Bullet-Time Light Graffiti
Friday, February 8th, 2008
In a previous post I wrote about a group of Dutch artists who used multiple long exposures images to create animated light graffiti.
Well, a group from Brooklyn, NY, Graffiti Research Lab (GRL), has taken this concept and applied a different process to create 3D light graffiti. Instead of using a single camera and multiple exposures to create an animation, they used multiple cameras to take exposures of the same scene from multiple angles. The result is "bullet time" style effect, as was first widely seen in the film The Matrix.
A detailed review of how they accomplished this task is available on the popular DIY / Hacking website Instructables. Many pictures, and the final results, are provided there. GRL developed this project in response to one of the challenges posted on Instructables, and GRL has released their how-to instructions under a creative commons license.
Doing light graffiti seems to be a popular trend among artists and technology oriented people (geeks) right now. This should not be a surprise to anyone. At its core, all creative endeavors (the arts) are based around the tools and technologies that people use to create. These tools are is as simple as pencil or complex as a modern supercomputer, and everything in between. When new technologies appear, it’s an opportunity to for artists to experiment with new creative forms, or apply new techniques and styles to established artistic practices. For example, light graffiti would not be possible (or at least prohibitively time-consuming and expensive) without the features that are present on modern digital cameras. It’s the technologies that make new forms of art possible, but none of it would be possible without the creative mind of an artist.
