#process explanation

Reconfiguring “aura” in the era of digital (re)production

The main inspiration for this creation is once again, the concept of "aura" developed by Walter Benjamin (1970) in The Work of Art in The Age of Mechanical Reproduction. For Benjamin, aura is 'the here and now' of a work of art. Historically, tangible artworks made for traditional mediums possess an appearance of supernatural force as well as sensory experience of distance, both of which arise from their unique presence in time and space.

"What withers in the age of the technological reproducibility of the work of art is the aura." (Benjamin 1970)

Benjamin finds that “mechanical reproduction is a technique of diminution" that helps people achieve control over works of art by possessing copies of the original. On the one hand, aura, authenticity, and uniqueness of original artworks are fundamentally connected to their insertion in traditions. Therefore, reproduced works of art are completely detached from the sphere of tradition. Envision for example, how the aura and unapproachability of a leather-bound, original work of classic literature is reduced when cheap paperback copies of it are sold unceremoniously on sidewalks.

On a positive note, this waning of aura and thus, loss of tradition, means the work of art can be disconnected from its past uses and brought into new combinations by the reader through various resources such as language, gaze, gesture, vocal features, proxemics, graphic display, cinematography, page-layout, etc. Perhaps, instead of a diminishing effect, reproduction helps to liberate and extend the aura of artworks by making them readily available and accessible to all social classes. Digital art is especially susceptible to this phenomenon as it can be transmitted very quickly through various media outlets whilst preserving the essence of the work. Although digital media lack the gravitating effect and semblance of distance traditional artworks possess, they are multimodal products which can transmit a diverse range of emotions through camera lens, digital mediums and networks, invoking an entirely new and distinctive sense of atmosphere/ quality.

As such, I intended for this GIF set to extend and renovate the aura of the original "Wildest Dreams" music video, which is set in an African savanna in the 1950s during the golden age of cinema. It tells the story of fictional brunette actress Marjorie Finn (played by Taylor Swift in a wig) while she shoots a romantic adventure film with co-star Robert Kingsley (played by Scott Eastwood). Finn and Kingsley are having a love affair both on and offscreen, but their romance is short-lived and bittersweet as the video cuts to the movie premiere, where Finn sees her co-star Kingsley with his fiancé. Finn is visibly upset but tries to act nonchalant. As they both watch the film, Finn is finally overcome with emotion, fleeing the premiere and getting into a waiting limousine. The video ends with a shot of the limousine's side-mirror showing Kingsley running into the street and watching as Finn's car drives away.

(Watch the Full Music Video on Youtube for a more immersive experience)

Multimodality Analysis & Creative Process

The song and MV's title “Wildest dreams” invokes elements of romance and fantasy, it is the opposite of reality which suggests harsh truths and coming to terms with something negative; It is also a connotation of something lovely but unattainable (not just a dream but the “wildest” of those dreams). In the original video, the love story between Finn and Kingsley mainly unfolded on a movie set, which is a clear metaphor for something inherently false and temporary. Anytime the audience witness these lovers kiss, our views are obstructed by cameras and filming equipments. The lyrics also suggest a public disclosure of private thoughts, since Swift is directly addressing a “you” in the chorus (“Say you’ll remember me…”), it’s as if she wrote the song with the assumption that her lover is going to hear it in mind. Their love is like a spectacle, picturesque and too good to be real, it is witnessed by the director and camera crew like a movie being watched by an audience. All the equipments were telltale signs that permeated the privacy and substance of a tangible connection.

Yet, all these signals jabbing at the ephemeral nature of Finn and Kingsley’s love story have been selectively omitted from my GIF set after a careful process of sourcing footages. In doing so, I hope to evoke a different “aura” from the work and highlight what I deem to be the true message Swift is conveying through her song - lustful, bad decisions and doomed relationships are all worth it, as long as they are remembered fondly, through rose-tinted glasses and warm memories that remain.

