Artefact
Email: hopkinskyle@yahoo.co.uk
What
Artefact is an atmospheric videoscape. A combination of location video and audio recordings made all around the world with an original soundtrack. It tells no specific story. It has no specific meaning. It is an attempt to arrange and combine digital recordings of reality and digitally generated sound into an aesthetically pleasing whole.
Artefact is an atmospheric videoscape. A combination of location video and audio recordings made all around the world with an original soundtrack. It tells no specific story. It has no specific meaning. It is an attempt to arrange and combine digital recordings of reality and digitally generated sound into an aesthetically pleasing whole.
Why
I love to record things and play them back. It can be fun trying to make a recording as accurate as possible. It can be fun distorting it until it becomes something else. I’ve spent a lot of my adult life travelling the world and most of the time I’ve carried some kind of video or audio recording device with me. Sometimes I record exciting things that command your attention at a given moment. Sometimes I record everyday things that usually go unnoticed. Magic can happen anywhere anytime. The glint of sun on water as it hits a lens. A chorus of frogs that sound like a thousand tiny motors. I’ve been doing this all my life. I just file them away. I collect them. It’s fun. But I wanted to “make” something. I wanted to see what kind of whole I could make from these disconnected samples of reality. I also wanted to make a record for myself of a time in my life when I went out and saw the world. A decade, more or less, spent on the road. Sitting on faraway mountains trying to capture a sunrise in a little box made of plastic and metal. Time well spent. The final “Why” is I wanted to learn how to make something like this. I taught myself to edit video and audio, use a computer to make music and sounds, encode digital video, author a DVD and make a website by following this project through. I’m really glad I bothered.
I love to record things and play them back. It can be fun trying to make a recording as accurate as possible. It can be fun distorting it until it becomes something else. I’ve spent a lot of my adult life travelling the world and most of the time I’ve carried some kind of video or audio recording device with me. Sometimes I record exciting things that command your attention at a given moment. Sometimes I record everyday things that usually go unnoticed. Magic can happen anywhere anytime. The glint of sun on water as it hits a lens. A chorus of frogs that sound like a thousand tiny motors. I’ve been doing this all my life. I just file them away. I collect them. It’s fun. But I wanted to “make” something. I wanted to see what kind of whole I could make from these disconnected samples of reality. I also wanted to make a record for myself of a time in my life when I went out and saw the world. A decade, more or less, spent on the road. Sitting on faraway mountains trying to capture a sunrise in a little box made of plastic and metal. Time well spent. The final “Why” is I wanted to learn how to make something like this. I taught myself to edit video and audio, use a computer to make music and sounds, encode digital video, author a DVD and make a website by following this project through. I’m really glad I bothered.
How
The video was all recorded on Mini DV tapes using the cheapest consumer handy-cam I could find in 2003. That’s why the overall quality of the images is poor compared to contemporary video camera recordings. It was all shot on standard definition DV tape before high definition became common. As we’re all so used to higher definition images today, the video quality is the most glaring deficiency of the project. The location sound recordings were made using a stereo microphone and a minidisk recorder. Over the years I logged all of my recordings and made shortlists of the best material. Eventually I imported the shortlisted material into a video editing application and began to put the pieces together. Some went naturally with others based on colour, content or some other reason. Others were thrown randomly together until a combination worked. Bit by bit I pieced the majority of it together in this way and then constructed some specific sequences to begin and end it and join some sections together. Once the video edit was complete I began creating sounds for the soundtrack. I wanted to use mostly asynchronous drones and atmospheric sounds to accompany the video so I sequenced and recorded hours of possibly appropriate software generated sounds. I then imported those sounds into an audio editing application and manipulated them further with effects and editing. Then I started to line up sounds with video sequences and used the same method I had used before. Some sounds went naturally with certain shots. Some sounds were placed randomly with shots until they felt right and a few sounds were designed specifically for certain shots. Once the audio edit was mostly complete the video was slightly re-edited to fit the audio. Then the location sound recordings were added and the sound mixed. Once the sound was complete, a slight colour grade was added to the final video edit and a master was created. The only rule I set for myself with this project was that everything had to be generated by me. Nothing could be sourced externally. No downloaded sound effects. No video templates (except for the title). This had to be something I made completely with my own hands (and a laptop). And that’s what it is.
The video was all recorded on Mini DV tapes using the cheapest consumer handy-cam I could find in 2003. That’s why the overall quality of the images is poor compared to contemporary video camera recordings. It was all shot on standard definition DV tape before high definition became common. As we’re all so used to higher definition images today, the video quality is the most glaring deficiency of the project. The location sound recordings were made using a stereo microphone and a minidisk recorder. Over the years I logged all of my recordings and made shortlists of the best material. Eventually I imported the shortlisted material into a video editing application and began to put the pieces together. Some went naturally with others based on colour, content or some other reason. Others were thrown randomly together until a combination worked. Bit by bit I pieced the majority of it together in this way and then constructed some specific sequences to begin and end it and join some sections together. Once the video edit was complete I began creating sounds for the soundtrack. I wanted to use mostly asynchronous drones and atmospheric sounds to accompany the video so I sequenced and recorded hours of possibly appropriate software generated sounds. I then imported those sounds into an audio editing application and manipulated them further with effects and editing. Then I started to line up sounds with video sequences and used the same method I had used before. Some sounds went naturally with certain shots. Some sounds were placed randomly with shots until they felt right and a few sounds were designed specifically for certain shots. Once the audio edit was mostly complete the video was slightly re-edited to fit the audio. Then the location sound recordings were added and the sound mixed. Once the sound was complete, a slight colour grade was added to the final video edit and a master was created. The only rule I set for myself with this project was that everything had to be generated by me. Nothing could be sourced externally. No downloaded sound effects. No video templates (except for the title). This had to be something I made completely with my own hands (and a laptop). And that’s what it is.
