Antártica Tempo / Antarctica Tempo
ABSTRACT
Antarctica Tempo is a Live Cinema work of art and science resulting from an almost 60-day expedition to Antarctica. The perception of this place and the pace of the trip mix with scientific research, my subjective vision, and control within the military environment. It is a mixture of codes – software and language – that try to translate the experience lived in this distant place. It is a 10 to 20 minutes audiovisual performance manipulating in real-time this mixture of data, sounds and images recreating the narrative and experience lived during the days in Antarctica.
RESUMO
Antártica Tempo é uma obra de Live Cinema de arte e ciência resultante de uma expedição de quase 60 dias à Antártica. A percepção desse lugar e o ritmo da viagem se mesclam com a pesquisa cientifica, minha visão subjetiva e o controle dentro do ambiente militar. É uma mistura de códigos – software e linguagem – que tentam traduzir a experiência vivida nesse local distante. São 10 a 20 minutos de performance audiovisual manipulando em tempo real essa mistura de dados, sons e imagens recriando a narrativa e experiências vividas durante esses dias na Antártica.
This live cinema piece is a unique fusion of art and science from a 60-day expedition to Antarctica. It weaves together the expedition’s perception and pace, scientific research, my personal viewpoint, and the constraints of a military environment. The result is a complex tapestry of codes—software, and language—that strives to convey the experience from a remote location. Images, data animations, sounds, and voices are processed and edited in real-time, adding a dynamic element to the piece.
These mediums vividly depict the personal and environmental challenges of the expedition. They capture the coldness, the endless day, the rough sea, the seasickness, the treacherous Drake Passage, the boredom, the confinement, the stunning and unconventional landscapes, the underwater world, the frigid water, the inability to freely move around, and the experience of my body in a foreign environment. Beyond the environmental aspects, the project also delves into the unique experience of being in a military setting, adhering to strict rules, having a structured routine, and the influence of hierarchy and military time.
Antarctica Tempo is about the tempo and the pace of this icy continent. It also refers to the word tempo in Portuguese, which means time and the weather. During the days of the expedition, I frequently heard from the navy people that Antarctica is about tempo – pace, patience,
timing, and weather. This “tempo” was what defined my days in Antarctica.
Technical and aesthetic choices
I conducted the performance with Arena Resolume software and a MIDI controller (Korg nanoKONTROL2) to perform the video and audio clips. Loop videos were pre-edited with Final Cut Pro and audio with Audacity. The images on the top layer were altered by using Adobe Photoshop and “sonified” by Photosounder. Data visualization was done with Processing. It was a demanding job because each small clip of the performance was previously created and required a different software/programming language.
More detailed information on the Performance here https://www.flusserstudies.net/sites/www.flusserstudies.net/files/media/attachments/brunet-notes-on-antarctica-tempo.pdf
