Due to the struggles and hardships I faced after the horrible weather last week, I decided to focus on applying some of the techniques demonstrated during class and apply the basic concepts of MadMapper on my photo background. This time, I utilized quads and materials, masks, layers, and scenes to create the composition for project 1.
Techniques:
I imported the photo background onto MadMapper and used a checkered TestCard to align the materials onto the walls and floor on the photo. After that, I replaced the checkered background for a different material and changed the blending mode and colors to make it more clearly visible. Whenever an object would obstruct the view, I would create a mask for that layer to go around said object and create a depth illusion.
Interpretation:
I wanted to take the almost monochromatic feel of my living room and create something drastically different on top to create contrast and give it a more energetic personality. However, I had many issues throughout the week and therefore I did not have the time, energy or mental capacity to create something more complex, so instead I decided to focus on the basics and apply color, shapes, masks, and use scenes to achieve my goal. It may not be an astonishing piece of work but I did utilize the techniques and tools provided by MadMapper to create different composition and save them as scenes.
For my capstone I've been doing a lot of research related to time and its interpretation. As a result of consuming so much time related media I've had a hard time connecting it all together. I decided to use projection mapping as a way to visualize an excerpt from one of the media that stood out most to me. I tried to think how I would present the concept to an audience who does not know what it is. I used some YouTube videos of galaxies to convey the spatial time relation.
Techniques:
First I added my background image, which is a photo of the back of my house. I chose this setting because it already had some easy geometry that I could follow. I then created quads according to the walls and garage doors and masked out anything unnecessary. For the content I used the high wall to display the text because a flat surface is better for visibility. For the garage doors and lower walls I cycled through the textures and played around with the parameters and blending modes to find the best combinations. I used the stencil luma blend mode for most of my quads because it took out the unnecessary background coloring and helped make everything look more put together.
Each composition has a transition, they are simple and mostly involve color and text change. To do this I created the first scene, stored it, and then edited the elements to store as a new scene. To make for a smooth transition I used the ease in function with a 2 second timing.
I also used some videos of galaxies, which I screen captured from YouTube. I wanted to add more, but I found that MadMapper was only allowing me five.
Interpretations:
I was inspired by a book I read recently for my capstone project titled 'Einstein's Dreams' by Alan Lightman where the main character Einstein explores theories of time presented to the reader as short stories. My favorite theory was that of time existing on the three mathematical planes x, y, and z where every choice has three outcomes. Yes, no, and unanswered. I took a literal approach with the text but the visual elements are more symbolic and vague.
Composition 1:
"What if time exists in three dimensions"
This text presents the first part of the theory. The blue to red transition is a reference to the famous pill scene from the Matrix where blue represents the ignorance of living in the current world and the red represents breaking through to see the reality.
"Every choice creates three timelines"
This text is accompanied with the red graphics because in the theory it is the reality of the situation and this composition as a whole is meant to represent an awakening or realization.
Composition 2:
"The 'X', the 'Y', the 'Z'"
Although not said to be outright mathematical a reference is made in the choice of background accompanying this text as it is a collection of math equations. Below are three quads labeled X, Y and Z meant to label the three for the second part of the composition and the final composition.
"Do you know which timeline is yours?"
For this scene the graphics are videos of galaxies because passage of time depends on the motion and energy of the cosmos. Meaning that there are indeed different timelines in existence because elements within other celestial systems work differently than our own and therefore have a different concept of time.
Composition 3:
"You can assume that your timeline is the best..."
This part is meant to make the viewer speculate on the state of their own timeline. Everyone wants to think that there's no other way things in their lives could have played out. For this I made a soft pastel scene to represent positive emotions and optimism.
"...But it might be the worst one"
However, every decision branches out into a new timeline and makes it so that we are infinitely creating new timelines up until our expiration. And so how can you know which timeline is better? Even in hindsight we can not predict what the outcome may have been because new choices are presented in the future. Here I transitioned from bright colors to dull blue tones to represent the uncertainty and fear of not knowing.
For this project I wanted to create three different scenes that were unified in some way. For this reason I decided to think further in to what I wanted to convey with my work. As this is a new medium for me, I decided that I wanted to work with something familiar as my base. For this reason I chose to use a paneled wall in my home. As I was brainstorming what I wanted the core idea of my project to be, I remembered a certain skin from a game I play (DJ Sona from League of Legends). In this skin, the character has three transformations while still being unified through the music she plays. I was inspired off of this and choose to make a mapping for each of her three skins. In the game, her skins are interactive and have different sounds per her attacks. I wanted to capture this through using interactive audio in my project and having it follow each skins actual music.
