I have connected the computer vision / blob tracking software to the laser so now with proper lighting conditions the laser will draw your outline as you dance around in front of it. It works best if the wall is a solid color and brightly lit so the thresholding operation can pick up your outline. I am currently experimenting with various curve generalization algorithms to help clean up the image in cases where parts of the outline are missed.
I am testing the camera setup in the hallway in Elings in preparation for displaying the project at the end-of-year-show.
I also took the laser to Santa Barbara City College for a demonstration on 05/19/09.
A few of us MAT students were special guests at the Studio 4D final show at Santa Barbara City College on May 19, 2009. In addition to screening the students’ final video projects we were invited to give short presentations and demonstrations of some of our work.
Ryan McGee and Aaron McLeran performed some of their musical works and Reza Ali showed some of his digital video art.
I installed my laser project on the outside deck which had a great view of the mountains and the ocean. I demonstrated the camera interaction until it got too dark and then I let people draw doodles using a wireless bluetooth Wacom tablet. People enjoyed seeing and interacting with the laser, especially trying to draw their names.
I collaborated with Aaron McLeran, a fellow MAT student, to produce a series of introductory videos for our department’s colloquium series when they are posted online. Both the music and the visuals are generated on the fly and different every time. Below is a sampling of some of the takes:
The animation was written in Java using the Razzle framework that I have been developing. It was driven via OSC commands that were received from the music software.
The music was generated by Aaron McLeran via probability-based techniques using Max/MSP which broadcasted MIDI and Open Sound Control (OSC). The MIDI events were played by samplers and synthesizers in Ableton LIVE and the OSC was used over a wireless network to control the graphics.
Here are some progress shots as I was developing the animation:
I have acquired a Flickr account to efficiently display large amounts of images from my projects. My goal is to show the wide variety of images that are feasible with the program I am writing as well as making it easy to trace the evolution of the program as new features are added and animations are written.
