Monday, 11 May 2009
Colours of The Wind - A winddial
Below is a link to my final project. Simply select the link then download the GreenScreen.exe file to see it:
My Final Project
For my final project I decided to mainly focus on streaming the Arch-OS data through the GreenScreen as this area was most interesting to me and I wanted to be able to produce a properly working streaming project. For the focus of this I chose to use the wind data, (speed and angle), as this was the most variable data and so would be more appropriate for the streaming. The next step was to come up with a way of dealing with the wind data in an interesting way through animation, that would portray the changes in the data. In particular I wanted to devise a title for the project that would inspire its content, and would also be relevant to me. I am often inspired by music and lyrics and so tried to find a way to connect music I knew with wind. This led me to the song Colours of the Wind, from the Disney film Pocohontas. This phrase the 'Colours of the Wind' has always intrigued me as wind does not have a physical form of its own, similar to much of the areas covered during the hertzian space section, and so I felt it would be good to use my project to investigate this.
(http://www.inthemod.com/bps/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/a%20moment%20of%20serene%20perfection.png)
(http://bluelobsterart.com/2009/03/08/the-rgb-color-wheel/)
The first image above is related to the exploration of colour. I like the way in which the circles are used for this. The second is an RGB colour wheel. Being that the angle of the wind can be used in relation to the colour, I felt the best way to do this was to create a link between the wind angle and the colour angle on a colour wheel. For example, if the wind is at an angle of 170 degrees the colour relating to that angle on a colour wheel would be turquoise (between 150 and 180 degrees). Using these ideas I produced a concentic circle idea which had three circles.
I wanted to be able have a history of the previous colours of the wind and so thought concentric circles would be best for this. This also matched with similar designs such as those used on sundials, which meant my project could be seen in some ways as a 'wind-dial'.
(http://leewm.freeshell.org/origami/ringdial.jpg)
This similar design could therefore help relate the image with the environmental elements, helping people to better understand the image.
After producing my concentric circle version of my project, it occurred to me that people may not be able to link directly the wind direction with the colour. I therefore decided to include a direction arrow as part of the image to give a better impression of what the relation ship was.
(http://www.brasscompass.com/sunsphere1.jpg)
This also enhanced the correspondence with the sundial idea, and therefore was advantageous to the project. Below is a screenshot of the final project:
To include the wind speed, my image moves across the screen at the speed of the wind. When it reaches an edge it bounces back to ensure that it stays on screen.
I am quite glad with the outcome of this project as it functions well and incorporates all the ideas that I wanted to include. If I were to develop this project further I would try to improve the aesthetics of the image. Although the image does have to be bold to work effectively on the GreenScreen, more could be done to the image to make it more interesting. In terms of a long term development of this project, it could be quite interesting to further develop the hertzian space link and do a similar project using more technological data.
(http://www.inthemod.com/bps/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/a%20moment%20of%20serene%20perfection.png)
(http://bluelobsterart.com/2009/03/08/the-rgb-color-wheel/)I wanted to be able have a history of the previous colours of the wind and so thought concentric circles would be best for this. This also matched with similar designs such as those used on sundials, which meant my project could be seen in some ways as a 'wind-dial'.
(http://leewm.freeshell.org/origami/ringdial.jpg)After producing my concentric circle version of my project, it occurred to me that people may not be able to link directly the wind direction with the colour. I therefore decided to include a direction arrow as part of the image to give a better impression of what the relation ship was.
(http://www.brasscompass.com/sunsphere1.jpg)This also enhanced the correspondence with the sundial idea, and therefore was advantageous to the project. Below is a screenshot of the final project:
To include the wind speed, my image moves across the screen at the speed of the wind. When it reaches an edge it bounces back to ensure that it stays on screen.I am quite glad with the outcome of this project as it functions well and incorporates all the ideas that I wanted to include. If I were to develop this project further I would try to improve the aesthetics of the image. Although the image does have to be bold to work effectively on the GreenScreen, more could be done to the image to make it more interesting. In terms of a long term development of this project, it could be quite interesting to further develop the hertzian space link and do a similar project using more technological data.
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
The final project: A proposal
The final project for this Agile module is to create a work based on the previous workshops that approaches the concept of Agile: architectures for the near future. I have had a number of different ideas relating to this topic discussed in the synthesis of the report. The most obvious possibility for this project would be to continue the vision system animation that was produced during the Territory project. This is because this project was not fully functioning and was not implemented so there is a lot of room for development and improvement. This project was also quite enjoyable and interesting so it would be a good project to continue further.
