Monthly Archives: April 2016

The One With The Hardknocks Installation

There are the final images for today’s installation! What a day to end Interactive Spaces! I would definitely can imagine this going to a gallery and hang it on a wall and hide those wires behind those walls! Hardknocks (1 of 10) Is this taken at ADM? Nope it is not. Hardknocks (3 of 10)

The solenoid works!Hardknocks (4 of 10)

Definitely can do better with the wires organisation.Hardknocks (5 of 10)

Oh look the wires are gone! Hardknocks (8 of 10) Hardknocks (9 of 10) Hardknocks (10 of 10)

Going to edit the videos and post it on the next post!

Cheers,
Kamarul

The One With The Dome Project

For my final presentation last week, I proposed an interactive installation taking place inside a dome which is going to stimulate the sensorial experience of being in heaven & hell. I chose this project because it allows me to experiment with different mixture of visuals, sound, lighting and environment all in one project. So this final post for Assignment 3 will be dedicated to the final presentation which I will summarise in this post. filmcamera-30The reason for making it inside a dome is that a dome has no corners, giving the visitors the perception that it is in a infinity space. Furthermore, the projection on the dome has an immersive experience for the visitors to enter and watch.

To visualise Heaven & Hell is quite a challenged as nobody has ever been to heaven or hell and came back with a story to tell. Hence, I would actually get those descriptions from the holy book of different religions. For example, the bible and the Quran.

8But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

– Revelation 21:8

The above passage describes hell as a fiery lake of burning sulfur. From this verse, the visuals can be interpret in many ways to match the description.

Verily! The Muttaqun (pious – see V.2:2), will be in place of Security (Paradise). Among Gardens and Springs; Dressed in fine silk and (also) in thick silk, facing each other, So (it will be), and We shall marry them to Houris (female fair ones) with wide, lovely eyes. They will call therein for every kind of fruit in peace and security;

– Quran 44: 51-55

This passage from the Quran describes Heaven as Paradise and words such as Gardens & Springs are being used to describe Heaven. From those few words, some colours and texture immediately come up to mind. This will be one way for me to interpret the visuals and sounds that I will be making inside the dome.

Another famous description of Heaven and Hell would be Dante’s Divine Comedy. In the poem by Dante, he narrated the story of heaven and hell and how each has a different levels. Below is an illustration which many artists have interpret from the poem.

Another inspiration of Hell would be from Haw Par Villa, which depicts the 10 Courts of Hell. These Chinese folklore makes a good attempt in terms of really visualising what hell would look like. Definitely I am inspired by these different sculptures.

However, at the end of the day, I do not want to involve religion into the dome project. Those visuals that I will use will be interpret by my own artistic decision and will not have any attempt in making relevance to any religion. That will be my attempt in this project.

Next up, here are my Work Breakdown Structure. As you can see I have break it down to 4 parts and the above paragraphs which I will interpret from all the different source of heaven & hell would fall under Concept. Constructing the dome is also very important and how I am able to use the different equipments would be very valid. Programming is also essential as I want the whole process to be automatic. Lastly, Experimenting. This is a very important phase because in order to make the experience very abstract, experimentation of different visuals and sounds is essential in order to come up with a final choice of visuals.

The Dome WBS

The Dome WBS

Below are my Gantt Chart. I did a total of 6 milestones because I need to know the progress of my project and the milestones will do just that. The first mile stone is when I have derived on my Final Idea. And my final milestone is of course during the opening night of the ADM Grad Show! Simulation and experimentation takes a bulk of the time because I need to simulate different visuals as much as possible in order to get the visitors an experience of a lifetime. These period of ‘testing’ would make the final product more reliable and effective.

Gantt Chart

Gant Chart

The Network diagram is made up of the different equipments that I am going to use. I am planning to use max msp for this whole project as the programme allows me to speak to all different equipments. The diagram below are just some of the equipments that I am going to use. I make add even more equipments because the possibility of different combination is endless!

The Dome Network Diagram

The Dome Network Diagram

In conclusion, I would like my visitors to escape reality when they are at my installation. This installation aims to provide an out of body experience which will then questions their existence. With the help of abstract visuals and daunting sound, I want my visitors to interpret themselves the experience which they went through. Like all great art, it raise even more questions than giving answers of what is Heaven and what is hell.

Thank you.

