On Thursdays, we read reviews or news stories about art or design and study the language used in them. This week’s article is about Russian motion designer Vladimir Tomin, and this is his video called Прогулка (Stroll).
Here are the first three paragraphs from Colossal, in italics.
Russian motion designer Vladimir Tomin recently went viral with his most recent, mind-blowing video reel titled Прогулка (Stroll). As the title suggests, the footage is a first-person view of a casual stroll, filled with a collection of reality-bending events. Tomin places the interface of his work tools in the real world, gaining virtual superpowers that allow him to bend street lamps, cause a wave of painted street markings, digitally move a slinky down a set of stairs, move or knock things over, and more.
“When you have an idea, you can’t wait to see how it is going to work, and if it is going to work,” he tells Colossal. “So you work towards it, and during the process there is stuff that you have to figure out, stuff that works easier than you planned, and stuff that is much harder than you anticipated. It’s a very fulfilling process that is fueled by curiosity.”
The inspiration for his animations comes from different sources, but in this case, he was particularly intrigued with the power of Instagram’s realtime AI filters. With everyday gadgets being so technically advanced and providing such possibilities to end users, his reel was made with the vision of what future technologies might allow. By borrowing elements from the generic motion graphic program interface, the video constructs an illusion of utilizing 3D workstation tools in real time, just as commonly as one might use Instagram filters.
My comments:
In the first paragraph, we see the phrase mind-blowing video reel. Mind-blowing is a good way to describe something that amazes you, or makes your brain explode with amazement. In this situation, a video reel or a demo reel means a video that shows your talents to a potential employer or on the Internet. Visual artists and musicians often create these to show their work to a larger audience. (The word reel comes from the cylinder that film was traditionally wrapped around.) Next, we see the phrase reality-bending events. Just as you might guess, this means bending what we usually see in the world in a new, surprising way.
The word interface means the way information is shown to a user on a computer and the way the user is able to work with the computer. By putting his work tools on top of footage from real life, this artist gains virtual superpowers. To gain means to get, and virtual means something online or digital. The phrasal verb, knock (something) over, means to cause something to fall to the ground.
In the third paragraph, he talks about how he was intrigued, or interested, by Instagram’s realtime AI filters. These are filters that change the look of reality as you watch it. So, for example, if I add a sunglasses filter in Instagram, it will create the illusion that I am wearing sunglasses during a video. He describes how he borrowed elements from the generic motion graphic program interface, which means he copied the look of the tools that he uses in his motion graphic software. This allowed him to construct, or make, the illusion of using these tools in real time.
Technology allows us to do amazing things so easily that sometimes a viewer may not realize how much work goes into what is created. This makes it very important to describe your process clearly. A good language coach can help you to find the words and phrases to talk about your work in a way that your audience can appreciate.
At Artglish, we help artists and designers to describe their work with the best vocabulary and language possible. Every Thursday we study reviews and articles to share useful words and phrases to help you improve your reading and writing skills. If you want to learn more, click here to join The Studio and try some free ways to improve your English, or check out our Lessons|Courses page to learn how Artglish can help you succeed.
I’ve chosen 5 words or phrases for you to focus on today. They are in bold. If you don’t know them, look up the meaning, synonyms, antonyms, and other forms of these words. You can find links to Merriam-Webster dictionary sites at the bottom of this page.
To read the original article, written by Sasha Bogojev on July 26, 2018, click the link below:
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2018/07/reality-bending-video-by-vladimir-tomin/