Synapse

Earlier this September the Canadian Film Centre held a great little media lab / Nuit Blanche sneak-peak dubbed Between You and I.

Between You and I we create connections, pathways, rabbit holes, traces and leads. We tell each other stories that lead us together, tear us apart, recreate and retell our histories. It is how we find out who we were, who we are and, most importantly, who we will be. Through a variety of technologies, twelve remarkable storytellers, producers, creators and technological wizards weave together the lines that are constantly emerging between You and I.

The event punctuated the ways evolving tech is forcing us to change our very ways of being – from a virtual reality tour of a soldier’s PTSD-ridden return “home” to a new way to use the old payphone (I know…they still exist). The artists did a great job explaining their works, and immersing you in their constructed experience.

My favourite piece was Pause – perhaps because it speaks to my own internal struggle to master the balance as a BlackBerry-strapped, multimedia sci-tech producer with Luddite-esque, tree-hugging, sunshine-seeking, slow-food-loving tendencies.

Here then is a bit about the piece:

CREATED BY
Jarrod Barker
Pause is an interactive media machine based on intense, urban “hustle & bustle”. It invites the interactant to experience two opposing states through audio and video. Each state- one intense and quick paced and the other calm and slow- can be directly influenced by the viewer with the intent of providing a place of contemplation and awareness of our own pace in and amongst the hectic city. Pause leads to contemplation by showcasing the beauty and emotional connectedness between lovers, friends, and even a sleeping man on a quiet park bench.