Disruption and distortion.

I decided to watch Inception again. I’ll admit it. This was after Paul and I discussed attempting to glitch the footage using techniques I discovered online. These techniques were fascinating and remarkably easy, and allowed me to invoke the flavour and distortion of pieces like inception without spending months on shoot.

The first technique is really simple. You just throw a really quick motion blur over the footage in premiere. Adjust as desired, overlay sound effects as required. Boom.

The second technique I explored involved duplicating portions of the footage, changing its opacity and then ensuring it was slightly out of sync to create a ghosting effect. Once again, synced up with distorted sound.

What does this distortion mean? I’m not sure, apart from the fact that it was cool. Obviously, it lets you draw attention to certain movements of the sequence. I used the distortion at precise intervals. To ensure the stairs looped in a coherent way, I had to ensure that the direction of Justin’s movement-either up or down the stairs, changed at a constant rate.

I decided to use four shots in a certain direction, employ a distorted or glitched shot, and this would be the catalyst for Justin’s movement to change direction after the cut.

It actually worked out rather well! However, in hindsight, wish I’d overlayed justin over justin over justin and really had a chance to slow them down and distort it all further, stretching, replicating and reversing until I had made the effects of Escher’s stairs, each step full of people. Give me a week, Paul. It’s my next stage of examination. I’ll get my crane and I’ll make it happen.

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