Category: Revised Concept

After being able to discuss it in class, it’s pretty clear that the 2 main concepts have been narrowed down to the light generating object and the hologram exhibit. While I’m leaning more towards the hologram idea as of now, I’ll still talk about both.

I’ve tried looking up tutorials on how to store energy by building portable generators, and so far the results haven’t been very promising. I’m no electrical engineer, so the scope of this project is hard to gauge, and most likely out of my abilities. There are tutorials for solar powered lights which store energy for use later, which might be worth looking into. Whether I end up going with this idea or not, I do plan on reaching out to Jessica Matthews for more information on how she managed to build her product as a college student, as well as her design process and research. Her story is both an interesting and empowering one, and I’d love to learn more!

The hologram idea seems more feasible and far easier to scale with an incremental design process. This would be my first installation sort of piece, which would be interesting. I imagine multiple iPad sized displays each mounted on a pedestal for viewers to walk around for a more immersive environment. Preferably, I’d build everything from scratch, including the videos that would be projected. This would allow me to put my 3D modeling skills to use. The idea I have now would focus on deforestation and environmental data visualization of some sort. I would love to include some form of interactive aspect that’s more than simply walking around the display, maybe motion sensors that trigger a different video or lights or something.
There are multiple tutorials out there showing how to make your own holograms with plexiglass as well as holography-friendly videos so I’m not too worried about that. The motion sensors would be more difficult, but that would come in later should I choose to go for it. The next steps would be to flesh out a “storyboard” or the content of the videos and hopefully get a working prototype.

Interactive spice rack

If I’m going to pick this idea, I plan to go all out with hardware and software. 

For the software part, I will probably end up making an app or program that can perform the following features: group spices based on flavor profile, geographical region, favorites, and possibly incorporate voice recognition for a hands-free solution. I will do some more research and ask experts what they believe would be a suitable language to code this in.

On the hardware side, I’d have to make the spice rack itself which I plan to make out of wood. Beyond making a personalized pen stand, I have no prior wood shop experience. Next I’ll have to rig up the lights to the program so it can respond with visual feedback. Not even sure how this works but there’s gotta be a wire for that. Probably involves a fair amount of circuitry but it can’t be that bad, right? Lastly I’ll need a touchscreen for the user to interact with the program. Either that, or some sort of voice recognition that is hooked up to the rack. I haven’t decided if I want some sort of visual app accompaniment or just the rack with voice recognition. Or both?

Idea #1 Interactive Short Film

After the feedback given to me I feel confident in my idea. The strongest part of my project seems to be the multiple genres idea. With each decision the genre will change, but the story, characters, and settings will remain the  same. In order to separate my project from similar interactive films will that all the decisions being made will embedded into one clip with seamless transitions. Another interactive short film with a similar concept has the choices embedded into multiple clips while I will keep it all on one video file.  In order to do this I will likely have to host the film on an app because I haven’t found any ways of incorporating my vision on social media.

Idea #2 VR of TCNJ

This past week I was pitching this idea to my family and friends and I got some good insight and a lot of positive feedback. The most meaningful feedback that I received concerning this project was from a friend of mine who is currently selling his home. He was showing me how potential buyers are able to view his home via a 3D tour. This would be the perfect execution of my vision for this project. I am currently trying to get in connect with the person who set up the 3D for them and see how I would be able to accomplish this on a grander scale with multiple locations on campus.

The plan right now is split into 3 stages.

Part 1: Preparation

First, I’m going to have a preparation session with the players in order to build their characters and relationships with the other players.

After that, I’m going to build references for later art and plan the story. Also, I’m going to borrow microphones from the Cage and find a recording area.

Finally, I’m going to plan the story. I’m certain in a week I can build a one shot and encounters. I do this as a hobby. Currently, I have “A heist Lead by tiny lizard people,” “Escape from an underground prison” and “A dinner party gone horribly wrong” as ideas I’m going to run my players. 

