about time and the reason is since I had the shit kicked out of me a few days ago I haven't been able to work - and feeling sorry for myself - has to be said, when you get kicked across the pavement 3 or 4 times, unable to lift your arms to even protect your face - shit, some fat steroid munching fuckwad who does not deserve to walk the streets let alone terrorize them - but what am i to do? get bitter? hell, yeah! so listen to the tunes and decide for yourself - has marc got bitter, or does he still have a questionable taste in music?
Islamic Bomb - Jello Biafra & The Melvins
Saying Dub - Jah Thomas and Radics
Tempo 116.7 (Reaching For Dangerous Levels Of Sobriety) - The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Pow Pow - LCD Soundsystem
Fanfare - De-fence
Laughing Gas - Neon Indian
Right Place, Wrong Time - Ray J
Barbra Streisand Is An Island - Plök
Crumbs - Sebadoh
(Circle) - Boredoms
Jailhouse Rock - Dean Carter
Stupid Fuckin' People - The Bellrays
as for my questionable taste in music, that is for me to decide and you to endure. sleep well
There has been a while between this post and the last, not to mention the thought even of a podcast/playlist (on this note, my local library has been closed down and moved to another location, unfortunately, further away from where I live. And now I don't go as much. I tried; I mean I went and took a few things out but because of the distance, I wasn't as active in returning the materials and hence got slapped with some hefty overdue charges. So, I hope other people who live close are now using the library as I used to when it was around the corner from me) (on another note, sitting at a google party at the mo and they are playing the Rocky theme, instead of air guitar, we now have air boxing(not even shadow boxing))
So, the lapse in material over the last couple of months...? Well, to be honest, if I haven't been too busy with rigging work then I have been too lazy with holidays and relaxing. And now time has rolled on and I need to again think about the future. And, (and here is the big one) I was a tad disappointed about my exam result. I got a 2, which in the Danish scale is the lowest mark you can get to pass. I was told by the examiner, my tutor, that I had done the minimum to pass. I can see where he was coming from, but, and I have reread my report and didn't think it was as bad as he portrayed it, the sublety of trying to explain something that can only truly be grasped through use rather than explanation, fell flat with my tutor and the external examiner. The first question I asked them in the exam was whether they used twitter, and both replied no. So there I am, talking about a tool they don't know, in a situation they may be familiar with, but have a hard time seeing from a different perspective - it was, to quote bill hicks, a little like showing a dog a card trick.
Enough, so here i am... Looking to go forward again, and wanting to publish once more for your beautiful entertainment!
At my BA exam today (15.40 CET) I will be giving a presentation on my project work over the last few months. It boils down to how we can communicate with as little "noise" as possible - and noise in todays media saturated world basically comes down to distraction.
I don't want to cut down on the level of choice media users have but in my report, which I will make public in the next few days, I have come up with the idea that social media, when used in the context of "the captive audience", can be dictated by the captors for the best benefit of the audience.
For instance, when we enter a theatre to watch a play, our media is what is going on on the stage, we have entered into an agreement with the theatre that that is the way we want our media.
So why not when we enter a shopping center, for example, should that shopping center dictate the form of communication it makes for the best benefit of its' customers to promote the retailors?
I prepose, in this situation using Twitter which could then be displayed around a shopping center projected onto walls or showen on big screen. As an example I have set up a web page (with some help) that displays a live twitter timeline (or it will, come the exam) and a little javascript to show some images for interests sake -
http://www.theclearspots.com/orbit/demo/demo.html
- the twitter timeline will show any tweets that mention the hashtag #marcsexam (and I will say it again, this is not my carnal knowledge early in the day) just to give the examiners an idea of what could be going on on a screen in situ.
If you are reading this, it is because I have been kidnapped and....no...hold on, that is the message for the other blog!
If you are reading this it is because you are interested, or at least curious, about the #marcsexam hashtag I have been firing around for the past week or so. The reason for this is because tomorrow at 15.50 I have my final exam at the design school and during this exam i will be presenting a live Twitter timeline that will be specifically following this hashtag and certain @´s that I have invented for the purpose.
If you remember and are so inclined, I would be most grateful if you could send a tweet using the #marcsexam hashtag around this time (Danish time btw, so it would be 14.50 GMT for ref.) and any message will do - nothing unpleasant please, though perhaps just asking that will invite waves of abuse and I should just keep my trap shut! Well, it is up to you :-)
So, here goes.
