::DIGITI::

2006-04-14T04:50:00.000-07:00

▁▃▅▇█QuickTime movie█▇▅▃▁

[the latest movie clip for DIGITI, enjoy...]

http://homepage.mac.com/hahahakenji/DIGITI_Video(clean)_HiRes.mov

2006-04-02T15:55:00.000-07:00

▁▃▅▇█DIGITI for TakeAway DO it yourself media festival█▇▅▃▁

2006-03-29T02:50:00.000-08:00

▁▃▅▇█Latest Version of DIGITI for TakeAway DO it yourself media festival█▇▅▃▁

2006-02-02T10:29:00.000-08:00

▁▃▅▇█QuickTime movie█▇▅▃▁

[final work demonstration]

http://homepage.mac.com/hahahakenji/RMOV0030.AVI

2006-01-27T01:43:00.000-08:00

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[as my programme bit was basically done, i brought my whole project back to test witht the projector this week]

2006-01-27T01:33:00.000-08:00

▁▃▅▇█X'mas weeks█▇▅▃▁

:: INSPIRATION/RΣSΣARCH ::

[i improved a bit about the RGB color range for the LED tracking, now the lines are more solid in the display window. because of some real graffiti artists out there they do something called stencil graffiti. for example, they cut out patterns/shapes on a paper, and then spray over the paper to make that patterns/shapes. right here, i have a stencil]

[here is the final display window from my processing]

[well, as i can't make the displa window full screen, i would like to make another version other then a blank background. here i use an image of a brick wall as a background]

2005-12-20T01:20:00.000-08:00

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:: WORKSHOP ::

[i started working with my spraycans this week, i designed the electric circuit and mechanism inside the cans.]

:: INSPIRATION/RΣSΣARCH ::

[i figure out how to draw continuous lines of all colors in processing this week, well, it has a black background now, and tracking and drawing my red, green, blue LEDs. but still, the line of some colors are not "solid" enough i think, i might need to change a bit about their range of color values]

2005-12-11T01:06:00.000-08:00

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:: WORKSHOP ::

[well, this workshop we talk about art and illusion, art andbrain, Richard's brain scan as well...and at the end of the workshop, Richard gave me help on processing, about my disappearing line problem. we tried a few methods like matrix() or noLoop. but finally, richard figure out that, basically, i just need to move some of my lines. but it can only draw red now. but i use the rest of my week to figure this out.]

:: INSPIRATION/RΣSΣARCH ::

[i dropped some note for myself, about how to finish my project.
requirment:
- track colors (RGB)
- draw continuous lines or patterns (circle)
- if no specific colors (RGB), DON'T track any nearest colors
- able to clear the lines
- if track red, draw red; track green, draw green; track blue, draw blue.

jobs to do:
- figuer out how to make "layer" in processing
- find the ranges of value of R/G/B
- convert the video into solid color (white/black) as the background
- figure out how to clear the lines]

2005-12-04T20:22:00.000-08:00

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:: WORKSHOP ::

[in this workshop, we were trying to control the AC current with a micro-controller. this practise extend the possibility of the use of micro-controller, and i think it may apply to our final project. basically what we have done is connect a reed relay into the circuit with our BX, and use it as a switch. and also connect it with the domestic light. before that, we tested the programme of the BX with LED, make sure it works. and in the programme of the BX is just sending a current to pin 12, turn it on and off in every half second. and finally it works!]

:: INSPIRATION/RΣSΣARCH ::

[this week, i figure out how to make my programme draw a continuous. but what i did is quite tricky, i think. i took away the image (video,0,0) command of the programme. and it ended up showing no image in the background but only the red dot which is tracking the red object. but i still need to improve it to a proper drawing function.]

[also, i wrote another programme to pixelated the web cam visual into a solid color. basically, this programme is for the Internet and Network Art module. but i found it maybe helpful to this project. as i can convert all the pixel into solid, so i will be able to control it only fill red, green or blue. and also track red, green or blue....]

