This exercise was pretty easy to build since we had practice in class working with the fade effect.
Circuit 2: toneMelody
For this circuit, my partner and I followed the instructions but had trouble with attaching the buzzers correctly labeled. We attached it on different sides/ voltages initially, which was why it didn’t work but after we switched the position of the buzzer, our circuit worked!
For this circuit, my partner and I had a bit of trouble towards the end when playing the game. Since we ran out of time, we weren’t able to be able to actually compete and play the game based on the circuit that we built. However, it was fun to push the buttons and our code was able to indicate which player won, which was fun.
Question 1:
Reflect how you use technology in your daily life and on the circuits you just built. Use the text Physical Computing and your own observations to define interaction.
In my daily life, I rely heavily on electronics since it makes the Internet more accessible and studying a lot easier, as I do everything on my laptop. Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about interaction and how I interact with technology every day. When my computer says low battery, I understand and plug in the outlet to charge it, and in turn, the computer sustains its power. As we grow more digital, the more and more we rely on technology every day. I use it to document good memories, to do homework, and to learn more. In fact, my job relies heavily on it since I need it to edit videos and make graphics for the school. I would define interaction as input, processing & output. These three steps encompass the communication procedure it takes for interaction to happen.
Question 2:
Why did we use the 10K resistor with the push button?
We used the 10K resistor with the push button because the voltage was more appropriate with 2 players/2 buttons to exert the right electricity.
Question 3:
If you have 100,000 LEDs of any brightness and color at your disposal, what would you make and where would you put it?
I would make it into an interactive galaxy with dim and bright LEDs alike. In particular, I would gather grey, white, blue and purple LEDs to mimic the galaxy colors. I also want to put various zodiac signs and their corresponding positions on the interactive galaxy map. I would put it at a modern art gallery for more people to see it and use the medium of a kaleidoscope or a telescope for people to zoom in and out to interact more with the LED galaxy map.
This week’s reading, “Physical Computing – Introduction” and “Physical Computing’s Greatest Hits (and misses)” was very interesting to read because I had never given much thought about physical computations and how interactions work between humans and computers.
In the first reading, the authors Igoe and O’Sullivan described the way man communicates with technology and one sentence stood out to me, which states, “To change how the computer reacts to us, we have to change how it sees us.” The authors also illustrated the way technology sees us, and how they interpret us as nothing more than just two ears, a finger and an eye. (figure 1.1) Communication between technology and man is key, in order for one side to input desired information and for the processing to make logical sense and produce output. Either through analog or through digital input, and the computer then takes the data and produces an output that makes sense based on the information given.
In the second reading “Physical Computing’s Greatest Hits (and misses)” by Tigoe, the author exemplifies numerous ways for interactions to take place between technology and humans. This gives me insight into certain interactivity models and their physical aspects. In particular, the body-as-cursor project stood out to me and reminded me of Wii Sports that I used to play as a kid. Through computational ‘magic’ and code, I was able to match physical motions such as hitting a tennis ball to a mesmerizing digital experience. I think it’s fascinating how the technology is able to track user movement in a given space and by matching it to a visual or audio response and produce output. Wii Sports was one of my favorite video games as a kid. Hopefully, by the end of the semester, I will be able to create a project similar to this type of interaction.
After reading “The Art of Interactive Design” by Crawford, it made me think a lot about interactivity and interactive media arts here at NYU Shanghai. First, I think the definition of interactivity that correlates to the Boolean property appeals to me the most since I understand the various degrees of communication equates the degree of interactivity. Since IMA is built on the foundation of being ‘interactive’, there is a great emphasis on communication and being responsive. And different degrees of interactivity can lead to vastly different outcomes.
In addition, I think I interpret the definition of UI/UX in an elevated sense since their role consists of being communicative and interacting with users to prioritize their experience. I recall in my IMA classes that I took before, we had many user testing/feedback sessions. In order to make our code the clearest and equate cohesive interactivity with the users, I received numerous critiques on my project. Reflecting on it now, it is interesting to think about how different users experience various levels of interactivity, and how that impacts their judgment of the project. Overall, interactivity is important in terms of numerous ways, not just in IMA courses, but everyday life as well. The process of refining a project to perfect interactivity is something I strive to improve on this semester.
Building Electric Circuits & Soldering Exercise
For recitation this week, my partner Rodrigo and I built electric circuits and I tried soldering for the first time.
Due to limited time, Rodrigo and I were only able to build one circuit: the doorbell. During the process, we struggled a lot since neither of us has built electric circuits before. Luckily, we had IMA learning assistants to help guide us throughout, which made the process a lot easier.
First, we took all of our materials and read over the instructions. Then, we started using the wires to start the connection between the different parts to the various charges on the breadboard. The placement on the breadboard was quite tricky since a lot of our wires intertwined and the procedure became messy. Then, we readjusted the wires and it became a lot easier to build and connect the different parts. Eventually, we finished all the steps and when we plugged in our outlet, the speaker made a buzz, which was awesome!
For our soldering workshop, we had some trouble at first since the iron we got as old and hard to use. So the metal never heated up enough for us to melt the wires to connect with the buttons and solder the parts together.
Overall, the recitation was interesting and it made me think about the reading regarding interactivity and during the workshop, it was fun to see interactivity in action. If we had more time, it would also be interesting to see the connection between the various circuits and build the other parts as well.
