Electrifying Art: 12 Stunning Applications of Static Electricity in Creative Works

7. The Static Cinema: A New Dimension in Film Projection

With his innovative "Dynamic Cinema" installation, filmmaker and multimedia artist Takeshi Yamamoto has stretched the bounds of films. By including stationary energy into the very fabric of the projection, this creative endeavour reinterpretation of the conventional movie-watching experience. Yamamoto's arrangement consists in a specially created screen composed of electrostatically charged particles suspended in a transparent media. The stationary charges in the film when it is projected onto this screen enable the particles to align in patterns that improve the image, therefore producing a three-dimensional illusion without the need for special glasses. Furthermore, real-time manipulation of the stationary charges lets interactive components in the video come through. Viewers blurring the barrier between audience and artwork can create their own stationary charges by movement or touch, so influencing the on-screen action. The Static Cinema questions our ideas of what films can be as well as presents a fresh approach to enjoy films. Yamamoto has developed a quite immersive and interactive movie experience that captivates spectators on several sensory levels by including the invisible powers of static electricity.