As well as this there is also the concept of investigating a connection of GPS narrative elements with the GreenScreen and the Arch-OS which could be quite dynamic and interesting, or there is the option of investigating social ecology through virtual environments. All of these elements would be interesting to develop, specifically these new ideas as they would be new and a development of what was done previously. These ideas will need to be developed further however to consider whether they would be appropriate.
Ultimately for my project I would like to encorporate some use of the Arch-OS or GreenScreen or both as I found these the most engaging section of the module. However I would like to try to use these in a more abstract way rather than just taking the Arch-OS data and visualising it on the GreenScreen as this has already been approached a number of times before.
As well as this there is also the concept of investigating a connection of GPS narrative elements with the GreenScreen and the Arch-OS which could be quite dynamic and interesting, or there is the option of investigating social ecology through virtual environments. All of these elements would be interesting to develop, specifically these new ideas as they would be new and a development of what was done previously. These ideas will need to be developed further however to consider whether they would be appropriate.
Ultimately for my project I would like to encorporate some use of the Arch-OS or GreenScreen or both as I found these the most engaging section of the module. However I would like to try to use these in a more abstract way rather than just taking the Arch-OS data and visualising it on the GreenScreen as this has already been approached a number of times before.
Monday, 9 March 2009
The Workshops: A Synthesis
Introduction
In the three workshops a wide range of different and new concepts have been introduced. The aim of the synthesis is to combine all these different ideas and consider new possibilities that come from this. In particular there may be inspiration for the final Agile project based on combining different elements of the three workshops. In this synthesis I will draw separate conclusions of each workshop and then outline different ideas which have stemmed from the experiences I have had.
The Picnic
The Picnic was the first workshop which introduced a number of leading aspects for the module. These included abstraction, reconstruction and gave us the ability to look at information from a different perspective. The Picnic was a steep learning curve in terms of the more open ways of thinking and viewing the environment, but this in some ways made it more engaging. This was also a benefit for the future workshops as these concepts such as abstraction have seemed to run throughout the workshops and so by introducing us to them at an early stage it made it easier to carry out future tasks. In terms of the ecology aspect of this workshop, both social and human ecology were covered which gave a broader spectrum of the underlying concept of the module. The most engaging aspect of this workshop was discovering ways in which the data can be abstracted, as although I knew of this concept, at first I found it difficult to put it into practice and so working through it helped to develop my creative skills.
The Field
The Field was the second workshop that was covered involving hertzian space and locative media and was focused on human ecology. The main focus of this work shop was the GPS track and ways in which to develop it from a simple GPS drawing to a more dynamic outcome. In particular I found the hertzian space element of this workshop interesting as it allowed me to investigate a query that I had previously considered, whilst developing this further into a spatial understanding of my surroundings which was relevant to the task at hand. This particular section had little development from the initial investigation, unlike the GPS section, and so there is a possibility of continuation in the future.
The Territory
The Territory was the third and final workshop and revolved around the Arch-OS system. Out of the three workshops I felt that this one was the most informative in understanding and developing ideas for its ecological theme of deep ecology. The most interesting element of this workshop was the Arch-OS section as there are numerous possibilities for the data it provides and the concept of intelligent architecture is a new and exciting area to explore. By studying the Arch-OS system it introduced a new perspective of the building itself, which others who are unaware of Arch-OS would not see. The discovery of this understanding is also one of the reasons why the GreenScreen is interesting to work with, as it deals with the concept of people having to look closer and unravel the information to understand what it really resembles. The philosophical element to deep ecology also allows for this section to be more flexible in terms of concepts and ideas.
New Ideas
By combining the information learnt during these workshops a number of new ideas can emerge. These ideas can then widen our investigation, but more importantly can be used to develop a concept for the final Agile project.
Firstly there are ideas such as those previously voiced in this synthesis. In particular I feel the investigation of hertzian space not involving GPS was left undeveloped and so there are a number of ways in which this section could be continued. Firstly hertzian space could be investigated further using time. The maps made at the beginning of the Field using wi-fi and Bluetooth were static images, but the position, strength and other characteristics of these frequencies change over time. Therefore alike to the GPS narrative the hertzian space could be studied and the constructed over time. This would move the herztian space element away from the space-based approach and more towards a time-based approach, therefore linking elements of the Picnic with the Field.
