Creations, Thoughts, and Ideas

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[hektikcreations]

Space, Image & Sound: 005

During the past two weeks, Nicholas and I have a had a few triumphs with the code and a few crashes. I'm really lucky that he is so switched on when it comes to this kind of stuff because there were a few times where he was typing out some pretty high level stuff. Far past my level of knowledge. As the team captain, I've really tried to play support for both Hayden and Nick. I've set out time frames and soft due dates for each of them. Nick and I both made the decision to switch from arduino UNOs, to 101's. The 101's have intel chips and gyros on board so we wouldn't have to use auxiliary gyros.... this ended costing us a lot of time and about $150 because they didn't work at all like we had hoped.... every time we tried to run our code, the board crashed because we were recording data and sending it simotaneously and these "new" "great" boards couldn't handle it. This is one of the current problems with Arduinos... there is never enough documentation on the more obscure uses of them and way too much on the really obvious uses. Maybe over time there will be more and more documentaion on the more out there uses. All that said, we switched back to the UNOs with the exterior gyros and everything is running perfectly. I'm in charge of all the soldering next week, so that's what's on the forecast. Hayden has been working really hard on fabricating all of the rings so that the spin is perfect.

[hektikcreations]

Space, Image & Sound: 004

After Wednesdays play-testing, Nick and I worked through the code on Sunday so that we would be ready for Monday’s group Crit. It occured to Nick that if we use the X, Y, and Z values as direct R, G, and B vaules that we will be able to get a constant colour shift. 

I also spent a large amount of time rewiring the whole set up to not only be more secure, but also to look more like the real deal while we play test. 

During the crit, it was really important to us to explain the link between the brain, anxiety, and the installation itself. Without that understanding, all we have is a clump of LEDs. So we took our time explaining how we wanted to emulate brain activity and how when someone interacts with the installation, its as if they are triggering the anxiety in the installation itself. They are adding the fuel to the fire. 

The crit went really well. We received a lot of positive feedback. Even a bunch from Ben who had never seen the project before (Cold Crit). The only negative stuff we heard was to do with the build quality of the installation so far and the squeakiness of some of the bearings. Which can easily be heard in the video below.

After The crit, we took apart the wiring and handed the prototype back to Hayden for the final build. I think as a team, everyone is really focused and working really well together. This project is really important to all of us, not only because its our final semester, but because its really a close issue to each of us. Its important that we bring light to this issue that a large amount of the population faces everyday. Anxiety isn’t going anywhere soon, so we need to start tackling the stigmas around it in a more healthy and positive way and Art has always had the ability to allowed people to look at life in a different light.

[hektikcreations]

Sonic Affect: 002

https://youtu.be/Fq9fLHdSesw

The second of 10 vlogs detailing my journey through this research practicum.

[hektikcreations]

Space, Image & Sound: 003

During the last week, Hayden finished up the construction of the first prototype. Although it was a bit rough around the edges, It worked quite well. It was very well balanced and had a really good weight to it.

Nick and I immediately began play-testing with it. He was at the helm of the coding and I was in charge of the wiring and stats.

With a little cardboard, an arduino, an accelerometer, wires, and a strip of LEDs, we created a reactive code that changed between white, blue and red. Initially we were only using the X axis data because we were only spinning the inner ring. After we started using both rings, we realized that the X data wasn’t reading as it should because when it was flipped upside down it was reversing the force and killing the transitions.

Its clear to us that we need to find a way to use more of the data so that we can avoid the LEDs cutting out. 

Playtesting Video 001

https://youtu.be/swwvXxYnmS8

[hektikcreations]

I’ve Been Slacking...

Only on the blogging front. Its no secret that I find it really difficult to get motivated to blog about my workflow and process. Ive never really found it that fulfilling, but i know in the long run it will be quite rewarding.

The studio project is going swimmingly. We have everything worked out schematically. Hayden and I were in the workshop over the holidays for a little bit. He’s in charge of machining our piece together. So far it looks amazing. Nick and I are really lucky to have his fabrication skills on board because neither of us know how to do any of that stuff. 

As soon as the rig is built, which will be done before the holidays are over, Nick and I can start coding the LEDs. We are using an Arduino for each separate ring. Attached to the Arduino will be a gyro and a LED strip. Based on how fast the user spins the ring, the LED strip will change colour. The faster the spin, the higher the anxiety. 

