Dynamic Pages
Design 2330 Visualizations SP22
Jorie Capper
For this assignment, we were assigned a partner with whom to create a diptych, chosen for us based off our strengths, weaknesses, and working habits. This diptych would be either a paper mechanism, or a stop motion production with nonobjective paper shapes. As an inspiration for our projects, they must be a representation of an instrumental of our choice. My partner is Alex Cieslinski, and we chose to create a paper mechanism.
Research
We watched various stop motion videos featuring basic shapes and how they interact in time with the music. There are many ways to display visual interaction with music, and this provided us with a wide variety of ideas from which to take inspiration.
We read the article “You’re Not Entitled to Your Opinion,” which gave us perspective on how to work with others in a constructive and efficient way.
Some class time was dedicated to visiting the library, which had many pop up books and other paper mechanisms on display. This gave me inspiration for how to design and create mine.
Exercises
To get to know our partners, we did basic “get to know you” exercises.
We created a basic paper mechanism to practice, and although Alex and I did different mechanisms, it was based off of the same sound of bass vibrations to practice nonobjective representations of sounds.
Concept Statement
In order to convey the dynamic relationship contained within the instrumental of the song “She” by Harry Styles, we created a diptych of paper mechanisms. The base material is colored card stock, inspired by a square color harmony template. To demonstrate the contrasting but complimentary feelings of the instrumental, newspaper is a shared material, to show the connection between the two lines of music. The underlying bass line is familiar and comfortable, but bustling and constant, while the melody is new and intriguing. When listening to the piece, the imagery of a busy street next to a New York City café fronts in our minds, with both the sounds of the nearby cars as well as the representation of a mysterious subject entering the scene, drawing in our attention. By creating a circular movement with the first paper mechanism, we demonstrate the continuity of the supporting instrumentals. To represent the melody, bright colors and direct, stable shapes are revealed when the background noise “fades away.” The front piece of the diptych opens up to reveal the second piece behind, which protrudes through the open shutter to represent the vibrant personality of the melody. The pieces interact with each other’s space, to further show the close relationship between them, and how one would not be the same without the other; the bass would be repetitive and bland, while alone the melody would be shallow.
Production
Successfully creating the aperture mechanism was very difficult and took a few different tries and designs. At some times the paper was unpredictable within the design, functioning well one moment and getting stuck the next. Precision and patience is key to a dependable paper mechanism.
Final
Full Composition, During Interaction
Working with paper in this way was invigorating, but hard. I met the challenges happily and am proud to have a working paper iris shutter. Our piece as a whole worked as intended and conveyed the music of our choice well. Nonobjective representation in this way was difficult, but exploring different methods of showing what I saw in my mind was very fascinating. Paper mechanisms as a whole are definitely a concept I will return to in the future, due to their versatility and interactive features.