Social Anxiety Awareness Video Installation Art
Overview
The other side is a projection mapped video installation which focuses on portraying information about the third largest mental health issue, social anxiety. The main focus is to give the audience greater information about this disorder by exhibiting the physical and emotional symptoms of an individual. The situations in this installation are purely based on research from other relevant examples online. There are 4 sides to this installation, two sides display the situations. The situations that are projected on the wall are the differences of the alternative thinking between what the character is thinking compared to the actual situation. These are placed on the opposite sides, so the viewer could compare the difference perspective. As you could see there are boxes that have been placed under these situations. These are the symptoms that portrays the character’s emotions and feeling, one side being emotional and the other side physical.
What is SAD
Even though nervousness and being anxious could seem normal but these are just the first stages of having social anxiety. When you find yourself avoiding situations or activities because of the bigger feelings inside you, this is social anxiety. This term is the fear of communication with other people that brings on self-consciousness, feeling of being negatively judged and evaluated at all times, and as a result it leads to avoidance.
Social Anxiety isn’t well known, though it is the third largest mental health care problem. Very few people have heard of social anxiety disorder (SAD), and the awful thing is the fact that no one can see the social anxiety that is raging inside. Some individuals either don’t notice their problem nor do they face them afterwards. Through many situations that have come across, there is a fear that the target holds back, therefor they tend to think that no one wants to help.
“I am a freak. I am just weird. No one else in the world is going through what I’m going through.”
There are many signs and symptoms of having this social anxiety disorder, though many of them might feel normal, but they still affect the targets.
Conceptual Statement
The Other Side is a Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) awareness video installation art. The installation consists of an X shape built frame enclosed by fabric, in which there would be projection mapped against. There are two sides for the situations, these situations are projected directly on top of the fabric. They represent the differences of the alternative thinking between the characters’ assumption compared to the actual situation. The other component in the installation are the white boxes placed under the situations, these are the symptoms. Each physical and emotional symptom are placed on opposite sides showing the characters’ emotions and feelings during the event. This has been constructed in an abstract method and creates a subtle vibe support by an ambiance feeling.
The focus is to give the audience a greater understanding of what social anxiety is, though not directly stating it, rather create an artistic approach and get the message across. We originally intended to make a short film about a person who has SAD (Social Anxiety Disorder), and get a message across by portraying what would that individual feel in social gatherings. The situation was at a friends’ party, and the individual would feel distanced and think he was judged throughout the night. However, we realized that this short film was too long and the audience would not have a motive to stay and watch the whole film. Although through discussing we slightly changed the exhibition plan and decided to portray the information in an experimental based projection mapped installation.
At the start of this project, my views on this paper were different compared to the past studio papers. I chose to develop my ideas further in making a storytelling art piece, which focuses on letting the audience make their own decisions and choices while being involved with the artefact. However, talking to others in the class and through communicating ideas, I ended up being in a group with Steven, Josh, and Karen. Through talking about general things, Steven was telling stories about his “night out” and from that, we decided to go with his “Drunk Stories” idea. I was having mixed mindsets about this project at the start because we didn’t know if this had the potential to stand out.
We have partaken a lot of ups and downs with this project development process. As the research week started, we felt as if there was something missing and we lacked accurate research to stay focused throughout the paper. “Drunk Stories” was focused on generating a trans-media storytelling experience based on an individuals’ life. Then a couple of weeks later it initially changed to being a binge drinking advertise. Looking back now, we do realize that we took too much time focusing on the research. Also having to rethink everything was a major let down in the processing of the initial idea. Our first focused idea was to make a first person perspective short film, where in order to feel connected, the player would have to wear a handset and they could physically touch the objects from the “Drunk night.” There was a motive for the audience to see the short film and then find the objects from the drunk night. Though this seemed too complicated and we felt that the viewer wouldn’t stay involved throughout the exhibition.
I was in charge of the research part, therefore having to change ideas many times in this project didn’t really effect me. There were times where we would all disagree to one another because we just wanted something to work out. After the video shooting, we decided to distribute into 2 teams, Steven and Josh will do editing and Karen and I will focus on the installation for the exhibition. Although I really enjoyed working on this installation, I felt that changing the ideas too many times really got all of us stressing, especially having only 2 weeks until the final submission. All together we think we did well in the short timeframe that we had.
The other side is an experimental experience that focuses on not telling the audience what to do and think, but rather to inspire individuals to reflect on how society perceives this disorder and help change their views. We are determined to create a more immersive and engaging experience with our video installation. We hope that after viewing this installation and understanding the information given to them, they will have a greater understanding of the mental states these individuals’ that suffer from this disorder go through, in their everyday life.
