New Media Adventures

[alisabryanco]

Moving to NDC

We had everything done and in place. We were just left with collecting the 15″ Macbook and waiting for the transporting people to come.

And then shit went down. We could not collect the 15″ Macbook that we were told was available for us. We only had the choice of having a 13″ or a 17″ Macbook. We took the latter and tried fitting it in our shrine to make sure that everything could fit including usb cables, wirings and lock. Good thing that the laptop could fit under the keyboard cover, however, the cover for the screen was too small. The camera was blocked and only a portion of the screen was showing through. Also, the image off the camera was stretched as the aspect ratio/camera setting was different from the newer versions of macbook pros.

We had to edit the flash codes and also make sure the artefact was not damaged during transportation Also, we had to rebuild the screen cover in the workshop immediately + paint it black and make sure it dries before moving to NDC.

All in the midst of the moving chaos.

Anyway. We got to NDC later on to set up.

Another chaos since the space was reallllly small.

We started moving to our spots and setting up. While setting up we encountered another problem: wiring. We had to keep the wiring neat and hidden to the public. Because of that we decided to hide all the plug underneath the artefact itself, but we had too create a bigger hole at the back so the wires could exit from below. We tried sanding it down to make a bigger hole, but we ended up tearing the sandpaper itself. Then, we borrowed a power drill and got help from Rahim.

Then, we had to open up the outer shell of the usb cable to fit underneath the keyboard cover and also taping up the makey2.

What we originally thought would take no more than 1/2hr ended up taking up way more than that. But it’s okay. It was exciting.

[alisabryanco]

Production Update #13

Final assembly.

[alisabryanco]

Production Update #12

We initially used the somewhat-expensive bead glue since we got it for the previous bead material. Since the material was heavy and the glue wasn’t instant drying, pasting just one part took a long time

We tried using glue gun. We were skeptical it would work since the material has a lot of holes and the glue is hot (duh), making it hard to handle and paste the material. But turns out, it actually worked pretty well. Just that we did burned ourselves a little.

We then worked on the deco for the cushion as well.

Other than that, we fixed a small container on the inner area of the structure to hold cotton balls that would absorb and hold the cologne scent.

[alisabryanco]

Production Update #11

We went back to Chinatown and looked for the beads again.

We found something that could possibly be fit the exterior of the structure. Next, we went to Sim Lim to look for wires.

Afterwards we went to Art Friend to get cushioning and glue.

Back at school, we tested out the deco for the exterior using blue tacks first.

After looking at the structures with he decoration as a whole, we decided that it wasn’t suitable. We looked into other materials for the exterior.

As our structure did not have many elements of a shrine, we researched into ways to incorporate such element. As candles are present in many shrines across religions and race, we decided to go in that direction.

We then tested it some more. Experimentation+U right?

[alisabryanco]

Production Update #10

We went back to the workshop.

We gauged the ares where we needed ventilation for the laptop and cut it out from the main body of the artefact. We also sanded it down.

Next, we brought the structure back to the studio and tested it out.

We had our classmates try it out and gathered feedback.

They mostly said that it would be better with sound, so we explored that area.

[alisabryanco]

Production Update #9

Sewing time. We sought help from Huei Hoon, Charity and Erra. It was our first time using the sewing machine and it was really complicated at first. It took a while to get a hang of it, especially with the thread getting stuck every few minutes.

Charity and Erra lent us some useful tools like pins to help us with our sewing.

We had to keep in mind that we need to have some extra space to fit in the mechanism and extra cushioning. We then slotted in elastic band around the perimeter of the cover so that we could take it on and off the cushion easily.

The final cover:

After that, we worked on the mechanism.

We had a little trouble with a part of the Flash coding. We asked our friend, Chris, from DGDD for help to fix it. Once the problem was settled, we had pieced the mechanism and the cushion together and tested it out.

We tested it out ourselves.

[alisabryanco]

Production Update #8

We went looking for gems, beads and rhinestones. Nimi told us that there were plenty in Chinatown and gave us directions to the place.

We also went to look for cloth and materials for the kneeling cushion.

It was difficult to find the type of cloth we were looking for. We went shop to shop to find the perfect one. Finally we found a canvas-like cloth that was thick like what we wanted.

[alisabryanco]

Production Update #7

Since we have built and painted the basic structure, we tested it out with the laptop in place. We initially wanted to use a 13” macbook pro, but after testing it out, we realised that the laptop was too small. 

We brought Bryan’s 15” macbook down to test it out and that size fit better.

We then built the keyboard cover since the the laptop size was confirmed.

[alisabryanco]

Production Update #6

We painted the interior! Matte Black!! Wheeee! my favourite colourzxcvcv. Anyway, we realised that shaking the can before opening it was very important. The pigments settled at the bottom of the can and initially we thought we bought the wrong type of paint. The top layer was just varnish.

So we just stirred it. Problem solved.

We started painting it. Some black paint did stain the areas painted white, but it was a small problem that could be fixed easily.

We came prepared for this round of painting. We brought down the bottles of Zippo. But even with zippo, we learnt that this paint was even more difficult to remove. It was probably because it was matte. Removing the paint took a longer time than the actual painting. 

[alisabryanco]

Production Update #5

The day after we built the main body and nailed them together, we painted them. We started with the white glossy paint for the exterior.

We learnt two things that day. Since it was Wednesday, the workshop closed early. We did not have time to pain the interior.

