Resolution 1, DJ Shadow Live Music Performance & Ben Stokes Inspiration

Again whilst at a festival and still very keen on creating a music video I saw many live music performances which used onstage visuals while they were performing. I was really inspired by these especially by the Artist DJ Shadow who had a whole production team involved in his atmospheric visuals and even rolled credits to thanks all of them at the end of his music set. This is what led me to stop thinking of my idea as just a music video idea to be watched and instead to also think of other ways visuals can be used like for a live performance like this. This feeds back into my whole idea of creating an atmospheric space for people to experience with the music instead of watching.

DJ Shadow Experience

DJ Shadow played on a stage inside a massive tent. It was already dark and atmospheric in here. Then when he played he had three screens surrounding him with visuals which were timed to his music and also the visuals adapted through out each song to match the feelings and sounds creating a uniqueand intense atmosphere for each song. It also meant that through out his set you felt like you were moving through a story and his music was only guiding you while the visuals were making you feel and experience the story. I also loved his use of projections because half way through his set a mesh sheet hung down infant of him and a projector was used facing the audience to make images project in front of him as well so that he was especially surrounded by all theses symbolic images. This projector also lit the top of the tent up with the images as well meaning not only was a bird flying in front of hi face but if you looked up it was also flying above the audience. This was y favourite part of his visuals because it made the audience surrounded by them therefore moving it from simply watching to again feeling involved in an experience of it. I did take some very bad quality videos of the performance for my own reference but to demonstrate my point and take a look back myself at the visuals I have gone online and researched fining videos of other performances he has done. Here is the first video I found:


This is very similar to the performance I watched with the lights and visuals surrounding him. The only thing this video doesn't show you is how the images were projected above the audience too but it demonstrates him being surround in the visuals in a 360 style which links back into the Hypercube and my idea to make a 360 video you stand inside of and experience. I want a combination of the atmospheric Hypercube and the intense visuals of DJ shadow Live performances and the way its so carefully arranged. Here is another video I found of the live performance which is much better quality:

DJ Shadow 2016 tour from Ben Stokes on Vimeo.

I wanted to find out more about the visual artists behind this live performance. I found out that this work was led by Ben Stokes who was the Designer and Director of these visuals pieces. On his own website he advertises himself as a Director, Designer, Animator, Cinematographer, Multi-Media Artist, Sound Designer & Composer. He has such a massive variety of skills which does also make me thankful that I am on Digital Film and Screen Arts as this has given me a chance to pick up as many random various and artistic skills I want to learn. Stokes has also got a massive portfolio of work he has been a part over many years. Here is his recent works he has been part of as a Director and Designer:

I am amazed by the variety of pieces he has worked on but I have also sensed a theme to his work to which is very intense and atmospheric like the DJ Shadow work he has done. What is is also very interesting is he has been involved in other Cube projects (like the hypercube I mentioned) meaning that he also picked up on this link between immersion and experience being heavily based on visuals and this is where he has homed his skills into. You can also see that he has partaken in a number of music pieces and visuals not only DJ Shadow in a tour sense:

I am so glad I have discovered him as an artist because just looking through his website is so inspiring. His is basically working as a practitioner in the areas that I would love to work in also making music videos:

I have found a showreel of his directing work which shows his distinct style:
AV-Reel - Ben Stokes from Ben Stokes on Vimeo.

I really love the start of this showreel because it actually scientifically explains the idea of Audio Visual Pieces and Performances and the idea that it is a more lasting impression which is what I am trying to aim for without realising that that would be how to refer to it or describe it.

As much as I really love his work and the way his plays with the idea of 360, immersion, projections and animation I feel like my style isn't suited to an animation driven piece because up till now I have only ever learnt my skills using real life subjects. I want to take his approach but in my own style by using real life images I capture to tell a story and creating a feeling but then manipulate the images afterwards in post to make them more visuals impacting and therefore more atmospheric. More like this other work he created:

Century Plaza Hotel Bldg. projection from Ben Stokes on Vimeo.