Afterlife: An AV Performance

A combined thesis in Film & New Media and Theater, this project combines research and audiovisual performance to investigate ways that light and projected images have been tied with representations of life after death.

Popular during the 19th century, magic lantern phantasmagoria shows were spine chilling theatrical experiences that utilized the pre-cinematic technology of the magic lantern, an early slide projector, to create the illusion that there were ghosts in the room. The technologies and performances anticipate video jockeying, a form of live performance that emerged in 1980s club culture, that uses video to heighten club atmosphere.

Based on this research, Afterlife utilizes video jockeying to reimagine a phantasmagoria show and investigate the concept of afterlife as a state of intermediacy. Remixing and improvisation become central to exploring notions of time and light as disembodiment by using the techniques of VJing to play, alter and remix projected visual content in real-time.

‍