#ctec501final

[rachelmcguigan-bct-blog]

Part 2 of development:

Some progress gifs I made throughout the animating process to test out movement, speed and look without the lag of Photoshop. (However, this does have a limited colour palette, making some strange effects). 

This and the colouring was one of the most time consuming parts of the process because I was constantly adjusting and had to do it frame by frame. In part, the lengthy process was due to my lack of experience with animation. I ended up having to cut some additional animations I wanted to happen because of the time limit but I feel that the animation I had the time to do show the main messages of an unsustainable fashion industry (first animation) and growth/rebirth (second animation).

[mybctexperience]

Final Project Part 13

Today was hand in day. We had to bring all the elements of our project together. I went off first thing to print the poster. Then we all had to wait for the 3D Labs to be open to get the box, and resin discs. Sam, Angelica, and Liam went over to get everything. After about an hour they hadn’t returned so I went over myself to check if everything was going okay. Sam and Angelica told me that something had gone wrong with the resin’s curing process and they had to have each disc separately vacuum sealed for health and safety. Also, that the box wouldn’t open and close properly anymore so Liam had gone to see if he could sand it down a little. I went to go check on Liam, he was having difficulty with trying to sand the box without ruining the stain we had all worked so hard on. After having a short chat with the Technicians, they figured out a way that would fix our problem as best as possible, hopefully within our time constraints. They said that they thought we shouldn’t have actually stained the box in the first place, that the problem was how the wood had swollen with the stain, that natural wood looks the nicest, and our box had still looked pretty good even before we stained it. So, we had to sand away a lot of the stain, just to get the box to even work kind of like it used to. We also decided to give the box an old, distressed kind of look as an aesthetic, instead of freaking out to much about the stain.

Once we got back to the Studio we started putting everything together. Liam put up the poster, I put our red LED lights into the box and added all of our little labels, put the box on the table and added the statement in front of the box on the table, then Sam and Angelica arrived with the resins and little stands/pedestals for each of them, and put them in the box. Finally everything was all in one place.

Once everything was set, we only just had about 5 minutes to spare before we had to leave for the assessment to commence. I am pretty proud of what we’ve done. We ran into loads of issues along the way, but we’ve still made it through with a relatively working final product. I hope that we get a reasonable mark for our work.

[bctovelty]

When things dont go as planned in a group, what do you do? When they are your friends, what do you say? When you say something, they take it as a joke. I'm not complaining about the work that our group is doing, we are practically at a rather sensitive time of finalizing our project. Being in a group of strangers for a project, is sometimes better than a group of friends. I understand why Ricardo mentioned this in one of his lectures, because of our opinions and relationship, we often hide what our true thoughts are. This is what's happening in my group. When I do have an opinion, I feel that they will go against it as a bunch. This has happened when I suggested that we should get out of our comfort zone to seek materials in nature, most disagreed with me.

Update on Project:

Our team finally aced attendance with 5/5 coming in, which is a great improvement for us. Setup of our equipment has been complete, we added better materials for our project, as now we are using coloured alternative plastic than regular ones. For more effective work tomorrow, we need light(torch) to progress on our project as the light is the crucial aspect. Without light we weren't able to project the big picture of our ideal shape, making it difficult for us to improve our prototypes.

[bct-angelica-tan]

println(”tagged as #ctec501final”);

11/06/18 | Preparing the resin moulds

I’m in partial charge of making the resin shapes, along with Sam. We’re still going with the idea of four cylindrical shapes that represent the main spheres of the earth, bio, litho, atmo and hydro. Today was spent in the Design labs forming the moulds for our shapes. Knowing beforehand that our project would require knowledge beyond what we already know, having the technicians around was great help.

To make the moulds, especially in the cylindrical shape we want them to be, we needed solid ‘frames’ that suit the size and height of our predefined spheres. We’ve agreed last week that a diameter of 8cm would be best, just enough interior space to work with and small enough for viewers to hold in their hand. Luckily in that same week, we discovered some tape rolls to have more or less of an 8cm diameter. These were obtained in the Wet labs, they were spares that we got to keep.