2005-11-25T00:18:00.000-08:00

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:: WORKSHOP ::

[this workshop was taken by Ian, and we discussed about narrative minimalism. less is more? as well as he introduced some books, artists, software and websites. on the other hand, i finished the mini assignment for last week. i gave variables which let the user to change the x,y position of the image, and let the user to change the R-G-B values. below is the code and screenshort.]

PImage a;
int x;
int y;
int Rvalue;
int Gvalue;
int Bvalue;

void setup()
{
size(1200, 900);
a = loadImage("Screen.jpg");
x = 200;
y = 50;
Rvalue = 100;
Gvalue = 200;
Bvalue = 204;

tint(Rvalue, Gvalue, Bvalue);
image(a, x, y);

}

:: INSPIRATION/RΣSΣARCH ::

[this week i basically figured out the slow video problem of my Processing programme. as well as, i made it track the reddest pixel rather then the brightest pixel and depends on what color is being track, the "dot" will fill in that specific color. so, up to this moment, i can track color by type in a color value to the programme. but i still need to improve it to track colors automatically, i will make it track red, green and blue. and i need to improve it to draw continuous lines when i move the tracked objects...]

// Processing code

import processing.video.*;

// Variable for capture device
Capture video;
color trackColor;

void setup()
{
size(320 , 240);
framerate(30);
colorMode(RGB,255,255,255,10);

// Using the default capture device
video = new Capture(this, 320, 240, 12);
trackColor = color(255,0,0); // Start off tracking for red
fill(trackColor);
strokeWeight(0.5);
stroke(trackColor); //color of the stroke or use noStroke()

}

void captureEvent(Capture camera)
{
camera.read();
}

void draw()
{

loadPixels();

// Draw the video image on the background
image(video,0,0);
// Local variables to track the color
float closestDiff = 500.0f;
int closestX = 0;
int closestY = 0;
// Begin loop to walk through every pixel
for ( int x = 0; x < video.width; x++) {
for ( int y = 0; y < video.height; y++) {
int loc = x + y*video.width;
// What is current color
color currentColor = video.pixels[loc];
float r1 = red(currentColor); float g1 = green(currentColor); float b1 = blue(currentColor);
float r2 = red(trackColor); float g2 = green(trackColor); float b2 = blue(trackColor);
// Using euclidean distance to compare colors
float d = dist(r1,g1,b1,r2,g2,b2);
// If current color is more similar to tracked color than
// closest color, save current location and current difference
if (d < closestDiff) {
closestDiff = d;
closestX = x;
closestY = y;

}
}
}
// Draw a circle at the tracked pixel
ellipse(closestX,closestY,16,16);
}
//End of code

2005-11-20T11:50:00.000-08:00

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:: WORKSHOP ::

[today's workshop we talked about interactive arts and different artists works, like group of four artists based in London called Blast Theory, Char Davies, American installation artist Bruce Nauman etc. but personally i am very interest in Daniel Rozin's works, he is basically an interactive artist and most of his work contain video camera. and one of his work called Easel, which is using 3 video camera as a source, then you are able to select different cameras and start painting the same visual on the canvas by a back projection. check this movie clip to find out more || http://www.smoothware.com/danny/neweaselmov.html]

[Easel - 1998]

[Shaking Time Mirror- 2005]

[as well as, Richard demonstrate some basic code of Processing which is really helpful and we were required to finish a mini-assignment for next week. which is to capture a photo by the webcam and then write a programme which is able to change its position and tint.]

:: INSPIRATION/RΣSΣARCH ::

[i found an example in proce55ing.net, which is able to track the brightest pixel from the webcam and also able to change the trackColor by a mouse click. however, the image in the output window is a bit slow which is quite strange. but i think this is a really good demo as my starting point for the project. in this moment i am still studying how it works, especially the array which gone through all the pixels one by one, because of i will need to know the information it takes and the value, that will help me to develpoe it into what i need. after that, i will start writing my own to track color rather then brightness, and see how can i draw lines by moving the tracked object around.]

