Simulacrum Video

25th January, 2007

With the aid of flash video you can watch my simulacrum project’s final video here, which I am quite pleased with:

Simulacrum

XML

12th December, 2006

As the simulacrum work reaches its finalisation point, and all I would be able to do is sit and wait, my attention turns to the XML work and HCI essay (both of which have been very slowly warming up for the past couple of weeks). Between driving and setting the final 20 second simulacrum scene up for rendering, this morning has been dedicated to creating an XML search script in actionscript (Flash yet again…).

View the XML project as it comes along.
To get results, try the search terms ‘silver’ and ‘blue’ for now, but anything else if its there can be searched for.

Finishing the Simulacrum Project

And finally, the last 20 second section of my simulacrum video is complete. Saving it as Quicktime initially created a 1.3GB file, however this was before I set it to compress with mpeg4, giving me a nice 118MB 100% quality file. Still nothing near the size I would reasonably put online though. : (

Simulacrum Online Workbook

3D

30th November, 2006

Here are a few screenshots of my work in 3D for the 90 second video. Having broken my video into 8 scenes, I will be able to comfortably complete a scene a day and still have a number of days in order to handle problems.

Simulacrum

14th November, 2006

The Narrative

I’ll draw up a storyboard at some time for this but for now a little explanation as to the very small narrative piece I intend creating for my simulacrum project. The camera starts off looking upon a typical dystopic landscape, barren, burnt and ruined and in particular lowers down to view a number of scorched and withered plants. Then the view changes to a much closer shot of a dying fruit on a branch that sheds its seeds down. Now either the seeds are collected and cultivated or just grow on their own but a new plant grows, becomes black and withered but new fruits are created. When matured they glow brightly out into the darkness and are collected by the inhabitants of this world, who begin off by sitting huddled in the darkness around a pale fire. The fruit are placed in lanterns that provide a brilliant warm light. The final shot of this narrative will be of the fruit slowly losing its glow and perhaps shedding more seed, then fading to total darkness.

Now whether I shall be able to achieve all of this is a completely different matter.

Playing in 3D

I was growing a little bored of trying to create my seed and fruit thing so decided to produce something a lot easier. Shadows are good. I can foresee myself playing with the lightings forever in the final piece, trying to get the effect just right.

Bump mapping reminds me of Half Life 2 (sighs, those were the days).

Other parts of this I will need to create in 3D will probably include the lanterns, seed and plant.

Some 3D

12th November, 2006

My first experimental attempt at the simulacrum object in 3D. I had to choose something a bit weird and that involved no really simple shapes now didn’t I. Even more fun will be making it grow from the stem of a gnarled, blackened and dead plant in the middle of a dystopic landscape.

Second attempt involving a few textures and lights to see how 3D might simulate the lighting and surface of my glowing fruit. An omnilight in the centre does light everything in an outward direction however to see the surface an extra light source, in this case a directional spotlight, is required.

Lots of work… all at once!

25th October, 2006

Not a great amount of time has been available for blogging so here is an update:

soft221

In addition to the current projects with rapidly approaching deadlines we have been introduced to a small mid-term exam from soft221. Marvellous stuff.

HCI

HCI (Human Computer Interaction or isad223) will be wanting coursework done by the end of this term, involving the creation of an interface based on the design techniques learnt here. That would be a four thousand word essay comprising 100% of the overall mark for this module.

Simulacrum 3D Video

Simulacrum (trans-spacial design) admittedly has been in the pipeline for a while but at least there are a number of thoughts as to an idea (I like this project as its the first that asks for a reasonable amount of creativity from my part – yes thats not f*ing actionscripting aka java) if not much to show for it yet. I have effectively what I want to create planned out already, but more of that to be revealed soon…

Critical Contexts

Idat203 – Critical Contexts, what else can be said? The ‘other’ four thousand word essay comes to mind.

Organism Project

Orrrrganism project proceeds and has a week-before-deadline deadline tomorrow, hence this is my current activity. The flowers grow, the bees move. The flowers currently undertake a form of assexual reproduction though, and literally create a clone seed of themselves which is planted and grows and seeds etc.

Creative Garden

For the Creative Garden company, our chosen niche of professional school and college websites seems very fruitful.

Oh yes and finally, I still want to create a working new design for my own website!