Techniques:
The first thing I did for this project was gather all my materials (photos of the background, videos to be used, and music played by each form). I then uploaded the background image in to mad mapper and created quads on every area where I wanted a projection to show up (then added masks for the areas where I did not want projections to appear in the quadded areas). The quadded areas and masks can be seen in the picture below. As I wanted the audio to be interactive with the actual audio used in the character's skin. I made use of the sound input options MadMapper had. From there, I would record my screen as I played the corresponding sound for each of the three variations I had. Lastly, in a video editing software, I combined the three screen recordings and fixed the audio to make it clearer.
Interpretation:
As I was inspired by the three different forms of the DJ Sona skin, I wanted each mapping to embody the differences in each version while still highlighting the unity between them. For this reason, I made sure there was a common outline for where the animations would appear (the sound on the side panels and the video in the center panel). To show the difference between the forms, I used different visuals for each. One example of this can be seen in the red version of the skin. In this version's animation all of the projections are sharp and quick representing the music and intensity of the character. In contrast to this, in the purple version of the skin, I made sure to use projections that were slow and flowed smoothly. This emphasized the calm nature of the character in this form.
Concepts: For my first foray into projection mapping, I decided to combine this new medium with the artifacts of my family home. I wanted to illuminate the past by digitizing photo albums and utilizing them as media for my projected scene. Alongside still images, I incorporated original video taken from this past summer and fall living on the shore of lake Huron.
Techniques:
First of all, I needed to collect the media for my scene. I scanned in about 50 photographs from my grandfather and great-grandfathers collection. In addition to these old photos, I requested photos from my family in an iMessage chat. A flood of pictures ensued. I was surprised by the response particularly of my mother who sent many excellent photos.
Next, I staged the area around our wood burning stove to allow for active and dynamic projections. In order to get the lighting correct, I photographed the scene at night and corrected the warm color shift, along with balancing out the strong shadows with masked brightness/contrast adjustment layers.
Finally, I mapped out regions for my media to project onto. In the end I decided on five rectilinear projection surfaces and one curvilinear. Three rectangular pieces of a4 sized cardstock served as planes to project the family photos onto, and two architectural elements were used to display imagery of the lake. For the final element, I integrated a fire symbol by first creating an svg file, then importing it as a line.
Interpretations: For each scene, I wanted to alternate the media below the fireplace and on the large window to capture a different aspect of life at the lake house during different phases of summer and fall. The large window depicts handheld video I captured this past summer, while the area below the fireplace shows wide angle open source stock footage.
For the first scene, I chose a point of view video of myself walking out to the woods at a farm. Following alongside me is a black cat. The motif of walking is echoed by the video playing beneath the fireplace of a woman walking along a beach.
In the second scene, I transition to a shot taken during the fall in which I captured my brother and I burning leaves on the shore at sunset. Anytime an activity involves the lake, it requires acute attention to the behavior of the wind and water, to ensure safety. So, to accompany the lakeside leaf pyre, I found video of a surfer catching a wave.
The third and final scene utilized video I captured during the late summer when shipping activity on the lake is at its peak. Both the large window and beneath the fireplace display video I shot of freighters off the banks of the river and lake.
Concepts: For this project, I was interested in using MadMapper to transform one of the newer spaces on the UT Dallas campus. Besides the Edith O'Donnell Arts and Technology Building, there aren't many new art/creative facilities at UTD. The buildings where I spend most of my time as a theatre student on campus, in fact, are 40 year old lecture halls whose conversion into artistic facilities was lackluster at best. So, I had to draw inspiration from the cutting edge science buildings, many of which have been built in a very modern architecture style in the past 5 to 10 years. This concept reignited interests which used to be very dear to me several years ago as a high school student. Before deciding to attend UTD (majoring in ATEC with a particular interest in theatre/live events), I was actually very interested in studying one of the pure sciences. In fact, my senior year of high school, I studied advanced chemistry and physics concurrently with advanced study in theatre and language. I drew on this experience to inspire my compositions which use the very new Sciences Building as a canvas — creating a piece with 3 distinct movements focusing on chemistry, physics, and biology respectively.