The time we spent in the Wet labs today involved us using these spare tape rolls as structures to our resin moulds. The process to actually prepare the moulds doesn’t end there. The previous week had us also collect PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) plastic and other cylinder shapes which are near-exact in size to the tape rolls. They had been stored and now it’s time to use what we’ve got.

The PET plastic is essential to making the moulds because it ensures the resin doesn’t stick to the mould itself. We could have decided to make the moulds through PET alone, but it’s a process even further out of what we know called injection moulding and using the professional machines that we’re unfamiliar with. Instead, collecting the used tape rolls and wrapping sheets of PET into the rolls inner circle was more suitable. It meant less technical effort which allows us to work efficiently.

Our option of hand-making the moulds had us go around the Design Labs to do small tasks. First, to the guillotine in the Metalworks lab to divide the sheets of PET. We needed this machine because our PET sheets are so thick that they can’t be cut neatly with craft scissors. Me and Sam had a small induction on using this machine, and because of the strength of the guillotine, a foot pedestal was in place of the usual handsaw.

Producing measure of PET sheets took a lot of iteration, as they have to be of the right size and length to coil within the moulds. This was also because we wanted to be efficient with our resources, even through they were already free of charge. Iteration was even more so, because we found PET scraps that were lighter in weight and thickness than the ones in our supply. We tried out these lighter sheets and compared it to our thick ones.

Laying out our options, we had cut them up and measured them to fit our mould. the clearer slip is the thinnest and is on the right.

Generally it was easier to contour the thin sheet into the tape roll. Their malleability meant they didn’t need the guillotine either; regular scissors did just fine. The thick PET sheets we had just didn’t seem necessary anymore, and by trading one free thing for another the transition to lighter PET sheets was easy. Because we wanted to make four spheres, we need to make four moulds. We measured and cut four slips of PET, and had a technician cut out two more cylindrical moulds for us to go with our two used tape rolls.

After cutting the the PET sheets to fit to our tape roll moulds, we headed over to the Wet labs. As it is essentially where the resin will be poured, PET is mandatory so that when we pour the resin in, the resin won’t stick to the mould. We also needed to stick the moulds on thick PET sheets. It’s to be the base for setting the resin in. We hot glue-gunned our handmade moulds to the PET base. They didn’t need to be neatly done, so long as they are sealed down firmly.

Our equipment laid out, and the moulds after hot gluing.

Within a day we’ve learned how to do many new things! While me and Sam worked on the resin moulds in the Wet labs, Caitlin and Liam had worked on sanding the box in the Woodworks lab. We’re all essentially doing new things as we’ve anticipated, which is required of us to get our project done. Last week Caitlin and Liam had the box constructed, and now me and Sam have the moulds are ready for use. We hope to start filling them with resin tomorrow morning, and in the meantime (since last week) each of us are collecting items to encase in the resin. Plastic wrappings, foliage, litter of these sorts.

Everything is coming together slowly. We still have a fair bit of work to go (and new things to learn!) but we’ve got a plan for each day. We have different roles, so we find that it’s important that we keep pace with each other while learning together as peers.

[jackhealybct]

Studio Final Project

We have set off on the hard haul of three intense weeks in order to expand on existing projects for our final project. Our plan is to create an experience based on the idea of Soundscapes and the visuals of our film “Interloper”. I’m looking forward to creating an in depth display of the ideas we covered in our short film, and trying to put the audience in the shoes of our character. Our ideas began with a wide array of technical aspects, but we quickly realised that it would be out of our reach within our time frame. What we want is to project visuals onto a wall and have sounds complimenting them and working together to create an environment, and originally we had ideas to use multiple projections, construct a small room and series of interactive elements, but in order to incorporate all this it could end up costing a considerable amount as well as being nigh impossible with our three week time frame. This was important to realise though as it brought back our focus to the point of developing the previous projects further and to go further into what they mean, which can’t be done just using more technical elements, but by really exploring more into what made the ideas and themes of the other projects important.

[hirunda-maxpw]

First Week of Semester 1 Final project  - 30/05/2018

I got myself in a team with two of the people I worked with on the second project and we have decided to work on an advert based on our project 2 final product: a crisp packet made out of a bio-plastic made using discarded vegetables. Although we did go on odd tangents, much of our early ideas were recorded in the form of podcast type blogs. 

