As indicated in my proposal, I wanted to use Lincoln’s 2017 Frequency Festival as an opportunity to increase my research and development, by looking at existing examples of successful digital installations and seeing what I could learn from these to apply to my own work. After briefly searching through the day by day agenda, I made note of any installations that I thought might be relevant to my project so I could pay them a visit. I then decided, that I would try to get in contact with one of the artists to see if they could answer a few of my questions. Fortunately, after sending an email to Tom Dekyvere, I was invited down to meet with him whilst he finished setting up his ‘Apparatus Florius’ installation.
Although my project is based on projection mapping, I still found it useful chatting with Tom and discussing his light installations. As someone hoping to enter the creative field of digital media, it was good to speak with someone who has successfully established a career for himself and find out how he started everything.
When discussing project proposals, Tom provide many useful tips and questions to consider when pitching an idea for a live installation. For example, what materials will I use? Are these safe for the public? What security will I have in place – both to protect the public and the equipment? How will I transport everything there?
Despite the fact that my project is of a much smaller scale, I still need to ensure that I have covered everything in my own proposal, to avoid any possible problems arising. What was most interesting from meeting Tom, was learning that from an active industry artist’s perspective, he felt that projection mapping was becoming somewhat slightly outdated. Although it is good to possess the skills and know how to do it, he felt that more recently people are looking for interactive installations, sculptures and interior design work. From this it was suggested that in order to really make sure work stand out, you need to combine these technologies to make something even more interesting for your audience. Although I still believe given my project’s target audience, my final idea would still be of interest to them, when thinking about my second semester project, I am now leaning more towards creating a live exhibit or installation.
Furthermore, as mentioned by Tom, it is extremely important to build an impressive portfolio to showcase your work, which in turn helps you receive more work. Thinking now in terms of my longer goals, I am hoping that the combination of my semester A and B projects will help me build a stronger portfolio, that demonstrates a wide range of skills.
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