#self-directedtechnocultures

I updated the end of my self-directed animation in order to alter the text included to make it more accurate for the art gallery.

Hannah had spoken to Susan, the museum curator, who said she was interested in me developing this idea more and maybe actually projecting it on the opening evening for the exhibition. 

She also asked for some screenshots of the video which she could then use for advertising material in the brochure for the Text Art Archive exhibition. In order to do this I simply altered the text from ‘text archive’ to ‘text art archive’ so that it was more precise. I could then take screenshots of some sections of the video in full-screen mode, and crop them in Photoshop and then save them at 300ppi and as jpeg files for best quality use.

When I first started to work on the self directed project I had completely no idea where to even start with it or what to do. At the start it was a struggle as there were so many possibilities with what I could do, that I couldn’t build a solid concept about what I wanted the topic to be, or what kind of product that I wanted to produce. 

My first ideas were much too vague as I thought I wanted to do something app related, however after presenting my ideas and talking to my tutors, I realised that some of the app ideas had already been done, and that I wasn’t interested or enthusiastic about my app ideas as much as I should’ve been. I then decided to base my idea around something which I enjoy doing more. I conducted some research into projection mapping as I knew I wanted to learn how to do this, as it was something different, as I had just completed the BBC project using app design. 

What caught my eye during projection mapping research was the outdoor projection mapping onto buildings, and how the projections moved around 3D objects. I really wanted to try something like this and then thought that I could relate the project to the Bury project. I thought about how I could also use some ideas from the text archive in this project as well. I then came up with the idea to project onto Bury Art Gallery itself, in order to advertise our exhibition there. The problem was that I didn’t know if I would have enough time to create all of the animation, and be able to project it in time for the deadline as we only had a few weeks. In order to overcome this, I decided to create an animated prototype of the projection instead.

I then took some images of Bury Art Gallery, at an angle so that it would appear to look more 3D and I could animate the text more onto the building, and began to work on top of a photograph in Photoshop and After Effects, as I also enjoy learning more about animation, and also kinetic typography, as I showed in some of my research posts. 

I edited the image of the art gallery in order to make it appear as it was at night time, as this would be when the projections would be made, and then imported it into After Effects and began to add the text, using masks, paths, layers, and custom fonts and colours which I had already researched and chosen for my ideas. I used all neon theme as it would stand out better, and edited the opacity so that the animated text would look more like realistic projections. I then angled and animated all of the text across specific parts of the building, using masks to cut out holes around the windows etc so that the text would only appear where I wanted it to. 

It was difficult animating the text, as I had to focus on the speed that it moved, the angle which it was positioned on the building, the path it needed to move along, and how it would gradually get smaller as it moved into the more distant parts of the image. I had to conduct a lot of research into animating text and making it 3D in order to complete my project.

After looking at all of my ideas, thinking about how I may link some to my Bury project, and based on my personal preferences, I then limited my ideas down to a select few which I can now begin to develop further. To do this I came up with some ‘How Might We?’ questions:

How might we link the self-directed project to the Bury art gallery project?

How might we create something useful for a user of a target audience similar to my age (16-24)?

How might we incorporate technology which I have not used in a project yet into my brief?

How might we identify a problem and create an effective solution?

How might we come up with effective ideas as well as sticking to the 4 week time limit?

How might we create something which hasn’t yet been done, but would be something that is desirable to a select target audience?

How might we incorporate text and image into this project?

How might we create an effective prototype in time to show how the idea will work?

I applied these ‘how might we?’ questions to each of my 6 ideas in order to see which ideas were the most creative and allowed me to see which ideas were most suitable for this brief and what I wanted to achieve and create within it.

After completing my mind map, identifying which software and mediums I like to work in, and deciding on linking some of my ideas to my Bury project, I then came up with a number of different ideas which I could then select 3 from and develop more:

IDEA 1

App for people who use their phone too much - stores data for people and tells them how much time they spend on each app daily/weekly etc. Notifies users of implications of being on their phone so much and shows graphs to track progress of phone usage.

IDEA 2

Projection mapping in order to advertise the Bury project - projection map text or images onto the front of the art gallery or buildings around manchester - base it on the text archive or our exhibition. 

