Monthly Archives: November 2020

Physical Computing

PComp Week 11: Project 3 (Operation and Sound Matrix)

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For the third and final project, I am going to focus on utilizing discarded tech.  My original proposal (seen below), ties together  final projects for both ICM and Cybernetics of Sex.  For this project, I proposed taking a set of electro-stimulation toys that I had and re-purposing them into a version of the game Operation.  After testing out the feeling of the electronic current on my hands, I have decided to go in a different direction.  I will, however, breakdown my initial proposal below.  Instead of re-purposing old sex toys, I will focus on re-purposing something I am sure we all either have on hand or have thrown away: headphones. 

I propose creating a swatch of fabric where the speakers from headphone will be attached.  I will use a sensor (most likely a photo sensor) to send a message to the Arduino which will then produce a sound in the speaker.  I envision a garment covered in these speakers and sensors where, as someone passes by, the speakers will emit a sound out of the speaker closest to the passerby.  This idea was  influenced by Daniel Rozin’s mechanical mirror work.  What if instead of a mechanical reaction, there was a sound reaction as someone moved in front of the sensor?  This is what I want to explore.   

Recycled Operation:

Operation

This project will utilize retired sex toys from my own collection to create an interactive game of Operation.  I will use the mechanisms from these toys to create a wearable device (glove, bracelet or rings) that will shock the wearer as they try to harvest the organs without touching the perimeter of the cavity.  The game will be built in p5.js using the Handpose library (ML5), as well as a laptop camera, to detect the parts of the hand.  The user will wearer this device while playing the game.  When the hand reaches the boundary of the cavity, a signal will be sent to from the Arduino to the device which will shot the wearer in the area designated by the p5 sketch. 

E-Stim pads

E-Stim Sex Toy Kit Photo

In addition to the fabrication and safety concerns that are present when working with shocking someone, there are also sanitary concerns due to the use of previously used sex toys.   For this mock up, there is less concern as I will be the only user.  However, this is a concern if I was to involve others in the process.  In my project for Cybernetics of Sex, I do plan on researching ways of sanitizing these toys for reuse as well as any regulations that might pose an issue in scaling this project. 

During the project presentation, there were concerns with safety, as noted above, as well as use.  Would someone want to get shocked?  How would the user gauge if the shock will be tolerable enough to continue to play?  It was also suggested to look at using other actuators (servo motor perhaps) instead of shocking someone.   Also, there is the challenge of building a 3D game within a 2D program.  This idea lends itself more to virtual reality. 

As noted above, I have decided to develop this project o paper for my Cybernetics of Sex class and to, instead, build the following sound project. 

Wearable Sound Matrix:

Currently, I have 5 pairs of Apple ear-pods that are no longer useful in their current state.  I will be disassembling them to make a wearable sound array. 

While doing research for this project, I found iFixIt to be very helpful in tearing down the ear pods.

This project will require researching how to take headphones apart without damaging the components, what are they made of and how to reuse them.  As I am interested in the reuse of all components of the headphones, I will also research the use of not just the speakers but of the other components that make of the headphones.  My goal is to use all the parts in some fashion.  If not, I will figure out how to best recycle the items as well. 

I am excited by the research and experimentation that this project requires and look forward to seeing it come to fruition. 

 

Animation

Animation Week 5: Walkman (After Effects Project)

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Link

Please see prior posts for additional process and background information.  Post 1  Post 2

Collaboration Process:

Todd and I worked really well together.  We started by breaking down the tasks so that we would eat be able to work on parts of the piece separately. 

Todd and I split up the work as follows:
Visual asset creation (background and characters) – Daniel
Sound design and audio asset creation – Todd
Main character animation (Walkman and CD Player) – Todd
Ensemble and background animation – Daniel

We were lucky enough to be in NYC so we met on the floor to compile our piece together. 

Animation:

After completing the character animations for the Troll Doll and Echo Mic, I started on the background.  Making the scene feel like a club through the lighting peeked my interested. 

I spent some time playing with the movement of the anchor point in order to replicate club lighting.  Here is a shot of the scene without characters and only the lighting. 

While working with Todd to compile the final piece, I noted that the stage reminded me of The Sally Jessy Raphael Show but I want able to place why.  I was able to find the following clip from an episode that affirms my feeling.

Sally Show Reference Stage Pic

I also found this course on character animation by Angie Taylor through LinkedIn Learning to be very helpful. 

Challenges:

Since I was most interested in the process of working collaboratively withing After Effects, I spent time figuring out how Todd and I would integrate our work together withing AE.  I looked out how the files would import, where to place items withing AE so that I could easily identify them, and mapping assets correctly.  In the end, I learned a lot about the challenges faced when merging different versions together and how to do it successfully. 

Overall:

This was a fun project to work on with Todd.  Originally, we had planned a much longer story to tell, but quickly realized that the animation would take much longer then we had to tell the entire story.  We decided to focus on completing the first scene from our story board. 

In the future, I might finish animating this piece as it aligns with my interested in tech reuse, repair and recycling.  This piece was envisioned to be a PSA for tech recycling initiatives, specifically the Lower East Side Ecology Center’s E-waste program.  Unfortunately, that program is yet another casualty of 2020.  I do hope that it finds new opportunity to reopen.

ICM

Week 11: Sound Project

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Brandon Roots and I have teamed up to create a sound experience for our next project.  We will be using the code from our worksheet assignment (composition below) to create the experience of being in a dark basement and finding your way through.   This piece will be played by moving through the space and blindly encountering objects.  The encounters will be through sound.  We want to have something playful and a little scary overall.