The One With The Karst Exhibition

Continuing from my previous post on extending a case studies, here is more details of what I am going to propose. Read here for my previous post.

I have chosen to use Vladimir’s Karst documentary as my case study of choice and I am going to extend this film into an exhibition/installation. The motive of the exhibition is simple, to have the same experience of watching the full film by visiting the exhibition/installation. I feel this is the essence of my propose exhibition/installation because I want my visitor to leave the exhibition feeling like they know a little bit more about Karst and the art of construction. I find this documentary very unique because it explores the process and beauty of the Karst stone which is a very unlikely narrative in a film.

Furthermore, the full documentary length is about 1 hour and 12 minutes which is quite a long time for some people to sit down and watch. On top of that, is is not your typical blockbuster film and Vladimir’s Karst needed the audience to think and reflect as well. So with that being said, I don’t think there will be many general audience who is able to stomach Karst. However, I want the people to experience the film by going through the exhibition/installation. This is also part of the reason for this proposal as well. Now let’s take a look at what I would like to include in the exhibition/installation.

I would like to break the exhibition/installation into 3 parts.
1. The Process – Equipments/Processes
2. The Culture – Food/Celebration
3. The Art – Artworks/Artists/Influences

Firstly, the first section of the exhibition would start with The Process. In this section, I would like to highlight the process the masons take to complete the house. From setting up explosives to the final touches to the house, I would like to capture these events through the use of photographs, short videos and the physical equipments as well!

As you can see below, this is the machine used to mix the cement. This equipment would be good to include in the exhibition space as well to facilitate learning and knowledge.

Screen Shot 2016-04-13 at 8.50.32 am
From setting up the foundation to the measuring of the walls. These important details are important, hence showing some graphics on the exhibition would be a good idea for learning more about construction.Screen Shot 2016-04-13 at 8.52.06 am
This skill take a lot of practice in order to be perfect at it and I would like my visitor to experience doing this process themselves. I would propose to have a karst stone on the exhibition space and a chisel and a mallet, where visitors can learn from the experts on how to do this by hand. It will be a once in a lifetime experience!Screen Shot 2016-04-13 at 8.59.27 am
Screen Shot 2016-04-13 at 10.32.02 pm
This pulley system is very interactive in a sense that it requires someone to be there to pull it back and forth. This can be used as a switch or control as part of the exhibition. For example, visitors can interact with this pulley system and whenever they move it back and forth, it will show a different photograph. Screen Shot 2016-04-13 at 10.27.08 pm
This cutting machine cuts the rock into perfect squarish sizes. Having a video to show this would be good for learning as well. No physical machine is required as this machine can be very dangerous for the exhibition. Screen Shot 2016-04-13 at 10.27.45 pm Screen Shot 2016-04-13 at 10.28.07 pm
The final results of the rocks.Screen Shot 2016-04-13 at 10.29.42 pm

This process of holding the tree branch as you can see below is still puzzled me actually. But I do know this, there seem to be some natural force that is interact with the branch. This is a very unique experience actually. I would propose this to be included in the installation/exhibition space as well so people could actually try this for themselves!Screen Shot 2016-04-13 at 9.01.25 am

Screen Shot 2016-04-13 at 9.02.03 am

Secondly, the culture of the people of Montenegro. The stonemasons family and their life is quite prominent in the film as the director wanted to highlight the lifestyle and culture of the Montenegro people. Below, you can see that their really enjoy cooking and this is evident in the two screenshots below. Even after the completion of the house, they organised a huge celebration with the lamb. I would like to highlight this in my exhibition, to include the food recipe as well as some food tasting. The culture is also very important and I would definitely highlight this in my exhibition / installation as well.

Screen Shot 2016-04-13 at 8.58.26 am Screen Shot 2016-04-13 at 10.33.08 pm

Thirdly, the artworks. The key influence of Karst was Petar Lubarda where Vladimir dedicate this film to. Furthermore the colour treatment of the film is inspired by Petar Lubarda’s painting as Vladimir mention in an interview! Petar Lubarda was a painter and was considered one of the most important painter in the region of Montenegro. I feel that to include one of his painting in the Exhibiton/Installation would be ideal as it is also mention in the film as well. The architect visited the gallery where Petar Lubarda’s work is being exhibited and is amazed by his works. Visitors could also learn a little bit more of the artist and his artworks and how the artwork influence the film.

