Through this two-day project, we explored how to create analog and mysterious movie sequences without any advanced post editing. Two of the projects explore the concept of time while the third is using the Peppers Ghost Effect to generate the illusion of a hologram.

Lost in Time

In a busy street, the flow of human traffic is enormous and the speed in which pedestrians cruise is immense. We were inspired by this physical phenomenon and sought to attenuate it through filming techniques. To emphasize the speed and density of human traffic, we performed a slow head-turning gesture in the middle of a busy street. An activity that takes approximately one second was stretched up to seven minutes. To complete the dramatic sequence, the original footage was sped up and a tiny bit of motion blur was added in post editing.

Reverse

To further explore the flow of human traffic, we filmed a person walking backwards to create contrast against the forward-moving pedestrian passage. The final output was created by keeping the audio track in its original position while reversing the video sequence.

Ghost

The Pepper’s Ghost Effect is an illusion technique made popular from theaters and haunted houses. By reflecting video, objects or persons on plexiglass, transparent images can seem to materialize, dissolve or morph into the existing frame. Sparked by this illusion, we experimented with projecting videos and objects of varied color hues onto plexiglass, and with modifying angles and lighting. Finally, we explored interactions between people and the Pepper’s Ghost.

The final sequence features the projection of a blue-tinted moving image on plexiglass. Initially obscured by a dark cloth, the projection is unveiled with the snapping of fingers. As the projection is in mid-air, the visual effect of a person holding and interacting with a hologram was made possible. To accentuate the Pepper’s Ghost illusion, we presented the same person along with his hologram.