The work of Janet Cardiff
I see Janet Cardiff’s work as a examination of ideas, theories, or preconceptions. Her installations play off like a performance but they are exploring an idea. They show you what you might associate a preconception such as “The Carnie” and presents it to you in a box for you to examine.
And in the “Ghost Machine” she uses technology in the form of a video camera and audio track to make you feel like you are in the presence of ghost.
The per-recorded video gives you the experience of exploring that world while the audio gives you a narrative and instructions on how to explore that world. At the end you see that it was all a play and you were a part of it. But you were not there, all this happened around you but apart from you.
You can listen to the audio clips to get a sense of the experience and the immersion into this world.
For the best result use headphones.
http://www.cardiffmiller.com/artworks/walks/ghostmachine.html#
Sorry for the late response. Good description of her work and nice choice in video documentation. That said, it would be great to see your personal thoughts on the work and what it means to you as an audience member (Ex: Do you like or dislike it? Does her work succeed in form and substance, and why?)