(This of course only applies to those of you that have a Twitter account - or you can make one at....you guessed it, twitter.com)
From the responses to question 11, "How can you best describe Twitter in three words?" - some people did not reply to this question and some people replied more than three words - you know who you are!
the image above is from a site wordle.net that describes the frequency of words in a given text. I copied all the answers to question 11. excluding capitals or punctuation into wordle and this is the parsed result.
and the example of the rich text
the dog's bollocks news share fun political instant connecting handy infuriating informative immediate raw information available anywhere anytime depth dependent on willingness of others to click through to links etc empowering but difficult to control which is both good and bad as use grows self-defined filters might serve to reinforce opinions rather than open up to new ideas more group-think jury still out on it's use and abuse Yr own fault for leaving this much space if you wanted three words informative fun different informative quick light communication news tech fun for family simple easy backlinks interaction fast information social humour easy procrastinating very interesting interactions simple short precise writing skills necessary specified never ending inspiring waste of time efficient cost effective network building fun informative fast excellent time waster social responsive real-time unknown indifferent communication superficial load of wank short statuses pointless if you have facebook in my opinion short easy informative fast footie info celebrities vanity image swift savvy social instant direct communication adequate but lacking interesting careful professional use twit for twats I still have a little problem seeing it giving me a lot i've no idea updated on the spot changing face book like thing a conversational version of facebook rant ramblings short opinions a break opportunity for workshy office workers sharing irrelevant information instant word spreading social spam online global texting fad easy personalized news instant microblogging following waste of time i don't really us the twitter just created a profile not a clue entertaining fast fun quick easy fun not for me immediate sharing information light fast conversational time consuming stupid pointless oneliners that it is a waste of time posting and reading get over yourself gossip in contact quick i can do it in two words for you attention wh??es in three would be living for others following other people for kids only or boring boring boring easy quick social boring sales spam social networking site global information exchange easy but limited trivial status updates thinking without thinking and blabbing to the whole world about it concise convenient beneficial everywhere demanding pressure global opinion sharing an over-hyped fad waste of time
In technologically advanced societies, the use of social media as a communication tool is now intrinsically linked to how we interact with each other as individuals, between organisations and between organisations and individuals. This prevalence is now so entrenched within our society, that to return to or imagine an environment without social media, would disable thought and communication patterns with far reaching consequences.
But with this prevalence also comes the problem of saturation. The end users of social media, who essentially are individuals, only have a certain amount of time during each day to interact with it. Inadvertently, too much choice becomes a hindrance rather than a help, where the meaning of a message becomes diluted or even lost.
This is not a new problem. On the contrary, communication, through any medium, has its limits. And just as in the past, where television, newspapers or the town crier clamored for our attention, so numerous websites are today seeking dominance in the new world media order.
Social media websites, tailored to the individual, or any personna an individual wishes to evoke, are ultimately all vying for the same thing - my and your attention for reasons (commercial mostly) that will be discussed later. But what if the social medium was tailored more towards an event seeking users and so defined predominately by a demarcated time period and space. In other words, instead of an event organiser saying, "80% of our target group use social media type A, so we will communicate with them through media type A", they say, "the best and most suited media type for our event is social media type B, so that is how we will communicate", and make it explicitly known before and during said event - communication will once again become less diluted for that specific event.
The important factor here is the restriction on the time, space and/or topic and utilising the power of focused interest within these criteria.
I have made a preliminary questionnaire to the "big" (gonna be GInormouS!) questionnaire that I am constructing at the moment. The one I made today is more to find out who is using social media and Twitter in particular.
This one (which can be found here) is to show who is using Twitter and why - this will play into the answers that I am hoping to get from the next survey.
I am finding it a bit of a tight rope walk in making these surveys and what I expect from them. I am confident that my proposals for a twitter based communications service at an exhibition are valid but I am afraid that no-one else sees it that way - as I say, a balancing act between what to expect and what to act upon.
quick off the top of your head answers only question - writing questionnaire about twitter use in a closed environment i.e. exhibition - what questions do you think it would be important to ask? - here is some of what I have at the mo (in no order)-
------- Twitter questionnaire -
what is the premise of the questionnaire? - I believe that by using Twitter in a confined environment like an industry/commerical exhibition space, participants will be able to boost their “one to many” on-site communication reach considerably and therefore their “one to one” communication. (use of big screens, mobile devices etc)
Questions -
-does your company have a Twitter profile?
-if yes, how often do you “tweet”?
-how do you view/perceive twitter?
-do you know how twitter works? do you have a personal twitter profile?
-what social media does your company use?
