Author: Kamau Wainaina

Final Project

For my final project I decided to try and make a music video player that utilizes the audio analyzer function to make for a more interactive experience between the sonic and visual. Additionally, I wanted to make it so the video that played was determined by the input of the viewer; operating almost as a type of Jukebox that can play different content depending on the inputs given by the viewer.

In doing this I decided that I wanted to bridge the coding class assignment with my own personal work and interests in a way that was more intentional than before. I wanted to actually film music videos for my songs that could serve as elements in the final piece; interacting with the code and bridging my music, film making and new computing skills in a cohesive manner. I shot both videos in the span of 2 hours on two separate days.

I then began by taking the visualizer that I’d created for the DOM library assignment and breaking it down to see how it could apply to my music video. I decided that given the song I wanted to use, the “scribble” library would be an interesting spin on my earlier project, incorporating geometric shapes and graphics that emulate the disorienting and scratchy texture of the song.

I succeeded in creating the sketch in which the video worked in tandem with the visualizer, but I was unable to make the input welcome page lead into the video. Additionally, when I attempted to load the second video into a different sketch using the same method as the first; the sketch refused to run.

I’m frustrated that I was unable to make a finished product, but ultimately I’m happy I managed to make one video that is significantly enhanced by the code it works with. I hope to continue this project in the future.

WORKING MUSIC VIDEOS

WalkWithME:

FLICKR:

FINAL SKETCH (non-functional): https://www.openprocessing.org/sketch/543712#

Video and Images

For my project I tried to mess around with an excerpt from one of the films I did for class during my sophomore year that was about alien abduction. At first I thought about using pixel manipulation; but realised that given that the footage was shot in black and white – there wasn’t a whole lot I could do in isolating and manipulating different colour channels. Instead I tried to look for a more collaged approach – utilising different filters and blending tools to create a kind of tripped out version of the abduction. The original video can be seen to the left of the Canvas.

Sketch: https://www.openprocessing.org/sketch/532249#

An issue I keep running into however is trying to distinguish the different layers from each other – as the “push , pop” method seems to have varying results, often still grouping layers together under the same filter.

 

Research Project: Alex Dragulescu – “Malwarez”

In his project “Malwarez”, Romanian Visual Artist, Designer and Programmer Alex Dragulescu creates a visual Encyclopedia of computer threats that include viruses, spyware, malware and other forms of menacing code.

business proposition for you involving a huge sum of money Archival inks, limited edition, available on photo paper and 100% cotton fine art paper Numbered and signed by the artist
signature-mutating Trojan Archival inks, limited edition, available on photo paper and 100% cotton fine art paper Numbered and signed by the artist

Dragulescu tracks elements of each entities’ disassembled code “API calls, memory addresses and subroutines”; after which the variables of frequency, density and grouping are mapped using an algorithm that generates a virtual 3D likeness for each different “species” of code. These “Artificial Organisms” thus become constructed from the components of the code they represent; creating a visual reflection that uses both the artist’s interpretation, and the direct source of inspiration. Additionally, Dragulescu directly cites the sources of each individual code/organism; giving a date and online address to the original malicious code that was broken down and analysed to fuel the 3D visualisation.

PWS_lineage the keylogger that stole your Lineage password Archival inks, limited edition, available on photo paper and 100% cotton fine art paper Numbered and signed by the artist

 

 

 

I found this project particularly interesting because it looks towards computing for the subject matter as well as the medium. As someone new to the world of coding and computation, I find the mysticism as something that sands as a barrier between those interested and those involved. However, in taking that and using the medium to communicate concepts in a creative way, Dragulescu demystifies the medium while also dismaying the idea that these concepts are in any way dry and uninteresting. The 3D models generate a wealth of questions and intrigue into what elements differentiate each “organism” from each other and made each of the resulting pieces so visually captivating and intriguing; with depth and detail that brings to life concepts that exist primarily and only in coding languages only known to those familiar with computing.

Chapter 10+11

While I do feel proud of how far I’ve come in my understanding of computation and coding as a whole, I’m exited to focus more in my free time and use this increased confidence to expand my understanding of how to apply coding to my own artistic interests.

Reading chapters 10+11 gave interesting insight into a more structured approach to coding than I had used in the past. It’s fascinating to see how computation simultaneously agrees and conflicts with my natural and learned ways of thinking as an artist. I’ve always veered away from a concrete structure at the start of any project due to a fear that it would stifle the possibility of improvisation. However I now feel as though it would be far more beneficial in terms of keeping track of the code and various structures at work. Chapter 11 also yielded a lot of guidance, some of which I’d previously applied by asking a friend of mine for help on my midterm. I find myself debugging projects most of the time, but the puzzle-like nature of computation makes is what makes it a really interesting and engaging exercise for me, even when its frustrating.

