Movie Assembly - internet film making

	.Visual Study 01

			The first study was made with 23 images of the Eiffel Tower. Moving image is running at a speed of 12 fps. Since this was the first study, the main goal was to test the feasibility of the project, to create a virtual camera. Each frame is organized around the visual anchor of the tower and since the image sizes are not suitable for the current frame, there occurred black areas on some frames. These black areas disturb the eye and affect the perception of the viewer. So, the best solution was to find full frame images for each frame of the video for the next study.

	.Visual Study 02

			Made out of 25 full framed and re-framed images of the Eiffel Tower at a speed of 12 fps. The goal was to extend the duration of the study and achieve a smoother camera movement. Instead of anchoring the full figure of the tower, I concentrated on the negative space of the second level. The eye follows the common visual element through the timeline. As the camera is moving away from the tower, it is getting harder and harder to anchor the common visual of the tower. This is because of the varying shooting locations (vantage points) and the size of the tower in the images. Also each frame of this study has different light and lens conditions (focal length and depth of field effects). By adding more frames to the timeline it is possible to extend the duration, but as you add more frames it is getting harder to find suitable images. Because each added frame limits the following frame. Color and atmosphere changes add a different kind of aesthetics to the moving image. The camera movement in this study was a straight forward process, I collected same angle and varying distance shot images of the tower. The need to reframe. Why did you reframe? The next step was trying new camera angles on the Tower.

	.Visual Study 03 - Workspace

			This was made with 25 full frame images of the Eiffel Tower at a speed of 12 fps. The goal of this study was to give inside information about how previous studies are made and present this film at Movieassembly.com. This time each frame is shown by its original size, without re-framing. This led to a different aesthetics than the visual study 02. Since we are able to see the original content of the images, it is now easier to identify those images as tourist pictures. The tower remains as a visual anchor in this sequence. This also demonstrates that during this process re-framing helps a lot to the viewer to keep the consistency between frames. Varying frame sizes and positions make moving image experience complicated. I am planning to keep the following studies in defined frame size.

	.Visual Study 04 - Moving Camera

			This is a slightly extended version of visual study 02. More in between frames are added. This study also shows us that this kind of film making is a never ending process, as long as you have the suitable image you can always add, drop and change the individual frames. These operations will change the speed of film but will not effect the base idea. Also, in this study we are able to see more than 30 different light, lens, and environment conditions of the same structure, the Eiffel Tower. So we are dealing with huge amount of data in a short time period. This data flow can be considered as data visualization. Film becomes a way of data visualization. Of course in that short time frame it is very hard for human perception to receive that much information. In other words, information is overloaded in a short time period. Reducing fps of the study will eliminate this overload, but the smoothness of camera will be discarded. Visual studies from 01 to 04 are based on same type of images, the next step was trying to create different moving cameras.

	.Visual Study 05.1 - Camera from legs to open view

			This piece aims to give a feeling of a moving camera from under the tower to the front of it. In this piece the major problem was the size of the original images. Since this shot is suitable for portrait orientation most of the Flickr users took the picture vertically. But our frame is in landscape orientation. So there occurred a necessary re-framing to keep everything in the frame. And this re-framing makes it harder to perceive the camera movement. Film is not successful enough to communicate as a moving camera. This yielded itself to the following study which shows full frames of the moving image

	.Visual Study 05.2 - Camera from legs to open view (Full frames)

			The goal of this study is to create a better camera movement for visual study 05.1. To achieve this I extended the frame large enough to see the full photographs.So, camera movement is much cleaner than the previous study. Because now we are able to see the rest of the tower. The top point of tower helps the perception of movement. However without standard framing now it looks like the tower is animated other than filmed.

	.Visual Study 05.3 - Camera from legs to open view (Full frames stacked)

			This study is a slightly modified version of the previous one. Instead of changing the image in each frame, I worked with layers. Each following image is placed on upper layers. So, keeping the previous frame in layers on the screen makes it harder to follow the movement of camera. Visual study 05.2 is a better solution to give the feeling of a moving camera but this piece has something different. First, it reflects the process of film making. And there is a tension between still images and moving picture. Each image appears on screen and stays there, some part of the image keeps changing with the new frames but some part of the image stands there until the end of the sequence. A duality occurs between moving and still images. We become more aware that each frame is a still image in movies, and that the whole moving image experience is an optical illusion. From here on I experimented with abstract studies to see if it was possible to build abstract moving images with found photos.

	.Visual Study 06 - Arc

			In this study, the goal was to build a stationary camera which is pointed at the arc of the tower. In the Flickr image searching period I realized that it is very hard to find images that were taken from the same distance and angle. I was not able to realize my first intention. Also on Flickr.com, the arc of the Eiffel Tower photos are not that many compared to other abstract re-framings of the tower. It seems like people are not interested in this type of images. In my opinion, it is because arc images are not characteristic of the Eiffel Tower. Since most of these images are tourists’ photos, they want to capture the well known representations of the tower. Collective memory is taking a remarkable role in the re-recording of famous places or monuments. People want to take pictures as they remember from other photos, films, books, etc. I decided to use other parts of tower for upcoming abstract studies.

	.Visual Study 07 - Abstract metal structure

			In this study, the goal was to build an abstract study based on Eiffel Tower images. I wanted to try and see what will happen if I just sort the images one after another without worrying about a virtual camera and visual orientations. All pictures are re-framing of Eiffel Tower leg details. I tried to loose the identity of Eiffel Tower but since the image of it is so powerful in our minds some frames are easy to link with it. This study is showing the contrast between visual anchored and non-anchored films. Non-anchored ones like this, is more like an image bombardment on screen, hard to follow and perceive. I am planning to use this piece in the final montage. The next step was more experimentation on abstract visuals but with common visual anchor in them.