Contextual statement
Social anxiety disorder is known to be the third largest mental health issue, after depression and substance abuse. According to a documentary "Afraid of People", social anxiety disorder affects millions of people worldwide, things such as looking bad, being observed, feeling negatively judged and feeling incompetent are some of many bad thoughts that go through these individuals' minds. Through research there has been proof that this disorder is not as well known as other mental issues, the problem is due to the lack of knowledge the general public has, who aren't aware of these issues. Being shy and suffering from this disorder are two very different things, social anxiety individuals are limited by their disorder.
This disorder has been generalized as the same stage as a person with shyness and self- consciousness. It seems unusual to think something that is so common to nearly everyone like shyness and nervousness could get so serious, though common shyness is a personality trait and it cannot be equivalent to this disorder(SAD). Individuals who start to suffer from this disorder are generally around the age of 13 and if not treated in time, it could go in worse conditions by their late twenties. ADAA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America) states that "Social anxiety disorder usually begins in childhood or adolescence, and children are prone to clinging behaviour, tantrums, and even selective mutism(SM)." Therefore, this installation is targeted towards people in this age group (especially university students).
According to the ADAA, there are many opportunities to get a treatment done for this disorder, many clinics that support the individuals' that choose to seek help. The major problem in this disorder is the truth that everyone needs help, though only 2 out of 5 individual try to seek it. "I must be the only one in the world who has this horrible disease. I am a freak. I am just weird. No one else in the world is going through what I'm going through." Some examples of what these people are thinking about, trying to seek help feel embarrassing and abnormal. "This is just the way I am, and I'm going to get laughed at if anyone knows about my problems." Giving from the documentary "Afraid of People", this disorder was misunderstood for years, until 1985. Dr, Michael R. Liebowitz published a paper about this disorders devastating effects. He also started the first anxiety disorder clinic in the United States (Columbia Presbyterian Medical Centre).
Captivating information from many readings, the message was well enforced that not many people are aware of this situation. The main focus of our project was to inform others about what this disorder consists of, supporting the reality of the symptoms that these people sense. The general public who do not suffer from this disorder also needs to be informed about the physical and emotional feelings, and in this installation, we are trying to convey them with supporting sides to the different stories. The idea is to show what the actual scenario is compared to what the character in the video is assuming.
Through this research, we have chosen to portray the symptoms and situations of those who suffer from social anxiety. We are developing a public video installation to reach to our target audience in a creative approach. Approaching across a creative video; Bridging Minds: Anxiety Disorder Installation Video, about a male suffering from this disorder, he states "The sheer terror has me desiring one thing, and that is to get out and get to safety, cause I'm in terrible danger. It's something worse than death, cause death only happens once, and this happens every time I walk into a store." This video expresses how the character feels while being in a public space. It was shot in POV (point of view) technique and due to this technique, it certainly changes the way we as an audience could perceive and possibly feel what’s happening if we were in their position.
We chose to study this social issue due to the lack of knowledge many people have about this disorder. The installation has been set up to be explored in a diverse way, as you could only understand what is happening once the viewer sees all the sides and understands the different thinking. So far, there hasn’t been a relatable source to our installation as this hasn’t been explored before. There are many written resources, though not at all any physical artefacts that mainly focus on the process of being socially anxious. We believe that by creating this installation we could attempt and support others to rethink about their situations and understand that having social anxiety is a problem.
Reference
Bridging Minds. (2012, February 8). Bridging Minds: Anxiety Disorder Installation Video (3D Sound | Headphones Required). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtthmR9w1n8
Goldberg, J. (2017, January 21). I Hate Being Around People. Do I Have Social Anxiety Disorder? Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/mental- health-social-anxiety-disorder#1
Gurley, S. (2016). Symptoms | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. Retrieved from https://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/social-anxiety- disorder/symptoms
Rapee, R., & Heimberg, R. (1997, August). A cognitive-behavioral model of anxiety in social phobia. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005796797000223
Richards, T. (2017). Social Anxiety: Why Isn't It Better Known? | Social Anxiety Institute. Retrieved from https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/social-anxiety-better-known
Richards, T. (2017). Social Anxiety Fact Sheet | Social Anxiety Association. Retrieved from http://socialphobia.org/social-anxiety-disorder-definition-symptoms-treatment- therapy-medications-insight-prognosis
Smith, A. (2013). Afraid of People | Documentary Heaven. Retrieved from http://documentaryheaven.com/afraid-of-people/
Stein, M., & Stein, D. (2008, March 29). Social anxiety disorder - ScienceDirect. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673608604882
Even though nervousness and being anxious could seem normal but these are just the first stages of having social anxiety. When you find yourself avoiding situations or activities because of the bigger feelings inside you, this is social anxiety. This term is the fear of communication with other people that brings on self-consciousness, feeling of being negatively judged and evaluated at all times, and as a result it leads to avoidance.
