Projection Design

“Projection Design” offers a hands-on approach to the design, planning and execution of digital projections in a variety of performance spaces by using a combination of industry standard and open source research software tools. This blog will serve as an online text for the developing book, "Technical Ecstasy" and link for the web-readings, online tutorials,software resources historical examples, video art and performance examples and essential class communications for Projection Design class taught by Patrick Pagano

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Class 1/21/14 Blog

Hey, guys! I hope this helps!
Love,
Your Computer-Stupid Dancing Friend Caitlin


Class 1/21/14

Covered in Class Today:
- Using Maya and PD to look at some of the OBJs that we downloaded
- Today we are working with 320X240 – called QVGA – half the size of traditional video
-Connecting our objects to music (For Mac users: google Sound flower and download)



PD Tip:
- Don’t forget to open your VJ live patch and add a reset button (control 2, type reset, connect to gemwin 50)



Vocabulary/Things to know:
.OBJ – Alias Wavefront Object file – 3D OBJ File – also a text file (can be opened it with a text reader)
.BVH  - Bio-vision (company) Vectorial Hierarchy  file
.FBX – Maya Binary File
RGBA – red green blue alpha
Patch – term comes from the old idea of patching things with cables
PD *name* = SUB PATCH – aka Abstraction
Radio Buttons – used to select different textures and images
File path – essential - know your file paths to know where your content lives on your computer

Camera – virtual eyes of the designer and the audience, what the audience sees should be perfect, or as perfect as we design it to be. Camera can go anywhere as a virtual camera, because it isn’t a physical thing.

PD - New object

Loadbang – when you load this patch, it opens and as soon as it opens it hits the loadbang, and loadbang makes everything happen to open your program. It hits all of the aspects of your patch and creates what you have created. So that you don’t have to recreate everything every time you open things. It starts as soon as you double click – like a preset in lighting.

Traditional video in U.S.  is called NTSC (National Television Systems Committee --- (Different in europe – their tv had more scan lines than we did: Europe’s – PAL). Traditional TV was in a 4:3 aspect ratio; HDTV is 16:9 aspect ratio.

Aspect ratio – what you change on your tv (stretch wide screen, etc)
Display resolution is the computer equivalent ^^




Reminders:
Required Texts/ Readings – All of the texts for this course are online, no need to buy, if you want to go out and buy something about VJ-ing (video jockeying)


Homework:
Back in 1970s Gene Youngblood  wrote “Expanded Cinema”, a fantastic text book. Go to http://www.vasulka.org/Kitchen/PDF_ExpandedCinema/ExpandedCinema.html (vasulka.org) and explore the text book. Choose a chapter that interests you and then write 850 words about it. Post on the blog BEFORE MONDAY AT MIDNIGHT. Your 850 words should allow anyone that reads it to have a firm understanding of your chapter. Comment on each other’s posts, and when someone comments on your post, COMMENT BACK! ANSWER THEIR QUESTIONS! You should be able to. Make sure to include definitions of terms within your chapter (but the definitions do not count as a part of the 850 words).

Explore WebGL and Mr. Doob and blog about it – which ones you liked the best, what you found interesting, etc.

JOIN VIDEOPONG!! Or you will not be able to do the things in class for next week.

Post in the blog where you got your .OBJs from to help your classmates out.

Extra credit: Download Max MSP 6.1 at: cycling74.com/downloads/ & view the Vizzie/Jitter tutorials




Upcoming Tips:
Display Resolutions on Wikipedia LINK – QUIZ MATERIAL!!    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vector_Video_Standards4.svg

If your midterm is a color coded design you will receive extra credit.


Next Week:

-Receiving licenses and working with Isadora

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