Kirsty Wheeler

Staffordshire

 

I was influenced to look at this through my own passions of gaming, horror, folklore and how I used video games to escape my own reality. 

 

My work circulates around horror in a domestic setting using an interactive film. 

The work looks at the illusion of free will and agency.

 

 

The context of the work creates a story from a first person perspective. 

I use the foundation of folklore, molded into modern tales such as Creepypastas.  Stories passed around from website to website, added onto and reshaped.  I lightly explore the idea of ‘blurred reality’, what’s real and what’s imagined that is complimented and signalled by colour that has emotional symbolism.

 

Conceptually, the idea behind the story is the illusion of free will, how we feel within playing video games, the free will in real life.  We believe that our actions and inputs are important, but how much input do we really have control of.

 

The interaction within the work is acquired by using an online web application called EKO, which allows me to add interactive buttons on clips of my film to create a smooth flowing interactive overlay.  The films are recorded on a GoPro headset and then edited.  

 

The film is comprised of short clips and require precise position to keep the film flowing from one shot to another.  There are many things I am still learning with this process and even more things that I continue to explore.  Striving to create better films in the future.