From these sessions, we have  managed to finalise the direction we want to follow, have allocated roles, finished our script and storyboard that I was in charge of drawing:

Page 1

and page 2

From there, we are going to head into prop making and then into shooting.

[bct-chief-ephe]

Final project done and dusted

[samarzukibct]

Final studio project hand in day.

Today marks the last day of Semester 1, and the due date of our project. Earlier today we went to collect the resin discs and the box that was left at the 3D labs to let the resin discs and the box’s stain coating set. However there was a minor issue with the resin molds, and neither us nor Harriet knew what happened, all we know was the bottom clear coat of resin crystallized and some parts of the discs still had some resin residue that has not hardened. Fortunately we were able to fix the issue thanks to Harriet and the guys at the hard materials area, and helped us vacuum seal the discs to help seal up the resin discs with a two ceramic plastic coats on each side of the discs. And as a added bonus, we were able to have small pedestals for each resin disc as we took some off cuts Matt at the hard material area used to shape the bottom half of the plastic seal.

The final outcome of the project looks amazing when it was all put together as our view of the “perfect” imperfection of the box really took shape to represent the evil contained within the “Pandora’s” Anthropocene box.

[andreaclarkbct-blog]

Video of the program I have working so far. In the top right corner you can see a (bit off) grid of the colours of the blocks in the frame. I will use this data of the colours in the webcam to detect motion in the frame which can then affect the videos that are playing. I’m pleased with the progress I have made today - although there was a solid hour that I couldn’t get anything working at all (and ended up asking Gayle to see her code as she had done a similar program to me). I didn’t copy her code, but it was easy to see that there were a few lines she had that I didn’t that had made all the difference. I definitely think it was a good call to ask for outside help - otherwise I would have continued to be frustrated.

[michaelabct]

A little change

We have decided to change our project. We are now doing an interactive program. There will be a grid and in each grid will be the video I’m developing. they will all be playing at once. if you walk in front of the projection you activate the program. The program uses a camera so when someone is in the camera's view, their shadow is shown. The videos also rotate. The message we are trying to portray is that humans can make a difference. If we do something, anything, maybe we can make a change. However, to make a change you have to do work. That is why we have an interactive project. 

The video I’m developing is based on animal extinction and ignorant humans. in the video are people doing normal things, pictures of endangered animals and the causes of animals going endangered. I've edited the layout of the video to be a square. This is so when the video rotates there won't be uneven black lines. 

[rachelmcguigan-bct-blog]

Final Project Concepts

For the final project we had three components to complete. The garment is the focus of our project, with animations and a soundscape to support it. Doing so better immerses the audience in the atmosphere we want to create and demonstrate our theme of rebirth, as well as the importance of upcycling.

I am doing the two animations that will be playing beside the garment. I had to design them to highlight both the clothing itself but also to convey information about why we are doing this project.

Some initial symbolism ideas I had were cotton fields, fast fashion, excess of clothing and growth from the garment to show upcycling. I wanted to show contrast between the two animations – to show the bleaker reality of the Anthropocene and the fast fashion industry and hope for sustainable fashion that benefits the Earth rather than harm it. I also liked the idea of a passive model, letting the world change around them for better or worse and it also allows the garment to remain the focus and the world to speak for the human, rather than humanity speaking for the Earth, tying back to the Anthropocene. So I did multiple concepts attempting to capture this idea. Below are most of them, some in different stages of progress than others:

Eventually I decided on expanding upon the last two concepts. They both convey growth - one of more and more clothes and the other of life. Basically the before and after.

Here is a brief article on cheap and fast fashion, the cost of it and tips on how to shop for clothes more sustainably: (x)

Here is a more indepth article on the consumption of clothing, it’s threat to the Earth and it’s effect on the Anthropocene, giving possible long-term solutions to the problem: (x)

A. Brooks, & K. Fletcher, & R. Francis, & E. Dulcie Rigby, & T. Roberts. (2017). Fashion, Sustainability, and the Anthropocene. Utopian Studies. 28. 482-504. 10.5325/utopianstudies.28.3.0482.

[mybctexperience]

Final Project Part 10

So yesterday Liam and Angelica went and put the sealer coat on the box. It is the final coat for the box. We’ve decided that because of the drying time which is 6 to 24 hours, we have left it in the Labs to dry, and will pick it up with the resins on Monday.

