Media+Code

I have two project ideas, I’ll post them both here as I don’t know yet which one I’ll choose. I think I’ll first start working with Photo Tintamarresque.

Runner vs. Runner

This is an iPod/iPad/iPhone game for two. Both players control half of the screen. By tapping the screen with two fingers they make their runner run, the faster they tap the faster the runner runs. The person who reaches the goal first, wins. I would like to add another gesture beside the tapping, like swipe, to make the runner jump over obstacle. But this would have to be tested.

The device is held sideways. In the upper part of the screen there would be the runners, running against each other. The graphics would be quite simple and old school, like Atari style.

Photo Tintamarresque

This iPod/iPad/iPhone app allows person to add their face to a painting or a picture. French term for this is théâtre tintamarresque, it was a form of theater that started in Southern Europe in the Middle Ages. The performer placed his/her head through a hole and the audience saw a painted wall or curtain with an image of the rest of the body. I have been fascinated by these for some time now – when I was working as an exhibition designer I created tintamarresques in couple of occasions.

The person chooses a picture he wants to use as tintamarresque template, then takes a picture of himself to be placed under the template. After the photo has been taken, if needed, he zooms in or out and/or drags it to the right place. The picture could then be saved to the gallery. Maybe I would make it possible to add another picture to the same tintamarresque – some templates would have two empty holes to place two faces, so it would be possible to add another person to the picture or use two different faces of the same person.

The pictures would be something found from the internet or then I’ll design them myself. These couple of examples are found from the site of the Library of Congress and there are no known restrictions on publication for them. I would like the pictures to be old-fashioned, funny and quirky.

Concept “Simulated Graffiti”
The City of Helsinki practices a zero-tolerance policy for street arts in the city’s public space resulting in a city with only few visual signs of “real life”.
The idea of “Simulated Graffiti” is to bring street art virtually back to the city. This way it cannot “destroy” anyone’s property while providing almost unlimited space for self-expression.
The application is at the same time fun to use and raises awareness for the purpose of street art: It is at the same time an act of self-expression and of reclaiming public space for public life.

“Digital Spray Can”
The street artist uses a mobile device to draw/spray/paint/… the artwork virtually onto a wall. A first prototype of this device called “Digital Spray Can” has been developed during the “Physical Interaction” course.

During Multitouch Interaction Course
The plan for Multitouch Interaction is to develop a working prototype of the iOS application to accompany this project.
The application consists of two main parts (see flow chart):
One shows existing “Simulated Graffitis” on a map based interface (see UI mockup “map”). While being able to see the sites of different artworks, the application does not reveal the artwork itself. To see it one has to visit the location with a mobile device and the artwork will be shown on the screen (see UI mockup “info” and “artwork”).
The other part is the actual drawing interface that will use the input data sent from the “Digital Spray Can” to paint the actual “Simulated Graffiti” (see UI mockup “paint” and “color + cap”). While spraying the “Simulated Graffiti” the artist can see it on the device and when finished chose to upload it to save it to the map. GPS metadata will be attached to every artwork.

Related projects/inspiration:
Digital Street art:

• “The Graffiti Creator”: website to create graffiti fonts http://www.graffiticreator.net/
• “Graffiter” website to share digitally produced graffitis http://graffiter.com/
• “Graffiti Analysis” ongoing study in the motion of graffiti http://graffitianalysis.com/

Inspiration for physical interactions:

• Eyewriter: uses eye-tracking for drawing graffitis digitally http://www.eyewriter.org/
• AirPaint: iphone application using inbuilt accelerometer to estimate the iphone movement in space http://itunes.apple.com/app/airpaint/id296667194?mt=8
• VR Urban Reclaim the Streets: android-based device that lets you shoot messages to nearby public screens using a telephone dial http://www.vrurban.org/smslingshot.html

Augmented reality or ”replacing” apps:

• Unlogo: a project that analyses video material and replaces advertisements http://unlogo.org/
• The Artvertiser: a special device replaces advertisement with art works http://theartvertiser.com/
• Streetmuseum of London: location-aware application for your smartphone displaying historic images in the site where they were taken http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Resources/app/you-are-here-app/home.html and http://youtu.be/qSfATEZiUYo

The course focuses on using multitouch interaction to create engaging experiences using different media elements. Multiple devices will be used, with an emphasis on mobile phones/tablets and the iOS platform. Other devices and platforms will also be discussed.

The main development environment for the course will consist of openFrameworks/C++ with Xcode. Students should have previously attended the Software Studies for Media Designers course, or demonstrate having acquired equivalent skills. Students are required to plan, develop, document and present a project at the end of the course.

Schedule:

27/Nov – Introduction and developer registration
28/Nov – The development environment (oF, C++, Xcode); text
29/Nov – Generative graphics; multi-touch; accelerometer
30/Nov – Bitmap image

04/Dec – Video; sound
05/Dec – Project proposals – presentation and discussion
(please check this link from last year, but take into account the new date, 05/Dec)
07/Dec – GUI; classes

11/Dec – Project development
12/Dec – Project development
13/Dec – Project development
14/Dec – Project presentation