Fridgecam
Wait inside a fridge for something to happen. Archive highlights of fridge activity over some period.
Blog
Etchasketch
This piece arose (as with so many others) from a discussion in a pub. It concerned how hard it was to get an Etch-a-Sketch to ever draw anything at all, which I suppose was the point of them.
Drawing a diagonal line required years of Karate-Kid-style, Wax-On Wax-Off discipline to get just the angle you wanted. Drawing a circle was reserved for the true Buddha.
So I thought it would be cool to develop a system to make it easier to draw with an Etch-a-Sketch. Turn it back into normal scribbling, with the help of an over-the-top technology, a whole PC to drive an ancient, clumsy, analogue drawing system.
In common with all good ideas, it turns out that it’s been done before, but according to our collective principles originality doesn’t matter a fig, so I’m probably going to do it anyway.
I’d like to have a load of these devices, rather than just the one. Anyone got 20 or so? Know where to get such things? If you see one in a charity shop or a car boot sale, I’m up for parting with cash for these things anyway.
Configurations
Various configurations are possible.
- synchronizing all the different etch-a-sketches in order to have them draw the same image
- them all draw different images
- draw a single large image, like a video wall
The first configuration is the easiest, only requiring two stepper motors, and maybe lots of bicycle chain or something to couple all the wheels of the video wall together. The other configurations are about the same from a complexity point of view, and would need independent stepper controllers for each of the dials (maybe up to 40 independent degrees of freedom!).
Content
As for what you draw, you could have them
- real-time, driven by a graphics pad - direct audience participation
- from archived sketches
- from pictures, and turn them into sketches through some automated process, like the script-fu in gimp
One last thing - how do you shake upside down all the etch-a-sketches in the video wall to erase the image - I think that was how it worked.
Springthing
A 3D structure consisting of objects connected using springs - effectively a complex coupled dynamic system. Such a system should produce complex chaotic movement patterns when excited or driven, which should be fun to watch and/or interact with. The system can be either excited directly by a user or driven by a motor. The objects can be different colours/sizes/shapes.
No electronics or computer required, this is physics/mechanics. Cefn proposed creating a computer model first to better understand the dynamics and explore the configuration space.
Meeting tonight (Wednesday)
Just a note that we’ll be getting together tonight, 8pm, at the Spinney. All welcome. Mail me if you need directions, or ask one of the other guys who have been attending meetings.
Please mail me your current votes on the pieces you want to make happen, and tell me other people or other pieces which should be listed in the game plan.
If you really can’t get this info to me, we’ll get it first thing in the meeting, and then we’ll break down into targeted hacking and brainstorming groups for each of the pieces, sketch out things on bits of paper, share ideas about how to complete them, and get some kind of schedule together for milestones for each piece.
November the 5th is still looming and there’s a chance we could get some things together for a select audience.
echo
I am working on installation “echo”. It is going to be composed of several elements: video camera, digital screen, projection and receding lights (processs colors alternating). Here is a little demo. More to follow.
Computer
I have a computer which I’m willing to donate to the collective, the specs are-
Compaq Pentium II, about 300 Mhz, 128mB Ram, 6gb harddrive, integrated graphics, ethernet card, serial and USB 1 ports. It runs on Suse Linux 8 and has Java installed.
Chugs along at fair pace on Linux, wouldn’t want to try Windows on it though, too slow for video or 3D graphics but could drive some kind of hardware.
Not in Ipswich yet but will pick it up this weekend.
Voting instead of ranking
Much better suggestion from Fabrice Saffre - use votes to indicate your commitment/enthusiasm. I have changed the guidance correspondingly, and used my 100 votes like this.
Mail me your votes.
Lights, Camera, Action points
Assignments are all now in this table
Three tasks for those whose names are in the table. One task for everyone.
A) Vote for your pieces. You have 100 votes to spend. Your votes should be an indication of the enthusiasm you have for each piece. Mail me with the number of votes you wish to cast for each piece.
Your voting could be based on which is the easiest to get done, or the one you like the most, or a direct indication of the effort you’re willing to put in. People are concerned they’ve taken on too much, and this is intended to be used to work out what we do first. You can change your votes whenever you like during the development of the pieces.
E.g. for me
- Handcar - 25
- Cornfingers - 25
- Pipedreams - 25
- Fibredisplay - 10
- Fridgemagnets - 5
- Videomontage - 5
- Killthecat - 5
B) Take the time to edit the page describing your favourite piece(s). Detail how it will look, how it will behave, how it will be built, some of the options you’re considering for tools and techniques.
C) Talk to the other people who are listed against that piece. Arrange a get together with them to actually hack stuff. We aim to run some of the first piece-hacking sessions at the next meeting, but there’s plenty of scope to arrange breakaway events. This will also help to engage the guys like Gavin Churcher and others who can’t make it for Wednesdays.
And for everyone…
D) Tell me if there is a piece missing or a person missing. If you wanted something else to be up there, or if you want your name against one of the pieces, then let me know. [Isley do you want to do your ‘standing in Ippy‘?]
curiosity piece idea ...
Had a really simple idea for a curiosity piece last night. It probably bears no relation to the other work we’re planning on, but its only a ‘quick’ piece, so thought i’d post it anyhow, so here goes ..
It’s basically a video piece of a person standing in ipswich town square staring up at the nothing in particular (the sky/ a corner of a building..). i’m thinking we could film them for 30mins or something, mayb an hour. and we just see how many members of the general public that stop and look to see what this person is looking at ...
old gag i know, but thought it might b quite fun 
PS. went to see “History of Violence” last night, starring Aragorn from LOTR ...
absolutely cracking film, thoroughly recommended!
Ovaltune
A kind of intelligent music and visuals maker, driven interactively by the viewer screenshot here
N.B. On the Max MSP website ‘A new version of OvalTune by David Zicarelli is under development’
see blog entries about this piece