How can we animate, inspire and involve people in the shift to an ecological culture?

Raw footage

Auto Balance

Desaturate

Vignette and Shadow Adjustments

Curves Adjustments

Soft Film Grain

Academic

• Mind of the Raven, Bernd Heinrich, Harper Collins
• Discourse on the Method – Rene Descartes
• The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More Than Human World – David Abram
• Becoming Animal – David Abram, Random House
• The Web of Life – Fritjof Capra, HarperCollins
• Limits of Thought, David Bohm, Routledge
• Steps to an Ecology of Mind, Gregory Bateson, University of Chicago Press
• The Embodied Mind: Francisco Varela, Thompson, Rosch, The MIT Press

Technical

• Raven chroma keying
• Digital Compositing
• On set workflow efficiency
• Colour Correction and Grading
• Post Production Workflow
• Encoding methods
• Audio syncing in post-production
• Strengths and limitations of the GH2 and AF101 cameras
• Lens characteristics of the 12mm SLR Hyperprime and the 25mm Voigtlander 0.95
• Sound recording methods for high quality audio
• Exhibition space and optimal installation

Exhibition installation for The Anatomist at Culture Lab.

Weekly work schedule for The Anatomist.

Keying out the green screen here will allow a different background to be composited into the picture. The problem is that the keying process removes some of the fine detail in the raven’s throat feathers. These ‘throat hackles’ are an important part of communication in ravens, and this loss of detail diminishes the subtlety of this communication.

Video – Raven Green Screen

Additionally, the raven’s beak and feathers have a reflective quality, absorbing the iridescence of its enveloping cosmos (this may have contributing to their place as Shapeshifters in mythology). This means that some parts of the raven’s body absorb the colour of the green grass around it, and the green screen behind it. One possible solution to these issues is to use a red screen with a higher resolution camera.

The 48 Hour Guerrilla Film Making Challenge takes place annually across six contients and provides an ideal opportunity to test The Anatomist’s film making process from beginning to end. In order to gain as much transferable knowledge from this challenge as possible, the same cast, crew, equipment, workflow and even some of the locations were used as those planned for The Anatomist.

At the beginning of 48 Hour Guerrilla Film Making Challenge each team was given a random genre and line of dialogue out which to write, shoot and edit a film between 5 and 8 minutes within a 48 hour time frame.

Film

Potential Encounter Scenario (‘User’ Scenario)

You notice a strange orange glow emanating from a back alley on your way home from work. You’ve walked past this same part of town almost every day for the past three years and its always been the same litter strewn back street as always, but tonight you notice a strange orange glow emanating from the far end. You begin to move in for a closer, and see a small house-like shape with a pupil of subdued orange light in the center of the roof. It’s an eye. Whatever this paper craft model is, it appears to be sleeping. Not that it this thing has circadian rhythm – it’s just a piece of cardboard – probably some kind of arts project. Suspiciously, you step forward, and feel a sudden jump in your heart as the eye opens, throwing a beam of light onto your body, accompanied by a strange mechanical sound. Who the hell put this thing here? You take out your ipohone, capture a quick bit of footage, and head back home out of the cold.

TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION and STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

Proximity Activated LED

Click for video.

 
Ping and Led Code:

const int pingPin = 7;
const int led = 9;

void setup() {
  // initialize serial communication:
  Serial.begin(9600);
  pinMode (9, OUTPUT);
}

void loop()
{
  // establish variables for duration of the ping,
  // and the distance result in inches and centimeters:
  long duration, inches, cm;

  // The PING))) is triggered by a HIGH pulse of 2 or more microseconds.
  // Give a short LOW pulse beforehand to ensure a clean HIGH pulse:
  pinMode(pingPin, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(pingPin, LOW);
  delayMicroseconds(2);
  digitalWrite(pingPin, HIGH);
  delayMicroseconds(5);
  digitalWrite(pingPin, LOW);

  // The same pin is used to read the signal from the PING))): a HIGH
  // pulse whose duration is the time (in microseconds) from the sending
  // of the ping to the reception of its echo off of an object.
  pinMode(pingPin, INPUT);
  duration = pulseIn(pingPin, HIGH);

  // convert the time into a distance
  inches = microsecondsToInches(duration);
  cm = microsecondsToCentimeters(duration);