Part 2: The Game

We play the game. We will be playing Dungeon World, a game based on Dungeons & Dragons, because it’s a simpler, streamlined game that will cut down on the mechanical jargon.

I do have players in mind and certain I can get them.

Part 3: Editing and Art

Edit the audio files. Get music, sound effects and any other supplementary audio materials.  Draw the art. 

I’ll start this post by being completely honest: indecision plagues me. Over this past week I have mulled over my two concept ideas and can’t really decide which I like better. On one hand is a project that connects to what I’d like to pursue a career in, while the other is unique and picks at a hobby of mine. Nevertheless, I have spent lengthier amounts of my free time brainstorming over my “Cultural Map” idea since at the moment that is what I am leaning towards.

In regards to my “Cultural Map” (for which I am trying to think of a better name since that doesn’t quite capture the essence of my project) I was thinking about ways to categorize, and more importantly what to tell. From the feedback I received in class, it was obvious that people had a greater interest in learning about the mythology and lifestyles of ancient civilizations. As of this moment I am thinking about what exactly to showcase, since this project has the potential to slip away from me if I go too broad or too detailed. However, one neat little suggestion that I received in class was to order it by geography. The way I will try to implement this is by having the ancient and more modern earth terrain overlap to showcase how the region looked at the time of the story being told. I don’t have a definitive answer to this yet, but have begun looking into older maps to try and see how I can blend these together.

It has been brought to my attention that the overwhelming majority of people I speak with like the idea of chromesthesia. Shocking, I know. I liked that idea best too, but I still wanted to keep an open mind. It probably seems obvious at this point, but my “Visual Music” idea is going to be my senior project idea. Exciting! But what does that entail?

In my last post, I briefly explained what synesthesia and chromesthesia are along with why I want to do the project. Thankfully, Professor Ault gave me some insight on past examples of visual music and how it’s been done. I also found a YouTube clip by someone who has chromesthesia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obrBAysVef0&t=118s

This is different from what I imagined chromesthesia to be like, with a rainbow of colors and various shapes taking up your whole vision. Clearly, I’m a little too surrealist in my approach. Considering this woman has synesthesia and can show what the world looks like through her eyes, how can I accomplish that? Apparently, it is possible to train yourself to have synesthesia, by tricking your mind into associating notes with colors. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to pull that off, but thankfully, I have a pretty vivid imagination. If any of us really tried hard enough, we can associate certain sounds and notes with colors along the spectrum. For the purposes of my project, I don’t exactly want it to look like this YouTube video. I want every note to be easily identifiable, where anyone can decipher the differences between pitches and instruments. Another thing to mention is the types of sounds this woman can see. She only sees colors when a musical note is played. So if someone slams a door shut, she won’t see a color. But if someone plays a Bb on a violin, it might appear blue and towards the middle of their vision. I’m at a clear disadvantage since I wasn’t born with the ability to visualize music. But with my creativity and passion for music, I can sure as hell try.

As for the technicalities of my project, I have most of it thought out in my head and it doesn’t seem terribly difficult to pull off. First, I would want to create a musical piece using a variety of different instruments so I can visualize each timbre individually. I don’t want to select an existing piece of music because it will either be too complex for me to visualize or there won’t be enough of timbres to visualize. Also, I would need the sheet music and spend hours everyday listening to it to make sure I know every part forwards and backwards. If I don’t know the exact notes being played, how am I supposed to visualize the notes? With this project, I want the user to be able to identify two things: the individual notes and the instruments being played. If a deaf person sees the visualization, I would want them to learn how each instrument would appear. For example, a piano will have plain clear, cut colors, whereas a violin may have some brown or deep undertones to each note. After composing the piece, I would need to visualize it (duh), presumably through Aftereffects. This is going to be a long process, since I will need to know my composition so well that the colors will come to me automatically, without hesitation. If I cut corners and am not consistent with the notes and instruments, the project will be meaningless. The main chunk of my time will be spent composing and visualizing the project. All of the tech related stuff comes second. In addition to my own musical piece, I want each person to be able to see the notes for themselves. I might use a Makey Makey through a Max patch to create a piano of sensors. Ideally, every time someone presses a sensor (note), that note’s particular color will appear on screen. They should also be able to change the MIDI timbre through the Max patch. My only issue with using Makey Makey’s is that they only cover 8 notes. That would mean I would need 2 Makey Makey’s for 1 octave. If I wanted to do multiple octaves, I need to be sure I have the right amount of Makey Makey’s available.

