Optical Illusion MV: The Writing's on The Wall

OK GO, the alternative band has recently produced a Optical Illusion music video for the song The Writing's on The Wall. This video is a one-take video that pan and move around the warehouse with different sets of illusion installation. Like many optical illusion art work, the art work are created targeting specific way of viewing to achieve the best illusion effect. Through the way singers interacting in the illusion scene, and moving the camera (mounted in a stabilizing Fig Rig frame) from one illusion scene to another, it gives user just enough time to grab the understanding of the illusion from station to station.

The mv applied various illusion technqiues like perspective theory, mirror reflections, forced perspective and black and white op art.

While playing with the forced perspective in this wall scene, the singer walk from distance approaching the camera (viewer) with basketballs on bouncing toward the camera. This way, the viewer's perception toward the "flat" blue circles is constantly changing as the relational depth of view is being confused. 

The 2 pictures above show how some of the scene need to be camera-angle specific in shooting the illusion scene.

Put Together Thoughts

After spending about 7 weeks into researching optical illusion and some of its early exploration in the history of art - through painting, stage set design and architecture, I think I've got some thoughts formed in my mind.


#1 The Visual Norm
Psychologically, human brain recognises visual in very unique way. We can read foreground and background visual, finding the depth of the visual. We will also tent to fill in gaps that associate visual to the familiar object we have in our memories. We find meaning in visuals that we see.

The visual norm in this case refers to the convention of human understanding towards the meaning of visual.

Shuplyak Oleg - Self-portrait under the lime trees

The painting above smartly arrange the trees in front to create the negative space of a face. Then the position of the 2 houses is placed at the proportion of the eyes of a human face. The posture of the artist who is painting the scenery formed the nose shape. With the correct proportion and placement of irrelevant object at the right shape, our eyes naturally recognise the portrait on top of the scenery painting itself.




#2 Relative Space - that Trick of the mind
In many artwork analysis I've done, the perspective in the artwork has big impact towards the viewing experience of the audience. The vanishing point and perspective affect the horizon view and the scale of the work. It also affect the dimension of the work in relation to the audience.

When 2 persons with similar height stand in a room that created with different ceiling height,
comparatively the person that stands at the side with lower ceiling appeared to be
taller than the other person who stands at the higher ceiling side.

http://alicook.com/blog/whats-going-on-in-this-picture

One Point Perspective - Vanishing point guideline

Sony PS3 Video Store - Realtime Projection Mapping

The projection mapping video from Sony PS3 Video Store uses one point perspective to create a forced perspective on the wall. Visually the depth of the room extended to further distance.





#3 Light & Shadow (Trompe-l'œil)
The relationship between light and shadow will affect the texture and the material of the object in drawing. The level of lights reflected on the planes, creates the illusion of different facet of the box (refer to the picture below).

Playing with light and shadow on different sizes of planes on a drawing, with perspective guided architectural drawing, illusion of emboss and deboss is created.

Escher's Relativity

John Lancaster defines it as follows in 1973: Optical art is a method of painting concerning the interaction between illusion and picture plane, between understanding and seeing

Ballpoint Drawing by MATHEW BORRETT

The artwork from Mathew Borrett above uses 2 point perspective to allow more facet of planes and dimension in the drawing.

Trompe-l'œil & Forced Perspective

Trompe-l'œil (French for deceive the eye) is an art technique that uses realistic imagery to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions. Forced perspective is a comparable illusion in architecture. from Wiki

https://www.altaplana.be/dossiers/darius/the_walls_of_samaris_part_2_the_trompe-d_oeil_and_you


Some of the Forced Perspective Illusion

> Stage Set - Teatro Olimpico

Trompe-l'œil, in the form of "forced perspective," has long been used in
stage-theater set design, so as to create the illusion of a much deeper
space than the actual stage. A famous early example is the
Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, with Vincenzo Scamozzi's seven
forced-perspective "streets" (1585), which appear to recede into the distance.

Illusion of scene transition

The Illusion of Scene Transition make use of perspective theory in large scale visual "realities" together with the actors/ actresses on stage, created an immersive experience to the observer in the audience seat. The mathematic calculation of perspective on the triangle surface allow quick transition during the play. 

> Film Making - Create a HOBBIT-sized Illusion

Forced Perspective technique 

http://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-create-a-hobbit-sized-illusion--photo-17610

In order to create illusion of dwarf and giant tall wizard with normal human, the actors are arranged in different distance with the camera. According to the theory of perspective, the same items will looks bigger when it's nearer to the observer, and it appeared to be smaller when it's placed in further distance to the observer. In set design, props that used by the giant will needs to be smaller than the usual size we have. For example the cup on the wizard hand above, is a smaller version of the normal cup to create illusion of a giant. While the dwarf character above, (seating further away from the camera) has a plate the is larger than usual plate size so that when it's place at the further distance, it'll still looks like it's at the same distance with the wizard.  

> Wall Paint - Trompe L'Oeil PRACTICAL.

Conclusion

With the collection of techniques used in variety art forms like Stage Performance, Interior Architecture, Filming and Painting, the idea of illusion share some of the similar points.

When observer maintain a distance with the artifact, the use of perspective techniques, lights and shadow position, camera angle will affect the physiological aspects of optical perception.

The history of Cutting - The Soviet Montage Theory

This short video gave me a quick revision of how storytelling in motion picture developed from showing everyday life action to an accidental discovery of "magic" through cut scene. Actor can be none existence at the first second and suddenly appear in the next second.

Understanding this may contribute to my development of video storyboard of the optical illusion projection mapping content.