Draft 1
In our current society, and especially within recent years, we are constantly trying to blur the line between artificial concepts and reality. This observation fascinates me but also raises concerns for where this movement, in the future, will lead us as a community. The loss of self identity is another concern I have regarding the shift towards digital profiles.
The tool I chose to explore for this brief is Spark AR Studio, an application for designing filters that can be used while taking a picture or during a video call. I found filters contradictory because the original goal of the camera is to capture the moment in the most accurate and realistic way possible. While the technology for clarity and accuracy continues to develop, the creation of filters acts as an oxymoron.
I began my exploration by learning how to use the software, getting familiar with its assets and assigned goals for each iteration
Draft 2
In our current society, and especially within recent years, we are constantly trying to blur the line between artificial concepts and reality. This observation fascinates me but also raises concerns for where this movement, in the future, will lead us as a community. The loss of self identity is another concern I have regarding the shift towards digital profiles.
The tool I chose to explore for this brief is Spark AR Studio, an application for designing filters that can be used while taking a picture or during a video call. I found filters, whether for enhancement or decoration purpose, contradictory because the original goal of the camera is to capture the moment in the most accurate and realistic way possible. While the technology for clarity and accuracy continues to develop, the creation of filters acts as an oxymoron. Discussed in The Digital Image in Photographic Culture, when software and image collide the result is no longer a simple image but also a shift has been made within the link between representation, memory, time and identity.
We keep pushing the boundaries that we are over artifializing ourselves through technology, leading us to the uncanny valley. This term is often used to describe avatars, cartoon characters, and robotics, whereas now we are striving to look like them as if they are the ideal appearance. Why are we pushing robotics and avatars to be more “human” while we push ourselves to be more like them?
Reference:
The Photographic Image in Digital Culture, edited by Martin Lister, Taylor & Francis Group, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=1415807.Created from ual on 2022-01-26 22:41:23.
Draft 3
In our current society, and especially within recent years, we are constantly trying to blur the line between artificial concepts and reality. This observation fascinates me but also raises concerns for where this movement, in the future, will lead us as a community. The loss of self identity is another concern I have regarding the shift towards digital profiles.
The tool I chose to explore for this brief is Spark AR Studio, an application for designing filters that can be used while taking a picture or during a video call. I found filters, whether for enhancement or decoration purpose, contradictory because the original goal of the camera is to capture the moment in the most accurate and realistic way possible. While the technology for resolution and accuracy continues to improve, the creation of camera filters acts as an oxymoron. Discussed in The Digital Image in Photographic Culture, when software and image collide the result is no longer a simple image but also a shift has been made within the link between representation, memory, time and identity. Filter adds another layer of complication into the image, further manipulating, or even replacing, its representation, memory, time and identity. The outcome is a distorted reality.
We keep pushing the boundaries that we are over artifializing ourselves through technology, leading us to the uncanny valley. This term is often used to describe avatars, cartoon characters, and robotics, who look extremely realistic to a point that makes us feel uneasy or even disgusted. Whereas now, we are using filters to create a flawless yet artificial face, drawing us closer to resemble these man made characters. The progression of robotics and avatars becoming more “human” while we push ourselves to be more like them is unsettling. However, I found it interesting that both are leading themselves to this perfect being whether human or robots but are all falling into the uncanny valley- lifelike but not quite human. Through different iterations of the project, I mimicked the humanness of the face through filters. The most common objective with filters is creating a flawless skin so I used skin as my entry point. My process was to create a filter using real skin textures, with the imperfections, and make them as realistic as possible. With each iterations, I tested how far and exaggerated the deformation needs to be to create the slight unsettledness that “is realistic enough to almost fool you into thinking it is alive, but it falls short of reality just enough that it clashes with your expectations of how a real living person would behave.” (Cherry, 2020)
Reference:
Cherry, K., 2020. The Uncanny Valley: Why Realistic Robots Are Creepy. [online] Verywell Mind. Available at: <https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-uncanny-valley4846247#:~:text=The%20uncanny%20valley%20is%20a,robots%20that%20are%20highly%20realistic.> [Accessed 30 January 2022].
The Photographic Image in Digital Culture, edited by Martin Lister, Taylor & Francis Group, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=1415807.Created from ual on 2022-01-26 22:41:23.