We didn’t necessarily have any particular piece in mind as inspiration but I have included a few examples that resonated with the experience we are looking to create. 

Robin Arnott’s piece Deep Sea.  Check out this interview where Robin explains more about his piece. 

 

Sonic Labyrinth by Aviva Endean

Here is another piece by Aviva Endean that doesn’t entirely relate but I thought was interesting:


Space Guitar

Final Piece

This piece originally started out with the idea of having a sound exploration/narrative that was also an instrument.  I an invasion someone walking around, running from place to place using the objects on hand to make music.  This turned into exploring what it would be like to have a piece replicating what it would be like to stumble around a dark attic.  I imagine this piece can still be used as a non traditional instrument, one where it takes patience, understanding and memory to reproduce the exact sounds. 

Memory because the sounds appear randomly on the canvas when the sketch is started.  The user will need to remember where the sound was on the sketch in order to replay it. 

Also, the walking as a sort of rhythm to the piece as well. 

Our final piece does not embed correctly, so please do try it out at this here.   Take your time and enjoy the slow, peaceful interaction of the piece. 
 

For the next iteration, I would like to update the following:

  • Have the images fade at as the individual track plays.  I did try this using a for loop within the class’s method but kept getting an error that I could not figure out.   I would use the duration() function withing the Sound library tot determine how long the fade out will be.  I would also use a pixel array ( of the image) in conjunction with the for loop to face out the logo image. 
Animation

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud

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“Wall of ignorance that prevents beings from seeing each other clearly can only be breached by communication. And communication is only effective when we understand the forms that communication can take.”
-Scott McCloud

Understanding Comics was more that just enlightening of how to engage with comics but also in understanding all forms of art. As a pragmatic person and someone who was trained in both music and fashion design, I have tended to focus on the how more than the why in my practice. When looking to go deeper, I’ve struggled with how to find more meaning in the art forms I am drawn to and, for that mater, those that I am not. Specifically, the use of abstraction as a tool in art was made clearer to me through the writer’s use of comics. Seeing how one can move between the worlds of pictures, reality and language to explore form and ideas. Being shown the examples of what have been done by artists in the past using abstraction allowed me to better see what they were focusing on.

The quote I’ve listed above spoke to what I’m feeling about not only my art but the world. Through communication can we start to see each other as we desire to be seen. Unfortunately, we also need to understand how to communicate and the different forms that we as humans use to communicate. I’ve noticed myself being dismissive when people communicate with me in a way that I am not wiling to listen to or that I do not notice. This might be nonverbal, physical, text, or even through buying of a gift. Just like how the various love languages we use with those we care about can be misunderstood, so are the visual forms of communication, like comics, are misunderstood. In learning their form, we can better understand what others are trying to communicate.

On a more personal note in relation to my craft, I am inspired by the authors six steps to creation. I struggle with getting past the outer layer of creation and into experimenting with form and ideas. I tend to get caught up with the physical making while simultaneously being overwhelmed with the focus on creating something deep and meaningful (ideas). I found encouragement in McCloud’s examples of artists working through their craft. I hope to one day be able to solidify my ideas on my art in order to explore form more.

I also too that the six steps in creation are a two way path. The initial creation is followed 1 through 6 but to delve deeper into the art form, a more contemplative exploration in reverse is the path to take.

I was intrigued by the author’s notes on the characteristics of a line. Just like the lines of pencil on paper, the stitches of a textile artist can also convert emotion and story.

Animation

Animation Week 3: Project Update 2

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This is the second post regarding this project.  Please see here for the first post. Also check out Todd’s post here. 

I started out this week building the characters and the set to place the characters within.  I am still working on the Dance Floor set which will be the opening scene.  I am experimenting with creating a parallax view using a still photo.  Below are my draft sets for the entire story.

Once I had the sets built, I finalized all the characters.  This biggest challenge I had this week with After Effects was learning to navigate withing 3D (2.5D) space.   At one point I lost the navigation tools that are attached to the anchor point which added to the frustration learning this tool.  Not knowing the name of what I was looking for, it took me time to find a video that could help.  I discovered that I needed to select the Toggle Mask and Shape Path Visibility button to activate the tool I needed.

Meet the characters:

In addition to the animations performed in the video above, I did spend some time experimenting with creating the following effects.  In the first video, I layer the troll on top of another image of the entire troll doll body , lowered the opacity and added a rotation on the x axis.  This gives a slight trippy feeling to the troll doll which I enjoy.  

In the second video, I am experimenting with the puppet pin tool.  It took a bit to find the right location to place the pins as not to pull the body too far away from the limbs and eyes.  The pins are placed on the png image while the legs, arms and eyes are all on another layer as shapes.  If there is a way to manipulate the shapes in tandem with the body using the puppet tool, that would open up more possibilities as well as time animating. 

After chatting with Pedro regarding this project, Todd and I decided to narrow the scope of this iteration down to one maybe two scenes.  We are going to focus on the first scene where we meet the main character, Walkman, in a club.  Walkman is being celebrated for their fame and popularity until CD Player busts into the scene.  CD Player is the new and improved format for music which draws the attention of all in the crowd leaving Walkman deflated and heading out the door. 

We feel that this will be enough to fulfill the ask of this class while being able to focus on learning After Effects.  Now that we are this far, I look forward to putting it all together in the scene.