Light Years Apart (2021 - 2025) by Christie Neptune. Interactive and Linear Single Channel film, 19:41 mins TRT.

Light Years Apart (2021 - 2025)

In Light Years Apart, Fula, an interdimensional being, wraps time and space to travel between parallel dimensions. The film, an interactive and linear science fiction, investigates varying processes of ‘looking’ and ‘engagement’ within cinematic spectatorship.  Utilizing biometric data and computer vision technology, Light Years Apart posits multiple trajectories within a branching narrative structure pitting the joyous affair of Fula's inner life against its bleak exterior. The spectator's engagement within this framework can grant or bar access. To "see" Fula, one must first foreground her within one's field of vision and surrender to her point of view, a charged provocation that fosters an embodied awareness and gaze shift.

Light Years Apart a film by Backslash Artist, Christie Neptune, starring Ronis Aba, Nia Simone, and Zipporah Wilson was made possible with contributions from Creative Technologist and Backslash fellow, Heidi Minghao He; Choreographer, Kyle Marshall; and Director of Photography, Daniele Sarti through generous support and sponsorship from Backslash at Cornell Tech. The Backslash at Cornell Tech fund supports bleeding-edge technological interventions into artistic practice. It collides students, faculty, and artists–both on and off campus–providing grants for artworks, art tools, and art activities that engage the latest emerging digital technologies.

Interactive Format: Hardware, Software, and Engagement

The interactive format of this film has two screening modes: "Engagement" or "Manual."

In “Engagement Mode,” this film utilizes biometric data (gaze direction, facial landmarks, spatial position, and movement) and computer vision technology (Google Mediapipe APIs) to posit multiple trajectories within a branching narrative structure. Within this framework, high engagement and retention provide access to varying degrees of the protagonist’s inner life and subjectivity, while low engagement and retention provide access to the bleak exterior of the protagonist’s inner life.

Google MediaPipe Solutions Preview API is an on-device machine learning Application Programming Interface (API). There is no server involvement in the machine-learning processes for applications like facial recognition and landmark analysis. Although surveillance and identity recognition are explicitly out-of-scope applications of Google’s BlazeFace and FaceMesh Mediapipe APIs, this application takes a step further to protect the screening experience of its viewers. An ethos of resistance, a contingency provided for future emergencies, is woven into the infrastructure of programming language. For example, this application applies subtle adversarial perturbations, including a slight blur and tint, over facial regions to balance accuracy and privacy. Adversarial perturbations exacerbate machine learning vulnerabilities by obstructing identity recognition. But, of course, there are limitations with this framework. Neural networks are a rapidly evolving technology. How do we account for future advancements that will render this intervention obsolete? This film will undergo a series of updates and changes to meet the demands of future advancements in AI and the potential obsolescence of its hardware.

What is On-Device Processing? On-device means that your data is processed directly on your device (computer, smartphone, tablet, etc). There is no server (cloud or external) involvement. I do not store your data!

I value choice, privacy, and informed consent. They are critical values integrated within the infrastructure of this framework. In “Manual Mode,” you can watch Light Years Apart without providing biometric information. You can also opt out of “Engagement Mode” and switch to “Manual Mode” at any time during screening.

In “Manual Mode,” you can use your trackpad or mouse to navigate the film’s trajectory. “Fula’s interior” provides access to the subjectivity and inwardness of the protagonist. “Other” limits access. Within this perspective, the viewer is positioned as a voyeur fixed along the exterior of Fula’s interiority. To see Fula, you must foreground her in your line of vision and surrender to her point of view.

Play and discovery are encouraged within this experience. My objective is that this experience will not only compel you to think critically about the gaze and its impact upon the cinematic world, but trigger an embodied awareness that reorients your gaze in the real world.

I’d love you hear your feedback!

To learn more about this film, its contributors, and terms, visit:

http://lya-movie.com

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16831348/