Another idea that has emerged from carrying out these workshops is a way of combining elements of the GPS section of these workshops with the GreenScreen from the territory. Previously the GPS elements had either been defined using a static image or a simple video narrative which demonstrated the development of the path. However these elements have only been viewable through computer and this blog, whereas with use of the GreenScreen tracks could be displayed to the public. As well as this if some of the Arch-OS data could be used to somehow produce the GPS element of the concept the final image would be more relevant as a whole.
The ecologies covered in this module also introduce new ideas. In particular it occurred to me that social and human ecology is quite difficult to separate as whenever people are interacting socially they are also interacting with their physical environment. This therefore made me question whether it was possible to get social ecology without the interference of human ecology. For this to really be possible the social interaction would have to occur in a non-physical environment. This made me consider virtual social environments such as MSN and Facebook, as these would allow for a social environment without any involvement of the physical environment. This could be an interesting area to investigate as it approaches a completely different type of ecology in terms of social interaction.
Conclusion
Overall the Agile workshops have been very effective in introducing and developing new concepts relating to architectures of the near future. Although certain elements were difficult to understand to begin with, by working through the projects and looking at examples of similar work a better understanding began to develop. This module has been an interesting developmental process that I have enjoyed and has introduced a wide range of different techniques and strategies. The final stage of this module is to take these ideas and create a final project with them that will be interesting and effective.
In the three workshops a wide range of different and new concepts have been introduced. The aim of the synthesis is to combine all these different ideas and consider new possibilities that come from this. In particular there may be inspiration for the final Agile project based on combining different elements of the three workshops. In this synthesis I will draw separate conclusions of each workshop and then outline different ideas which have stemmed from the experiences I have had.
The Picnic
The Picnic was the first workshop which introduced a number of leading aspects for the module. These included abstraction, reconstruction and gave us the ability to look at information from a different perspective. The Picnic was a steep learning curve in terms of the more open ways of thinking and viewing the environment, but this in some ways made it more engaging. This was also a benefit for the future workshops as these concepts such as abstraction have seemed to run throughout the workshops and so by introducing us to them at an early stage it made it easier to carry out future tasks. In terms of the ecology aspect of this workshop, both social and human ecology were covered which gave a broader spectrum of the underlying concept of the module. The most engaging aspect of this workshop was discovering ways in which the data can be abstracted, as although I knew of this concept, at first I found it difficult to put it into practice and so working through it helped to develop my creative skills.
The Field
The Field was the second workshop that was covered involving hertzian space and locative media and was focused on human ecology. The main focus of this work shop was the GPS track and ways in which to develop it from a simple GPS drawing to a more dynamic outcome. In particular I found the hertzian space element of this workshop interesting as it allowed me to investigate a query that I had previously considered, whilst developing this further into a spatial understanding of my surroundings which was relevant to the task at hand. This particular section had little development from the initial investigation, unlike the GPS section, and so there is a possibility of continuation in the future.
The Territory
The Territory was the third and final workshop and revolved around the Arch-OS system. Out of the three workshops I felt that this one was the most informative in understanding and developing ideas for its ecological theme of deep ecology. The most interesting element of this workshop was the Arch-OS section as there are numerous possibilities for the data it provides and the concept of intelligent architecture is a new and exciting area to explore. By studying the Arch-OS system it introduced a new perspective of the building itself, which others who are unaware of Arch-OS would not see. The discovery of this understanding is also one of the reasons why the GreenScreen is interesting to work with, as it deals with the concept of people having to look closer and unravel the information to understand what it really resembles. The philosophical element to deep ecology also allows for this section to be more flexible in terms of concepts and ideas.
New Ideas
By combining the information learnt during these workshops a number of new ideas can emerge. These ideas can then widen our investigation, but more importantly can be used to develop a concept for the final Agile project.
Firstly there are ideas such as those previously voiced in this synthesis. In particular I feel the investigation of hertzian space not involving GPS was left undeveloped and so there are a number of ways in which this section could be continued. Firstly hertzian space could be investigated further using time. The maps made at the beginning of the Field using wi-fi and Bluetooth were static images, but the position, strength and other characteristics of these frequencies change over time. Therefore alike to the GPS narrative the hertzian space could be studied and the constructed over time. This would move the herztian space element away from the space-based approach and more towards a time-based approach, therefore linking elements of the Picnic with the Field.
