Team Master Blaster Project Proposal

Here is the idea that we, the Master Blasters (Brando Cox, Daniella Napolitano and Habib Awan) have for our project. The proposal is to have a quasi pop culture theme featuring news, entertainment and TV ads focused on the theme of “oversaturation in our society.”

The conceptual goals of Project Master Blaster started with the fascination about popular culture. The themes we first thought about were the shelf life and the idea of time as well as peoples’ obsession with it. We looked at ideas where things that were scary or appealing in the past that do not have the same meaning today. Through discussion we realized that media is all around. It is almost impossible to escape.
As a group we decided to split up these three categories into three screens. The design is to have not three but four multiple screens, maybe reflecting one screen image with a mirror. The screens will create a room full of media. We want to make it so that the viewer has a hard time focusing on one thing. The distractions will not only be visual but also auditory. Sound from different screens will play at different times.
The timing of the sound clips will be important. We want to design them in such a way that they seem to form a stream of random and nonsensical questions and sentences (such as “If you think that’s great, then you should check out the most recent case of swine flu, which could go all the way to the Superbowl.”). However, we plan on looping the footage, so the second time around, the sound clips will be in different spots, to lure the viewers into a false sense of knowledge.

For interaction with the audience we had the idea that viewers will walk through the live projection/ images while looking at our work. Recorded voices will play a key role, by either yelling at the audience to move out of the shot or involving them by asking them questions. No matter where they stand, they will be blocking something and need to pay attention to the monitors. This will make them unwillingly interact. At different intervals we will yell “down in front” or “can you please move?” to add to the discomfort and awkwardness. A live feed will record their reactions.

Brainstorming Notes

Pop Culture:
Idea of time
Something scary back in the day → not scary now, comical
Shelf life
Obsession

Multiple screen ideas:
Make viewers walk through projection?
Record reactions? → Yell at them? Ask questions?

Can’t get away from media. It’s all around. “Media Overload”

Sensory overload?
Make it so it’s hard to focus on one thing
Force the audience to walk through, in front of, on top of, etc.
Live feed:
Reactions
Ask people questions, record answer

No matter where they stand, they’re blocking something.

Live feed display shown outside of the room.

Unwillingly interacting

Sound from different screens play at different times (i.e. screen 1 plays sound for 30 seconds then cuts off, screen 3 plays sound for 15 seconds, etc.)
Sounds juxtaposed against image
Sounds matching image, lures viewer into “false sense of security”