Social Anxiety isn’t well known, though it is the third largest mental health care problem. Very few people have heard of social anxiety disorder (SAD), and the awful thing is the fact that no one can see the social anxiety that is raging inside. Some individuals either don’t notice their problem nor do they face them afterwards. Through many situations that have come across, there is a fear that the target holds back, therefor they tend to think that no one wants to help.
“I am a freak. I am just weird. No one else in the world is going through what I’m going through.”
There are many signs and symptoms of having this social anxiety disorder, though many of them might feel normal, but they still affect the targets.
- Social Gatherings - Avoiding social situations so much that you can’t join in activities that normally make you happy
- Staying quiet or hiding in the background so that no one will notice you
- A need to always bring a friend along with you wherever you go
Conceptual Statement
The Other Side is a Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) awareness video installation art. The installation consists of an X shape built frame enclosed by fabric, in which there would be projection mapped against. There are two sides for the situations, these situations are projected directly on top of the fabric. They represent the differences of the alternative thinking between the characters’ assumption compared to the actual situation. The other component in the installation are the white boxes placed under the situations, these are the symptoms. Each physical and emotional symptom are placed on opposite sides showing the characters’ emotions and feelings during the event. This has been constructed in an abstract method and creates a subtle vibe support by an ambiance feeling.
The focus is to give the audience a greater understanding of what social anxiety is, though not directly stating it, rather create an artistic approach and get the message across. We originally intended to make a short film about a person who has SAD (Social Anxiety Disorder), and get a message across by portraying what would that individual feel in social gatherings. The situation was at a friends’ party, and the individual would feel distanced and think he was judged throughout the night. However, we realized that this short film was too long and the audience would not have a motive to stay and watch the whole film. Although through discussing we slightly changed the exhibition plan and decided to portray the information in an experimental based projection mapped installation.
At the start of this project, my views on this paper were different compared to the past studio papers. I chose to develop my ideas further in making a storytelling art piece, which focuses on letting the audience make their own decisions and choices while being involved with the artefact. However, talking to others in the class and through communicating ideas, I ended up being in a group with Steven, Josh, and Karen. Through talking about general things, Steven was telling stories about his “night out” and from that, we decided to go with his “Drunk Stories” idea. I was having mixed mindsets about this project at the start because we didn’t know if this had the potential to stand out.
We have partaken a lot of ups and downs with this project development process. As the research week started, we felt as if there was something missing and we lacked accurate research to stay focused throughout the paper. “Drunk Stories” was focused on generating a trans-media storytelling experience based on an individuals’ life. Then a couple of weeks later it initially changed to being a binge drinking advertise. Looking back now, we do realize that we took too much time focusing on the research. Also having to rethink everything was a major let down in the processing of the initial idea. Our first focused idea was to make a first person perspective short film, where in order to feel connected, the player would have to wear a handset and they could physically touch the objects from the “Drunk night.” There was a motive for the audience to see the short film and then find the objects from the drunk night. Though this seemed too complicated and we felt that the viewer wouldn’t stay involved throughout the exhibition.
I was in charge of the research part, therefore having to change ideas many times in this project didn’t really effect me. There were times where we would all disagree to one another because we just wanted something to work out. After the video shooting, we decided to distribute into 2 teams, Steven and Josh will do editing and Karen and I will focus on the installation for the exhibition. Although I really enjoyed working on this installation, I felt that changing the ideas too many times really got all of us stressing, especially having only 2 weeks until the final submission. All together we think we did well in the short timeframe that we had.
The other side is an experimental experience that focuses on not telling the audience what to do and think, but rather to inspire individuals to reflect on how society perceives this disorder and help change their views. We are determined to create a more immersive and engaging experience with our video installation. We hope that after viewing this installation and understanding the information given to them, they will have a greater understanding of the mental states these individuals’ that suffer from this disorder go through, in their everyday life.