Another idea that has emerged from carrying out these workshops is a way of combining elements of the GPS section of these workshops with the GreenScreen from the territory. Previously the GPS elements had either been defined using a static image or a simple video narrative which demonstrated the development of the path. However these elements have only been viewable through computer and this blog, whereas with use of the GreenScreen tracks could be displayed to the public. As well as this if some of the Arch-OS data could be used to somehow produce the GPS element of the concept the final image would be more relevant as a whole.
The ecologies covered in this module also introduce new ideas. In particular it occurred to me that social and human ecology is quite difficult to separate as whenever people are interacting socially they are also interacting with their physical environment. This therefore made me question whether it was possible to get social ecology without the interference of human ecology. For this to really be possible the social interaction would have to occur in a non-physical environment. This made me consider virtual social environments such as MSN and Facebook, as these would allow for a social environment without any involvement of the physical environment. This could be an interesting area to investigate as it approaches a completely different type of ecology in terms of social interaction.
Conclusion
Overall the Agile workshops have been very effective in introducing and developing new concepts relating to architectures of the near future. Although certain elements were difficult to understand to begin with, by working through the projects and looking at examples of similar work a better understanding began to develop. This module has been an interesting developmental process that I have enjoyed and has introduced a wide range of different techniques and strategies. The final stage of this module is to take these ideas and create a final project with them that will be interesting and effective.
The Territory: A Synopsis
The final workshop covered by this module is entitled The Territory and focuses on the concept of deep ecology. Deep ecology places more focus on the non-human elements of our environment such as ecosystems and species and describes how the living environment should also be able to grow and interact in the way that the human species can. It also suggests that the the environment should not be used purely as a human resource, but should have its own purpose and reason for being.
The study of deep ecology can at times be a more philosophical approach to the environment, looking at the 'whys' and 'hows' of our existence and impact on the environment, rather than simply looking at the surface of ecology (our interaction with the environment) alike to human or social ecology.
In order to investigate the concept of deep ecology the Territory is based on the Arch-OS system. This is a computerised system set up in the Portland Square building of Plymouth University which monitors different characteristics inside and outside and collects data about them, which can then be manipulated to demonstrate the changes in the building. This in some ways can be considered the life of the building and therefore ties in with the concept of deep ecology, as the building is being viewed not as a resource but as a separate living object which can interact with the environment in its own way.
There is and overview and three main areas covered by the Territory which are listed below. To find out about each of them click on the link which will redirect you to the relevant post:
Overall the streaming project was quite successful as it created an intriguing and dynamic image. In particular it was successful in terms of the context of the project as it was designed for the building and personified it in a way that matched with the concepts set out by deep ecology. However its main downfall was that it was not taking the data directly from Arch-OS due to the vision system not working. This made the animation less relevant and did not give a sense of the real-time life of the building. It is not impossible to consider this being implemented properly though, and so the product that was produced at least acted as a successful demonstration of what could be created.
The study of deep ecology can at times be a more philosophical approach to the environment, looking at the 'whys' and 'hows' of our existence and impact on the environment, rather than simply looking at the surface of ecology (our interaction with the environment) alike to human or social ecology.In order to investigate the concept of deep ecology the Territory is based on the Arch-OS system. This is a computerised system set up in the Portland Square building of Plymouth University which monitors different characteristics inside and outside and collects data about them, which can then be manipulated to demonstrate the changes in the building. This in some ways can be considered the life of the building and therefore ties in with the concept of deep ecology, as the building is being viewed not as a resource but as a separate living object which can interact with the environment in its own way.
There is and overview and three main areas covered by the Territory which are listed below. To find out about each of them click on the link which will redirect you to the relevant post:
Once we had investigated each of these elements we were asked to carry out a small project in which we could use some or all of the elements to create an interesting streaming experience. For my project I decided to work with both the GreenScreen and the Arch-OS data to create a visualisation for the movement of people through Portland Square. To find out more about this project and to see the final result visit the posts below:
Overall the streaming project was quite successful as it created an intriguing and dynamic image. In particular it was successful in terms of the context of the project as it was designed for the building and personified it in a way that matched with the concepts set out by deep ecology. However its main downfall was that it was not taking the data directly from Arch-OS due to the vision system not working. This made the animation less relevant and did not give a sense of the real-time life of the building. It is not impossible to consider this being implemented properly though, and so the product that was produced at least acted as a successful demonstration of what could be created.