-how do you communicate with attendees at exhibitions?
-how do you communicate with other exhibitors?
-do you have a internet enabled mobile device?
-------------------
this is hopefully going to be sent out to the participants in the Copenhagen international fashion festival (Ciff) people - is there any questions that could apply to them specifically you think? video/images/blogs - etc
have been splitting my head against the rock that is known as school work and decided for a departure in the form of .mp3. The last podcast saw a load of 60's r'n'r and I thought that I may mellow out a tad for this one - unfortunately, said head being bounced off said rock has determined a rethink in direction - not totally, but certainly with intention.
The first track, Dan le Sac... is the same track I put at the end of a podcast a while back which unbeknownst to me was cut short (I hadn't previewed the file before releasing - tut tut) so i am including it here in full - and it's worth it to get the mix off and running. Original artwork included - something I will add to every podcast from here on in...
get on with it!
The beat that my heart Skipped - Dan Le Sac VS Scroobius Pip
Spitting out the demons - Gorillaz
Tempo 116.7 (Reaching for dangerous levels of sobriety) - The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Black Satin - Miles Davis
Run On - Moby
Housing/Polio - Shout Wellington Air Force
Scorpions and Tarantulas - The Untamed
Young Blood - thee Headcoats
What you do to me - Teenage Fanclub
Olympians - Fuck Buttons
Jawbreaker - The Dead Weather
Come on feet - Pete and the Pirates
Kling Klang - Helena Espvall and Masaki Batoh
Roll away your stone - Mumford and Sons
Billy Whizz - Spacemen 3
spo3podcast22
This may start out by plucking the strings of your heart and jerking the tears out of your head, but by about minute 7, it is plucking the strings from your heart and jerking your head from your shoulders - you have been warned.
A load of 60's stuff in here today - some heavy and all RnR - and then fleshed out with some more contemporary sides. Very little if any electronica this week - wipe brows purists! - but that will maybe change by the next mix - or I will maybe go all folk and acoustic.
So, lets not beat around the proverbial bush any longer -
I have been loving you (too long) - Booker T and the MG's (with Boz Scaggs)
Maid of Sugar, Maid of Spice - Mouse and the Traps
I don't Care - The Boys
Take Your Time - Retribution Gospel Choir
Heatcoat and the Motar-Board - Thee Headcoats
Roll Over Beethoven - The Beatles
Hang Up - The Wailers
Bo Diddley - Buddy Holly and the Crickets
Rehearsing La Dolce Vita - Norfolk and Western
Accordion Street - Forgetting Feet
Whole Lotta Shakin Goin' On - Little Richard
Too Much in Love - King Khan and the BBQ Show
Blow Yr Brains in the Morning Rain - Serena Maneesh
Tornado - The Telescopes
Itchy and Scratchy - Boss Hog
Time out the Stroboscope Emotional - Plök
Alike - Efterklang
Grown So Ugly - The Black Keys
Some Other Guy - The Big Three
Just dropped in (to see what condition my condition was in) - Kenny Rogers and the First Edition
The last video relating to the internship - whether there is anything in this project, (and i believe that there might just be) which I can use for my BA project, then some of this will be applicable for the future. Below the video is also a brief summiing up of the internship that had to be written and handed in to the school.
A bit of a read, but here it is for posterity's sake.
Introduction.
My internship primarily took place within a Danish company called Comtech. This is a “Staging and Events” company based in Copenhagen and Aarhus and working throughout Denmark and other northern European regions.
Due to unforeseen circumstances at the time, I had to pursue other more entrepreneurial activities to bolster my internship project as a whole. As a result, I also designed, made and implemented a website for another company - Dansk Rigging og Personsikring Aps - DROP.
The reasons for this extra activity will be explained. I will also compare what I planned in my learning goals with what actually happened during the internship and reflect on the differences, challenges, achievements and short comings.
Expectations
Prior to any concrete ideas being proposed, I had mentioned in the Learning Goals document that a verbal agreement between myself and the head project leader, Lars N*****n, had been reached concerning the direction of the project as a whole. I would present a number of areas of interest that would straddle the competencies of myself, my education and Comtech. This would be subsequently read by Lars and he would get back to me on which areas he thought could yield the most return.
Unfortunately, due to Lars’s often hectic and full schedule, this follow up meeting never took place. I was disappointed not to receive feedback from Lars as I feel this would have given me substantial impetus to strive for a more concrete and functioning outcome. His experience in the industry is well known and respected which is partly the reason he is so busy. I am sure that this is a common occurrence in internships of this kind - the boss thinks it is a great idea on paper but when it comes to actually dealing with the reality of extra responsibility, the everyday workings of the company take priority.