Midterm Part 2

For the second half of my midterm I expanded the sunflower to try and make it more interactive and a more neat / efficient piece of coding.

After a helpful adjustment from Scott, I tried to look back in the code I had written and see what changes I could make to clean up before adding more.
I organised parts of the sketch into methods that would allow me to see how the sketch plays out in a condensed layout before adding anything more.

With everything sorted I outlined the new techniques that I wanted to implement into the sketch: Arrays and a Slider.

I thought it would be cool to make the background change with the slider slightly more interesting by adding randomly generated stars in the background to complement the dark “sky”. I did this by taking and modifying the “ball” Array from class into creating smaller ellipses that would be always present, but only appear when the slider changed the background from white to black.

The next stage that was more difficult came with realising that with the slider changing the background color, the function kept redrawing over the rotating triangles meaning that original two would only appear – destroying the earlier illusion of a spinning sunflower/pinwheel. I then decided to try using an Array to generate the petals around the center of the sunflower. I found that by incrementing the starting point of rotation for each triangle generated by the array, the effect would be visible again.

The only recurring issue I had was that I previously used “mouseX” to change the shade of yellow according to the mouse position. However after using the petal Class, the same function doesn’t yield that result.

Midterm Part 1

For my midterm project, I wanted to create an interactive sunflower that moves and grows with different interactions.

Over the 2 week process, I hope to apply the more recent tools of animation through computation to develop the sketch into a more dynamic product. Furthermore, I found the most recent class on “classes” extremely useful in developing a more organised workflow with coding in processing. I hope to utilise this to see which elements of the sketch can be enhanced and brought to life – including the background as well as the main sunflower. Ultimately my main aim is to make the Sunflower, or at least parts of it, grow into themselves when the program is first run, after which different elements can be manipulated in different ways; e.g. shifting speed in the rotation of petals, and a convincing and animated background that mimics a Van Gogh painting.

Making the initial sketch was relatively simple. I’ve found myself becoming more intuitive when creating shapes using the grid system, as well as performing basic animation functions on different shapes that can operate independently of each-other (for example the two sets of petals that spin in different directions.

However, I keep running into issues in creating my first class (for the petals). For some reason, the positioning is affected when I try, although the petals themselves still rotate accordingly and change color. Even more frustrating is that the sketch doesn’t appear at all when imported into OpenProcessing.

ORIGINAL SKETCH 1 PAGE: https://www.openprocessing.org/sketch/512825

SKETCH WITH PETAL CLASS: https://www.openprocessing.org/sketch/512616

Week 3 Animation Assignment

For my animation assignment, I tried to explore the animation law of “squash and stretch”. To do this I decided to pay homage to one of my favourite shows growing up, “Dragon Ball Z”. In the show, the main character “Goku” has a signature move called a Kamehameha where a blue burst of chi energy is fired from his outstretched hands. I wanted to emulate the same movement using a similar code to last week’s “bouncing ball against the wall”, but tweaking it so the object can expand as it moves. Additionally, I used a 3d Sphere rather than an ellipse to experiment more with 3d objects in Processing.

Sketch: https://www.openprocessing.org/sketch/510129

Week 2 – Random Face

For my Random face sketch, I tried to implement a couple of the new functions we learnt in class, mainly relating to color change and rotation. I managed to have the background and eye-color of he face change with clicking and movement of the mouse. However, with the rotation element, I struggled to correctly map it onto the sketch. My original plan was to have a rotating ring of squares around the face that would act as a frame. However with the current code I have (using the variable “float rot=0/ rot=0.5 ” from last class) the ring appears to the side of the face rather than fully wrapping around it in a smaller perfect circle.

 

Sketch: https://www.openprocessing.org/sketch/506765

Self Portrait

This was my first coding experience, so I tried not to make the self portrait too demanding in order to allow me to practice the basics without getting too stressed. Regardless, I still found the program to be extremely challenging at first, particularly when it came to solving creative problems like drawing hair and aligning shapes so the proportions come out accurately. Initially I had tried to draw the hair with arc functions but ultimately found it too difficult and decided to try straight line functions for now. Hoping to practice more and improve on using Processing, particularly studying functions and familiarising myself with the graphing system so that placing shapes becomes more intuitive.

Link to sketch: https://www.openprocessing.org/sketch/504052