second project of the year: computer vision using Flash

The second project we did this year in Emedia was required to be interactive. I had been experimenting lately with Computer Vision using programs like Processing and Jmyron. For this project I dumbed it down to using Flash. The result is a simple motion-detection based interactive piece using a webcam, but it was definitely a learning experience for me because it was almost entirely actionscript (flash’s programming language) based, and I have had little to no experience with code as I am a very visual person. Overall, I consider this piece a building block for me to do more things with the motion detection program.

first project of the year: a flash animation

Since this blog is in need of attention, Im going to be dumping all my recent projects on here to day so I can catch up, so bear with me.

The first project assigned this year in Max’s Emedia class was a pretty basic ‘get-to-know-flash’ project where we made an animated narrative involving, like most of our projects, the concept of ‘interface’. I chose to do a simple animation about the different roles we play in our lives, and how to each person we encounter, we play a different role.

Reflection on Golan Levin’s ‘Computer Vision for Artists’

In his article ‘Computer Vision for Artists’, Golan Levin, a pioneer in the computer vision community, attempts to make computer vision, which in the past has been reserved solely for programmers and funded research teams, available to even the a novice artist seeking artistic application of this technology. Levin, after presenting a series of examples of pieces and installations involving computer vision technology, goes on to cover some basic methods for implementing computer vision.

It is encouraging that such technology is becoming more readily available to the public, even outside of the art community. Similar to the way the personal computer was once only a massive, expensive machine for only scientists and/or the very wealthy, and slowly this technology becomes more available, till even students can program applications for their own personal computers, as well as servers and databases. Levin’s attitude is very progressive and contributes to the availability and evolution of art and technology.

Reflection on ‘What is New Media’ by Les Manovich

‘What is New Media‘, is a discussion over defining new media art, and what distinguishes it as being ‘new’. Manovich argues that the majority of the elements in new media art are not new at all, but are redefined elements found in cinema and photography, as well as other forms of media from the 19th and 20th centuries. Examples such as multimedia, which is very general and dates back to Medieval times, as well as the ability to use sampling, another element associated with new media, and which has been introduced in the early 19th century through film.  However, it is the advantages of new media, such as the ability to replicate data infinity without degradation that make new media stand apart.

Manovich settles on the redefinition of ‘interactivity’ as the defining characteristic of New Media Art, and how the interface has expanded beyond the purely informational, and now approaches a psychological level. This allows users to merge seamlessly with the media on a psychological level, ever closing the gap between man and machine.

I agree with the author, that while the elements that comprise New Media Art are not new, the use of these elements is. This is common with lots of new technology. Cell phones for example;  one could argue that they are not a new idea because communication has been around since prehistoric times. What cell phones are is the most recent step in an evolutionary process. In fact, you could say that the evolutionary process is no longer linear, but has branched off into thousands of technologies and possibilities. Cell phones are just one aspect of communication technology, alongside the internet, email, instant messaging, and the rising popularity of internet communities. Now theres a community called Twitter that connects the cell phone community with the instant messaging and forum communities, where a user can make one update either on their phone, on a forum or on instant messenger and all users ‘following’ that user, recieve that update on their own phones, instant messengers, forums etc. Developments like this, paired with the rising integration of wireless internet bring society closer to becoming an idealized global meeting place.