I suppose it is very difficult for someone like Lars to see the immediate benefit of an internee bringing new ideas to the company. Not that someone like Lars is adverse to new ideas, to the contrary, but rather that he must see how the internee can add value to the company. If the internee, as in my case, is proposing progressive strategies that are out of line with the normal thinking of the organization, it can be difficult to see why precious time should be spent on it.
Another expectation in the beginning was that since I had worked for the company in the past, it would be easier for me to talk and interact with other employees with whom I had an already existing relationship. In fact, this actually seemed to work against me. My colleagues were somewhat confused as to what my role was within the structure and at times as was met with either bafflement or derision - not a healthy attitude to be confronted by first thing on a Monday morning.
Though in saying this, once my work colleagues did come to appreciate what I was attempting, the wealth of knowledge that I knew existed within Comtech was invaluable, especially from the younger members. They seemed to understand more clearly the possibilities in better integrating the web with the more customary projects offered by Comtech.
The Learning goals.
Of the three ideas laid out in the learning goals document only the Twitter integration idea was practical. Of the other two, a little must be said to explain why they had to be put to the side;
the 3D projection problem was the most visually challenging of the three ideas. When this idea was first proposed, the people who heard it were in agreement that it would be a great project for the company to do. And, given Comtech’s long working relationship with the Bella Center, there was a perfect opportunity to take advantage of - the grand opening of the Bella Hotel. What was not apparent tome and which, when discovered, put an immediate stop to the project, was the cost. This was a perfect example of creativity versus practicality. Once the figure had been roughly added, it turned out that such a project was going to cost in the realm of 330,000DK where the bulk of the expenditure would be the hiring and running of the projectors. (This is a good example of where Lars Nissan’s experience was lacking - instead of me chasing and investigating the possibilities of this idea, he could have told me from the outset that it was impractical and would not happen in an educational context). Some investigation into this idea did take place before the realization that it would be unworkable - I scoped out various locations close to the warehouse for trails, discovered how to collect multiple images of a location and stitch them together so as they could be imported into the appropriate software and started brainstorming story ideas for a short animation that could have taken place on the side of the Bella hotel
the SMS idea, which prior to the beginning of the internship seemed the most hardware intensive of the three, was put to the wayside relatively quickly due to an internal restructuring of the company (I will explain the structure of the company below). The expertise of this area had moved from the company to another sister company owned by the same holdings firm. Enthusiasm for this idea seemed to have left the building along with this departure for reason that were not disclosed to me.
As for the Twitter idea that i did investigate and bring to a conclusion, i can go through the learning expectations from the Learning Goals document and say a brief amount on how those expectations were met or not;
- learning about the functions and application of the Twitter API - Investigation work had to be taken to understand the workings of twitter. To implement the API, I had to understand it’s intricacies
- implementing a back end database through the use of a CMS such as Wordpress or Drupal - the idea here was to set up some sort of email/user database that would used to experiment with the Twitter application and to “wall-in” the virtual environment. There was one Wordpress plugin that I implemented but limitations of this were quickly discovered due to its lack of interactivity and informational value i.e. it could only parse one Twitter #hashtag at a time. To have written my own plugin utilizing Wordpress was a possibility, though relearning php code would have diverted attention away from my already stated goals.
- assembling and maintaining the on-site hardware structure of such a network - once I was given the opportunity to set up screens, splitters etc I had to maintain the set up in a working environment
- implementing mobile integration - this was easily set up using the Twitter API and other mobile peripheries.
- assembling and maintaining a wireless network - since the set up never left the company warehouse, I was always using the in-house wi-fi system
- designing graphical content in line with clients visual needs - implementation of the Wordpress plugin meant using some graphical content so to illustrate what could be offered. For this case I use Comtech’s own logo to illustrate a live webpage.
- maintaining and surveying real time content in line with clients communication needs - this again came to the usage of the API where by setting up certain #hashtags, a system used within the “twittersphere” to collect and congregate similar tweets together. On a par with how tagging works for photos on flickr.com or videos on youtube.com
project management - possibly my largest failing was managing the project and understanding the crucial aspect of timelines and reaching goals.