2005-11-12T17:49:00.000-08:00

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:: WORKSHOP ::

[Paul demostrate how to connect the BX with computer by Processing and how to change the color in the output window by changing the variable resistor. however, because of going to Reading, so i cannot participate the whole workshop]
[code of Processing]

import processing.serial.*;

String buff = "";
int val = 0;
int NEWLINE = 10;
PImage b;

Serial port;

void setup()
{
size(400, 400);

// Print a list in case COM1 doesn't work out
println("Available serial ports:");
println(Serial.list());

//port = new Serial(this, "COM1", 19200);
// Uses the first available port
port = new Serial(this, Serial.list()[0], 19200);
}

void draw()
{
while (port.available() > 0) {
serialEvent(port.read());
}
background(val);
fill(80, 80, 80);
ellipse(val, val, 50, 50);
b = loadImage("trial.jpg");
image(b, 0, val, width, val);

}

void serialEvent(int serial)
{
// If the variable "serial" is not equal to the value for
// a new line, add the value to the variable "buff". If the
// value "serial" is equal to the value for a new line,
// save the value of the buffer into the variable "val".
if(serial != NEWLINE) {
buff += char(serial);
} else {
buff = buff.substring(0, buff.length()-1);
// Parse the String into an integer
val = Integer.parseInt(buff)/4;
println(val);
// Clear the value of "buff"
buff = "";
}
}

[code of BX-24]

Sub main()
call delay(0.5) ' start with half-second delay
do
' returns values between 0 and 1023
' the variable resistor is in pin 18
debug.print cstr(getADC(18))
call delay(0.1) ' one-tenth second delay
loop
end sub

:: INSPIRATION/RΣSΣARCH ::

[ Processing Beta 093 was installed this week, i am spending time to play with the examples and trying to understand the codes... i found some codes like //import processing.video.*;// and //void captureEvent(Capture camera)//, which should be useful for my programme.]

2005-11-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

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:: WORKSHOP ::

[assignment 1 presentation: basically my idea came from last year, and i futher develpoed it. it is called || Digiti ||. which is a combine of digital technology and graffiti, which uses a LED, webcam, a programme by Director extra TrackThemColors or Webcam Xtra and a projector. this project is going to read, reconize and draw lines when i move the LED light in front of a little semi-transparent panel, which is also place in front of the webcam, then the webcam will track the movement of the LED and convert it into lines, finally, the projector will project the line drawing back onto the panel, or any other buildings or landmarks. after the presentation, i was recommanded to use Processing, so the next step will be start playing with Processing, a free and open source environment.]

:: INSPIRATION/RΣSΣARCH ::

[i did a deeper research on Dan O'Sullivan and Tom Igoe's Physical Computing. beside of the information about micro-controllers and how to build your own circuit to connect your computer and the BX-24, i also found something related to my project. which is || video tracking || and || video by pixel ||. i found it really useful, because i know more about how a webcam work and how the computer see objects under different light conditions. basically, the idea of tracking motion on a computer using a video camera is still not fully perfect, because it is talking about construct vision for a computer by writing a programme. however, the human brain is able to analysis colors, edges, depth under different light sources. for example, we recognize a red danger sign in the daytime and at night, it is the same sign for us. but, for a computer, it will recognize it as a different objects, because the color is changed due to the light conditions.]

2005-10-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

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:: WORKSHOP ::

[we played with our toys, and try to work on the circuit bending to make some funny sounds. however, no one turned up and notice us is the class keep going. so, i decided to leave at 11 and buy some electronic equipments, like variable resistors, in Maplin to go on playing with the circuit. finally, i did something wrong by accident, i thought i burned one resister, but i fixed it and still worked out something funny. by the way, thank you Ajit to give me the code of using switch in the BX24.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
//put switch live in or postive in pin 9 and ground other wire//
//put LED live in or postive in pin 12 and ground other wire//

Sub Main()

DIM A As byte
Do
A = getPin(9)
Debug.print cstr(A)

if (A =1) Then
call putPin(12,1)

else
if (A =0) Then
call putPin(12,0)

end if
call delay(0.05)
end if
Loop
End Sub
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

:: INSPIRATION/RΣSΣARCH ::

[since i started brainstroming/researching the idea from week one, i came up with different ideas. and all of them are trying to fulfill artistic, technology, cultural, interactive, sensors, projection and installation aspects. for those aspects, i did research base on interactive art and urban culture. and i found some good example in || www.we-make-money-not-art.com || www.limiteazero.com || www.proce55ing.net || etc. the first idea basically was inspired by the work, a_mirror, which is an installation that is comprised of a glass mirror, which reflects both in a physical and virtual way.]