Purpose & Description
For the final project, my partners Theresa, Sabrina, Vicki and I made an audiovisual website for the Sapporo Upopo Honzonkai. We wanted to create an audiovisual website because we want to help better represent the Sapporo Upopo Honzonkai group since they wanted to establish a modern image as one of the only Ainu Preservation groups that live in an urban environment. We divided the work amongst our four members. Vicki and Theresa were in charge of website design and layout, and Sabrina and I were responsible for creating content. Moreover, we also collaborated with the other group working on an Ainu game. We shared all our footage with them and in the end, we included their game onto our final website which really tied the website together.
Live Demo
Process
We first tackled the assignment by researching about the Ainu. We learned a lot about their history and also grasped a sense of identity that the Ainu wanted to preserve. Later, we communicated with our clients, the Sapporo Upopo Honzonkai, who told us that they wanted to create a more modern image as the Ainu. This is particularly interesting since the Sapporo Upopo Honzonkai is one of the few groups that live in an urban cityscape. Therefore, we were determined to connect their cultural heritage with their modern identity for the final product. Initially, we wanted to incorporate a podcast on the website, but as our idea developed further, we changed the podcast idea into an interview, since they spoke in Japanese, so it made more sense for subtitles to appear, and video works better than audio this way.
When the Preservation Society came to NYU Shanghai for their performance and workshop on April 12, it was our only chance to talk to them and record footage. Sabrina and I split up our duties and she mostly concentrated on shooting their performances on a tripod as I moved around and took pictures. Sabrina was also in charge of recording the interviews, and Roslynn was there to help translate during the process. Our other teammates contributed as well. In addition, we also reaffirmed their requests when we talked to them about finalizing the website. We showed them some WIX templates for them to better visualize the final product. We decided to use WIX because it is easy to use, and when we pass it on to them, they can continue with the website or add new information. Also, they told us some new requests, such as including a members page and making the website bilingual. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to execute the ladder request, due to the time crunch and language barrier. However, if we had more time and resources to translate, we would make the website in both Japanese and English. As for now, our target audience is mostly English speakers, for them to understand more about the Ainu heritage in an interesting and appealing way.
After we filmed with the Sapporo Upopo Honzonkai, we started editing the content. Sabrina edited the interview videos, and I edited the performance videos. Also, I made a one-minute montage/intro video. I combined the workshop and performance footages to create one performance video which included the name of each performance as well as a short description of the piece. For the intro video, I included archived footage provided by the preservation society and created a mashup and upbeat montage video, introducing Sapporo Upopo Honzonkai.
Challenges
One of the challenges we faced was the language barrier. Although we had Roslynn’s help to translate everything, it was still challenging in terms of content editing. For editing the interviews, Sabrina had a friend help translate everything they said during the interviews, but she struggled at first with getting started since everything was in Japanese. For me, I also had trouble with some descriptions for the performances. But with the help of Roslynn and some research, we were able to properly describe each performance and translate the interviews.
Feedback
We received numerous helpful feedback from our classmates over the last 7 weeks that allowed us to take in critiques to make the project better. One of the first feedback sessions, our classmates questioned the color choices we used for our website, which was navy blue and yellow. Navy blue was a primary Ainu color, but we chose yellow since it went well with the overall color scheme of the website. We later consulted with Roslynn and sent the Ainu group some color palette options. Eventually, they chose navy blue and a turquoise green, which looked much more cohesive and matched the desires of our clients. Also, we took in some feedback for video editing from Ann, such as audio editing and smoother transitions.
(earlier templates)
Conclusion
Overall, I am satisfied with the overall product. I think that my team members and I did a good job of creating a website according to the requests from our clients. I’ve learned about during this project about teamwork and working with real clients, as problems come up, or clients add on to their request, which in turn, requires changes. In the end, we created a product that will hopefully educate people about Ainu culture and the Preservation Society.
We worked mainly on the design of the websites for the past few weeks. We finalized the layout and added more details into our design. For the home page, we added hovers to each box that link to different subpages of the website. We finished the about page with a short description of the Sapporo Upopo Hozonkai Society and a small gallery with some pictures of them. For the events page, we transported the blogs they had on their old websites to our page. Before, we had two separate tabs for “Sounds of the Ainu” and “Textiles of the Ainu” that show pictures and videos of their traditional instruments and clothes. However, after the feedback session, we decided to combine them into one tab “culture” so that it won’t complicate the viewers. We also did a contact page at the end with the information on their social media accounts.
For the upcoming weeks, we will be working on the members’ page and perfecting the culture page. For now, we only had information on two members. So we decided to put pictures and short descriptions of the two members first and maybe the person who takes over the website later could add more members. For the culture page, we will update it with more materials we got last week from Roslynn.
Demo of Website Navigation
Sabrina:
Over the course of the past few weeks, I have been assisting with web design and condensing/translating content from the Sapporo Upopo Hozonkai Preservation Society’s original website. I spent about two weeks working with a friend outside of class to translate the entirety of the interviews. After translating, I sent Roslynn a draft cut of two full interviews with subtitles included to verify and edit the translation. After gathering feedback from both classmates as well as Rosylnn, I condensed the interviews into four final cuts focused on culture/tourism, design, dance, and purpose/mission statement, with additional photo/video assets based on the content of the segment.
Ashley:
This week’s progress report consists of finalizing the performance video and creating a one-minute intro montage video introducing the Sapporo Upopo Hozonkai. There were some details about the performance that was confusing, so I met up with Roslynn and discussed the details about the performances as well as the names. She went over the names of the performances during the workshop and explained the significance of each piece. I am also working on a montage video to put under the About Page describing who the Ainu are. The other performance video will be under the Culture Page. With the footage that we already have, compiling the video should be fine. For the background of the montage, we contacted Roslynn and she provided some audios we could use for the background music. Both videos should be ready to go by the end of this week.
