The Pitch

Adaptation B
Deanna Crisbacher
23/3/2017
 About My Project

For my project, I wanted to create an experience that represents what it is like to have body
dysmorphia. To do this, I wanted to first test out different ways of distorting or breaking a model
of a generic human body. Since body dysmorphia randomly distorts the persons perception of
their body and/or face, I wanted to find a way of doing this without having a preconceived idea
of what it would look like. So far, most of my tests have been using the Audio-Wave Node in
Maya to drive animation on textures, bump maps, displacement maps, nHairs, deformers, paint
effects, and the rotation/translation of joints. I also am trying to incorporate some of my art from
a few years ago into this project (use in textures, used to create audio in Audacity). My goal is to
create something that makes the viewer feel what someone with body dysmorphia feels - a
disconnection from the human body. I hope to utilise Virtual Reality at some point to enhance this
by placing the viewer within an environment with these broken bodies.
E. Jentsch singles out, doubt as to whether an apparently animate object really
is alive and, conversely, whether a lifeless object might not perhaps be animate. In
this connection he refers to the impressions made on us by waxwork figures,
ingeniously constructed dolls and automata. To these he adds the uncanny effect
produced by epileptic fits and manifestations of insanity, because these arouse in the
onlooker vague notions of automatic - mechanical - processes that may lie hidden
behind the familiar image of a living person. - Freud, The Uncanny, pg. 135

The uncanny is that species of frightening that goes back to what was once well
known and had long been familiar. Freud, The Uncanny, pg. 124
 Where I Want To Go Next

I want to continue to explore this idea but using different methods. I want/need to find another
way of creating randomised animation as I am concerned that the Audio Wave Node may
produce very similar results despite using different audio clips. I would also eventually like to
create my own 3D model of a human body and rig it in a way that would perhaps allow me
greater flexibility with what I do with it. I hope to use my old artwork in more ways to create
textures, bump maps, or sculpts in Mudbox. I also want to create some immersive soundscapes
because I feel that this is an important element to enhance the experience. Ive also been finding
the Lighting & Rendering 2 tutorials interesting and useful, I think that some of them could
provide interesting results if applied to this project (HDR Lighting, more exploration of
Displacement Maps). Overall I would like to/need to find new things in Maya to experiment with.
Influence Map
Old Artwork (2009-2014)
Creating Sounds using Pictures &
Audacity
Autodesk Maya
Autodesk Maya
Autodesk Maya
After Effects