Another thing was that the paint we bought couldn’t be removed using just water. Or soap. Both of us, including Charity who came down to help had our hands covered in paint. We couldn’t touch our phones to call for help. Everything we touched left a white print. The roller and paint tray was ruined. WHAT IF WE WERE STUCK WITH WHIT PAINTED HANDS FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES???!!!

We went back to the workshop and asked whether Ricky had any paint thinner or zippo. None. We went to the studio with our white stained hands up in the air like criminal and asked around for help. None of them had any thing. Luckily, Ryo was free at that time and could accompany us to a nearby NTUC to find a solution to remove the paint off our hands. We looked around NTUC and looked for paint thinner or zippo or nail polish remover or something similar. Nothing. We asked a worker there for help. They suggested rice wine. Yes the one used in cooking. They were nice enough to bring out one from the back and test whether it would work. Nope. Rice wine did nothing. but since they tested on Bryan’s hands, Bryan hands smelled delicious afterwards. We then went around and looked for a corner store. At last we found one and they sold zippo. We bought it, tested it, and it worked. Bryan was almost in tears of joy. kidding. maybe not. But we bought another bottle of that stuff in case one wasn’t enough.

Hopefully there weren’t any naked flame nearby.

[alisabryanco]

Production Update #4

1-2 weeks after we submitted the order for wood, we could use the workshop. We started with the woodwork right away since we were a little bit behind time. Ricky helped us cut down the big piece of wood, following the dimensions we showed him.

It was then our turn to cut the wood down into smaller pieces.

We measured according to the dimensions we needed but then Ricky told us we needed to leave a 3mm spacing, so we re-did it. There isn’t any pictures of us using the jigsaw cause that thing’s dangerous. We didn’t dare multitask just to take a shot of it. Next, after cutting them using a jigsaw, we sanded them down.

Alisa messed up within a split second of using the machine. What an idiot

Turns out the machine was stronger than anticipated. Oh well lesson learnt.

Anyway, after that machine, we sanded it further to remove any loose fibres and smoothen the edges.

Next we nailed down the pieces.

What we learnt from nailing is that there is a high chance of failing. The nail tends to stick out, or bend sideways and go in different directions. Using a plier to remove the nail will result in a small hole in the wood. So we had to be extra careful.

[alisabryanco]

Production Update #3

We discussed about the exterior of the artefact and what would work. We have consulted with the lecturers on what would be best for the exterior. We thought of going with something more intricate and elaborate. We looked at different cultures and how their incorporate design elements.

After discussing, we decided to using laser engraving to engrave designs onto white acrylic and placing them on the different panels of the artefact.

We went down to Bedok industrial area to get the white acrylic since Art Friend is pretty expensive.

After getting the acrylics, we went to the workshop to cut them into small pieces. We tried to use the laser machine there, however, the board was too big. We used a jigsaw to cut them up and then sand them down to make it edges smooth and straight. 

However, it still wasn’t straight enough. We decided to laser cut the pieces so that the edges will be perfectly straight.

We went to Jeff to get the design engraved and the panels cut off nicely. We encountered one problem however. The laser machine could only hold a maximum width of about 48cm and our design initially was 55cm wide. We decided to cut down the design to 45cm wide.

[alisabryanco]

Production Update #2

We had to get several items for the artefact. One of them is the kneeling cushion. We found a shop around Bugis area that sold Buddhist related items. Bryan had already gone to the shop beforehand to check out the prices, measurement and how it looks like. 

Afterwards, we went to look for beads and rhinestones since Erra and Charity mentioned that there were shops along Arab St. that had them. We wanted to look at our options and also have a rough gauge of the pricing.

At the same time, we kept our eyes open for cloth to cover our cushion. Since our cushion cover isn’t removable and is stapled shut, we intended to place the mechanism on top on the cushion instead of inside it. However, all the cloth we found were too thin and we have not decided on the colour.

Other than that, we had to get perfume/cologne for the scent of the artefact. We had a rough idea of how it would smell like. Typically, perfumes and colognes are expensive, especially the type we wanted. A&F has colognes similar to what we wanted which is a scent that screams ”look at me” or a scent that would be worn by appearance-conscious people. We contacted our classmates and asked them whether they had any colognes that they were willing to give away or sell to us. 2/3 of them did not have any to give away. Luckily, one of them had a couple that he was willing to give away. He brought two samples so Bryan and i could decide on which to use. We even asked our other classmates which one they think would suit our artefact and they all unanimously agreed that this cologne was the better one:

[alisabryanco]

Production Update #1

Flash Update

Since we could not start with the actual building of the artefact, we started with the flash component of it.

With the help of Alfred, we managed to get the webcam working. We had a little trouble with placing the webcam in the area and size we wanted, but this problem was soon solved.

We decided to also work on gathering other materials and research where to get the material we needed while waiting for the workshop to be made available for us.

[alisabryanco]

updates.

1) measurement of success

The measurement of success can be defined in two way for this artefact; short term and long term. We know that it is successful in the short term when the visitors get the hint that they need to kneel down to be able to see the screen. Afterwards, they should be kneeling down and watching the screen to observe the animation. This way, they will be able to understand the meaning of the artefact and experience the artefact fully. The long term success is basically achieving the main aim of the artefact which is reducing the amount of selfies taken and posted on social media without a need.

2) production updates

Materials acquired: kneeling cushion, perfume, white acrylic, wood, makey

Done: flash production(90%), laser cutting artwork(90%), woodwork/building (80%)

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Visit Original Link

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Week 5b - Class Assignment

The lesson this week gave us a chance to play with an lcd display. Making use of a light resistor, we created a random digits generator.

So next time when you at the club, and don’t wanna give your real digits. Here you go. You’re welcome.