Most of the findings and investigation can be found on my blog. There is also a good deal of documentation describing another web based application I discovered called Cover It Live (coveritlive.com). This in essence is what I wanted to do with the implementation of a invited only membership i.e. a walled in environment. The functionality of this site allowed me to feed web pages, or more precisely, iframes, into a webpage that I could control the access to. There was also functionality for live web casts, blogging, user interaction from both ends of the communication line and of course, Twitter integration, where I could control whose feeds could be read and which #hashtags could be followed.
One of the technical problems that I faced was then taking these iframes and setting them up in a webpage with the correct resolution in the browser window that could also be then sent to a big screen and even onto a projector. In this area, expertise and experience from Comtech was invaluable, especially from the younger employees.
Entrepreneurial Aspects
As stated before, I felt that the scope of my internship was not adequate if left only to what i was working with with Comtech and so decided that I needed to find other avenues to investigate.
Another company that I have worked for in the past is DROP, a small and highly experienced rigging company operating in Denmark. I had said to them before that their website was lacking in information and character and approached them again to make a redesign of it to which they happily agreed.
This project was more realizable due to its simplicity and necessity - realizable in the sense that it was something I had done before i.e. make a website, and a necessity in the sense that it was necessary for the company to have some sort of web presence. The challenge in this project, and something that was lacking from my Comtech work, was the utilization of a CMS, in this case Wordpress. The four owners of DROP wanted a website that would be easy for them to update without having to know HTML or php. They felt that if the process of updating the website was too labour intensive then there was no point in having it.
My initial expectations of Wordpress were that it would be as easy to learn and adopt as another CMS system i have been using for 4 years - blogspot. How wrong I was. it took a while for my attitude and working methods to develop when working with Wordpress but I am glad, as are DROP, at the results. Some of the goals reached -
a visually pleasing design that reflects the nature of the companies character
ability to update by mobile means - an important aspect for this company since all of it’s work is undertaken on location
presentation of essential data
security features to protect the website and the owners emails
integration of QR codes
The site will be going live soon (when the owners of DROP have written some content) at drop.dk and a preliminary version can be seen at www.theclearspots.com
Learning in relationship to PBA course
I found most valuable the insights into quantity over quality groundwork in the initial stages of the project. Also in communicating ideas to multiple “listeners” and the need to structure such communications so as everyone will understand them.
Conclusion
Some of the project was a success and some not so much. This was due to a combination of factors - my motivation, the interest of others, the availability of equipment and time constraints.
Looking back, I believe a more structured timeline is essential to a project of this type where all actors have varying amounts of enthusiasm.
I am also glad that I took the initiative to pursue other avenues of investigation. This gave me the chance to learn other web technologies that I might not have otherwise.
There is a derelict building down the road from where I live that used to house a squatting collective. Since they were evicted, the premises has gone into further disrepair. I was told that the actual land the building is on is contaminated and so worthless (or maybe that is the new squat that they have moved into, again, just down another road from me) - anyway, seeing what more can be done with this photomontage function in Photoshop and here is another example from this old squat - the BonBon factory.
Unfortunately, yesterday was the final day in the warehouse that I had to get the project up and running and with the problems that I faced relating to the screen/iframe resolution matchup, there was little time for me to play around anymore - so I had to pack down the gear.
I will hopefully get another chance in the next couple of weeks to have another go, but whether this is as part of school work or just for my own interest I don't know - (though I guess it will be for my own interest whichever way).
just wanting to get this posted before I close the computer for the rest of the day - a hard uphill struggle with screen resolutions today - back to it tomorrow with a little more experience and hoping for better results before i have to pack the setup down.
yesterday was just a test to see how difficult it would be to set up the comp and the screen along with the feeds. There are some issues that would have to be ironed out before going into a professional environment but still, I was happy with the results.
Today I will attempt to make more than one feed and have it on multiple screens coming from the same comp. I will use a triplehead2Go adapter that will hopefully allow the comp to recognise more than one screen thus allowing more than one feed to be displayed at the same time.
was able to set up the twitter feeds onto two screens. This is just an extension of the computer made onto fullscreen. Still have to play around more with the res of the screen and the size of the iframe that is dictated in the code. Video below is from the setup...
and then sometimes you get a doodle that was done i don't know when and there is something behind the madness, the arbitrariness of it, that lets it fall into its own category. What that category is, I can't decipher. But for some reason, the image just holds me and I want to blow it up and plaster it onto a billboard somewhere advertising nothing... here is one such image below. I have a load of these, some of the scribbles are only good for one thing (and you may think that this is one of them but then you would be wrong) and trust me, that is where they end up - then some come along and just hold me...
an aim of mine would be to some day mimic this on the scale that I want to see it, where it absorbs me, smothers me in colours that I understand as a reflection of my surroundings.
just testing the stitching function on photoshop with some pleasing results - have scanned in a drawing onto my a4 scanner but the drawing is a2 - so you can see the problems right away, what!? did a few scans and then stitched them together and here is the result - whoa (i know, i get a little over the top with these things)
And then just threw in the background on a whim...
