.data(“dissociate”);
Project Overview
“.data(“dissociate”);” is a song and experimental video that was inspired by the feeling of stress and overstimulation in the digital age, and how these feelings can cause one to reminisce about their youth and when life was simple.
Project Goal
For this piece, I wanted to challenge myself by creating pieces of the video while I was composing the song, rather than creating the video after the song has already been made. I wanted to create a piece that I was proud of and that could encapsulate some of the skills that I have as a multidisciplinary artist.
Technologies Used
Audio
Ableton Live 11 Suite: I used Ableton Live 11 and several of its features to compose, produce, and arrange the song.
Omnisphere: Omnisphere is a virtual studio technology (VST) synthesizer and was my instrument of choice on this song with over 6 instances of it being used.
Sequential Circuits Prophet-6: The Prophet-6 is an analog synthesizer by Sequential Circuits that was also used on a few tracks, and it was how I controlled Omnisphere most of the time.
Zoom H1 Portable Recorder: I used the Zoom H1 to record various foley and sounds from the streets of Toronto, and from my home studio.
Various VST’s: I used several different VST’s to apply digital effects to the audio, as well as mix and master the audio.
Video
iPhone 15: I used the camera on my iPhone 15 to shoot several videos as well as my CRT TV
Pexels.com: I used stock footage from Pexels.com for the scenes of the mother and daughter in the field.
DaVinci Resolve: I used DaVinci Resolve to arrange the videos I took, as well as the stock footage, and apply some basic transitions.
Tachyons+ Psychenizer: The Psychenizer by Tachyons+ is a circuit-bent analog video processor which is how I applied several of the visual effects.
BPMC Basic Cable: The Basic Cable by Big Pauper Media Collective is also a circuit-bent analog video processor and was also used to apply some visual effects.
27' Toshiba CRT TV: I used an old Toshiba CRT TV to display the nuances and range of colour from the analog video processors.
Adobe Premier Pro: I used Adobe Premier Pro for basic colour correction and cropping of the video taken from the CRT TV. I then layered the audio on top.
Creative Process
I started my project by compiling a bunch of VST’s and synthesizer patches that I thought would be suiting for the song. I browsed the samples that I had previously recorded from my Zoom H1 microphone, but I couldn’t find any I liked, so I recorded several more percussive foley samples. I recorded four initial demo’s in different keys, time signatures, and tempos, before finding one that I thought was the most interesting. During this time I was planning on different shooting locations and if I would have any acting in it or not. I decided to ask my friend Hayley if she would be interested because she is an actor and is always looking for more pieces to put on her resume. I even convinced her dog Raven to agree to be featured (after a treat of course)!
At first I was going to have various scenes of stressful moments but I decided to focus on JavaScript because I have been trying to learn it in school. I have often found myself having panic attacks when I try to code so it seemed suiting to have it as a core issue in the video. This is also where the name .data(“dissociate”); comes from.
When it came to recording my processed video on my TV, it took me over 30 tries to get it right. This was due to the chaotic nature of applying the analog effects that would sometimes result in unexpected dropouts or unwanted visual artifacts, as well as making errors in my timing of the effects. Since I have some experience with this, I knew it was important that I filmed the video in one take for visual consistency.
Reflection
Initially I was aiming to have 2 or 3 short pieces of audio that would all be connected in one video, but I decided it would be better if I made one coherent song and video. A main difficulty I found while working on this assignment was that I frequently had to prioritize my other school assignments that had deadlines before this. I also had a hard time convincing myself that the song was good enough and actually something that I could be proud of. Throughout this process I learned that I have the ability to take an abstract concept and turn it into an effective multimedia project.