IDEA 3

Secret language app for the younger generation - inspiration gained from the Bury art gallery de-coding project. Use symbols, shapes or glyphs to symbolise words or letters so users can write in code to specific friends. In app messenger or a copy and paste option. Customisable symbols for certain words - personalised. 

IDEA 4

‘Manchester’ app - information app informing users on different topics. Clubs: ratings, opening times, door price for certain nights, drinks prices, events, reviews, compare clubs etc. Shops: average price range, opening times, sale items, student discount offers, reviews, compare clothes prices from different stores. Restaurants: menus, average price range, special offers, drinks prices, opening times, vegan/allergy options, locations.

IDEA 5

Swearing app - in order to help the target audience (15-25+) stop swearing. They would have to voluntarily download the app, which would give them a notification whenever they swear, as sometimes it is easy to get carried away when typing. Counts how often they swear and shows statistics per day/week and improvements. 

IDEA 6

One of the things which I came across when I was researching for my self-directed project was a lettering artist and muralist called Rylsee. I was looking into text art and 3D work initially as a way to link my self directed work to my Bury project in some way. One of my favourite pieces of work which he did was an optical illusion piece within a book, where he used multiple pages in order to make it appear as if the letter was popping out of the book when he opened it. Cutting, shading and outlining was used to create this effect:

A video posted by RYLSEE - Too Shy To Rap (@rylsee) on Jan 8, 2016 at 4:24am PST

I was thinking about how I could link this to Bury, and as I was going to base Bury on controversial art, I was thinking that I could decide on my topic for Bury and then follow it through into something like this, maybe combining text and image in order to create something hands-on and 3D. Making sure the everything from the book to the content is all linked. 

A video posted by RYLSEE - Too Shy To Rap (@rylsee) on Nov 22, 2015 at 12:37pm PST

Firstly I wanted to look into different kinds of projection mapping, as I was interested in using something which I had never used before within my self-directed project. Before looking into this I had hoped that I would find some inspiration or an example of something which I could gain ideas from. 

Live Visuals

Live Visual projection mapping includes:

- Nightclubs - Stage Performance - Art Installations - Theatre & Set design - Interactive Media Projects - Festivals - Outdoor Projection - Dance performance

It is mostly used for audio-visual performances, and uses a lot of shape and pattern in order to alter the appearance of rooms, walls and spaces, so that it sets the atmosphere for the performance. 

Building Projection Mapping

Projection Mapping onto buildings can create exciting and attention catching performances. The projections are carefully wrapped around objects, buildings stage design, people, architectural features, tin cans etc. basically anything 3D. ​​Projection Mapping is a recent development in projection technology, in which an image can be specifically 'placed' onto the features and contours of an object.  Paired with careful pre-production, it is possible to achieve stunning results such as the ones shown in the above video. 

This is the kind of projection mapping which inspires me mostly, how stationary buildings or objects can be brought to life by using light and shape, creating a 3D experience. The possibilities for this are endless. 

Immersive Environments

Projection Mapping in immersive environments utilises cross boundary multimedia to produce creative environments in which the audience and participants can safely explore their senses.  The most ordinary spaces can be transformed, including museums, galleries, classrooms, school halls and shared-use spaces, by using interactive technologies, projection, sound and light.

The video which I found to represent immersive environments reminded me a lot of some of the installation pieces which were created for UnitX last year when we were working with the Royal Northern College of Music.

Street Projection

I really like this video as an example of street projection, the way that they spray paint/graffiti onto the wall and then project over it in order to give the portrait different styles and themes, bringing it to life and changing graffiti art into multimedia art. This is maybe something which I could pair with the building projection mapping in order to come up with an idea for my self directed project.

Street projection is basically projecting onto objects within the public environment in order to reach audiences, catch their attention, and maybe catch them by surprise. When using the street as a canvas, the possibilities are endless.  It could be the simplicity of a slogan, a beautiful living mural or digitally drawn by a graffiti artist. The projections can also be created on-the-go, mounting a projector to the side of a bike, projecting onto the floor for example. 

VJing

VJing is basically projecting in order to deliver a live visual response to the atmosphere and ambiance of all types of events, regardless of genre.  This can be mixed with custom-made content to strike particular moods, to be in sync with music, or communicate brands. DJ’s, bands, and clubs use this kind of projection mapping in order to set the atmosphere, the projections are usually more strobe and fast paced compared to live visual projecting.