations such as "Meow Wolf's House of Eternal Return," and innovations like 4D cinemas, I became captivated by the idea of creating a cinematic experience outside the traditional confines of the cinema.
Drawing from these diverse examples, I envisioned an immersive experience that would engage all the senses and transport participants into the world of a film. Inspired by the meticulous attention to detail and sensory elements found in these projects, I decided to create an experience where audiences could not only watch a film but also feel fully immersed in its atmosphere and narrative.
In my concept, I intend to have participants enter a specially designed space where they would encounter a multisensory journey. As they stepped into the environment, they would be greeted by the evocative scents of the film's setting, tactile elements that allowed them to interact with props and textures related to the story, and atmospheric effects like smoke and projection lighting such as the one in the Manchester International festival to create an immersive ambiance.
One of the elements of my concept is the inclusion of a holographic projection system that would bring the characters of the film to life in a mesmerizing way. This cutting-edge technology would allow participants to feel as though they were sharing the space with the characters, adding an extra layer of immersion to the experience. If for example I were to depict a film like a beautiful mind, I could have a hologram of one of hallucinations that the character experiences to add a layer of tangibility and resonance.
Additionally, I wanted to create a custom title sequence for the event, reflecting the genre and mood of the film.
Overall, my research into sensory film experiences inspired me to think creatively about how I could translate the magic of cinema into a fully immersive and engaging experience that would captivate the senses and leave a lasting impression on participants.