SurveillanceA Nation
Technical Collaboration
Methodology
We kept an open mind to this project as we realised that surveillance and privacy were very huge topics and there are a plethora of ways where we can make a statement. As we research and consult with our mentors, ideas were refined and built upon.
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It was also apparent that for our project to come to fruition, we had to work on the technical aspect of our installations which means that projections had to be mapped, footages had to be curated, mechanisms had to be working and troubleshooted for them to work before we move on to work on our visual presentation.
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As we research and value-add to our ideas, we tested out the feasibility of the softwares we intended to use (Touch Designer, Resolume and Arduino).
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Resolume
It works but we had to take into consideration the height and distance to which the cubes were and where the projector would be and then work on mapping out the cubes.
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Arduino
A sketch had to be coded to provide for a randomised servo swing and contraption that involves the eyeball movement had to be tested out.
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Touch Designer
We had to work with the Kinect 2.0 as the Windows version that Kinect 1.0 required was of an older version and thus would not work. Tracking worked well with the built in patch. Masking and projecting the filters took longer time to work out and fine tune. However, this was made easier with an updated version of Touch Designer which had a mapping patch built-in.
Collaboration
Time was perhaps on our side and we had the luxury to explore alternatives and ideas. The initial workload was manageable but progressed to a moderately heavy one as we locked in our ideas and tested them out and met with certain roadblocks along the way. However as a pair, we communicated well and improved on each other's weaknesses with our strength and this proved to help us progress well with this project.
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As we went farther into this project, there was a need for a more powerful laptop and we sourced for various alternatives.
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Nonetheless, we made do with the best that we've got and we are excited to see our ideas come to fruition.
Execution
of the exhibition.
Control Room
Frankie Bolder
The Eye
Because of a limitation of the room space and the way the boxes for Control Room had to be set up in order for the best projection of content, The Eye had to be placed on the left of the set instead of it being in the middle.
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The contraption used to give The Eye it's unique character could be further improved upon with a better attachment (the two metal wires) from the servo to The Eye.
Mirror Mirror
Mirror Mirror ended up being a piece that has more significance than expected as it was able to create a space where viewers can see Control Room and The Eye from the mirror (at varying angles) and at the same time see the mask being projected on their own faces.
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The tracking feature with Touch Designer could be further improved upon with more backend coding. This will significantly create a more fluid experience for the viewers.
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Nonetheless, we are glad that it was able to prove the concept of being in an alternative space while effective a mood. We are not satisfied and we see this as a future possibility to dive into a narrative where the use of masks can create different narratives for viewers.