Abstract12

experimenting with inserting 3d in videosmodels

Interfering Soul

Assignment 5: Mesmer

Concept

My intent for this assignment was to create a collection of presets that would allow for performance adjustments. Each of the presets start out with little to no light allowing for a transition from one preset to the next. The presets go from organic to rigid geometric shapes. The presets are as follows; Fire and Ice, Sunflower, Oculus, Kaleidoscope, and Geo-Beats.

Method

I wanted to use midi as the primary tool for this project since I hadn’t really played with it before. I started out by collecting content that was either free or royalty-free. As I worked I came up with my five presets. Each of the presets would flow into the next. As pictured below I used the Novation Launch Control XL. This was an amazing tool to work with and I can think of so much more I would want to do with it in the future. I primarily set the RGB values for each part of my presets (Center, Outer, and Background). I also applied a slider and knob for the lines opacity and speed of the animations. Since I couldn't figure out how to put the lines on audio controlled I applied it to midi so I could adjust int manually.

Side Notes

After completing this assignment I decided to look into different midi controllers that would best work for projections. I found that the Novation Launchcontrol XL was the best fit for the range of controls and price point of $150. The sliders by far are my favorite feature and it was difficult to find another controller that that had eight or that wasn’t in a higher price bracket. 

Troubleshooting Audio input for Modul8

If you decide to use audio with modul8 there are two knobs at the bottom right of modul8. turn both of the in and out knobs to the left. In the Mac system settings make sure your input(be it mic or audio input) is set up correctly. If it isn't working in Modul8 just save and restart the program. Also make sure to export your midi setup for Modul8. Madmapper will save your settings but Modul8 won't. The easiest thing to do is export and import your midi each time you open the program.

Final Projection - ArchFlow

 For my final projection, I chose to continue exploring the concept of progression but at a more abstract level. Our visual intake consists of the aggregate of the collection points combining into line and progressing to 3D forms. All visual representations start as a collection of points which, in their aggregate, combine in forms relatable to the human experience. Utilizing Modul8’s sound recognition and a collection of original videos, I developed this piece for projection onto a cardboard papakura arch.

In developing the video content for this piece, I found the Photo-Jpeg codec to be an optimal format for high quality videos being manipulated in real time by Modul8. Because it is uncompressed, Modul8 does not have utilize the cpu to uncompress every frame and can simply store the video in memory. While Photo-Jpeg encoded videos do tend to have a larger size, they allow for real-time manipulation of HD videos without any lag.

Music was created by AvantGardeMusic, https://soundcloud.com/avantgardemusic-1.

Arch Projection Mapping Mock Up from Bill Watts on Vimeo.

Nathaniel Propp

Philip Baker

Final Project

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIu3OV-evLU&feature=youtu.be

Concept

For the final project we wanted to explore an overarching theme. In previous projects we explored dementia and, after brainstorming, we arrived at the conclusion that the loss of identity is the aspect of dementia that was we wanted to emphasize on. We realized that the idea of identity was extremely promising as an area of exploration. While the dementia piece was the second work in our presentation, we ultimately built our idea around it. When looking at dementia from this focus of identity, we realized that it is effectively the painfully slow decay of identity fading away. From this end, we decided to take it back to a relatable message of routine. Both of us are at working age in our lives and felt that our routine had become very much of our identity. So we came up with the piece titled “Lost in the Routine” we picked a persona of a young office worker whose routine has taken over his life. We composed a video of a mixture of our filmed footage as well as combined it with found footage.

Special thanks to

College Humor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoFQW3gsxN4

GoPro and YouView

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJSGpSELUoE

We then made this daily routine of the person come to life in a very boring way. However in the spirit of repetitive nature of a routine we then duplicated the video by 4X and speed it up slightly. We repeated this process until we ended up with a very abstract chaos that reveals the craziness of allowing a mundane routine to dictate how you spend your life, and ultimately become who you are.

We then followed this piece up with “Dementia.” For this we searched for poems over the subject to gather inspiration and to clarify what exactly dementia is, and how it affects people. We cam across a poem by Juliet Rains. It reads as:

Alzheimers

 By Juliet Rains

 You try to talk,

 Your words strung together

 Like a cross-word puzzle that still needs to be solved.

You try to read,

The story like a foreign movie

Missing the subtitles,

 No way for you to connect the dots.

 You try to walk,

Your feet don’t respond

As you sink to the bottom

Of the vast ocean of nothingness that is you now.

