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VR project title: ''' | VR project title: '''THE SCENT OF A FLOWER WE HAVE NOT FOUND''' | ||
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- I got so busy with the execution inside Unity and acquiring basic technical know-how, that the comprehensible translation from research made on the topic, to the finished project ist not as in-depth and traceable as I‘d like it to be. (The focus on learning technical basics lead to intuitive approach in actualisation of research.) | - I got so busy with the execution inside Unity and acquiring basic technical know-how, that the comprehensible translation from research made on the topic, to the finished project ist not as in-depth and traceable as I‘d like it to be. (The focus on learning technical basics lead to intuitive approach in actualisation of research.) | ||
+ Was able to adapt and learn on the go. | + Was able to adapt and learn on the go. | ||
- The visual translation process should have been more methodic. Instead the media selection process was highly intuitive and could have lead to more unexpected connections by going more in-depth and searching for additional media beyond works I already knew. | - The visual translation process should have been more methodic. Instead the media selection process was highly intuitive and could have lead to more unexpected connections by going more in-depth and searching for additional media beyond works I already knew. | ||
- The finished experience has a specific focus on trying to visualise Ketamine as a felt experience, however, it includes no comment or draws focus to the multifaceted controversial aspects related to Ketamine use, which initially drew me to the subject. | - The finished experience has a specific focus on trying to visualise Ketamine as a felt experience, however, it includes no comment or draws focus to the multifaceted controversial aspects related to Ketamine use and mental health, which initially drew me to the subject. | ||
- I didn‘t find a way to utilise the different ideas for typography and poem by Shannon May Powell I had. | - I didn‘t find a way to utilise the different ideas for typography and poem by Shannon May Powell and more inventive transitions between objects and scenes I had in mind. | ||
== '''Background Info/ Subject Intro''' == | == '''Background Info/ Subject Intro''' == | ||
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Both inspired by and using actual footage from the anime ‚Mind Game‘ the scene opens in | Both inspired by and using actual footage from the anime ‚Mind Game‘ the scene opens in - what could be understood as - an ‚out-of-body experience'. The opening scene the VR visitor sees is of a small, confused, figure, alone, in a vast black space - One might think: 'Am I seeing myself from outside my body?' Then suddenly a screen appears, revealing that this figure is also inside a fully digital space. | ||
[[File:Scene1.3.png]] | [[File:Scene1.3.png]] | ||
The second featured artwork is Sarah Schönfeld‘s work ‚All You Can Feel‘, which shows photographs of liquified drugs and other neurotransmitters - including Ketamine - exposed on photonegatives. The work shows these substances as round molecules, or orbs/planets. Hereby, casting them in an unusually artistic light that focuses more on structures and colours as opposed to the bodily effect/high. In this way the video is both an introduction into the bio-chemical first phase of a Ketamine therapy, when the liquified drug is introduced to the body, but also my personal alternate view on a medical (& | The second featured artwork is Sarah Schönfeld‘s work ‚All You Can Feel‘, which shows photographs of liquified drugs and other neurotransmitters - including Ketamine - exposed on photonegatives. The work shows these substances as round molecules, or orbs/planets. Hereby, casting them in an unusually artistic light that focuses more on structures and colours as opposed to the bodily effect/high. In this way the video is both an introduction into the bio-chemical first phase of a Ketamine therapy, when the liquified drug is introduced to the body, but also my personal alternate view on a medical topic (& here biological process). | ||
[[File:chair.png]] | [[File:chair.png]] | ||
''The treatment chair became the anchoring point for the viewer. I modified a 3D model of a dentist chair from Sketchfab inside Cinema4D by adding a blanket with a print, which make it tie-in with the overall style of the experience.'' | ''The treatment chair became the anchoring point for the viewer. I modified a 3D model of a dentist chair from Sketchfab inside Cinema4D by adding a blanket with a print, which make it tie-in with the overall style of the experience.'' | ||
[[File:Scentofaflower1.png]] | |||
[[File:Scene1.4.png]] | [[File:Scene1.4.png]] | ||
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The decision was made to anchor the viewer on the treatment chair | The decision was made to anchor the viewer on the treatment chair and allow the action to unwind around the user while seated. From a technical point of view this makes sense as it will decrease the risk of nausea, from being move from point A to point B, or accidents when users walk around with VR glasses. Conceptually this also aligns with the actual Ketamine-infusion-therapy experience. | ||
