Moiré Fringe
Xiaoyu Rockey Ke / 2022
Music Video
Unreal Engine, Google Map Data
The Moiré
Fringe is an visual experiment that creates animation somewhere between 2D & 3D.
Detail
The moiré effect in the physical world is created by mechanical interference of light among different network of lines. However, in this project the moiré is achieved through computation in Unreal Engine(UE), processed in real-time as the virtual camera moves through the scene. In the world of virtual production, this specific post-processing material is occasionally used to mimic a hand-drawn effect which make vitual environments appear flattened. However, in this project it is utilized to create a computational aesthetic by accentuating the density and contrast of moiré, and by chreographing the camera to make minute movements.
Elements of 2D and 3D can both be found in this project. The majority of 3D model is captured from Google Map’s data of the Central Park in New York City, embodying some degree of reality yet simultaneously shunkened in its realism as the low-poly structures further loses fidelity when turned black and white. Furthermore, the precise movement of the object in the scene is made possible by UE, alluding to a 3D aesthetic, all while the overwhelming moiré make constant visual reference to an effect commonly found on flat displays.
What furthers the play on medium is the context whereby the video is played. On different computer screens and with a different resolution, the level of detail every frame in the video changes drastically, resulting in different network of interfering lights on each screen. Thus different rendition of moiré is created each time. This responsive outcome depending on the viewers viewing devices further manifest its moire effect in our 3D space through a dash of interactivity.
Different rendition of
moiré each time
The Moire effect is achieved through a post processing material in Unreal Engine.