Dragonfly  a study in projected video feedback

The resemblance to any living creature is coincidental; however this study illustrates that, when forming constructions from discrete building blocks, it is possible to visually suggest some shapes that occur in nature. Fractal geometry has been used for decades as a way to simulate the growth patterns of trees and ferns, because orderly shapes occur in many contexts that are not living at all but which express a mathematical formalism that is very life-like. And even though there exist sublime blueprints of our physical structures at a cellular level, suggesting the exact opposite of the theory that we are composed of just so many building blocks, there are in fact vast regions of every biological creature’s anatomy that depend upon the perfect repetition of each cellular element. This is why video feedback, a process that can be highly repetitive when adjusted a certain way, can occasionally be used to simulate the appearance living creatures.

Hive  a study in projected video feedback

This clip shows how structures that are commonly associated with apian colonies are also very stable when simulated with projected video feedback. Dots appear instead of lines due to the angle at which the camera was tilted relative to the video projector. At a particular orientation point, orthogonal lines intersect each other and their summation results in a field that seems to consist of thousands of autonomous units. Towards the center of the mass, the units move more slowly and with perfect synchrony with its immediate neighbors. Towards the outer reaches of the “colony,” life is a bit less organized, and much more active. The geometries in play here are unusual because a seven-pointed star shape in the middle eventually degrades into a set of hexagonal, or six-sided, grid formations.

Meditation  a study in projected video feedback

A dot appears, and refuses to be swallowed by the black pool surrounding it. Mandela-like figures undulate as if formed on the surface of a liquid. Lines break into dots on the edges, and tie knots in themselves near the core. A virtual flower emerges, shooting light in all directions. The pinwheel in its center rotates in one direction while the Aztec-like rickrack pattern around it spins in another. Through it all, the center is as calm as the eye of a hurricane, at times absorbing the energy around it and at others shooting bolts of lightning outward. This video was rejected by YouTube.

Photoplasm  a study in projected video feedback

This video was created with a video projector connected to a high-definition video camera, projected onto white fabric. It shows how the separate components, or “channels” of color can form independent shapes that seem to interact with each other. In this case, what appears to be a single-celled creature penetrates the wall of an amorphous red gel and then is seemingly exuded from the other end. However, this is not a video of a microscopic process. The field of view covers an area of fabric that is 4 feet across.

Roots  a study in projected video feedback

This sequence exhibits the same intricacy of many others, however in this case the apparent irregularity of the lines is difficult to explain. One would not assume that patterns generated by edge-enhancement algorithms inside both the video camera and the video projector would tend to be so organic in appearance. Through close inspection it can be seen that “branches” evolve from relatively straight lines due to the opening of small empty spaces as the figure expands outwardly. This is analogous to the behavior exhibited by roots that navigate the soil underneath a plant to find the fewest obstructions, richest nutrients, and abundance of fresh water. Although a self-generating projected video feedback loop will appear to be consuming the spaces opened up by means of an expansive adjustment of the zoom, there is no intention to imply that biological life can be compared to such a parlor trick performed with digital video equipment.

Snowflake  a study in projected video feedback

By tilting the video camera to an angle relative to the video projector that is an even divisor of the circle, extremely static imagery can result. In this case, the angle is 120 degrees, which divides the circle into three equal parts. Certain crystals also form structures with this geometry, the most beautiful examples of which are visible in snowflakes. These virtual crystalline structures seem to be torn by the forces of entropy at their extreme edges. Yet in the center, the formation seems almost immutable. Even with the strictly harmonious angle chosen there is a surprising organic edge to the lines that is far from random but much less regular than a normal flake of snow. (A side note: this sequence and others like it have consistently failed all attempts at uploading on YouTube.)