The senior show for undergraduate Time Arts majors is coming up! I finally finished the promotional materials after weeks of struggling with the limits of 3D rendering to print resolutions. This poster design, partially created in 3D, was simple enough to render out at sizes considered “large” by digital standards. However, properly converting digital designs to print requires massive files that dwarf their digital counterparts. My target was a render that would create a 24 by 36 inch poster at 600dpi. This equates to a 14,400 x 21,600 pixel image, which is apparently beyond the capabilities of even the super-powered workstations in our render lab. After consulting with my professor and dialing down some of the settings, we were able to render a 24×36 graphic at 300 dpi, which is still a high quality print resolution. We printed some posters yesterday, and put in an order today for some 36×72 vinyl banners that will be displayed at the show. I can’t wait to see them.

For more information about the show, check out NineBitsTurnNeon.com

On April 16th, Northern Illinois University hosted an art exhibit called “Interreaction” in the Holmes Student Center Glass Gallery. The show was planned, organized, promoted, and featured work by undergraduate Time Arts students. The focus was interactive, installation-based work that balanced technology with artistic intent. We enjoyed high attendance and an overall positive response.

My piece, “Reflex,” was an interactive sculpture constructed out of nylon string, tape, and pellon fabric. The fabric is threaded through and suspended by a web of strings attached to the ceiling and floor. Each length of string was constructed in a fractal-like pattern: a length of 10-12 feet has offshoots at set distances, each of these 6-8 feet in length. Off of these branches are additional lengths of string, branching into 2 foot end segments.

Behind the structure is a computer, DLP projector, and a concealed webcam. A Flash/ActionScript application is projected onto the fabric and fed video data by the webcam. The Flash app populates a black screen with small, circular objects that drift around aimlessly. Every 50ms, the current frame of video is captured as bitmap data and applied as a difference filter to bitmap data of the previous frame, creating a two-color image map of motion in front of the camera. On each frame, the application iterates through the floating objects, and checks what color the image map is at this location. If motion is being recorded at the location of an object, it is sent flying away. When viewers walk past the installation, the objects ripple. If a viewer waves their hand around in front of it, the objects scatter and move away.

The result is an initially subtle level of interaction; many people would walk almost completely past the installation, then suddenly stop and do a double-take, wondering if the motion of the objects on the screen was tied to their movement or mere coincidence. This reaction contrasted sharply with the response later in the night, when the secret was out and viewers gathered to test the limits of the interaction.

If you have a webcam, you can view the Flash component of the project here. If you do not want the project to access your webcam when prompted, simply navigate away from the page. Clicking “Deny” may cause the plug-in to crash.

The installation shortly after it was set up:

Impromptu beard-off:

Photos courtesy of Adam Kohlhaas.