Right before the chorus starts, Swift sings “I can see the end, as it begins” - meaning she already knew they were star-crossed lovers, doomed from the beginning to have a lovely but fleeting relationship. Yet, this lyrics is immediately followed with “My one condition is…” (not “I wish we never met” or “I wish I never kissed you”) which brings focus to the fact that she doesn’t regret having fallen for or been together with “him”. She can accept the ending of their love, as long as she is remembered by her lover “in a nice dress” while “staring at the sunset”, a key imagery in the music video. Although this sequence contains amazing visuals, the beautiful synchronization between the massive, flowy gown and the wind is actually facilitated by a fan. Yet, when I captured it in the 3rd GIF, I eliminated any element that would suggest artificiality, because as long as the image of Finn in this fashion is remembered fondly by Kingsley, their star-crossed love would be romanticized in memory and retain its value.

Artificial wind making Finn's dress blow in the wind.

I captured their short-lived but intense romance in a series of curated footages: from the moment Finn and Kingsley first laid eyes on one another and recognized the spark of attraction, to the times they’ve spent in each other’s company in private chambers and amid the African sky, to the period their movie enters post-production stage and the two are separated by reality, forced to witness their doomed relationship on film like picture perfect memories.

I color corrected the GIF set so that tones of cyan, yellow, green and any other shades signifying the reality of the African geography their movie set is based on would disappear, bringing sole focus to the rose-colored love portion of this story. In addition to limiting the range of color to strip away elements of reality and encapsulate the story in visually altered memories, I also slowed the pace of action down for certain scenes to stretch out the moment and evoke emotional affects:

when Finn and Kingsley make eye contact (GIF 1)

when Finn’s dress blows in the wind against the sunset backdrop (GIF 3)

when Finn is mouthing “Wildest dreams” right before leaning in for an on-screen kiss (GIF 7)

when Finn runs away from the theatre in anguish (GIF 9)

The lyrics “nothing lasts forever” is repeated several times throughout the song, but contextualized in different manners, ringing out when Finn and Kingsley are shown smitten and in love, but also in the midst of the relationship’s doom. I wanted to emphasize another lyrical notion: “Say you’ll see me again/ Even if it’s just pretend” which comes right before the climax of the song and is delivered by Swift in a confessional tone without loud musical backtrack to distract from its raw, emotional quality. I incorporated the heartbreaking plea in text on top of GIF 3 (which conveys the lyrics “say you’ll remember me/ standing in a nice dress/ staring at the sunset”) and GIF 6 (when Finn and Kingsley are shown happily enjoying each other’s company and gazing at one another with intense emotions).

The result is a series of tinted, romanticized GIFs that strips away all elements of artificiality to emphasize the authenticity of an albeit short-lived romance. The visuals fool the audience just as Swift intended the memories to fool her lover. Relationships can be superficial but memories have enough merit and power to outweigh the negatives. Perhaps what Swift is trying to say to her lover, is “you’ll see me again, in a warm memory”; and this GIF set serves to encapsulate that warmth.

A note on accessibility

The GIF set is to be viewed from Top to Bottom and from Left to Right. I have written captions that double as alt texts describing the storyline(s) behind each individual GIF.

[Gif 1] Scene 1: Finn & Kingsley making eye contact/ Scene 2: Finn & Kingsley kissing.

[Gif 2] Camera pans into a tent bedroom setting, Finn & Kingsley are seen sharing a bed as lovers.

[Gif 3] Finn's long dress flowing in the wind/ camera transitions to a helicopter flying towards the sunset/ Text reads: "Say you'll see me again".

[Gif 4] Scene 1: Kingsley holding Finn's face/ Scene 2: Finn watching wild elephants amid the African desert setting/ Scene 3: Kingsley holding Finn from behind as they both serenely gaze at the sunset.

[Gif 5] Scene 1: A frowning Finn slowly smiles as Kingsley gently tilts her face towards him for a kiss/ Scene 2: Finn reaching for Kingsley's hand as he operates the helicopter/ Scene 3: Finn & Kingsley's helicopter flying amid the sky.

[Gif 6] Scene 1: Kingsley lifting Finn and spinning her in the air, both are joyfully laughing/ Scene 2: Kingsley gazing at Finn intensely and sadly/ Text reads "Even if it's just pretend".

[Gif 7] Scene 1: A distraught Finn turns away from Kingsley at the premiere of their movie/ Scene 2: Black and white screening of Finn & Kingsley's movie interaction, Finn mouthing "Wildest dreams".