  Serial.print(inches);
  Serial.print("in, ");
  Serial.print(cm);
  Serial.print("cm");
  Serial.println();

  delay(100);

if  (cm < 20) { //if object is closer than 20 cm to the sensor...
// turns the LED on
digitalWrite(led, HIGH);
delay (1000); // Wait 1 second
}
else {
  digitalWrite(led, LOW); //if the object is  further away than 20 cm the program turns the led off
}

}

long microsecondsToInches(long microseconds)
{
  // According to Parallax's datasheet for the PING))), there are
  // 73.746 microseconds per inch (i.e. sound travels at 1130 feet per
  // second).  This gives the distance travelled by the ping, outbound
  // and return, so we divide by 2 to get the distance of the obstacle.
  // See: http://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/prod/acc/28015-PING-v1.3.pdf
  return microseconds / 74 / 2;
}

long microsecondsToCentimeters(long microseconds)
{
  // The speed of sound is 340 m/s or 29 microseconds per centimeter.
  // The ping travels out and back, so to find the distance of the
  // object we take half of the distance travelled.
  return microseconds / 29 / 2;
}

Proximity Activated Servo

Click for Video

 
Ping and Serve Code:

const int pingPin = 7;
const int servo = 9;

#include  
 
Servo myservo;  // create servo object to control a servo 
                // a maximum of eight servo objects can be created 
 

void setup() {
  // initialize serial communication:
  Serial.begin(9600);
myservo.attach(9);  // attaches the servo on pin 9 to the servo object 
}

void loop()
{
  // establish variables for duration of the ping, 
  // and the distance result in inches and centimeters:
  long duration, inches, cm;

  // The PING))) is triggered by a HIGH pulse of 2 or more microseconds.
  // Give a short LOW pulse beforehand to ensure a clean HIGH pulse:
  pinMode(pingPin, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(pingPin, LOW);
  delayMicroseconds(2);
  digitalWrite(pingPin, HIGH);
  delayMicroseconds(5);
  digitalWrite(pingPin, LOW);

  // The same pin is used to read the signal from the PING))): a HIGH
  // pulse whose duration is the time (in microseconds) from the sending
  // of the ping to the reception of its echo off of an object.
  pinMode(pingPin, INPUT);
  duration = pulseIn(pingPin, HIGH);

  // convert the time into a distance
  inches = microsecondsToInches(duration);
  cm = microsecondsToCentimeters(duration);
  
  Serial.print(inches);
  Serial.print("in, ");
  Serial.print(cm);
  Serial.print("cm");
  Serial.println();
  
  delay(100);

if (cm < 80) {
myservo.write(0);
}
else {
  myservo.write(100);
}

}

long microsecondsToInches(long microseconds)
{
  // According to Parallax's datasheet for the PING))), there are
  // 73.746 microseconds per inch (i.e. sound travels at 1130 feet per
  // second).  This gives the distance travelled by the ping, outbound
  // and return, so we divide by 2 to get the distance of the obstacle.
  // See: http://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/prod/acc/28015-PING-v1.3.pdf
  return microseconds / 74 / 2;
}

long microsecondsToCentimeters(long microseconds)
{
  // The speed of sound is 340 m/s or 29 microseconds per centimeter.
  // The ping travels out and back, so to find the distance of the
  // object we take half of the distance travelled.
  return microseconds / 29 / 2;
}
}

Servo with Eye and Light Test

 

Footage

Rationale for Technology Choices

For detecting the proximity of the ‘user’ or the human animal who might happen across this on their way home from a late night at the office, I chose to use an Ultrasonic Rangefinder (over other proximity sensors such as an IR sensor) because the piece is designed to be situated outside where light interference would cause problems with detection.

The Ping US Rangefinder is fairly accurate to within about 3cm, which suited this work as the servo needs to be activated when the user is about one meter away. A potential problem with this choice is that the user may be wearing sound absorbing materials such as wool, but in my testing this did not appear to be a problem.

My choice of servo was limited due to financial constraints at the time. The flaw of this basic servo is in the distinct sound it makes upon activation – something which immediately reveals the electo/mechanical interior of what might other wise be a fairly enigmatic structure. A better choice would have been a small rotary motor which could have been set up to receive a smaller charge (thus quieter mechanical sound) that winds up a piece of fabric that would be painted to resemble a closed eye. The effect would have been closer to feeling like your approach suddenly woke this creature up, and its now looking you in eye.