	.Visual Study 08.1 - Abstract square

			I was not satisfied with the visual study 06 and the need for common visual anchor in study 07 led me to this study. This study was an answer to the both problems of studies 06 and 07. The square view from under the tower is abstract enough and serves as common visual element. The bottom center view of the Eiffel Tower is mostly photographed from the same location and same distance. So, collecting, selecting and placing each frame were very easy in this study. Physical conditions make the shooting distance nearly identical in each photo.

	.Visual Study 08.2 - Abstract square extended

			The goal of this study was to add a motion dimension to the previous study. Each frame is rotated clockwise 15 degrees relative to the previous frame. The result is a dazzling rotating abstract square which is made out of Eiffel Tower images. This is the first study that can be considered as fully animated. Two dimensions of motion is in effect, one is the changing frames and the other is rotation. So the moving image experience becomes more complicated and surprising, because of the motion it is harder to identify the images as a part of the Eiffel Tower. From this point on I wanted to experiment more with adding motion to the frames.

	.Visual Study 08.3 - Abstract square extended (Full frames stacked)

			Since the images are in landscape format rotating ones leads to negative spaces in previous study. To eliminate those negative spaces and experience the stacked version of visual study 08.2, this study was assembled. Since every photo is in rectangular form it creates a contrast between rotating square and rectangle photo frame. But after completing the first cycle rectangles form a non-uniform circle. The rotation of the square is an artificial movement. It is not related to the visual features of photos but only to my decision. From here on I wanted to experiment with adding artificial motion to the frames in virtual camera related studies.

	.Visual Study 09 - Moving camera experiment

			The goal of this study was to experiment the rotating frames as in visual study 08 in a non-abstract Eiffel Tower image sequence. Every study requires a visual anchor to help the viewer to follow the motion. In this one I defined my visual anchor as the top point of Eiffel Tower and the images are rotating from that anchor point. The moving image experience is graphical than cinematic. We see rotating and approaching tower but it is hard to say that this is captured by a (virtual) camera. So this study is out of scope of the project.

	.Visual Study 10.1 - Moving camera with motion

			I believe visual study 09 is a failure but I still wanted to try the artificial camera movement from visual study 08.3. This study is a modified version of visual study 04. Camera shifts left and right while zooming and this effect is achieved by changing the location of the frames on x-axis accordingly. Moving left and right adds another dimension to the moving image experience. Following the visual anchor in film become more complicated.

	.Visual Study 10.2 - Moving camera with motion (Full frames stacked)

			This study is the full frames version of the previous one. Seeing full frames of previous study makes the effect more dramatic. The eye still can track the Eiffel Tower under this heavy image bombardment. Compared to visual study 09 this full frame version is more natural for the viewer because of its closeness to cinematic conventions. Rotating cameras on the z-axis are rarely used in cinema. But shifting on y or x-axis cameras are widely used. However since we are unable to see the sides of Eiffel Tower the visual experience looks artificial or animated.

	.Visual Study 11.1 - Metro

			The goal of this study was to create a steady camera capturing a moving environment. The subway train comes to the station and goes by. Since most of the frames are blurry photographs, the whole video is a demonstration of speed, similar to art of the futurist period. Also this study has black and white frames. But the viewer does not register them at 12 fps. The attention is on the lights and the motion of the train. The train and the train station is different in each photo, New York, Paris, Prague, Seoul, etc. are some of the cities and subways pictured. The train and the environment changes but the motion is present. It is harder to find images of trains just at the entrance of the station. For that reason this study is similar to visual study 06 in which I was experimenting with arc images. Both examples demonstrate that some kinds of compositions are not perceived as interesting to photograph. This observation shows us that taking photos and film recording have different motivations. Photographers are mostly interested in composition and stand alone “good looking” frames but film makers will gladly record the very beginning of train arriving at the station. I believe this is an interesting point because it emphasizes the differences between moving and still images. In addition to that I am using blurry still images, which are trying to take objection to their still nature, to build a moving image. In image database film making, if the composition is not popular among the photographers you are more likely to lack the necessary in between still images.

	.Visual Study 11.2 - Metro extended

			This is an extended version of the previous study, more frames added. Train comes and passes through the station. We are able to see the arrival and departure of the train. This study is more than a steady camera. The camera captures the arrival of the train and pans right to see the departure of the train. I am also repeating blur door sequence for 3 times to resemble the repetitive nature of train cars passing through the station

	.Visual Study 12 - Horizon

			This visual study is about capturing a fixed distance from a steady camera like in visual study 08. Here the fixed distance is the endless horizon and center of gravity in photos is the center of them. The vanishing horizon is used as common visual element here. But since the images are so much different from each other, it is hard to perceive the moving image as I described. It is more like an image bombardment on the screen and the viewer has a hard time to relate the frames to each other to perceive the piece as a whole moving image. It is more like a discrete image sequence. This study emphasizes the importance of common visual element in each frame, without it we are having hard time to follow the motion picture.






	Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

	.What ?

	*Movie Assembly is a collaborative internet film making-new media* project.Movie Assembly aims to build a short film by using images on Flickr. Flickr has millions of photos tagged by users and if you place proper images one after another you can build a virtual camera. The hard part is finding suitable images. Movie Assembly welcomes to anybody who wants to join this project, for details check JoinUs. This project is a part of Gokhan Okur's masters thesis project at Sabanci University** at İstanbul-Turkey. So this is a non-commercial, non-profit project.

	.News

	> French newspaper Liberation made an interwiev about Movie Assembly project. You can read the French version here and the english version from here.

	.Demo video

			A two seconds video on the left is to give an idea about the project. Each image is taken from different users on flickr.