I worked on our poster adding the extra illustrations of the instructions, finding a style for the title and our extra instructions and titles on/inside the box. I’m going to add it to the group so that Angelica can take a look and change anything that needs changing. Though I am pretty happy with how it has come out.

Angelica was also working on our summery. We were very glad to have looked over the brief again, because we had all completely forgotten about it...

[vahidzbct]

Final Project update.

We have begun to film scenes for our project, because in focusing more on the coding and making the film interactive iv been practicing and testing video manipulation in processing and how we might be able to saw between different scenes with a push of a button. Iv been able to jump between different scenes and have also been able to loop different parts of a film so it plays continuously.

[bct-angelica-tan]

Team Pandora - final project statement

It’s a fact that not many people know the Anthropocene by name, nor the state of this current epoch and how profoundly it’s shaping the world. Our project’s focus takes a strong consideration to this indifference, by applying the concept of Pandora’s story to the nature of the Anthropocene. The forefront of our project’s showcase has the viewers discover this epoch through physical objects.

These objects are artefacts encased in resin. By choosing to have four discs to represent each of the Earth’s four main spheres (bio, litho, hydro and atmospheres), we’re encapsulating their current, and true states relative to the Anthropocene. Such properties is the prevalence of litter and pollution across all spheres.

For the viewer, they simply need to open the wooden box. The act intends to bring a strong moral that connects to Pandora’s story. In short, curiosity got Pandora to open the box given to her by Zeus. The box was never meant to be opened, but when Pandora lifted the lid all things terrible were released - disease, famine, hatred, envy, demise. In relating this story to the Anthropocene, it’s very much the same. Whether it be the people who produce to build bigger and better things, or the everyday consumer, any human who opens this Anthropocene box will have played a part in the expense of the Earth’s welfare.

We want viewers to come to realise the condition of our current epoch. Much like Pandora opening her box, the horrors of the Anthropocene will be personally discovered by the viewer alone and, at the least, lead to open reflection for what could be done. Ultimately, we want our viewers to take a simple message after opening our box; what could be done to change the state of our current epoch?

[georggiacrump]

Our pitch

We presented our idea to Clint today, he was very concerned we were making an app as well. We told Clint, he could relax after mentioning it was an advertisement for the app. He was awfully helpful once he told us that it should be very short, like 30 seconds or shorter short. People tend to get distracted or bored if an advert is longer than 30 seconds. Which was true, the adverts on your telly don’t run for longer than 30 seconds. He seemed pretty happy with our idea since he faces, and talk about our exact problem on a regular basis when he shops for his groceries. He also mentioned companies going through shortages already such as electric cars no longer needing petrol. Oil companies no longer needed since plastic bags are getting phased out now. Clint also mentioned that supermarkets have a huge dilemma with filming in supermarkets which puts a massive wobbly in the works. Hopefully, we can email them and hope they will comply. I think it’s important to have a few shots of the supermarket and a customer using the app in the store.

We also had two different visions for our studio space as well. Half of us were set on just having a film for our project, and the other half thought we were still doing an interactive installation which has left things tricky. I’m concerned with the time and knowing how to do an interactive installation. I thought a film would portray our message we wanted to get across. This is what being in a collaborative group entitles, so we will have to work through and come to a compromise shortly this week. We’ve also submitted the form asking for equipment and space in the studio, wanting to get in early before it all runs out. We’ve asked for more than we require since we’re still not sure what we want for our viewing.

[samarzukibct]

Final studio project  Week 2: “Pandora’s” Anthropocene Box.

For the second week of out final project, my team had a small road block due to the sizes of the wood available in store, however we were able to make a compromise and bought a slightly thicker planks of wood. Throughout the rest of the week we were also discussing more in-depth in what to put inside the four resin discs.

For the rest of the week two of our members started cutting and building the box, while the other team member and I continued planning more on creating the resin molds. We decided to head to the wet labs again and discuss with Harriet on what we can use to make the resin molds from. Fortunately enough she gave us some samples on what we can use to create the resin molds with.

On Thursday the other group member and I also planned out where our spot in class will be located for the open studio.