4 Comments »   posted in Installations, Gaite Lyrique, Natas Kaupas, Paris, Public Domaine, Skateboards

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I’ve written fairly often about the contemporary evolution of animation beyond the flat, rectangular, non-interactive screen. Animation will increasingly be integrated into the built environment over the coming years, and new applications of the art form will evolve. One exciting area I hadn’t considered, however, is how animation could be integrated with a natural backdrop. These possibilities are explored in the impressive projection mapping experiment “Lit Tree” by Seoul/London-based Kimchi and Chips which encourages audiences to interact with trees through an animated interface:

Through the use of video projection, a tree is augmented in a non-invasive way, enabling the presentation of volumetric light patterns using itʼs own leaves as voxels (3D pixels). We have developed our own structured light system (called MapTools-SL) which scans the location of every pixel in 3D, allowing a cloud of scattered projector pixels to be used as 3D Voxels.

The tree invites viewers with a choreographed cloud of light that can respond visitors motion. As visitors approach, they can explore the immediate and cryptic nature of this reaction. The tree can form gestures in this way, and can in turn detect the gestures of its visitors. By applying a superficial layer of immediate interaction to the tree, can people better appreciate the long term invisible interaction that they share with it?

The most fascinating by-product of such an idea is that the animation could potentially assist plant growth. It would be cool to get some biologists involved and have them collaborate with animators on developing this further:

Since the colour temperature of light produced by a video projector’s bulb is similar to the surface of the sun (5800K), we suggest that over time, the tree could naturally react to the light that is projected onto it….We listen to the tree’s reaction through the detailed 3D scans of its shape that are produced by the projection system. This type of photosynthesis would also allow for the tree to self-optimise for projection. Leaves which are in shadow from the projection move out to find the projector’s light. Furthermore light wasted inside the tree is absorbed in photosynthesis, which converts local carbon dioxide to oxygen.

More details on the Kimchi and Chips website.

3 Comments »   posted in Experimental, Installations, Kimchi and Chips, Projection mapping, South Korea, UK

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“The Cyclotrope” by Tim Wheatley

March 15, 2011 1:17 pm

I’m really into zoetrope-related experiments this week, which is a line I don’t recommend using as a conversation starter at any party. Above is a funky riff on the idea by Tim Wheatley that uses a bicycle wheel:

The cyclotrope is a cycle of 18 images that is spun at a certain speed so that the frame rate of the camera filming it gives the illusion of animation.

Tim is currently a student at the University College Falmouth in Cornwall. More details about the project on his website.

(Thanks, Loring Robbins)

13 Comments »   posted in Experimental, Installations, Student, Tim Wheatley, UK, Zoetrope

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“Rotary Signal Emitter” by Sculpture

March 14, 2011 8:56 am

“Rotary Signal Emitter” is a picture-disc LP created by Sculpture, the London based duo of musician Dan Hayhurst and animator Reuben Sutherland. Music AND animation is pressed into both sides of the disc:

Sutherland ‘DJs’ with home-made zoetropic discs, intricate concentric rings of illustrated frames, projecting fragments of looping images at 33, 45 and 78 rpm – pre-Edisonian imaging technology combined with a digital video camera.

The LPs were produced in a limited edition of 300 copies, which can be purchased HERE. I want one bad but it seems like ordering is a tad difficult if you’re in the US. The videos below show the mesmerizing—almost hallucinatory—effect when the audio component matches up with the animation.

9 Comments »   posted in Experimental, Installations, Dan Hayhurst, Reuben Sutherland, Sculpture, UK, Zoetrope

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3D Zoetrope Projection Mapping by Graeme Hawkins

March 13, 2011 8:54 am

Hands down the coolest thing I’ve seen in the past week—heck, in the past month! Graeme Hawkin, the mad Scottish animation scientist who I profiled last year, continues to expand his experiments with 3-D zoetropes. The evolution of his zoetrope process and the making of this piece is documented extensively on his website Retchy.com so if you have questions, go there first. The hypnotic effect is achieved through a relatively basic concept—projection mapping onto a three-dimensional model rotating on a turntable. It reminds me of some of the performances I saw last year at the Elektra festival in Montreal, where artists created visual experiences that existed in a three-dimensional space instead of straight-ahead on a flat screen.

Here is a video of the turntable zoetrope that Graeme built from balsa wood minus the projection mapping:

9 Comments »   posted in Experimental, Installations, Graeme Hawkins, Projection mapping, Scotland, Zoetrope

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