LET’S FIGHT TOOTH DECAY – Deliverable 2

Topic: Tooth Decay

 Tooth decay is a common oral health issue among children who are 6 to 12 years old. Quoted from an online report in 2014,‘One in two Singapore kids has rotten teeth’. A dental officer, Dr Matthew Lau, said: “We are seeing more children with decayed and filled teeth.” Bad oral health can get worse as children grow.

Deliverable 2: Dental Care Kit

Objective: To encourage target audience to regularly take care of their oral health.

Final Outcome
Bookmark in the packaging. Students can tear it off from the packaging.
Colour scheme for Dental Care Kit
First draft of Dental Care Kit

The feedback given for image above is that it does not look coherent with deliverable 1 visual, which is comic pop art. Hence I had to revise the whole visual of the kit to make deliverable 1 and 2 look coherent.

LET’S FIGHT TOOTH DECAY – Deliverable 1

Topic: Tooth Decay

 Tooth decay is a common oral health issue among children who are 6 to 12 years old. Quoted from an online report in 2014,‘One in two Singapore kids has rotten teeth’. A dental officer, Dr Matthew Lau, said: “We are seeing more children with decayed and filled teeth.” Bad oral health can get worse as children grow.

Deliverable 1: Exhibition Panels 

Objective: To educate target audience on tooth decay.

First 3 Panels
Last 3 Panels
Measurement

I was going for a comic pop art look because I had a mascot, who is a superhero, and the mascot will lead the audience through storytelling in all the 6 panels.

Some references for my Deliverable 1
Drawings of mascot
1st Draft of Panel 1 & Panel 2

Initially, I wanted all my panels to be similar to Panel 2 (image on the right) where each panel will be divided into 2 or 3 sections and the mascot will be telling a story on how to fight tooth decay. However, I scraped that idea due to a few reasons. But one of the reason is that the text at the bottom will be too low.

Sketches of each panel
Initial Idea that was rejected

Exploratory Research

Previously, in Task 1A, I mentioned that I wanted to do about screen time; how it is affecting us and what can be done to reduce screen time. However the topic was too broad and I could not decide which segment I want to focus on.

Hence, I selected my other option which is Oral Health. Oral Health or dental care is an issue among children who are 6 to 12 years old. Quoted from an online report in 2014,’one in two Singapore kids has rotten teeth’. A dental officer, Dr Matthew Lau, said: “We are seeing more children with decayed and filled teeth.” Bad oral health can get worse as children grow.

This survey is targeted to primary school students. The objective of this survey is to understand their views on oral health. The questions are meant to be direct and simple as young children have short attention span.

  1. Age
  2. How many time do you brush your teeth a day?
  3. Do you floss your teeth? 
  4. Which of the following food is good for your teeth? Option given: Bread, candy, cheese, chocolate, milk, nuts, potato chips, tofu, vegetables
  5. How many time do you visit a dentist in a year?
  6. How do you feel when you visit the dentist? 
  7. Do you know that bad oral health can lead to more problem as you grow? 
  8. Any suggestions to encourage you and your friends to take care of your teeth?

In total, there are 16 respondents.

  1. Half of them are 12 years old, while the other half are between 6 to 11 years old.
  2. 75% of them brush their teeth twice a day
  3. 12.5% of the respondents floss their teeth, while 68.8% don’t.
  4. Majority selected milk, vegetables and bread. Minority of the respondents selected candy, chocolate and potato chips.
  5. 68.8% visit the dentist once in a year.
  6. Majority answered scared or wanting it to end fast (negative response). Some answered ok (neutral response). Minority gave a positive response such as “I like going to the dentist to keep my teeth clean.”
  7. All except one answered that they know bad oral health can lead to more problem as you grow
  8. Suggestions given are making brushing more fun and easy, having video, make dental less painful and many more.

From the data above, my insights are:

  • Respondents do what they are told or thought to do such as brushing their teeth twice, visiting the dentist and avoid food that are bad for their teeth.
  • Majority of the respondents say that they have bad experiences going to the dental. Minority say that going to the dental is ok, they enjoy getting their teeth clean.
  • Majority need to understand that flossing is an essential part of oral health too, not only brushing and visiting the dentist. Flossing is helps in preventing cavities, bad breath and gum disease.
  • Respondents might be still be a bit confuse on which food are good for their teeth. Example: nuts contains phosphorus which is good for strong teeth. But only 31% selected nuts as a healthy food for our teeth.

Reflection – Dialogue in the dark

Briefly share your experience going through Dialogue in the Dark. What were some of the feelings, thoughts, challenges and insights gained while role playing a blind person?

This is my first time being to a place with 99% darkness. When I first entered the place, there were a lot of things going on my mind such as will I bump into the wall, what happen if I lose the person in front of me and many more. I was overthinking. But after few minutes of walking, I decided to let it go and just rely on whatever I touch and hear. The mindset is an important factor in helping me overcome the fear. 

After going through Dialogue in the Dark, my perspective have been shifted. We, as visual people, rely a lot on our visuals. Example, when we see a place from far, we can already know what is that place and what is happening there. Just with our visuals! But for people like Uncle Gary, who has been blind for years, has to analyse every single thing that he touches, hears and feels. Then he can conclude where he is and what is happening around him.

Hence, I feel that we take the small little things for granted around us. By playing a role of a blind person, it makes me realize that there are more than just visuals in our daily life. 

Drawing on your experience, can you think and list some of the benefits inherent in the design research technique of role playing?

  • Experience of user

By observing or putting ourselves in the user’s shoe, we are able to understand the challenges faced by the user. 

  • Talk, listen and understand the users and people around

People have their own point of view in certain things. By listening and understand to their concern, we can find the root cause of the issue. 

Can you think of some contexts where role-playing can be useful to help discover and define design challenges or contribute to the development of design solutions?

During research, role playing can help to understand the target audience better and hence getting more insights to defining the design challenge / issues that we want to tackle. 

During prototyping, role-playing can be useful to know whether the designs work for the users or not.  

Group 4 | Prototyping Part 2

Our logo

Firstly, we came up with our logo named rertrEAT, a place for solo diners in NTU. Why we came up with retrEAT or the narrative behind retrEAT is shown in the image below.

During our presentation, we tested out the message with our classmates. Instead of saying “I’m dining solo, please…”, we changed it to “I’ don’t FOMO, I just…” and “I’m not anti-social, I’m just…” to fit into the millennial slang. Here are what some of them wrote:

Then we proceed on with our prototype. Here is a rough sketch by Tuyen.

Physical prototype, done by all of us. 

Feedback given was:

  • Most of the classmates enjoyed being able to write the message at the back of the chair. It felt something personal and people will know whether to approach or not.
  • It seems like a lounge instead of a canteen.
  • Can create better designs for logo and the message.
  • Maybe this space can be used for events such as having introvert talks by famous people.

Final Research Hyperessay – Meditation

Meditation (2010), by Mingha Yang

Introduction

Meditation, provides a space for contemplation and reflection amidst the chaos and noise of city life. Mingha Yang said that “If we have no power to reform our environment, we need to find the possibility of meditation using the signifiers filled the cities”. From my understanding, it means that if we can’t change the surrounding to fit our needs, we implement our needs and make it meaningful and useful for us and the society. His statement can also be linked to what we have learnt in class: The vision of art has shifted from the field of objects to the field of behaviour and its function has become less descriptive and more purposive.” Hence in this essay, I will be discussing how Meditation is a form of art and new media.

A sketch of Mediation installation

Interactivity

The installation itself is made up of three red, reactive projections that spans an entire wall, drawing audiences in with its pliable waves, which conform to patrons’ arms and bodies, accompanied by soothing sounds. In the image above, infrared cameras and sensors are embedded in the speakers to capture the viewers’ movements though high-speed, multi-channel video encounters that translate the motion into fluid, entrancing visuals. This is a form of interactivity, where the installation is responsive to the viewer’s action. The installation never response the same. It keeps changing, relying on the viewer’s movement. Hence, the information collected here is has a reciprocal exchange between the viewer and technology in the installation.

Viewers interacting with the installation

Feedback/Response

The viewers are free to choose their own movement, which create unpredictable and indeterminate response. Minha Yang has exhibited this Meditation series in different city. Some of the city are Seoul, San Francisco, New York City and many more. One of the things he observed was that there were different viewers’ reaction in different city. While he was explaining the minor changes he did to the installation, he said “The reason I made these changes is very simple. At the New York event, I saw everyone flapping their arms in front of their own speaker. As compare to the people at Seoul, who were a bit shy to interact with the installation.” With the viewers’ response, it acts as a form of communication between the viewer and the installation. The viewers’ movements are observed by the infrared camera and sensors, then it transfer those movement, also known as information, to the visual of the installation. This creates a responsive installation where viewers and installation are communicating with each other.

 

Abstract Art

Other than providing a space for contemplation and reflection amidst the chaos and noise of city life, Meditation has a deeper meaning into it. In most of Minha Yang’s work, his intention was to question whether a fabricated religion could actually be recognized as a religion. Normally through meditation, it allows us to increase our spiritual level. Hence in Minha Yang’s Meditation, he wanted to offer the viewers a possibility for an alternative spirituality through the use of technology. However, this intended message was never correctly interpreted by viewers. Hence this is similar to abstract art, where audiences have different interpretations and view towards it. Most of the viewers understand that Meditation installation is for them to interact, but they could not link the installation to religion aspect.

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, Meditation can be seen as a form of art and new media. It encompasses interactivity, a form of communication and spiritual, and abstract art. Meditation also serve to be a purposeful form of new media art. It brings meaning to the society by taking a break from chaos and noise of city life. Although Meditation has often being misinterpreted by the viewers, this does not stop Minha Yang from creating more work regarding fabricated religion. However, what if Minha Yang can create a fabricate religion through art and technology or also known as new media art? How would the viewer’s perception change towards religion?  And through new media art, can it increase a person’s spirituality?

 

References 

Constructing A Space For Meditation At Our Creators Project NY Event

Minha Yang Imagines A New Religion In Meditation

Meditation Series | Yang, Minha

Minha Yang – Spacifix

New media and the reshaping of religious practice

Group 4 | Ideation Part 2

Over the recess week, our group went to research more in depth about introverts and extroverts.

Here are some of our thoughts:

Azizah: Introverts are not anti-social, they just preferred to be alone or in a small group. Meanwhile for extroverts, they get recharge by socializing and having friends with them. However, introverts still need friends at some point of time. And extroverts need some time for them to think and reflect upon themselves. Hence, it is not about having a space for introverts and extroverts separately. It is about having the time alone and a time to socialise.

Elizabeth: I found out that introverts do enjoy spending time with people and they still want communication. Instead of having separate areas labelled for introverts and extroverts, it seems helpful to just label them as spending time alone or with people. The lighting system would help introverts keep their groups small and meaningful still. Based on the research conducted, I realized that people sometimes dont want to have social interaction but just a time to get their food and leave. Having areas for solo dining would contribute towards that.

Tobi: Usually, people are neither 100% introverted nor 100% extroverted. Moreover, they can be allocated a place on the normal distribution (bell curve) that runs from total introversion on one side to total extroversion on the other side. On this scale, most of the people can be found in the middle, making them “ambiverts” (=average). Every character is different, self-reflection is important in order to find happiness: Try to find out more about yourself, the locations you thrive in and the people that “nourish” you. Then, adjust your life to those insights. Everybody is different. For everyone, there are specific places and environments that make them thrive. And for everyone, there are people that have an either toxic or nourishing effect on them.

We started our presentation with our motivation, which was quoted by some of our interviews and surveys.

Some of our classmates liked the The First Supper idea, where we are able to combine tables to create whatever shape we want. However, our proposed idea of having a space for people to socialise our meal and having a private cubicle, needs to have more in-depth thinking to it. Some of the suggested idea are having an introvert week, a tag on the shirt that says “I don’t feel like socialising.” Hence, our group decided to revamp our point of view on the next post!

Sequencing Image – Part 2 (References & Draft 2)

References

Here are just what I observe and my interpretations in each movie:

Pan’s Labyrinth

  • It uses different colour scheme to differentiate the scenes
  • Daylight – abit gloomy
  • Why most of the scene are blue? Blue represents cold and isolation
  • Why there is a scene where there is orange? Exotic – where the character its different from human and its in her own world
  • Orange and blue – is it because its contrast with each other? Conflict between the day and night – real life and fantasy

The strangers Part 2: Breathless

  • Does not use the literal sound of the animal.

ET

Movies GIFs - Find & Share on GIPHY

Screenshot of ET trailer
  • use of blue and purple – to represent fantasy
  • orange/yellow – daylight
  • Silhouette – background light & shows the figure

Alice In wonderland – a good example of colour scheme


  • Real world – pastle blue, light colours to show fairytale and green as the contrast colours so that It wont look flat
  • Got into a hole – dark with a shades of orange
  • Sound when the man is walking too – to show his personality/characteristic
  • Red queen – which explains her setting to be mostly red, her soldier are in shades if red too
  • Red vs white
  • Sound effects used – very fantasy

Star Wars: The force awakens

  • A pinch of sound
  • When showing the bad character – the sound becomes lower
  • The background music – fantasy
  • Lighting and the music syncronize each other – Rain with lighting, did not show the  rain sound
  • There is narration on a blank screen

Maleficent  

  • blue/purple effect
  • Light from the back – giving shillotte to the character – introducing the character
  • Light on the character – half side
  • Sound transition from 1 scene to another with the THUM effect
  • Shows the eye – slowing revealing her whole face
  • Thummm then silent, THUMMM louder abit, then THUMMMMMMMMM loudest – same scene different angle
  • Only her narrations with blank image – to emphasis what she is saying
  • Reveling sound effect
  • Sound of the bird
  • Sound effect between the conflict and narration – like it comes down to silent and the narrations speaks

Colours

Filmmaker David Fincher uses color to create emotion.

  • Complimentary colour – Opposite colours represent conflict both inside and out

  • Monochromatic colours – to convey rigid worldview of unbalanced characters. – character are all taking in cafe

  • Discordant colours – draws attention to out-of-place elements to build anticipation

Colors can

  • Elicit psychological reactions with the audience
  • Draw focus to significant details
  • Set the tone of the movie
  • Represent character traits and more
  • Show changes in the story
source: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/how-to-use-color-in-film-50-examples-of-movie-color-palettes/
Test try of editing the images

Before I start editing the images, I really thought deeply on the colours that I want to insert as I wanted to show the contrast of reality and fantasy. Initially, I wanted to make the daylight more yellowish to show the youth of the girl. However, it looks very vintage and old. Hence I decide to keep the natural light for the daylight.

Sound

Sound artist reference – Ben Burtt

I was amazed by how he used the traditional method to create sound. Even a bear sound can be used for a character’s voice. He also used human sound to create character voice by mixing the humans voices (I think this was use in Starwars). A lady with  a low voice as ET voice. He explore sounds anywhere he can find which inspires me to go out and listen to the sound around me

In Wall-e, it require a whole new world of original sound such as the background, ambience, robot sound, space. There is no dialog, so it emphasis on the little details like the squek sound. Each sound created by Ben Burtt shows the personality of the character. (Note: Control the sound, loudness and hierarchy of the sound and use sound at the right choice, right moment).

He was inspired from history of sound like Disney, musical sound by using props that they have. Previously, sound were made in studio and it has to match with the scene as there were no technology. Wind sound were made by using wind machine. Thunder sheet metal is used to create thunder sound with echo in it. The even combine sound from different items to create a new sound.

Experimentation

So I went and recorded a few sound. However, I recorded it using my phone and I could not find a way to upload the sounds. ):

Screenshot of the sounds I recorded
The snack I ate while recording the sound of eating
I stood by the side of the road to record the traffic

Based on this video, here are by observations & interpretations:

  • Focus more on the sound of the small details on the moving image
  • Able hear the table – fork and spoon – dining ambiance with the glass and stainless steel
  • Magic sound effect
  • Vibration phone
  • jingles – elephant wearing the gold crown
  • background music
  • taking pictures, beep phone
  • Silent – to show that everyone is quite surprise, spoon & fork down, stop eating to hear what she is saying

After researching about the colours and sounds, I input whatever I have observed into my video.

The blue and purple colour to represent fantasy and mystery type of setting. Some images are in natural lighting to show that its is reality. This is to differentiate fantasy & reality. I added a few glitch images and texts to show what was the main character is thinking, like her state of mind was not stable at that time.  I tried to keep the sound minimalism and play around with the breathing space to create tension. I tend to focus on the little details such as breathing, walking, opening the door and etc.