“Fluxions” 流數 (2012, 2018)

wmc_e6 2018.10.18 | more works from Cinema Expanding: “Hidden Variables” by Hector Rodriguez 「膨脹電影」繼續：羅海德《歧路結節：開合解謎》網上逐一介紹 | Fluxions 《流數》（2012）

Fluxions is an image processing system that visualizes video sequences as changing configurations of pixels. It segments the original video into short clips and applies a motion tracking algorithm to produce a vector description of their movement. It stores the first image of each clip as a key frame, and gradually shifts the values of its pixels based on the vector descriptions of the subsequent frames.

The result can be seen as an abstract visualization of the variation in the original movie. Viewers can also try to recognize or infer the missing objects and events. This tension between figuration and abstraction, between presence and absence, is the heart of this project.

On site at “Hidden Variables,” the artists showed us three metallic prints and one video.

《流數》(Fluxions) 是個處理影像的系統，把本來的錄像片段呈現為像素的重複組合。程式把原有的錄像切割成小段，以動態捕捉技術分析電影選段畫面，從而生成出影像動態的向量表，其後以選段的第一幀畫面作為關鍵影格，跟據計算出的向量表而逐漸改變像素數值以構成下一幀影格。影像除了是電影的抽象變奏外，觀眾亦可嘗試辨別畫中沒被顯現的物件與情節。因此《流數》經常處於抽象與具體之間，存在與不存在之間，而這正是作品的核心。

作品靈感來自影像壓縮方法。影像壓縮通常從一段長片中只儲存數個關鍵影格，再以動態向量計算出其他省略了的影格，諷刺的是這種影像處理技術卻推翻了傳統電影由每幀獨立影格組成的概念。

在「歧路結節」展場中，藝術家選了三幅圖像和一個錄像去展示他的實驗探索。