Contextual statement
Social anxiety disorder is known to be the third largest mental health issue, after depression and substance abuse. According to a documentary "Afraid of People", social anxiety disorder affects millions of people worldwide, things such as looking bad, being observed, feeling negatively judged and feeling incompetent are some of many bad thoughts that go through these individuals' minds. Through research there has been proof that this disorder is not as well known as other mental issues, the problem is due to the lack of knowledge the general public has, who aren't aware of these issues. Being shy and suffering from this disorder are two very different things, social anxiety individuals are limited by their disorder.
This disorder has been generalized as the same stage as a person with shyness and self- consciousness. It seems unusual to think something that is so common to nearly everyone like shyness and nervousness could get so serious, though common shyness is a personality trait and it cannot be equivalent to this disorder(SAD). Individuals who start to suffer from this disorder are generally around the age of 13 and if not treated in time, it could go in worse conditions by their late twenties. ADAA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America) states that "Social anxiety disorder usually begins in childhood or adolescence, and children are prone to clinging behaviour, tantrums, and even selective mutism(SM)." Therefore, this installation is targeted towards people in this age group (especially university students).
According to the ADAA, there are many opportunities to get a treatment done for this disorder, many clinics that support the individuals' that choose to seek help. The major problem in this disorder is the truth that everyone needs help, though only 2 out of 5 individual try to seek it. "I must be the only one in the world who has this horrible disease. I am a freak. I am just weird. No one else in the world is going through what I'm going through." Some examples of what these people are thinking about, trying to seek help feel embarrassing and abnormal. "This is just the way I am, and I'm going to get laughed at if anyone knows about my problems." Giving from the documentary "Afraid of People", this disorder was misunderstood for years, until 1985. Dr, Michael R. Liebowitz published a paper about this disorders devastating effects. He also started the first anxiety disorder clinic in the United States (Columbia Presbyterian Medical Centre).
Captivating information from many readings, the message was well enforced that not many people are aware of this situation. The main focus of our project was to inform others about what this disorder consists of, supporting the reality of the symptoms that these people sense. The general public who do not suffer from this disorder also needs to be informed about the physical and emotional feelings, and in this installation, we are trying to convey them with supporting sides to the different stories. The idea is to show what the actual scenario is compared to what the character in the video is assuming.
Through this research, we have chosen to portray the symptoms and situations of those who suffer from social anxiety. We are developing a public video installation to reach to our target audience in a creative approach. Approaching across a creative video; Bridging Minds: Anxiety Disorder Installation Video, about a male suffering from this disorder, he states "The sheer terror has me desiring one thing, and that is to get out and get to safety, cause I'm in terrible danger. It's something worse than death, cause death only happens once, and this happens every time I walk into a store." This video expresses how the character feels while being in a public space. It was shot in POV (point of view) technique and due to this technique, it certainly changes the way we as an audience could perceive and possibly feel what’s happening if we were in their position.
We chose to study this social issue due to the lack of knowledge many people have about this disorder. The installation has been set up to be explored in a diverse way, as you could only understand what is happening once the viewer sees all the sides and understands the different thinking. So far, there hasn’t been a relatable source to our installation as this hasn’t been explored before. There are many written resources, though not at all any physical artefacts that mainly focus on the process of being socially anxious. We believe that by creating this installation we could attempt and support others to rethink about their situations and understand that having social anxiety is a problem.
Reference
Bridging Minds. (2012, February 8). Bridging Minds: Anxiety Disorder Installation Video (3D Sound | Headphones Required). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtthmR9w1n8
Goldberg, J. (2017, January 21). I Hate Being Around People. Do I Have Social Anxiety Disorder? Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/mental- health-social-anxiety-disorder#1
Gurley, S. (2016). Symptoms | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. Retrieved from https://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/social-anxiety- disorder/symptoms
Rapee, R., & Heimberg, R. (1997, August). A cognitive-behavioral model of anxiety in social phobia. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005796797000223
Richards, T. (2017). Social Anxiety: Why Isn't It Better Known? | Social Anxiety Institute. Retrieved from https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/social-anxiety-better-known
Richards, T. (2017). Social Anxiety Fact Sheet | Social Anxiety Association. Retrieved from http://socialphobia.org/social-anxiety-disorder-definition-symptoms-treatment- therapy-medications-insight-prognosis
Smith, A. (2013). Afraid of People | Documentary Heaven. Retrieved from http://documentaryheaven.com/afraid-of-people/
Stein, M., & Stein, D. (2008, March 29). Social anxiety disorder - ScienceDirect. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673608604882