[Gif 8] A heartbroken Finn fleeing the theatre and slamming the limousine door shut, gazing through the glass longingly.

Since one of the most important aspects of digital literacy is accessibility for all people, my decision to add alt texts and alter the titles of each GIF according to their content serves to ensure those with visual impairments can also "view" the media. Ideally, alt texts should be informative and concise (about 125 characters or less to ensure compatibility for popular screen readers), relating only the central aspects within images. Here, I have incorporated more detailed descriptions since the media being wielded are compilations of moving images made up of several scenes and storylines. I refined these alt texts by closing my eyes and considering whether the elements I had described help to paint a clear picture of the "Wildest Dreams" MV in my head, without the aid of vision.

Reference List:

Benjamin, W. 1999, ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical reproduction’, in H. Zohn [ed], Illuminations, London: Pimlico, pp. 211-244.

Finefrock, M. 2015, Making Web Images Accessible to People Who Are Blind, Conscious Style Guide, viewed April 27th 2018, <https://consciousstyleguide.com/making-web-images-accessible-people-blind/>.

Panzironi, M. 2016, Animated GIFs And Fair Use: What Is And Isn't Legal, According To Copyright Law, Forbes, viewed May 19th 2018, <https://www.forbes.com/sites/propointgraphics/2016/04/30/animated-gifs-and-fair-use-what-is-and-isnt-legal-according-to-copyright-law/#6d193844371b>.

Robins, A. 2011, Theory in Studio: Walter Benjamin and the Concept of Aura, Burnaway: The Voice of Art in the South, viewed April 25th 2018, <https://burnaway.org/feature/theory-in-studio-walter-benjamin-and-the-concept-of-aura/>.

Robinson, A. 2013, Walter Benjamin: Art, Aura and Authenticity, Ceasefire Magazine UK, viewed April 25th 2018, <https://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/walter-benjamin-art-aura-authenticity/>.

Valkenburgh, P. V. 2014, Do Animated Gifs Infringe on Copyrights?, PeterVV, Personal Website, viewed May 19th 2018, <http://www.petervv.com/2014/01/04/do-animated-gifs-infringe-on-copyrights/>.

VERONIIIICA 2018, How to Write Alt Text and Image Descriptions for the visually impaired, Perkins E-Learning, viewed April 27th 2018, <http://www.perkinselearning.org/technology/blog/how-write-alt-text-and-image-descriptions-visually-impaired>.

Copyright Disclaimer

We get different colors every 6 months and I thinks I have like ten packs between green, blue, red, orange, and yellow at home, because any we don't use past their date are just trash.

As for the actual art,

The weird lighting gradient is because I just take photos with my phone and send them to myself over telegram.

If I'm going to do digital art, I still draw it on paper and send it to my computer.

Since I draw on colored paper the first thing I do is desaturate it to grey

Then open levels and punch up the contrast. I like some of the texture to remain in case I want to color it in photoshop rather than illustrator, but you make the lights white rather than keep a gray.

To get rid of the gradient I use a radial gradient tool and eyedrop the lightest and darkest color, then set it on multiply.

Then you can reopen levels and lighten it again.

I'm not necessarily a good traditional artist by any means, so I'm a huge proponent of "fixing it in post"

I made this image a while ago for an "art class" I was doing for my friends.

If I'm going for a more clean look I save it out and open the image in illustrator,

For an easier time tracing your hand drawing I set the linked image to 50% and then lock the layer, doing all my line work in a separate layer. All of the color goes on third layer.

I like to use width profile 5 for my lines to give them some weight and motion.

I use a pretty weird pallet that I've built up over the years, but any time I need something different I just start with one of these and adjust.

Once I'm done with coloring, be it in illustrator or Photoshop, I usually texturize my stuff, I have a folder with a bunch of random textures that I apply to different parts of a picture based on what materiel the thing would be, eg shirt: burlap, silk, ect, wood for wood, fur or feathers in hair, and then I generally use a combination of Rust texture 4, old paper 41, and paper stick 14 to overlay the entire image with various opacities and layer styles.

And that's my weird process of doing the art thing I do from time to time.