Additionally audio plays a crucial role both for a video essay - as these videos are usually narrated with personal commentary or the author‘s line of argumentation/statement - and, because one of the effects of Ketamine are the increased stimulating effect of any noise. | Additionally audio plays a crucial role both for a video essay - as these videos are usually narrated with personal commentary or the author‘s line of argumentation/statement - and, because one of the effects of Ketamine are the increased stimulating effect of any noise. | ||
One patient said her experience was guided by the soothing music that was played from headphones during her treatment, the sound shaped the visual and bodily experience. | One patient said her experience was guided by the soothing music that was played from headphones during her treatment, the sound shaped the visual and bodily experience. | ||
''„A beautiful soundscapes that drove how I felt throughout that whole experience. It just felt like I was floating in this beautiful, enchanting, musical world.“ - Bridget, writer and producer at ‚What‘s Working‘ - source: ‚Ketamine Treatment for Depression: What It‘s Actually Like [Episode 2]‘) This is why all following media in the scene is accompanied by Ana Roxanne's track - 'Immortality'. | |||
'' | |||
== '''Scene 2''' == | == '''Scene 2''' == | ||
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As I imagine a therapy patient goes through several phases during his infusion therapy I created a second, more light filled, airy and less claustrophobic phase. | As I imagine a therapy patient goes through several phases during his infusion therapy I created a second, more light filled, airy and less claustrophobic phase. | ||
In both the first and second scene of the VR experience I used a scene from the anime 'Mind Game' by Masaaki Yuasa. In the anime the main character Nishi, dies only to wake up in a black space where he sees his death as a video-recording from enormous screens that surround him from all sides (Inspiration scene 1). Nishi then enters into a completely white space (Inspiration scene 2) where he encounters a figure who keeps changing it‘s appearance. The shape-shifting figure is god, and because Nishi has so many associations of what god might look like the figure remains in flux. Exactly this visual stream of fluctuating association I interpret as a visual representation of Ketamine. In my research I found that one patient described his state as: 'one borderless perceptual hallucination'. This might because Ketamine breaks open connections in the brain, which leads | In both the first and second scene of the VR experience I used a scene from the anime 'Mind Game' by Masaaki Yuasa. In the anime the main character Nishi, dies only to wake up in a black space where he sees his death as a video-recording from enormous screens that surround him from all sides (Inspiration scene 1). Nishi then enters into a completely white space (Inspiration scene 2) where he encounters a figure who keeps changing it‘s appearance. The shape-shifting figure is god, and because Nishi has so many associations of what god might look like the figure remains in flux. Exactly this visual stream of fluctuating association I interpret as a visual representation of Ketamine. In my research I found that one patient described his state as: '''one borderless perceptual hallucination'.'' This might be because Ketamine breaks open connections in the brain, which leads the brain to form new neural-pathways. This biochemical process plays with memory and can trigger hallucinations. Additionally scientists found that Ketamine triggers reactions in your cortex that enable brain connections to regrow. However, it is still not fully understood how the drug works to alleviate symptoms of depression. | ||
[[File:Scene2.1.png]] | |||
[[File:Scene2.2.png]] | |||
[[File:Scene2.3.png]] | |||
[[File:Scene 2.4.png]] | |||
The treatment space, consisting of a door, a wall (that has turned soft)and an IV monitor, which remain as remnants of reality. The actions that unfold around the viewer in the form of videos and 3D surrounding symbolise a possible therapeutic conversation the patient is having with themselves. | |||
[[File:Scene 2.5.png]] | |||
[[File: | [[File:Scene 2.6.png]] | ||
[[File:Scene 2.7.png]] | |||
''"And then I was gone, down the rabbit hole of hallucination. My mind skipped though grid-style maps of city parks. I occasionally took a deep breath or wiggled my fingers just to remind myself I still could. I later learned that what I was experiencing is known as a "K-hole," which is rare at the low does I took." - 'I tried ketamine to treat my depression. Within a day, I felt relief.', Alice Levitt for Vox'' | ''"And then I was gone, down the rabbit hole of hallucination. My mind skipped though grid-style maps of city parks. I occasionally took a deep breath or wiggled my fingers just to remind myself I still could. I later learned that what I was experiencing is known as a "K-hole," which is rare at the low does I took." - 'I tried ketamine to treat my depression. Within a day, I felt relief.', Alice Levitt for Vox'' | ||
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== '''3D shapes and adapted models''' == | == '''3D shapes and adapted models''' == | ||