Basic Description
Sensor activated, made-from-waste forms that attempt to evoke a sense of mystery and character in what otherwise might seen as inanimate husk of matter.
Film

Concept and Background Thought

What is the relationship between the Ecological crisis and our day to day sensory experience of the world we inhabit? This is the question my work on the Doing module has grown out of, and will be explored in more depth in the Thinking module.

The central concept is that today the vast majority of those who inhabit the modern technological landscapes are victim of a perceptual crisis which, in the West, has its roots in Descartes’ mind-body split and in the emerge of a language whose written words (including these letters) are entirely divorced from the world they re-present.

The perceptual crisis has many other roots, but the belief in nature as an inert machine devoid of any sensitivity or sentience has become deeply entrenched in today’s western culture.

Do we have any chance of healing our conflicted relationship with the planet that grew us and continues to sustain us we continue to speak of the more than human community as a set of resources, devoid of any sensitivity or sentience?

Will these cardboard forms solve the crisis of perception? No. They are an early experiment in evoking a sense of intrigue and personality in discarded material salvaged from the city.

Twitter:  Harlequin003

Delicious: Harlequin003

Facebook:  Harlequin Smith

Flavours

Introduction

The fictional identity I created for this assignment is serving the function of research and development for an interactive film series which I am developing for my final project at Culture Lab. This fictional identity is called Harlequin, and to properly understand her it is useful to talk about the media ecology of which she is a part. Central to this media ecology is a web based film series called Enchanted. Enchanted follows the story of Anna Sorensen: a gifted marketing specialist on a collision course with her own identity.

Anna is immersed in the world of consumer culture and her identity is inextricably sewn into it. But a deeper part of her is longing for a quality of connection which does not seem to exist in the culture which she, as a viral marketing specialist, is helping to perpetuate. Put esoterically, Anna is a Magician of the 21st Century, but instead of throwing lightning bolts, the spell she helps to cast has the effect of making people believe that the heart of their desire resides in owning the next new product. As long as she remains a victim of her own magic, Anna will continue to be deprived of the quality of connection she now desperately needs.

All of this results in a wild, hedonistic marketing specialist whose only escape from her own identity is self destruction. When her dreams, desires and self loathing do not have room to express themselves in the confines of the culture she inhabits, they spill out into the Net through an alternate person called Harlequin.

Harlequin

Like the Jester, the Harlequin’s role was to shed light on unseen hypocrisies of society and those in power. By making people laugh, they were able to voice criticisms which would otherwise go unexpressed.

For Anna, this online persona is a way of expressing her dissatisfaction with consumer culture and her place in it in a way that allows her to connect with others who she share her longing for something more than the culture at large seems to offer.

As Harlequin, the Internet becomes a playground of possibility: a place where Anna can push the boundaries of her identity and explore parts of herself that do not fit the confines of her real world exoskeleton. Though Harlequin the wilderness inside herself is let loose. Her cynical wit and scything critiques of popular culture is balanced by a genuine compassion toward the people she engages with online. Depending on the quality of connections she forms with other (real people) on the Internet, the relationship between Harlequin and Anna will co-evolve. Anna may become more like Harlequin, sabotaging her own advertising campaigns in radical and creative ways, or Harlequin may become more violent and self destructive as this deep part of her fights to express itself. Seen through the lens of Process Oriented Psychology, this dynamic exchange between is the means by which Anna expands the “Edge” of her primary identity and becomes more like the person she wants to be.

Harlequin is presently active on Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, Flavours.Me, and in the comment sections of her favourite and most despised blogs. The implications of this exchange between real people and a fictional character of this nature are important and need careful consideration. The quality of connection between Harlequin and the people with whom she interacts will, if successful, provoke strong reactions in different directions. Some people may develop a sense of kinship and admiration for her creative critique of consumer culture whilst others might feel hurt or enraged. Regardless of the quality of relationship, most people will feel betrayed if they discover she is a purely fictional character: nothing more than counter point in an experimental media ecology. The only way to resolve this problem with integrity seems to be the following:

Anna and her online persona are not fictional characters: they are true expressions of a real person. This means that our lead actress is not so much playing the role of Anna, but rather being herself. The challenge of in this is finding an actress who shares a common conflict of identity with Anna. When we find this person, the story will undoubtedly change so that the relationship between the actress, Anna and Harlequin is congruent and true.