Screen Shot 2016-04-13 at 8.54.05 am Screen Shot 2016-04-13 at 8.54.57 am

To close this lengthy post, I would like to summaries my idea of proposing an exhibition/installation that will engage the visitors to learn about the essence of construction and Karst. Karst is a documentary following the life of a stonemason family and their work processes. This is a very interesting documentary and by highlighting certain key moments into the exhibition space, the message of the film can be further heightened I feel. With that being said, I would to end this post with a thought, would you rather watch a 1 hour documentary or go through a 15 minutes exhibition space?

The One With The Arduino & Solenoid

Getting it powered by Arduino’s 5v is not good enough. Solenoid needs more impact so we decide to go with 12v’s Solenoid that can be found at Sim Lim Tower for a cost of $8.90. At the 3rd Level. Followed a tutorial online on how to program a solenoid and it works as well. But the part is, i would need a longer transistor.

2222-1

I also bought a 6V solenoid to test things out but it seems a 12V solenoid would work better. Hence, I bought a 12V transformer/power supply as well. 2222-2

I foresee that I would need to spend some time on the codes as well if I were to link it with Arduino.

2222-3

The One With The Bracket & Solenoid

Yesterday I bought some brackets to try to fix it with the solenoid.
Today I managed to complete the task.

sol-2

I tried 2 different spot on the helmet to secure my solenoid to, at the top and at the back.sol-3

The top one is fine but it is difficult to mount the bracket as there is not even surface as shown. Hence it was hard to get it straight and thus I failed to make it straight.
However, placing it at the back was so much easier and it actually is better because I plan to hang the helmet anyway. I also decided to drill a hole in order to let the wire run inside of the helmet.

sol-1

I fastened the solenoid to the bracket with 2 small black cable ties. It worked really well actually.

sol-4

As you can see on the inside of the helmet, the wires are inside and this will make the installation look cleaner. sol-5

9 Helmets to go!sol-6

The One With The Narrowing It Down

It’s now time for the Second Phase.

I am going to cut down to 2 projects.

  1. The Exercise (previously known as The Run)
  2. The Dome: Heaven & Hell Project.
  1. The Exercise will be education interactive installation that targets healthy living and promoting exercising in a very fun way. Inspired by Legible City by the artist Jeffrey Shaw, users are able to interactive physically with real sporting equipments. These sporting actions such as lifting up a dumbbell for example, will be capture by a camera which will then calculate the amount of energy the user have used in doing the action. By displaying the number of calories burned in real time, users are motivated to keep doing to achieve the target and to move on to the next level. Below is the network diagram on how this project will work.
    The ExerciseWBS

    The Exercise WBS

    The Exercise

    The Exercise Network Diagram

    2. The Dome: Heaven & Hell Project is an interactive installation that will allow user to experience the sensorial experience that is the experience of being in Heaven or Hell. The concept of heaven and hell is a very undefined hence this installation is an simulation of what it could be. Playing with lights, projection, smoke, fire, fan and sound, these different elements would be combined to simulate different experiences. Using different knowledge of the idea of heaven & hell, different elements could be turned on by sensors according to the visitor’s movement. Being in a dome would make this project an advantage compare to a room.

    The Dome WBS

    The Dome WBS

    The Dome Network Diagram

    The Dome Network Diagram

The One With The Real Justin

It was really interesting and in fact very shocking to hear that a game needs that much of money to develop and to put it out in the market. The gaming world is no fun and games after all. Get it?

ss-1

As much as Justin wanted to leave on time, he was very open to his knowledge and did not mind going over time answering real questions from us. ss-2

But justin before you go, I got a final question to ask you. Do you even game bro?

The One With The Justin Bieber I Mean Cubetractor

Screen Shot 2016-04-06 at 12.51.28 pm

Cubetractor looks like an interesting and addictive game! That is why I didn’t start playing!

Anyway, I have a couple of questions for Justin.

  1. Which is more important? Art & Design aspect or the Programming aspect? Or how much percentage of each makes up an 100%?
  2. How would you defend gaming in general when gaming has such a bad influence on people? For example, destroying their own television on a burst of anger. Killing people because they think real life is like playing Grand Theft Auto.
  3. There are so many games archetype right now. Cubetractor follows the concept of tower defence. So how to ensure that one creates a game that is really unique and keeping the players to keep on playing?

I see you later guys.