The simulacrum is an individually produced presentation that encapsulates a reinterpretation or innovatory development of an object. The presentation of the object should be in the form of a 90 second animation / video. Through the lecture series you will develop an understanding of what 'object' may represent and your simulacrum will be the vessel in which you present it.Whatever your chosen object is, it's design, soundtrack, visual presentation and physical packaging of your project should all be derived from the properties held within your object and its history.
SolutionI really enjoyed this project as it was an opportunity to work with an open brief where I could experiment with different ideas and explore new concepts. Basically we had to take an object and look at it in a new way and then create a 90 second video using 3D Studio Max and Premiere if you wanted to. I found the 3D quite challenging as I originally wanted to model a shoe but found it too difficult as I didn’t have the skills needed at the time.
For this project we had to choose an object and think about its history and form. I decided on a shoe. The shoe a person decides to wear tells me a lot about their personality and who they are. We are making a statement when we wear a branded shoe and often buy them because a top basketball player is wearing them or the shoe has the latest air pocket technology for cushioning.
I researched into the history of Converse and how they have developed. They are a basic canvas shoe, quite cheap to make and were originally designed for a purpose as a basketball shoe. Chuck Taylor then assigned himself to Converse and everyone had a pair. They became very big in the hip hop culture and are now worn by “goths/emos”, total opposite to one another. Converse is a classic shoe and is still worn by many today. People choose Converse over a basic canvas shoe as they want to make a statement.
My research and development work can be found here on my blog.Below is the final video.