[hektikcreations]

After careful consideration and a bit of research, I’ve decided to change directions in this research practicum a little bit. I think its really important that I outline this now and that I pursue the topic discussed in the VLOG below because its fair better suited for a university level paper. It is also a topic that touched me greatly over the first half of the semester.

[hektikcreations]

The Proposal (Revenge of SIS)

The proposal read as follows:

There are many discussion worthy points thus far, but in an attempt to keep this brief for further reflection, I will select the three most important.

The Team: This semester, Nicholas, Tobias, Hayden and myself are working together. Nick and I have worked with each other on at least one project every single semester (why break the streak?). We work super well together because we can be brutally honest with each other and our visions are usually mutually inspired. Nick is also one of the top coders in the class. Toby and Nick have worked together, but Toby and I haven’t. I have always admired a lot of Toby’s work (like most of the class has) and Im really excited to see how his keen intellect will drive this project. Hayden and I have continuously consulted each other on many projects throughout the years. The last space image and sound paper was no exception. As this degree has moved forward, Hayden constantly creates deeper and more exciting pieces. His studio project from last semester was nothing short of impressive. Hes no doubt the best fabricator in the class. 

Safe to say, this team has a real chance of creating something really exciting for our last semester.

The Topic: The meaning behind this project is very near to all of us. All 4 of us have struggled with anxiety at some stage in our lives. My anxiety is very has been a lot better ever since I moved to New Zealand. I had one or two panic attacks monthly from 18 - 21. I never had them before I moved out of home, but after I did, I used to wind myself up somehow and not be able to regain control. This is a real passion project for all 4 of us.

The Concept: Although we are trying something new as a group, we all have a lot of previous experience in the main components of the planned installation. I have made numerous soundscapes for different works, however I plan to make it more of a focal point this time around. 

[hektikcreations]

Creative Workflows: 006

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

1.

      At the beginning of this paper, I will admit, I found it quite difficult to manage tasks. I had tried to use organizational softwares and other mediums in the past, but I had a very difficult time committing myself. I vowed to commit myself fully to Trello and strict week by week scheduling, not only to keep the project moving forward in a timely manner, but to track our successes and failures. Now looking back on it, I succeeded in sticking to the scheduling. It really helped us get back on the right path after more or less failing the full first sprint (4 weeks). Because of the schedule we had built, our awareness of the dwindling remaining time gave us the drive to come up with a new idea fast. We might not have had the same sense of urgency if it weren’t for our fastidious scheduling. That said, we no doubt failed on the Trello front. After our first major failure, our first Trello map was rendered completely useless. It seemed like it wasn’t worth it to make a new file when not all of the group was connected. I guess it wasn’t a total failure because I did commit to it fully for the first sprint, but then decided that it didn’t really suit the groups needs as much as a tangible schedule that could be viewed easily by whole group. Also, as a group, we are almost always in constant contact. Tim and I live together and Nick lives 5 mins up the road. So trying to stay in contact through Trello became harder than just chatting in person.

2.

       Our production environment is simple. Tim and I recently moved into a new flat with a very large basement. We spent about a month decorating and furnishing it before the semester started. It has everything we need as a group to get stuff done. Large screens, a good sound system, a fridge... and so on. We wanted to create our own “Think Tank”. Since this type of ‘office’ is becoming more  and more popular with companies like Google, Apple and the like, we thought we needed a place of our own away from the distractions of the studio where we could incubate our ideas. It worked quite well when we were learning how to use Unity and Vuforia as a group. We would spend friday night around the Tv looking up articles, and watching tutorials. For us, this was the best way to stay in sync and on task.

3.

      Using peer critiques frequently, we were able to actively rework our workflow pipelines on the go. The in class presentations were very good tool to gauge our own progress, but also reflect on the workflow pipelines of other groups and incorporate some of their techniques in our own. A strong example of this, was looking at the level of depth some other groups had in their visual schedule. The visual schedule was, no doubt, the most effective and efficient method we used this semester. It will now be a staple in all future projects we do as a group. Unlike some other techniques, it took us little time to perfect and made sure everyone knew what the weeks expectations were.

4.

      Although there was one major hiccup in our production, our planned approach was successful. We lost 3 weeks of production due to a failed sprint, but were able to bounce back rather quickly because of the implementation of  our strict schedule. 

[hektikcreations]

CringeBinge

References

Jodorowsky, A. (1973). The Holy Mountain. Mexico: ABKCO Records.

Kubrick, S. (1971). A Clockwork Orange. United Kingdom, United States.: Warner Bros.