I’m glad everyone seems to be on board with this project idea. This has been creeping in my subconscious for a long time and I want to make it a reality. Not just because I love rainbows and music, but also because I love the deaf community and their ability to enjoy music. I can’t wait to take on this wonderful visual music journey and share it with everyone!

After discussing it in class I think I narrowed it down to either the VR Platform Rhythm game or the Children’s “Spook’ems” game.

I’m leaning more towards the Platform game though because although it does present a challenge, it would be awesome to see this idea come to fruition in some form. However, once research into the psychological aspects of the “Spook’ems” game is concluded I might refine the idea and compare the two to see which one I could execute better within the timeframe we have.

I’ve been able to narrow it down to two ideas: the interactive storybook and the interactive stitcher.

I think the interactive storybook would be cool to put into a VR setting, but the interactive stitcher is a completely unique idea and there isn’t anything like it out there.

I will revise my first Project Idea into y final project. While I wanted to do social commentary, and I still could, everyone agreed it should be more on physical change in the game. As the player talks to people, they would give descriptions and give insights to what the world looks like. The more people you talk to the more visible the world becomes. I would want it to be a visible change, like it happens after you speak, and you see it change. I can make models in Maya, and I can use Unity to make and test the beta, though I would need to know more programming and how to make dialogue and models for which order the player decides to talk to NPCs. Still a work in progress.

IDEA # 2

MUSIC COLLECTIVE APP

Goal: Create my own Music Collective in charge of bringing local musicians and their supporters together through various means

Background:

I’ve been booking concerts/shows for a couple of years now, and my friends and I have shared the idea of starting our own label that represents local music artists and helps music supporters more easily get connected to the music scene. There are currently very disorganized outlets for this, such as a group on facebook called “NJ DIY”. I have often searched for local concerts using this group, only to find myself confused and needing something easier to understand. This app could bring everything together into a social media outlet to connect musicians with supporters in order to have more of a presence and include other very needed elements.

Target Audience:

-Music lovers/ musicians

-mostly highschool – 30 years old, but could be for any age

This would include:

-local artist “encyclopedia” if you will– with listings of all local artists in the area (bio, photo, merch, albums)
-chat room to discuss upcoming shows// have forums for musicians to use equipment, connect singers with guitar players/bands ETC.

-calendar to update shows scheduled for the upcoming months–graphics/ads to promote shows

-volunteer portion to book bands for shows/create graphics/help out at shows/interact with promoters/etc.

-live stream during shows/live updates/setlist.fm type of thing

-photography/video sector that represents local live music photographers/videographers post shows (like scrolling through instagram)

-this app could start in the tri-state area, but eventually have a selection to choose a state in which you are looking for this community

Summary: tabs on app could include: artists, calender, forum, volunteer, live, & photo feed

To DO:

-Research apps/facebook groups/label websites/diy programs/local music organizations or collectives  that are already doing similar things

-Create a logo/brand/name that is distinctive for this label– “maybe something with DIY in the title”

-Develop an app and figure out what exactly should be on this app/ what can be left out / what can be added in the future

-Figure out which programs are necessary in order to develop this app– Sketch, Invision, Zeplin, Principle & Adobe Creative Suite, etc.

-send out surveys to people i know in the music community asking what they would most want out of a music collective app