design applied to multimedia installations

Posted on March 4, 2012
by medul.la

from the 13th to the 15th of march, i’ll be at the trackers cultural center, in são paulo, brazil, to give a short workshop which purpose is to provide an intense and productive space for the study and production of multimedia installations that include the use of projection techniques. this workshop is based on previous ones i have given on the subject, but this time we’ll be focusing on design thinking and models applied to projects that address the use of projected images.

we’ll be using three main tools in order to experiment with this sort of media: vpt – a well known opensource projection mapping tool developed by hc gilje -, lpmt – also an opensource projection mapping tool, a very nice option for linux users – and google sketchup, in order to sketch and analyze possible projection situations.

projection mapping has become a well known and creative use of visual language applied to unusual contexts. the technology calls the attention of a wide variety of professionals, enthusiasts and researchers, with different knowledge backgrounds. hence, a proper design model is important, considering the diversity of disciplines and techniques such projects usually require. it is interesting to understand how a projector works, what are its components, how does the image “fit” the projection support, how should a video be formatted in order to suit specific projection surfaces, how can a projection mapping situation be properly calculated, and so forth.

therefore, the program of the workshop is proposed as the following:

day 1 (13/03): introduction to design thinking applied to projection technology

what sorts of knowledge are related to projection mapping technology? what is a projector, and how it works? what sorts of equipment should be considered in such projects? what about video formatting? these common questions will be addressed while we introduce a methodology that can be used in several kinds of projection situations. we’ll do a little exercise in which the participants will be invited to create an installation and sketch it on google sketchup.

day 2 (14/03): vpt and lpmt - adapting images using software

this is the day in which i’ll introduce the two projection mapping tools, and explain a little bit about certain coherences and differences between virtual and “real” world texturing. we’ll be going through typical mapping techniques, such as vertex distortion, masking and frame blending. as an exercise, the participants will be invited to adapt images and videos of their choice to the support they have chosen in the previous day.

day 3 (15/03): wrapping all up

in the last day, participants will be able to finish their installations and have time for specific questions that eventually could not be answered during the previous days.

to apply for the workshop or to get more info, click here (only in portuguese).

hope to see you there!

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thinking the urbe: avlab córdoba september 2011

Posted on September 14, 2011
by medul.la

the 4th installment of the avlab córdoba meetings (remember the last one?), curated by daniel gonzález xavier, will take place at the local centro cultural españa, on the 19th and 20th of september. this time, the event proposes a discussion around a theme that is brought back every once in a while, underlining an insistent necessity to rethink the urban and informational scapes. it is clear now that the urbe can be analyzed in terms of language, that is, as a composition of mediatic processes that continually modify the patterns of its experience. cellphones and online tools guide human nodes (a term i occasionally will rather use instead of users) to their destination, while indicate their movement through streets and places of interests, connecting millions of people in a narrative network, a virtual culture of the exchange of opinions (fact that allows certain authors to identify in contemporary networks a revival of certain aspects of oral cultures). cameras everywhere, either picturing a stage for someone’s life particular episode, either serving as control mechanisms. the sound of cars, planes, helicopters, undiscriminated publicity. radio-frequency communications. different but inter-related layers of information that can be thought as a platform to analyze, interpret and represent urban scapes and their complex vectors.

with a fast-changing mobile, network and simulation technology scenario, it’s always interesting to bring such discussion forward, not only to understand such a schizophrenic rate of ‘innovations’, but also to try to identify their impact in different cultural contexts, as well as to consider the consequences of an increasing obsolete material culture.

this avlab tries to bring into this discussion a few distinct but somehow intertextual perspectives of a few artists and investigators.

the project bineural-monokultur (christina ruf and ariel dávila) will share their experience with their audio tours, a work that proposes an ‘actorless’ theatre, the city as stage for narrative sound interfaces.

the educators and researchers of the information science, yamila ferreyrra and valerya sbuelz, propose a discussion around the possible cartographies of bodies, synergies and contrasts in between different urban territorialities in córdoba’s context. their workshop will be based on the creation of possible strategies to map such circumstances.

my participation in the discussion concerns projection as a technology and a technique to provide visual interfaces for détournements: the technical moving and realtime image applied into space that superposes layers of visual subjectivity over urban scapes. there will be a quick workshop to present to the participants the basic idea behind projection mapping (based on previous meetings), using the opensource tool vpt. the workshop happens on september 20th, from 10am to 12:30pm.

after the workshops, at 2:00pm, a quick lab will be proposed, in which participant artists and workshop attendants will engage into the development of a possible installation to take place at the cultural center and its surroundings, during the night that closes the event.

please consult the website of the centro cultural españa to check the schedule of the event and to apply for the workshops.

the event will be streamed live by the cce.

hope to see you there!

3rd avlab córdoba 2011: how was it

Posted on July 15, 2011
by medul.la

3o encuentro avlab córdoba 2011

here are some images from the 3rd avlab córdoba meeting in 2011. this one was focused in providing kids a space to interact and explore new media as a creative platform. i was present with a prototype based on the opensource project tagtool, so that kids could draw directly in the space of the auditorium by using projection technology. many, many thanks to daniel gonzález xavier for the invitation; laura colombo, o-bri, fede gaumet and julio catalano for the exchange of ideas and references; and lina lopes for taking images of the event.

3rd avlab córdoba meeting

Posted on July 3, 2011
by medul.la

on july 12th, from 4pm to 7pm, i’ll be participating on the 3rd avlab córdoba meeting, in centro cultural españa. this meeting proposes interactive installations for kids and “young adults”. i’ll be installating a prototype based on the tagtool open hardware/software device. so if you happen to be in córdoba during this day, come along and have fun doing some digital graffiti with us! you will be able to “virtually” paint architectural spaces and monuments inside the CCE space.

below theres a video about the tagtool project. bring your kiddos!

special thanks to daniel gonzález xavier for the opportunity.

a feedback on augmented architecture

Posted on May 23, 2011
by medul.la

here’s a few images from the workshop augmented architecture, which took place earlier this may. the workshop introduced a few concepts on projection techniques/language in order to experiment with visual perception concerning objects and environments.

augmented architecture on flickr

augmented architecture

i would like to thank eduardo ricci for the pictures, and also everyone who has participated in the process of these workshops, it has been a great and constructive experience

here’s the presentation i’ve used to talk a little about the history of projection, and contemporary aspects of what André Parente calls the ‘flee from the black box”, process in which i argue projection mapping is inserted in.

i’ll probably be posting a text i’ve already written concerning the subject, with a few revisions (and a translation to english and spanish). you can download the pdf with the original version here (in portuguese).

stay tuned.

augmented architecture

Posted on May 2, 2011
by medul.la

i would like to start the activities in this blog by announcing i’ll be at the espaço cultural trackers, in são paulo, during the 11th, 12th and 13th of may, working on the workshop arquitetura aumentada (augmented architecture), from 8pm to 11pm. the purpose is to provide an environment of reference sharing and experimentations about projection techniques concerning spatial perception. as a digital tool, we will be using the open source software VPT.

for inscriptions, please send mail to video@trackers.cx. more information at the trackers blog.

as a ‘warm-up’, below are images and videos from the last workshop i’ve worked on there, in december/2010: