Emilija Zuzevičiūtė

This work is an installation created to study and immerse oneself into the time and space altering effects the rotoscope animation technique can potentially offer.

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The act of animation is inseparable from the manipulation of time. The act of drawing frames itself becomes an act that changes time. Frames are drawn for hours, becoming an animation that takes but a few seconds for the viewer to consume. But animation can also change the perception of space. High focus for both the animator and the viewer can erase the space around it, and it doesn’t exist until you start interacting with it again.

 

To study this effect, I chose the animation technique: rotoscoping. Rotoscoping is unique in that it is animated on video footage. This technique is already partially investigating the focus issue, as the animator can use it to select which object(s) they want to highlight and animate.

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Space, both in the frame and in reality, disappears when the focus is on one object. For example, when reaching for an object, say a pencil, it appears in our consciousness only by focusing on it. Using the rotoscope technique, only one building out of five is drawn, and the remaining four are not even seen by the viewer. Space becomes vague and controlled only by what is given focus.

 

At the same time, cognition of an object, focus on it, changes the perception of time. The more we are interested in an object, the more time we can spend exploring it, but the time experienced due to focused consciousness and flying thoughts may not match the time elapsed in reality.

 

In this work, I seek to link the action of cognition to the manipulation of time, and to highlight the power of concentration that changes perception of space.

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