An enquiry into how the movement of habitual behaviour over time might be represented through a series of digital patterns.
The aim of this project is to discover how to record habitual behaviour and follow the movement over time to trace the motion. That tracing will then result in the creation of a digital pattern. The process of how to record and trace the movement will be investigated into, as well as what kinds of habits are best suited for creating a pattern.
There are many processes that other artists have used which can help direct and move this project along. The theory behind habitual behaviour and patterns should also influence what movements will be recorded and therefore what patterns will be created. The resources required for this research are books, internet reading material and videos. To complete the experiments a camera, tripod, studio and tracking software will be needed.
At the end of this project a series of still images will have been created showing the patterns that represent the movement made over time. A written document may also be required to explain the process and meaning of the project.
Rationale
I am interested in the fluidity and repetition of movements, especially everyday movements that go unnoticed. We often don’t take notice of the way we move as it is all instinctual and subconsciously done out of habit. These habits of movement create unseen patterns in the air and I think this will be an interesting way to study motion.
This research can benefit my future work by allowing me to look deeper into the way humans move every day. I can study the motion and the habits we all follow to discover the patterns we create. The hope is that this study will help with my future work as a motion designer as I will have a better understanding of the way we move. This could then influence how I animate or create work in later projects.
The target audience for this project is motion designers and motion photographers as they are people that may have some knowledge about the concepts and ideas behind this topic.
Methods
The concept I intend to investigate is patterns in motion of everyday human movement or behaviour. This involves learning about habitual behaviour of humans and the way we move, so I will be able to better understand how and why we create this motion. Research into the interest of patterns may also be helpful to successfully create a meaningful pattern that represents our movement.
The technical aspects of what needs to be learnt are processes that can record the actions in a way that will allow me to track the movement. I will then need to learn processes of how to trace that movement over time. Certain photography skills will enable me to capture specific movements as well as videography skills. Motion capture software may also be useful to help record this. Tracking using Adobe After Effects will be a useful tool in tracing the motion recorded. Editing the results to create a series of images will require experimentation also.
There are some artists and scientists that have experimented with different processes of recording of movement before. These are Eadweard Muybridge who worked with motion photography, Etienne-Jules Marey who discovered chronophotography, Susan Morris who has a series on tracing motion, Rudolf Laban who created Labanotation patterns, and Stephen Orlando who worked with light painting. All these processes are useful ways to experiment with recording movement and could allow for the tracing and creation of patterns.
Learning the theory is expected to take approximately five days. Studying other artist’s work that deal with a similar concept may take around three days also. The technical skills required for recording may take three to four days to learn and put into practice. The skills for tracking and editing may take two to three days to do the same. I expect to spend the rest of the time experimenting and editing until I reach the final outcome.
Information on everyday human movement and the motion it creates will need to be found as well as data gathered from tracking this motion. Research and tutorials will provide me with information about human movement as well as through experimentation and observations of my own. Tutorials may also be needed to provide information on what to do with this data after it is collected.
Once information has been found I will be able to better study and use it in my work. I will be able to create digital patterns from the motion data recorded and then turn that into a series of images each representing different motion patterns.
Experiments and testing will be required to create the final output. Getting the correct camera settings to best record the motion effectively by use of photography will need to be tested. Once this is done the same can be done for film/video. I will also record different actions to compare the difference in patterns. Using tracking in After Effects will be a test as well as experimenting with the motion capture software. Using different lines or shapes can also help to discover the best way to display the pattern found.
If the recorded movement can be observed and tracked, as well as be able to be followed or traced digitally, I should then be able to create a pattern from this. The aims of this project will be a success if the movement over time can be represented by a pattern of some sort.
Goals
The goals for this project are to get Theory Research, Visual Research, do Case Studies, Experimentation, Editing, and to complete the Outcome.
Some problems that I may encounter are failing to effectively track the movement, in which case some options to fix this could be to change the tracking process, change the speed of the movement or recorded, or to add tracking markers if not done so already. Not getting enough movement in the patterns is also a possibility in which case the action could be changed to provide a longer or bigger movement to record and trace.
Timeline/Work Plan
References
Analysis and notation of steps in labanotation. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2018, from http://www.studiopulto.org/English/Analysis-and-notation-of-steps-in-labanotation.html
Barkman, R. C. (2018, January 18). See the World Through Patterns. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/singular-perspective/201801/see-the-world-through-patterns
Bartley, C., Barnett, B., Harris, D., Cunningham, W., Grosso, W., & Buffaloe, E. (2010, July 4). Why Patterns Are Interesting. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from http://wiki.c2.com/?WhyPatternsAreInteresting
Bellis, M. (2018, June 14). Eadweard Muybridge. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from https://www.thoughtco.com/eadweard-muybridge-profile-1992163
Eadweard Muybridge Biography. (2015, September 29). [The Biography.com Website]. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from https://www.biography.com/people/eadweard-muybridge-9419513
Gardner, B. (2015). A review and analysis of the use of ‘habit’ in understanding, predicting and influencing health-related behaviour. Health Psychology Review, 9(3), 277–295. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2013.876238
Griesbeck, C. (n.d.). Introduction to Labanotation. Goethe-Universität Frankfurt. Retrieved from http://user.uni-frankfurt.de/~griesbec/LABANE.HTML
Habitual Behaviour. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2018, from http://www.cres.gr/behave/framework_theory_2.htm
Horrocks, R. (2013). Art the Moves: The Work of Len Lye. Auckland University Press.
Hosea, B. (2012, February 20). Recording the Trace of Movement: Past and Present. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from http://expandedanimation.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2012/02/20/recording-the-trace-of-movement-past-and-present/
Kidd, C., & Hayden, B. Y. (2015). The psychology and neuroscience of curiosity. Neuron, 88(3), 449–460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.010
Léa. (2015, August 4). Movements Captured in Light Painting. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from http://www.fubiz.net/en/2015/08/04/movements-captured-in-light-painting/
Miklós, V. (2015, February 6). Chronophotography: The Photos That Revealed The Secrets Of Motion. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from https://io9.gizmodo.com/chronophotography-the-photos-that-revealed-the-secrets-1684269150
Morris, S. (2012, December). UNTITLED MOTION CAPTURE DRAWINGS [Susan Morris]. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from http://susanmorris.com/untitled-motion-capture/
Murden, R. (2010). Recording the Evanescent. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from https://cargocollective.com/rebeccamurden/recording-the-evanescent
Perret, R. (2009). Bodycloud (Masters).
Reallusion Motion LIVE for iClone 7. (2015). Retrieved October 10, 2018, from https://store-world.leapmotion.com/products/reallusion-motion-live-for-iclone-7
Semin, D. (2008). Die Linie der Ehelosigkeit. Der Zufall, die Arabeske und die Volute: Beitrag zu einer Geschichte des Zigloogloo. Trivium, (1). Retrieved from http://journals.openedition.org/trivium/243
Susan Morris. (2018). Motion Capture Drawings - Susan Morris. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA3Vk4zG2yY
Susan Morris - Motion Capture Drawings. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2018, from https://www.westminster.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/susan-morris-motion-capture-drawings-0
Trafton, A. (2012, October 29). How the brain controls our habits. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from http://news.mit.edu/2012/understanding-how-brains-control-our-habits-1029
Wood, W., Quinn, J. M., & Kashy, D. A. (2002). Habits in everyday life: Thought, emotion, and action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(6), 1281–1297. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.83.6.1281
Comments