[the idea is called, real-life microcontroller. basically it is an installation which contains many different sizes of monitors mounted on its individual tracks. and all monitors are attached with a recordable webcam to let participants to record their messages/opinions. as well as, same amount of sensors will be installed, to trigger motors on the tracks and moves the monitors along the track. basically, the motive is to make a real-life microcontroller, participant can set up different topics before they go in the installation. and then other participants can record their own opinion in a individual monitor. however, the processing part of the microcontroller will be your brain.]

[this is the second idea, which i have got last academic year for ||maverick machines||. basically, this is a continu of the nu balance 205 mannequin project. however, this time is to express violence in the world. in the rough idea, participant hit different patches of the midi drum kit, and then signal send to a laptop which has max/msp/jitter written in it, to trigger different sound effect of human fight and trigger the violence video frame by frame and project by a projector. so, u can make beat and rhythm by human sounds as well as the violence video. anyway, it is called nu balance 305]

[this is the final idea that i have got in the moment, basically it was another idea came up last year. however, it was a conceptual idea, because of some of the components in the input devices need to be figure out. for example, the device which track the movement of the sensors which is installed inside the fat cap of the customized spraycan, the color of the spraycan and the size of the line draw. the whole concept of the idea is to provide a platform for graffiti artists to tag or bomb landmarks by the use of technologies and dynamic visualization of a projector.]

[and then i started doing research on video/motion tracking and how other artists use projector. first of all, i found a chapter of the physical computing which is talking about video tracking, it mentioned how to use different programs, like Xtras of Director/max/Java/processing and microcontroller. it gave me a lot of clue and confidence to understand that, what i want to do is possible. || http://itp.nyu.edu/~dbo3/cgi-bin/wiki.cgi?VideoTracking ||. other than that, i also found some sample code of the Director Xtra, named webcamXtra. i thought this will be what i need for the experiment! || http://sweb.cityu.edu.hk/sm3117/class09/index.htm ||. and the second thing was the inspiration by other artists, as the examples below, one of them are a student work from the Tisch ITP, new york university. which is an interactive menu, although i thought it is a bit commercial, but i was really impressed by the feel of the work, as well as the programming.]

[the other work that inspired/encouraged me to use projector is called parallel worlds. this is not an interactive piece, but i thought it is a good example to use a projection to express an artistic thought. the creator customized a suitcase, and put all the equipments needed inside, like computer, power supply and projector etc, and then attached it on the side of a metro. when the metro get into the tunnel, the projection was shown......cool?]

[after the specific research, i did a little bit modify for the idea, to make it more possible to be produce. firstly, i changed the sensor inside the fat cap to a LED which is connected with a simple circuit attached with batteries to turn it on/off. and the circuit will be installed inside the body of the spraycan, because of a bright object will be tracked with a better result by the webcam and infrared LED will be the best, because webcam can see IR then human eye. secondly, i will use webcam and Xtra plug-in of Director MX to track the motion of the LED, as well as identify the color of the LED. and finally the programme convert the motion of LED to line drawing and will be projected back by the projector. as well as we can project the visual to some famous landmarks to get more awareness...]

[the next thing i am going to do is to get into Director and its plug-in, test the mechanism of the spraycan circuit and research on how microcontroller can work with Director to simplify the project!]

