Alternate Reality
Graduation project,
research
At the beginning of a commercial movie, companies expose themselves by a film short that serves as branding and an introduction to the movie.
These movies, familiar as well more obscure ones, might be completely different, but all share big aesthetic similarities in image (e.g. stars, diamonds, flares, clouds and mythical figures) and sound (e.g. orchestral pieces and/or light bell twinkles). They're mystical, have an 'epic' feeling and often display the earth from a higher distance.
I interpret these movies as a metaphor for a switch in reality. Once you sit down, dim the lights and turn up the volume, you know the movie begins. The distributor's movies are an introduction to fiction, to a created reality that is not 'real'. You see it, you recognize it, you feel it and you know it.
This clear example of a 'moment' fascinates me. There's a switch between two realities. For me it's a phenomenon that's always present in a mediated environment. An advertisement can also place a product in a different reality, even though the exact moment where this happens is less visible, the switch in experiencing the product in a different way is certainly there.
That shampoo you are using isn't just to wash your hair, it also makes you feel extremely fresh, reborn, sexy and it protects your hair from several bad things.
The visualization of this research assignment has resulted in an installation where two beamed movies timelessly loop next to each other with external sound. Viewing them both at the same time shows the edge between two realities (and a glimpse of this 'moment').
One is fiction, insinuating reality, the other one shows reality that seems to be fiction.
The work should really be viewed in this setting to be fully experienced, but for documentational purposes some snippets below.