Where
The images and sounds in Artefact were recorded at the following locations: Goa, India; Atacama Desert, Chile; Mekong River, Vietnam; Valparaiso, Chile; Bangkok, Thailand; Mt. Bromo National Park, Indonesia; Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Hanoi, Vietnam; Mumbai, India; Agra, India; Jaipur, India; Bhopal, India; Jahangir Mahal, India; Arica, Chile; Blue Mountains, Australia; Huay Xei, Laos; Rio De Janeiro, Brazil; Sihanoukville, Cambodia; Halong Bay, Vietnam; Mekong River, Laos; Angkor, Cambodia; Ajanta Caves, India; Uluwatu, Indonesia; Borobudur, Indonesia; Maui, Hawaii; Luang Prabang, Laos; Machu Picchu, Peru; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Maroubra, Australia; Big Island, Hawaii; Granada, Spain; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Tasmania, Australia; Grand Canyon, USA; Nevada, USA; Cusco Province, Peru; Palawan, Philippines; Randwick, Australia; London, England; Baja California, Mexico; Coogee, Australia; Kangaroo Valley, Australia; Paharganj, India.
The images and sounds in Artefact were recorded at the following locations: Goa, India; Atacama Desert, Chile; Mekong River, Vietnam; Valparaiso, Chile; Bangkok, Thailand; Mt. Bromo National Park, Indonesia; Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Hanoi, Vietnam; Mumbai, India; Agra, India; Jaipur, India; Bhopal, India; Jahangir Mahal, India; Arica, Chile; Blue Mountains, Australia; Huay Xei, Laos; Rio De Janeiro, Brazil; Sihanoukville, Cambodia; Halong Bay, Vietnam; Mekong River, Laos; Angkor, Cambodia; Ajanta Caves, India; Uluwatu, Indonesia; Borobudur, Indonesia; Maui, Hawaii; Luang Prabang, Laos; Machu Picchu, Peru; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Maroubra, Australia; Big Island, Hawaii; Granada, Spain; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Tasmania, Australia; Grand Canyon, USA; Nevada, USA; Cusco Province, Peru; Palawan, Philippines; Randwick, Australia; London, England; Baja California, Mexico; Coogee, Australia; Kangaroo Valley, Australia; Paharganj, India.
When
Some of the location sound recordings date back to 2001. The first video was recorded in 2004. The majority was recorded during 2004/5 but recordings continued over various journeys until 2010. The video editing process began in 2010 and continued sporadically until 2013. The music was recorded and the sound edited and mixed in 2013. Artefact was completed and released in 2014. From conception to completion it took about a decade.
Some of the location sound recordings date back to 2001. The first video was recorded in 2004. The majority was recorded during 2004/5 but recordings continued over various journeys until 2010. The video editing process began in 2010 and continued sporadically until 2013. The music was recorded and the sound edited and mixed in 2013. Artefact was completed and released in 2014. From conception to completion it took about a decade.
Who
My name is Kyle Hopkins.
My name is Kyle Hopkins.
Thanks
A number of people helped me make this.
Lisa Collins waited for me for “just one more minute” more times than either of us could remember while I shot more video and recorded more sound in another steaming third world location. Thankyou Lisa.
Boyd Moore and Duncan Eastwood are constant sources of artistic inspiration for me. They always have something going on which in turn inspires me to get something going on. Thankyou Boyd and Duncan.
Tom Compagnoni and I connect at a number of different points on the continuum. But in this context we have an almost identical interest in media; the mechanics of it and what it can do. We’ve been recording things and playing them back together all our lives. Tom is always an inspiration to try to make something cool and his own artistic endeavours are the yardstick by which I try to measure mine. It would be remiss of me not to credit him with being the direct inspiration of and influence on the Artefact soundtrack. Thankyou Tom.
Bridie Costigan has put up with five years of “OK I’m almost finished” and “I might need to do some work on my project this weekend”. And never given me anything but love and support. I can’t put into words how much I love you Bridie and how grateful I am for your love and understanding. It’s Love. Thankyou for helping me get this finished my darling Bridie. I love you.
A number of people helped me make this.
Lisa Collins waited for me for “just one more minute” more times than either of us could remember while I shot more video and recorded more sound in another steaming third world location. Thankyou Lisa.
Boyd Moore and Duncan Eastwood are constant sources of artistic inspiration for me. They always have something going on which in turn inspires me to get something going on. Thankyou Boyd and Duncan.
Tom Compagnoni and I connect at a number of different points on the continuum. But in this context we have an almost identical interest in media; the mechanics of it and what it can do. We’ve been recording things and playing them back together all our lives. Tom is always an inspiration to try to make something cool and his own artistic endeavours are the yardstick by which I try to measure mine. It would be remiss of me not to credit him with being the direct inspiration of and influence on the Artefact soundtrack. Thankyou Tom.
Bridie Costigan has put up with five years of “OK I’m almost finished” and “I might need to do some work on my project this weekend”. And never given me anything but love and support. I can’t put into words how much I love you Bridie and how grateful I am for your love and understanding. It’s Love. Thankyou for helping me get this finished my darling Bridie. I love you.
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