Deconfigured eye: On becoming a camera

It should be noted that the methodology of the new cinematographic and photographic genre characterized by personal imaging [4] differs from current investigative journalism (e.g. miniature cameras hidden in the jewel of a tie clip, or in a baseball cap), in the sense that a long-term adaptation process, as described in [5] (e.g. often taking place over a period of many years) makes the camera behave as a true extension of the mind and body, and that the ability to augment, diminish, or otherwise alter the perception of reality is exploited fully, in the capturing of a much richer and more detailed perception of reality that captures the essence of wearer-involvement in his/her interaction with the world.

It should also be noted that the underlying principles of Mediated Reality (MR) [5] differ from Augmented Reality (AR) where additional information is added onto the real world (e.g. through a display with a beamsplitter). Mediated Reality involves, in addition to the capability of augmenting reality, the capability of also diminishing or altering the perception of visual reality. Thus the personal imaging device must be fully immersive, at least over a certain so-called mediation zone[5]. A simple example of the utility of diminished reality is quite evident in the documentary video ShootingBack [6][7] when, for example, the author is asked to sign a bank withdrawal slip. Because of the deliberately diminished reality, it is necessary that the author bring his head very close to the written page (distance depending on the size of the lettering), in order to see it. A side effect of doing so is that video is produced in which the audience can also see the fine print, whereas shooting in a traditional investigative documentary style, this would not be so.

Once the Reality Mediator is worn for some time, and one becomes fully accustomed to experiencing the world through it, there is a certain synergy between human and machine that is not experienced with a traditional camera. More subtle differences between a recording made from the output of an RM and that made from a conventional body worn camera (such as might be hidden in the jewel of a tie clip) include the way that when one is talking to two people the closing of the loop forces one to turn one's head back and forth as one talks to one person, and then to the other. This need arises from the limited peripheral vision the apparatus imposes on the wearer, which is yet another example of a deliberate diminishing of reality in order to heighten the experience of reality.

ShootingBack was shot through what amounted to ``rot90'' (90 degree rotating) eyeglasses, similar to George Stratton's upside-down glasses [8] and Kohler's left-right reversing glasses [9], but where the altering of visual reality was achieved through computational means rather than optical means. Furthermore, in addition to being another long-term psychophysical adaptation experiment, ShootingBack enabled new heights to be reached in concentration and seeing everything in a much more intensified way. Thus, just as copy editors often read their typed manuscripts in a mirror, so that they will spot all the typographical errors to which they had previously been error blind, in ShootingBack, the author learned how to see all over again. Similarly, just as the artist's sketch pad, because of its crudeness, forces us to concentrate and to really ``see'', Mediated Reality becomes an intensifying artifact in which the act of recording forces one to look and experience with more intensity and enjoyment than might otherwise be the case.