The Yekpare Project mapping is an extraordinary 16 minute
long projection on the side of the Haydarpaşa Train Station. Apart from all the
beautiful abstract elements the projection has a significantly deeper meaning.
It visually narrates the history of Istanbul, displaying symbols from Pagans to
the Roman Empire, from the Byzantine Empire to the Latin Empire and lastly from
the Ottoman Empire to Istanbul as it is found today.
The projection itself relies greatly on abstract designs to
convey its message. This can be quite difficult to understand why elements are
being displayed this way, especially for outsiders who are unfamiliar to
Istanbul and its history.
This projection kicks off with a subtle light show,
utilizing an artificial sun direction to create moving shadows adorning the
building. Viewers are slowly introduced to the architecture and the canvas of
their entertainment for the next minutes all whilst a Didgeridoo sound is being
played in the background. The light changes colour from time to time which
could be revealing what time of day it is, and also symbolize the days passing,
it is also aided by the use of the sunset animation when the lights become
summery. From this brief minute you know that you will have to pay attention
and analyse what is happening to be able to understand the underlying meaning
to these abstract designs.
When it comes to analysing the projection from both a
functional and artistic perspective, this projection has a great deal of information
to offer as it covers a variety of different techniques, art styles and
dimensions. Mostly dominant in the projection are 3D, 2D, Lighting.
There are several 3D elements which are shown throughout the
projection all of which have different animation types. The first time we see
this is when the vines of leaves start to grow alongside the building, these
stay true to mother nature as the hold all the realistic physical elements as
if we were watching a video on time laps.
The leaves grow from the bottom left to the center until it
covers roughly the lower half of the building showing great contrast between
the lifeless rocks that make up the building and the flowing green leaves which
have covered the architecture.
Another 3D animation can be found in the sequest and to say
the least it is quite eye straining and confusing in some parts. It feels like
a glitch in the matrix where the building is collapsing its self in a weird
fashion whilst simultaneously pulling itself back together.
To the end of the projection another simpler 3D animation
takes place where sections of the building start to fall back slowly leaving
the lit windows in solitude all whilst the tower stars to rotate to the left
creating depth in its effect.
The 2D animations take a more predominant part in the
projection as they cover a bigger part of the time line. There are different
types of 2d animations and elements found in this projection some of which I
believe to be raw footage.
The first 2D element we glimpse is Turkish typography which
takes over the entirety of the building. The effect is bold and meaningful, a
very direct way of sending a message through the use of white letters
contrasting the darkness of the negative space.
The next 2D animation is debatable as it could be raw
footage of ink being dropped in a liquid, similar to this effect https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqQSlEViNpk
. or a creative animation on a modern design software. It takes up a great
amount of time transitioning in both colour and effect, the music takes part in
this dance of colours as it changes from time to time based on the colours and
movements to create a well-rounded composition.
Another more unconventional way of getting your message
across is the animation above. The building is first lined out in a random
fashion and later webbed in more pulsating lines similar to broken glass. It
later reassembles showing a full colour of the original building, on its own it
is a well-executed animation but if the designers based the animation on a
deeper meaning , such as the city broke and rebuilt itself to be stronger than
ever it would add a hidden value to the already beautiful animation.
Notable Mentions
Notable Mentions
The building splits into 3 layers and they all start mimicking train
movement and sound. This is a very creative way to use the windows in this
fashion. I would like to find something equally creative to do in our project
mapping in Valetta.
Silhouettes fill the buildings symbolising a busy place with upbeat
music.
Lastly the Lighting animations and effects used in this
projection. The lighting is mainly used to give depth to the projection but it
is also used as an animation technique.
The image above shows rays of coloured lights pouring out of
the windows. This effect moved around the face of the building catching and
controlling the viewer’s eye a neat technique as a build-up animation greater.
At the end all the windows light up giving of a divine/angelic feel to the
building’s façade.
Another interesting lighting effect is when the silhouette
of a man uses an “orange torch” to look around the building. It’s not that exciting
by itself but it does make the viewer want to look for whatever he is
searching. In conjunction with other story elements I think this could prove to
be a very valuable animation, and may even implement it in our own project
mapping.
The projection takes the simple route when it comes to
transitioning between one animation segment and another. It generally fades to
black, or all elements turn off sequentially. One effective transition happens
when the building starts to warp to the frequency of the music until it starts
to dissipate.
To conclude I think this projection was very well-executed
both visually and emotionally whilst hosting different animations and design
techniques. Most of the emotions where brought out through the use of sounds,
implemented at the right times which where blended seamlessly with the visuals.
As a side note the reflecting designs on the water were good and bad in some
parts of the projection where it sometimes added and complemented and others
where it took away from the subtle solitude moments. You can view the full
video here: https://vimeo.com/12584289
Bibliography
Bibliography
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