Techniques: I used MadMapper's tools to create several quad surfaces — splitting up the facade (large floor to ceiling windows set into a wall) on the left hand side, the pillar and trim alongside the ceiling, the orange diagonal ceiling bars in the high foreground, and then the facade on the right hand side (sets of windows set into the wall). Altogether, including the background and two instances where I duplicated the window quads in the interest of layering the content I mapped there, I used 9 quad surfaces throughout the composition. Some of these quads required extensive masking; the ceiling bars in particular required all of the black space to be masked out. When creating each composition, I layered found media and the built in parametric preset media throughout each of the quads, focusing on content which highlighted, related to, or reminded me of my scientific studies in the disciplines of chemistry, physics, and biology.
Interpretation: Inspired by my past studies, the first composition focuses on the discipline of chemistry. The first half employs the quads mapped to the left facade and ceiling. The wall has a shimmering blue grid, reminiscent of the lattice/matrix molecular structures seen commonly in transition metals. The windows include chemical equations (the Born-Haber cycle which calculates the energy involved in forming compounds) being scratched onto a virtual whiteboard — I mirrored them in the interest of creating an effect like that of a professor writing directly onto the windows from inside. The second half uses the right window quads to display a compilation of flashy chemical reactions — combustion reactions in particular. The pillar, walls, and ceiling bars included media which focused on swirling translucent colors, which reminded me of the process of creating chemical solutions.
The second composition focused on physics. The pillar and ceiling bars focused on vertical lines, which was reminiscent of the spectrum of frequencies detected when particles transition between energy states. The ceiling in particular, with its use of the entire visible spectrum of light (a rainbow) actually looks quite like a composition of different emission spectra. The right windows contain content which reminded me of space travel, harkening back to times when I studied basic astrophysics not understanding a single thing besides that I thought the concepts were interesting. The second half of the composition uses a video of several pendulums swinging — a classic example of basic mechanics. The walls on either side contain preset media which reminded me of representations of electromagnetic fields.
The third composition focused on biology. In the first half, the left window displays a video of an organism undergoing cell division while the wall, pillar, and ceiling display media which have undulating growth as a theme. The second half includes more of the undulating/organic movement in the wall, and displays a compilation of 3D representations of the activity of different organelles inside human cells.
Concepts: For this project, I wanted to create 3 different yet fluid scenes upon the Dallas City Hall building. The building is large and would make for an interesting canvas for a projection show. Some of the compositions are more flashy and evocative while others are more subdued and passive.
Techniques: I used the MadMapper tools to create one large quad across the main surface of the building. From there, I masked out the windows, indentations, and the large pillars. Additionally, I used the bezier tool to create another section on the large pillars. I used the in-software compositions and changed their speed and color to get to my final concept.
Interpretations: Inspired by UTD and past projects by the ATEC Lightsquad, the first look features UTD's signature green, orange, and white. This composition speaks to UTD's futuristic and technology-forward culture. The second composition transfers the orange, green, and white to the pillars and features a large spotlight-like light in the center that rotates, also tying into UTD's brand. The third and final look is meant to be more passive and operate as a pre and post-show composition. It features a reflection-like blue shimmer at the bottom of the building that is meant to tie into the pool at the base of the building. The pillars also create a shimmer effect with the white lines that shoot vertical on the pillars.
Concept: My workspace fits so comfy in the corner of my room and there is enough rectangular planar real estate in the area to display scattered cyberpunk, futuristic, User Interfaces. There is a common theme of stress and anguish in these motion graphics filled with language for a fashion emergency. My vision for this project is to give a lyrical cyber-funk, dystopian future atmosphere during Dior's Spring/Summer 2022.
Technique: By embedding an image of my workspace onto Mad Mapper, I was able to add my graphics fit for any screen onto any rectangular surfaces I could set them on. I even took advantage of the papers on my pin board as a surface to place a motion graphic. I did so by carefully aligning a quad section on top of any surface and then imported and edited the duration of my .mp4s to create 3 different scenes. Layering each moving image to comeout with composition for my projection mapping.
Interpretation: I wanted to create a small cyber kinetic world in my room and share it with you all. I belive in making deep connections with everything that I love when I create my projects. Its a look into my personal life and the time spent doing whatever I want. More than anything I want to provide myself an escape from reality which I absolutely loathe. From building worlds and landscapes alone in my room, I hope this is a taste of what my future is like.