Vsauce. (2015). The Science of Awkwardness. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o268qbb_0BM&t=341s

Wiseau, T. (2003). the room. United States: Wiseau-Films.

[hektikcreations]

Space, Image & Sound: 007

The installation is all set up in the class and the DVD is looped and autoplaying!

We as group could not be happier. It was honestly very difficult to figure out how to get the DVD to autoplay. It took us about 5 times as long as we expected it to take. Between finding free software to format the DVD properly and to sorting out a proper burning medium. 3 disc drives, 9 DVD-R’s and 4 shotty programs, and 3 days later we finally have the finished copy ready for assessment. 

Another quite stressful experience for us was accidentally magnetizing the CRT tv we have. At one stage, we had all accepted that we wrecked the TV and we were just going to have to “blog about it”. Low and behold, the next morning It was totally fine.........

The third and final annoyance was having my 4 hour export of the looped version crash at 93%.... I literally could have thrown my laptop at that point. It was CRINGE to say the least. 

With all that said, this project has been one of the most exciting and weird endeavours any of us have ever been a part of. We always try to please people with whatever we create. This was the polar opposite. We spent the last 12 weeks trying to figure out how to disgust people, how to make them feel uncomfortable, how to get a physical reaction from the vast majority of viewers.  

[hektikcreations]

Space, Image & Sound: 006

The Crit:

So the guys and I put together a super short compilation testing some ideas that we thought were cringe just to see which areas hit and which areas didnt. We had essentially divided cringe up into three categories: Grotesque, Vicarious Embarrassment, and Vicarious Pain.

Vicarious Pain (Infamous Toenail Clip): was by far the most successful. People had no issue connecting themselves to the incident. Some couldn’t even watch. 

Vicarious Embarrassment: These clips are meant to make the user feel awkward. This is the lightest form of cringe, however to some people this  type of subject matter can be the most unwatchable. My roommate Tyler, for example, cant stand awkward humour. It makes his skin crawl.  He isn’t bothered much by the grotesque or the pain stuff. We made the whole video look like a bad powerpoint presentation because we thought that everyone could relate to witnessing one of these at some point in their lives.

Grotesque: was surprisingly the worst received category by far. It was called unnecessary, cheating, and a bit lame. We, as a group, totally agree. We kept it in there because of all those reasons. We did however take a lot of what the class said in to consideration. The clips were too long for the average attention span and they needed to be more varied. 

Notes from the crit!

[hektikcreations]

Creative Workflows: 005

Even though I haven’t been blogging as much as I would have liked for this class, I feel more on top the process of developing my studio project than I have ever before. I think I can attribute this feeling of being very in control, especially this late in the semester, to the use of Trello and a colour coded schedule early on in the semester, and the extremely high level of communication in the group. We have met every deadline so far except the ones that feature industry professionals and outside influencers. The main takeaway lesson from this is that you cannot count on outsiders to match your schedule. 

[hektikcreations]

Space, Image & Sound: 005

After the last two weeks play testing, editing and designing the experience we have finally come to the end of the process. What’s left is stress testing and fine tuning all of the features.

The TV is obviously the focal point of the cringe. The viewers attention will most likely be fixed to it. The speaker is going to be laying on the table beside the TV with its cone facing the roof. This is to ensure the worst most tinny sound possible. We are using the broken cone from earlier in the year because it was the most cringe thing to happen to the group all year so far. The speaker isn’t powered to well be using an older amp that matches the TVs aesthetic. The DVD player will be placed on the table on the other side of the Tv. Although it doesn't really match the aesthetic of the other two, we don't have much choice.

[hektikcreations]

Space, Image & Sound: 004

The Holy Mountain.

Over the break, the guys and I went to see a late night screening of “The Holy Mountain”. Made in 1973 and funded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the movie take the viewer on a journey to enlightenment......

The whole movie is really cringe in nature. The idea that the subjects will find enlightenment at the top of the mountain is kind of cringe.... But the extremely vapid and random scenes make the view question why they got themselves into this mess. There were countless moments where I wondered if I would make it to the end of the film, but like a car-crash on the side of the motorway, I couldn’t stop watching. The film explores 2 of the 3 types of cringe we are exploring in our project. 

The first is “Vicarious Pain”. Innately cringe because the viewer or ‘cringer’ can almost feel whatever is happening on their own body. The ripping off of a toenail, getting shot in the genitals..... and so on.

