The Field: space-based narrative

After creating the GPS drawing using GPS devices and visualisation software, and also documenting the area in which the drawing was obtained, this information then had to be accumulated and turned into a form of narrative. This could be through a number of forms including text, sound and video. An example of narrative work that relates to this is work from Janet Cardiff. Janet Cardiff produced what she called narrative walks where she narrated the path that she took and what she saw. The aim of these was to follow the directions elsewhere which may result in similarities with the original path. This was a path narrative made using sound. For my narrative I decided to animate the documentation to show the exact path through the images that was taken whilst overlaying the path as it was created. To view this video and more information on the creation of this space-based narrative visit Narrative for GPS Track.
This space based narrative is quite a successful representation of the GPS drawing made. The main element that leads to its success is the relationship between the line that is drawn on the ground and the actual GPS drawing that is placed on top. Without the track overlay the viewer of the video is unaware of their distance or location along the track. However with the drawing laid on top it is possible to know precisely which part of the path the video is currently displaying. The book element of the video is also quite good as it gives the impression of the images developing linearly through time along with the narrative similar to the contents of a book. However the downside of this narrative is that it is not the most original way of displaying the information and there may have been more abstract and interesting ways to create the narrative.
The narrative is overall an element that, in this case, encompasses the rest of the GPS elements previously obtained throughout The Field. This makes it quite an interesting construction as it not only shows the different elements but highlights the relationships between them.