[[File:treatment room .png]] | |||
[[File:door.png]] | |||
[[File:monitor.png]] | |||
[[File:Unity door with flowers.png]] | |||
[[File:Unityflowers.png]] | |||
[[File:Unityflowers2.png]] | |||
One primary aim for the project was to create a visual style that feels artistic and personal. I wanted to get away from a general ‚computer game style‘ as the ‚default‘ look of downloadable models (from Sketchfab) that seen inside Unity felt like they had nothing to do with me. To achieve a step in the right direction I modified textures, created shapes inside Cinema4D and re-composed models before placing them inside the Unity Editor. The look inside C4D vs. Unity is visibly different and signifies that I still have much to learn in terms of shaders and controlling light in a scene. | One primary aim for the project was to create a visual style that feels artistic and personal. I wanted to get away from a general ‚computer game style‘ as the ‚default‘ look of downloadable models (from Sketchfab) that seen inside Unity felt like they had nothing to do with me. To achieve a step in the right direction I modified textures, created shapes inside Cinema4D and re-composed models before placing them inside the Unity Editor. The look inside C4D vs. Unity is visibly different and signifies that I still have much to learn in terms of shaders and controlling light in a scene. | ||
Nudibranch are sea slugs, that are small and squishy in extravagant colours and patterns. Originally I wanted to insert one as a kind of ‚spirit guide‘ into the VR experience. Eventually this adapted to creating abstract shapes that float around the viewer in the final scene. The shapes are created inside C4D and had to be reduced to low poly meshes with a backed texture to run correctly inside Unity. I animated these shapes to float with a script that allows me to modify their coordinates in the inspector window. | [[File:Nudibranch.jpg]] | ||
Nudibranch are sea slugs, that are small and squishy in extravagant colours and patterns. Originally I wanted to insert one as a kind of ‚spirit guide‘ into the VR experience. Eventually this adapted to creating abstract shapes that float around the viewer in the final scene. The shapes are created inside C4D and had to be reduced to low poly meshes with a backed texture to run correctly inside Unity. I animated these shapes to float with a script that allows me to modify their coordinates in the inspector window. | |||
[[File:NudibranchScene2.1.png]] | |||
[[File:Nudibranchscene2.11.png]] | |||
[[File:Nudibranchscene2.1.png]] | |||
== '''Scene 2.1''' == | == '''Scene 2.1''' == | ||
The final sequence borders on a sensory overload as the plane on which an edited video sequence is playing, is attached to the user‘s point-of view, meaning wherever the viewer looks the plane is at the centre of vision. After struggling to find other virtual forms for video presentation, with this solution I found a compromise between the established, conventional, flat format for playing videos and an immersive virtual space. Moreover, because of this, by looking around the viewer can influence the interplay between the playing video and his/her surroundings opening up the space for a personalised view while inside the experience. As every Ketamine-therapy trip is highly individualistic this was an additional aspect I‘d hoped to incorporate. | The final sequence borders on a sensory overload as the plane on which an edited video sequence is playing, is attached to the user‘s point-of view, meaning wherever the viewer looks the plane is at the centre of vision. After struggling to find other virtual forms for video presentation, with this solution I found a compromise between the established, conventional, flat format for playing videos and an immersive virtual space. Moreover, because of this, by looking around the viewer can influence the interplay between the playing video and his/her surroundings opening up the space for a personalised view while inside the experience. As every Ketamine-therapy trip is highly individualistic this was an additional aspect I‘d hoped to incorporate. | ||
[[File:Scene2.11.png]] | |||
[[File:Scene2.12.png]] | |||
[[File:Scene2.13.png]] | |||
Here, I find the contrast between video footage depictions from ‚real-life‘ placed inside a virtual environment particularly exciting. To draw from the video essay approach, the video is using moving image as a compilation and assembly in the pursuit of creating something new from previously existing media found in digital archives, like Youtube, hosted online. | Here, I find the contrast between video footage depictions from ‚real-life‘ placed inside a virtual environment particularly exciting. To draw from the video essay approach, the video is using moving image as a compilation and assembly in the pursuit of creating something new from previously existing media found in digital archives, like Youtube, hosted online. | ||
[[File:Scene2.14.png]] | |||
[[File:Scene2.15.png]] | |||
[[File:Scene2.16.png]] | |||
== '''Scripts used''' == | |||
Making sculptural shapes float: | |||
SimpleFloating.cs | |||
[[File:Floatingscript1.png]] | |||
[[File:Floatingscript2.png]] | |||
Crossfading between Unity scenes: | |||
SceneLoader.cs | |||
t.b.a | |||
== '''Video Documentation''' == | |||
[https://vimeo.com/423933297/a9c5fe74e9] | |||