The second is unnecessary grotesqueness. This is the cringe that is obvious. There is no need to read between the lines here. Its obscene nature goes against all societal norms and is particularly aimed at the viewers sense of morals. Naked children, amputees struggling with tasks, animal cruelty are just a few examples of how this movie explored its viewers sanity.

[hektikcreations]

Creative Workflows 003:

After our last meeting with Pragna (our contact within The Auckland Council), we feel very energized and ready to crack on with the design. It has come to our attention that we will need to mark our own success based on how well the app ends up aiding the teachers in teaching the kids. At the end of the day, We are making a tool that’s sole purpose is to excite and educate students on the healthy food and where it comes from. One of the major struggles we will face is being able to captivate the children's attention. Pragna has really stressed the importance of this because she herself has a hard time dealing with it sometimes. Each child’s learning style is different and its important to balance a lot of different styles at once. 

We have made so many changes to our process and our product so far, which is important. It was really helpful for us to add content and hack it away until all three of us were content with the final direction. All of us have different ideals and backgrounds and because of that the project has become very diverse. 

Also, we really need to focus on populating our trello because we only have one or 2 weeks left of the upgraded version. 

[hektikcreations]

Sound Bites For SAS

Humans

Tim, Nick and I work very well as a group. Early on in this project we all chose different aspects of the project to take on. Naturally, I chose sound. We agreed that the score would be created after the visual pieces were chosen and ordered. Although we haven’t reached that phase of the project yet, I have compiled a a small library of samples that I think will give the cringe pieces an ugly and uncomfortable texture. Lots of white noise to add shading and body to some of the softer pieces. Its important to me that the piece doesn’t come off too musical, which will no doubt be the hardest part for me. I have also been struggling to gain access to a few of the Ableton VST synths that I have used previously before I updated the DAW. I hope to find a way around this soon or it will hinder my ability to make ugly sounds and I’ll have to resort only using samples.

I have been heavily involved in the other two aspects of the project (Space and Image). This is one of the reasons that Tim, Nick and I work so well together is because we are constantly critiquing and adding to each others domains of expertise.

Above are some of the textures inspired by our research into Tripophobia and medical procedures. The main reason we find these cringe is because they are inherently relatable. One can feel the gross procedures happening to themselves while they watch it.

As for the space, we all kind of dreamt it up together.

Above is the original idea for the least comfortable viewing arrangement. A broken chair (missing one wheel), one speaker on a stereo setup, upside down tube TV laid on the ground, off kilter projection on the wall behind. 

After playtesting the chair will be missing 4/5 wheels because that is the least comfortable. Broken speaker playing the audio... (paying homage to my early semester struggles.)

[hektikcreations]

Space, Image & Sound : 003 Movie Research

Although, I am a little late on this blog, better late than never...... ha ha ha.. 

Of the many avenues of research we have used so far for this project so far, the two films we have watched have informed me the most. The first one we watched was suggest by Clint. Released in 1971, “A Clockwork Orange” is cringe for a lot of reasons. Director Stanley Kubrick uses jarring and often garish colour schemes to make the cringey narrative even more uncomfortable. The story in itself is meant to be uncomfortable. A gang of ‘droogs’ spend their nights getting high at a milk bar then breaking into peoples houses and violently raping, assaulting and murdering people. The subject matter is no doubt meant to be cringe. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAB0WzTnMl4

The next film we watched was even more cringe and hard to watch. This, however, was because of completely different reasons. “The Room”, directed, produced by Tommy Wiseau (who also happens to be the main character and one of the sole backers of the film) is the WORST movie I have ever seen. By a mile. Terrible acting, brutal staging, the worst storyline I have even been subjected to. Not only is the script unoriginal and overly dramatized, but there are crater sized plot holes and numerous irrelevant tangents are taken by characters that are unexplained and never seen again. This film was made on a $6 million budget and only saw $1800 in the first two weeks of being in the box office. The lowest return of any movie ever. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmEHfX68sv8

Both films were cringe but for completely contrasting reasons. Although we did not try to have such a contrast in film study, it really worked in our favour because it really showed us two completely different cringe examples. I think for our project we are going to incorporate aspects of both. Watching people consistently underperform on tasks that they are either very serious about or have a lot riding on them is naturally ironically cringe (”The Room”). On the other hand, viewing something so intelligently detailed is also cringe but for different reasons. Stanley Kubrick’s executiuon of the movie is beautiful from all aspects, its the subject matter that makes the movie hard to watch.