2005-10-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

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:: WORKSHOP ::

[introduction of circuit bending, Paul gave us tip how to simply figure out an existing circuit board, and how to use variable resistor to change the current of an electronic kids' paino and made weird sounds. i started to have a clue about the possibility of a micro-controller, for example i can simply hook up a sensor for the input device, connect it up with the BX24, write a simple program, and then i can kind of using the sensor to change the current rather then using the varaible resistor......other than that, Richard showed us another sample circuit for the BX24 and to write a program to make the LED blink. like what i have said in the last post, i learn better after failure, this week i connect the power supply all the way round. then i discovered, if you make a mistake like that, you will not burn your BX at first, it will only heat up your voltage regulator ......if you know it before it burned.]

:: INSPIRATION/RΣSΣARCH ::
[i started doing the research from - http://itp.nyu.edu/physcomp - try to go through their notes and get a better theoretical and practical ideas. i found some of their students' work, gave me a lot of inspiration, and would like to bring up one here - http://www.seeitny.com/main.html - personally, i thought it is kind of commerial, but it will work in the real life and it is a good example of using a projector for me. in the comming days will keep doing research and try to generate ideas for the final assessment.]

2005-10-17T13:34:00.000-07:00

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:: LΣCTURΣ ::

[Richard showed us some web links which people did similar things. i was quite impressed by a work titled || laptop_orchestra || from - www.limiteazero.com. it is an interactive synaesthetic instrument, designed for performances of audio visual compositions in real time. it looks pretty dynamic with those fifteen laptop screens showing different visuals and making different sounds. as well as, some more web links - http://www.proce55ing.com - http://itp.nyu.edu/itp/flash/Home - http://www.igloo.org.uk/main.html - http://coin-operated.com - etc.]

:: WORKSHOP ::

[workshop this week is to produce our own breadboard circuit for the BX24, try to connect it to the power supply and the BasicX. some classmates wondering the color of the wires if they are the same and some other wondering about the positive and negative pole from the power supply, basically, as the module called "experimental", i thought we should do anything that we think it is make sense, because we had 3 hours to do it and i believe i will learn better from failures... ]

:: INSPIRATION/RΣSΣARCH ::

[i did research on diferent micro-controllers this week, basically, they can do similar things but different type of micro-controller has different features. some of them has a bigger user base, some of them has more analogue-to-digital converter, some of them are faster, some of them has more memory, some of them only work in pc-base environment and they are all using different programming language etc. because of i just have a mac living with me, so, i am trying to figure out which one should i use for my single project later on in the next semester or i should install a virtual pc, and how can i convert the serial cable into USB etc.]

2005-10-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

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:: LΣCTURΣ ::

[introduction of this module and another module which titled || timebase imaging ||, basically, i thought this module is an extension of the module || maverick machines || from the last academic year. as a digital artist, artefact should appears on any media by using different technologies, whatever digital and electronic media. it gives more space for artists to express their ideas. personally, i would like to create interactive art/installation, not a graphically one, but a physically one. i would like to produce something funny, gimmicky, easy to understand and reflect to contemporary life/culture. i think this module will helps me for my future career as a below-the-line agency designer. as well as, Richard introduced BX24 and its circuit to connect power.]

:: WORKSHOP ::

[because of the workshop came before the lecture in week one, so, the first workshop bascially was another introduction of the module by Mitja. but it was a bit strange, because in his introduction, he combined this module with another module || timebase imaging ||. i was a bit confused, because i was still don't know we had option to choose one module between these two. there was no formal or informal announcement before the semester or during the summer. and i also felt a bit doesn't make sense to combine two different modules' workshop/lecture together, they are supposed to has different content.]

:: INSPIRATION/RΣSΣARCH ::

[i read through the module study guide and some of the web links, try to get more information and inspiration in both technologies and the module itself. i had draw a little summary for my assessment... it should be artistic by using the knowledge of || marverick machines || and || network aesthetics|| from the last academic year. it should be a production which combine art, technology and culture. as well as it should be an interactive art work in any platform like telecommunication or micro-controller etc, it can be trigger by touch, sound, midi, temperature, movement and pressure. by using those inputs to design and construct a system that convert analogue signals to digital information by micro-controller and enable them to gather data. finally, it should be risk taking by the form of installation/performance/event.]