Project Instafilter

The journey of three multimedia students as they make their way through exercise two.

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We hoped you enjoyed reading our blog...thanks for sticking with us along the journey! (Here's a song for your celebration dance...(let it load for a few seconds).  PROJECT INSTAFILTER: ACCOMPLISHED!

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We have made our final prototype! Awya! These pictures document step-by-step how we did it. The only new material that we added was ribbon and velcro ($3 total). Just so you know exactly how it all went down, we have listed the steps we took below:

1. Cut out two identical circles. We used the marks from a pepsi can box

2. Cut 8 holes around the outside. We had to make sure they all lined up and were symmetrical.

3. Start applying filters. We did the colour wheel first, so we punched holes in those bulk barn candy bags and taped it on to the filter with clear tape. some weren't super see through so we used binder dividers for some of them. Tadaaaa colour wheel complete.

4. Now for the texture wheel, cut out random things we had laying around - used panty hoes sock things, a j-cloth, a scarf. a dryer sheet, a barcode, gift wrap, and plastic mesh. taped those bad boys on

5. Then we made mistakes

6. So for the first prototype of the final product, we had the velcro side against the phone with the ribbon attached. there  as  we realized though that this is too far from the camera and it needed to be directly against the lens.

7. My friendly neighbour came over with his handy dandy tool box and helped a sista out. 

8. Took the old thing apart, put a new pin through both sides so the end of the pin was facing out. then broke the pin off so there wasn't much sticking out so you could put it against the phone screen. taped it down so it would stay stationary. put buttons on so it was rotatable. stuck the velcro to the button. then attached the ribbon, made the ribbon thinner so you could see though the lens thing. 

VOLIA! 

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Here are our final materials! 

-velcro

-ribbon

-crazy glue

-colourful plastic

-scissors

-pantyhose

-fabric

We found the fabric and pantyhose lying around the house, the rest cost $13! Bargin deal.

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Thoughts before we make (what we hope will be) our final prototype!

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Sorry Blogger, Tumblr kicks yo &*%

Up until now, we have been operating through blogger. Buut, I was not pleased with the interface, so I started looking around for something better. The product of my search is this new spot on Tumblr! Not only is Tumblr more visually appealing, but I find that it is easier to use, too. It fits much nicer with the feel of our project, as it is a lot more trendy than blogger (see the post "Why a V-log?" below for more talk about why trendy=good). 

Another great feature about Tumblr is that it allows me to select the date of posting, rather than just automatically selecting the date as the date you posted. As we discussed in our old blog, one of our main problems was that we were running into technical difficulties figuring out how to post/revise our posts, and consequently the posts dates were later than the dates they should actually be. Tumblr fixes that. 

Check out our old blog at http://instafilter.blogspot.ca/ 

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Time for round two. See why in our vlog post

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Our first attempt at making our filter! We're going to share our thoughts about it in our next video. 

Steps:

1. Cut out the cardboard from a pop can box.

2. Make holes in it.

3. Cover with materials (for this one i only used a button, scarf, and pantyhoes.

4. Poke a pin through the center.

5. Attach the pin to sticky tack and put it on the phone. Put cardboard on and cover with tack and spin away

There you go!

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Thoughts before we make our filter!

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So today is the big day --- the day that we assemble our filter. Minor problem though... we learned this morning that one of our group members went home (home-home, not her Mac-home) because she is sick. Nothing we can't work around, but as promised, this blog is recording all of the obstacles we face along the way...

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I'm home for the weekend, and a few hours ago found this suction cup on top of the dryer in my laundry room. Could it be a good way to hold up our filter? I decided to experiment. Turns out that it does stick to a blackberry when the case is on, but slides off when there is no case attached. What does this mean for our project? Either we cross a suction cup off of the list of possible materials, or we narrow our targeted scope to only phones that have silicone cases...wait, what about phone cases that have uneven surface, like those extremely bedazzled ones that I just don't understand? It would never stick on that. Ok I pretty much just answered my own musing... suction cups are off the list. Back to the drawing board. (Or the laundry room?)

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Why a filter? And if it doesn't require screws and bolts, can it still be ambitious?

When Artem, our TA, introduced this project in class, many of the projects which he described were very hardware based - by that, we mean that they seemed to required lots of sawing and drilling and all of that stuff. We realized that we ultimately had two paths which we could choose: a project that was also very hardware based, or a project that had more of an artsy, DIY feel. This project is about challenging and pushing ourselves, but it is also about being strategic... and part of being strategic is playing to your strengths. We collectively decided as a group that we much preferred the second path, as we both felt more strongly endowed in that area and felt that we would enjoy this type of project more.

Which brings us to our second question: can a project of the artsy, DIY-  type still be highly ambitious? We believe that the answer is yes. Sure, a camera filter can be easily thrown together, but it is also true that it be crafted with great thought and precision, with innovative and creative designs. Isn't this true with any life endeavor?

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Why a V-log?

Why did we decide to add the v-log component to our blog? A few reasons...

1) You can only read so much before things get boring. Though an avid book-lover might disagree with this statement, we think that it pretty much holds true for blog sites. Sure, we explore blogs to learn about things that we find interesting, but as students we have enough textbooks to read without another novel, thanks. 

2) It's hip, it's trendy. Much unlike my use of the words hip and trendy, v-logging is what's cool right now. Same with the concept of a filter - instagram, filters on macbooks... people who actually want to use our product are likely to be drawn to things that are trendy. 

3) Proves that we are real people. In a world where technology is advancing so rapidly that I would not be surprised if many blogs are actually run by robots, adding a video component proves that we are, in fact, NOT robots. Literally and metaphorically. 

& perhaps the most important reason..

4) Videos are fun. We have fun making them. Nuff said.

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Today we had our first group meeting! We created a tentative schedule for our project so that we can stay on track. (See the videos above for details about what else we accomplished today).

We’ve decided to meet again tomorrow in New Lyons Media Center. (Side note for all you mac multimedia students: did you know that you can rent video equipment there for free? Looks like you don’t have to choose between food and recording your project after all)

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Our pump up song.