You try to remember

But the gate is closed,

The lock secure,

The key,

Oh, that key,

Who took that key,

Who took you away from you,

Away from me

This poem helped us formulate a composition that takes the views of several different people suffering from Alzheimer’s and relate it back to the poem. This one was a very poignant piece for us. We were both lucky enough to have very positive and influential elders in our life. However, their absences is just as influential as their presence was.

The final piece we intended as an installation piece that is meant to be interacted with after the presentation. Using processing we wanted to reflect the focus back on the view in order to reflect on their own identity. So sequentially: The first work was meant to draw attention to how an identity is formed through actions, The second is to show how fragile identity really is, and the third is to draw attention to how you see yourself now. Using processing we created the installation to react to both light and sound. We manipulated the light to distort the captured video of the viewers. Very much in the same way we all have distorted perceptions of our selves. We then used sound to drive the opacity of the video. This means that you have to literally make noise to be noticed.

After completion of this project, and ultimately the course, we believe that our work with identity really elevated us to a new conceptual use for the technology.

Technology and Technique

Many thanks to Ronald Wu and Bill Watts for using Maya and Rhino to create the arch form in 3D shape. Another big thanks to them for utilizing Pepakura and the UTD laser cutter to fabricate it in real space.

Once we had the arch form, we used 2 projectors provided by Andrew Scott and The University of Texas at Dallas.

We used Madmapper to help calibrate and shape our projections onto the form.

Modul8 was a great tool for us to manage and manipulate our video content. By connecting a midi controller we were able to control aspects of the video, such as: lightness, contrast, blur, noise, RGB values, etc. to tailor a live performance around the piece.

For the final work in the presentation, we utilized processing to compose a sketch that took webcam feedback and broke it down into adjustable pixel cells sizes of averaged color. We then determined the brightness from cell to cell to determine the z location in processing P3D space to distort the image but retain some control via lighting.

Ronald Wu & Mo Murphy

Title: Mirror, Mirror

Concept
This sculpture focuses on self-perception. We wanted to demonstrate how one might percieve his/herself and how that point of view in unique to them alone. The sculpture reveals two figures peering towards the viewer immersed in a constantly changing environment. The figures remain distorted throughout to illustrate how that point of view is unique to them alone and might look completely different to someone else.







Process
1. Developed the model in Maya & Rhino
2. Unwrapped UV Map using Maya
3. Brought UV template into After Effects
4. Filmed footage for video distortion
5. Edit footage to UV template via After Effects
6. Compile video layers and footage in Modul8 and MadMapper
7. Syphon audio synced layers from Modul8 to MadMapper
8. Linked up Midi-Controls to MadMapper


After Effects

Modul8

MadMapper

Link to Facebook Video

Sowmya Rajendran: Hourglass Relief

Sowmya Rajendran

__________________________________________________________


Concept
Time is a precious commodity for human beings. It is an abstract and intangible concept that presides over every aspect of our daily lives. We are consumed by our past judgments, our present routines, and our uncertainties about the future. The hourglass is a concrete symbol of the ephemeral nature of life and the inevitability of the consequences of time. The concept of balance between the past, present, and future is recognized in the symmetrical shape of the hourglass, with its counterbalanced triangular compartments. The idea of duality in life can also be drawn from its form.These ideas commonly associated with the hourglass symbol were explored in my projections. 

Process

Hourglass Model

For this project, we were going to be working individually, but teams were also going to be sharing one relief sculpture to project onto. When brainstorming about our projection canvas, Maryam, Brittany and I decided to revisit our old hourglass model from week 1. Maryam and I remodelled the hourglass piece into a low-poly model. This model was taken into Pepakura for laser cutting and the final layout was done in Rhino. 

First, a calibration was done to fit the virtual model onto the physical relief. I utilized the calibrated model as the "spatial scan", so that I could work on animations off-site. I wanted to create a glass shatter effect for some of my compositions, and I found that I could achieve this effect pretty easily on After Effects.  

In After Effects, you can create customized shatter maps that break/shatter according to the shapes you define on the map. I made a customized shatter map by importing the scanned hourglass image into Photoshop and blocking out the areas I wanted to shatter with multiple colored shapes. This map was taken back into After Effects and applied into the preset. Here's an easy step-by-step tutorial on how to make your own shatter maps! 

All the animations were aggregrated into Modul8 into the different preset nodes and syphoned into MadMapper. I utilized the midi controller buttons to switch between presets on each software simultaneously. Midi controls were also added to the color and video speed knob in Modul8.

Finished Pieces