LET'S GET PHYSICAL

Today we had our show called LET'S GET PHYSICAL with physical plant. I was collaborating with Chilled Water Plant used for air conditioning. I did a video installation piece in memory of the bugs that died in this plant. The show took place at an amazing, open roof garden which used to be a chilled water plant. I projected my video on a screen inside a messy room adjacent to the garden with a barrier at the door to block people from entering the space. This, in a way, echoed what the chilling tower was like, where noone was allowed to enter, except for the bugs that can't be stopped. I really enjoyed working on this project, working with things (drawing, video, bug images) that I like. I think I will make use of the waterfall footage a lot in the future. T sum up, I am glad this happened and that I was productive.

First failed trial of combining water with bugs

New Plot / Storyboard

At first it will be heavy on nature. There will be nature (trees etc) reflection on the pond where I throw the bugs. Below that, a layer of chilled water plant will show through, it will mostly almost still water with a few drops or a little bit of current.

Then slowly the drops are gonna increase and become heavier. Eventually only the water fall will be showing, and close-ups of drawn bugs will be overlaying the constant waterfall. The drawn bugs will be on a pool where there is reflection of clouds this time.

Then the close-ups of bugs (more of them together) will be overlayed with this filter that is in the middle of running water.

All of a sudden, the heavy drops of water will take over (a lot of foam and water falling) overlayed by the footage of drawn bugs moving around because of things being thrown into the pond.

Then eventually it will slow down, and loop back to the beginning.

Process

So I filmed the chilling tower and throwing bugs into a pond seperately. Now I am transferring them to the computer and overlay them in After Effects. I like the reflections on the pond and pieces of branches actually, so I think I might keep them a little bit (not just because I am lazy to mask all of them).

Other Ideas

The other thing I really want to do is to project video on this waterfall and see how it works. This could be a lot of different things, but some of the ideas I have are:

1. a video of people in different seasons: a. summer (a hammock and sea) b. people running away from rain c. snow d. leaves falling and some rain in the fall
2. a video of my face looking around, this would be a reference to me trying to work with/out of this place
3. videos of different masses of water to tell (repeatedly) to the water in there their actual identity, the fact that they are not a slave/prisoner of that space, and freedom will come one day (one extension of this could be projection of a text about water, inspired by Corn Study by Dave Burns and Matias Viegener)

So they didn't accepty my idea of throwing bug/lizard/frog drawings into the Chilled Water Plant. even if I would collect them back. So I needed to come up with a solution. And I am not giving up on the idea of co-memorating the creatures who die in there. So My solution alternatives:
1. film the creatures in a bath tub, then insert it into a video of the water plant. either by 1. aftereffects 2. projecting onto the water
2. film the creature in a pond, a pool, or river and do the same as above.

So I need to experiment these things this weak. So if I make a list of things to do in priority:
1-draw creatures bugs by Thursday (DONE)
2-screen print creatures on Thursday
3- film the chilled water plant
OVER THE WEEKEND:
4-film the bugs
5-do after effects next week
I think it will work.

Some notes I took talking to Bill

• Cooling tower - water. The rotation cools down water by around 11 F -> then this cools the refrigerant.
• The water that comes out it cold and goes into the buildings to cool down the buildings.
• The water that falls never leaves this plant.
• The quality matters - it is clean or it would cause corrosion or scaling.
• They have filtration sustem, it swirls the water and blows out the bugs and soil.
• Once a year they change the water and it is not drinkable but wouldn't kill you.
• They also use phosphanate to keep the dissolved matter dissolved.
• The closed system, water is cleaner than the water in cooling tower.