Sunday, 8 March 2009
The Field: space-based narrative
After creating the GPS drawing using GPS devices and visualisation software, and also documenting the area in which the drawing was obtained, this information then had to be accumulated and turned into a form of narrative. This could be through a number of forms including text, sound and video. An example of narrative work that relates to this is work from Janet Cardiff. Janet Cardiff produced what she called narrative walks where she narrated the path that she took and what she saw. The aim of these was to follow the directions elsewhere which may result in similarities with the original path. 
This was a path narrative made using sound. For my narrative I decided to animate the documentation to show the exact path through the images that was taken whilst overlaying the path as it was created. To view this video and more information on the creation of this space-based narrative visit Narrative for GPS Track.
This space based narrative is quite a successful representation of the GPS drawing made. The main element that leads to its success is the relationship between the line that is drawn on the ground and the actual GPS drawing that is placed on top. Without the track overlay the viewer of the video is unaware of their distance or location along the track. However with the drawing laid on top it is possible to know precisely which part of the path the video is currently displaying. The book element of the video is also quite good as it gives the impression of the images developing linearly through time along with the narrative similar to the contents of a book. However the downside of this narrative is that it is not the most original way of displaying the information and there may have been more abstract and interesting ways to create the narrative.
The narrative is overall an element that, in this case, encompasses the rest of the GPS elements previously obtained throughout The Field. This makes it quite an interesting construction as it not only shows the different elements but highlights the relationships between them.
This was a path narrative made using sound. For my narrative I decided to animate the documentation to show the exact path through the images that was taken whilst overlaying the path as it was created. To view this video and more information on the creation of this space-based narrative visit Narrative for GPS Track.This space based narrative is quite a successful representation of the GPS drawing made. The main element that leads to its success is the relationship between the line that is drawn on the ground and the actual GPS drawing that is placed on top. Without the track overlay the viewer of the video is unaware of their distance or location along the track. However with the drawing laid on top it is possible to know precisely which part of the path the video is currently displaying. The book element of the video is also quite good as it gives the impression of the images developing linearly through time along with the narrative similar to the contents of a book. However the downside of this narrative is that it is not the most original way of displaying the information and there may have been more abstract and interesting ways to create the narrative.
The narrative is overall an element that, in this case, encompasses the rest of the GPS elements previously obtained throughout The Field. This makes it quite an interesting construction as it not only shows the different elements but highlights the relationships between them.
The Field: space-based processes
Once the GPS drawing had been created we were asked to document the path that was taken therefore covering the space-based processes of the space-based drawing. This reverted back to traditional forms of documentation such as notes and collage as a method for displaying the processes made in creating the GPS drawing. For my documentation I decided to photograph sections of the path I took and then put these into a collage. To be able to relate the collage to the sections of the path I placed the images along a drawing of the path I took. This ensured that the documentation was relevant to the drawing and process to which it referred. The collage I produced is as follows:
To see more about this collage go to GPS Path Photos. Although this collage does show all of the important sections of the path that I took I do not feel it is all that effective as an image. The page is too cluttered in some areas to be able to read properly and it is in some ways difficult to know what order the images were taken. This therefore is not as effective in documenting the path taken as it could be. It may have been better just to lay the images out linearly so that each image could be viewed and the order they were taken would be obvious. However it is a thorough documentation of the areas that were covered in the creation of the GPS drawing so there is a lot of information available from the image.
Overall the space-based processes section of The Field helps to inform further the space-based navigation section and to provide a better representation of the events that occured during the navigation task.
To see more about this collage go to GPS Path Photos. Although this collage does show all of the important sections of the path that I took I do not feel it is all that effective as an image. The page is too cluttered in some areas to be able to read properly and it is in some ways difficult to know what order the images were taken. This therefore is not as effective in documenting the path taken as it could be. It may have been better just to lay the images out linearly so that each image could be viewed and the order they were taken would be obvious. However it is a thorough documentation of the areas that were covered in the creation of the GPS drawing so there is a lot of information available from the image.Overall the space-based processes section of The Field helps to inform further the space-based navigation section and to provide a better representation of the events that occured during the navigation task.
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