Yes, content is KING folks, and let no designer tell you different.
Adding finishing touches to a website that I am doing at the moment and then waiting for the onwers of said site to write a little content to add. When it is all done and dusted i will put up a link.
Least to say, the site is made in Wordpress, the first time I have used this CMS - in fact, the first time I have used a CMS more complicated than blogspot. And now do i find it...? Well, not as intuitive as I had have hoped and i don't know whether that is because of my own expectations and competencies or just dodgy UI - perhaps a mixture of the two. I dont see myself as a UI guru but there are just ways that the WP backend layout doesn't play well to the eye and some of the documentation has itself to be documented. I guess its all in the learning curve.
Though to say there are many little pitfalls that you encounter and wouldn't think about unless you had someone sitting watching over your shoulder - it would be difficult to learn this completely from scratch with no guidance other than what is offered by the WP.org itself - still, go there in the end and am now prepared to go on and do another site for myself in WP - (though still have this notion that I may do the anti-site I had the idea for many moons ago - a site with absolutely no structure, just links and images all the way - no CSS - oh the frivolity of it all!!!)
have been hearing a lot about this new mobile app called Color - basically a smart photo sharing app with which can recognise pictures taken of the same event and choose the best one - spontaneous social networking - here is the founder having his say after the critics panned it on its release - personally, I have not played with it yet, in fact still have to download and get to grips with it - but could be especially interesting at conferences and concerts on a big screen - going to have a play and maybe suggest it to Comtech. see if it works....
At a bit of a loss of what to do today. Since I couldn't come in yesterday when i was hoping to have a chat with the "big man" to secure the use of some equipment, and now that I come intoday and he had already left this morning... well well. Though he does have (mcuh) bigger fish to fry.
And I only want to really start playing with the set up of the screen when they are actually set up... but a video from a few days ago just saying where I am at ...
And since I seem to be getting some work done tonight, here is a sneaky wee playlist at the same time - And a lot of noise in here - though quiet noise. This is a headphones waiting for the bus mix - take something to read too.
Moo Rah Rah Rain - Animal Collective
Kids With Guns (Quiet Village Remix) - Gorillaz
Click Click - The Wedding Present
Forgotten Song - It Hugs Back
Pnoom - CAN
Colorado - Grizzly Bear
Washington School - Atlas Sound
Fox Confessor Brings The Flood - Neko Case
Music - Cornelius
Hey Leanne - The Aliens
Mathar (Richard Fearless Mix) - Indian Vibes
Spray - CAN
All Together Now - The Beatles
Had to end on something to bring it all back to earth - let you walk into wherever you are going with some sense of.... solid.
PS there was some problems with the previous podcast - I had rendered it in GarageBand and for some reason... yeah yeah, bad workman and tools (accuser! you know who you are!) and it outputted in .m4a format, something that zshare wouldn't stream. So here is a link back to the original post and the file link has been updated so that you can stream directly from the website.
And another video from the bank showing different states of the lights. One cool feature that may not be on the videos are the built in sensors on each of the doors. When a certain door opened then a wave of light would be emitted from the LED's above that door.
Here is a video from a project I was working on a few weeks ago as part of my internship. This was outside of Comtech, but with another firm who work in the same area, not on such big jobs as Comtech and perhaps a bit more specialized, but in the same line of work.
The light installation was for a investment bank in Copenhagen in there "ideas" department - I guess as a way to inspire their workers (I had other "ideas" :-)). Each light is an LED mounted into the ceiling with a solid perspex tube (pictured for effect) placed below it.
The individual lights are each programmed (allotted a number) and then already programmed states are feed into the server. Each LED lights up depending on the current state and time frame.
Lost another day due to sick kids - but alas, was able to do a little in house reading - brushing up on html.
Said that I wanted to crack on with html5 but since deadlines are starting to approach, I am going to refresh my xhtml instead - no point in making it more complicated.
But very simply, have set up a page with a coveritlive iframe in the center. Will get this onto the screens and then play. I think it will be better to play with it on the screens rather than making a mock up on the laptop and then transferring that. Since I have the opportunity to build the set up in the warehouse, I should take advantage of the space and the time that will be afforded to me next week.
The image is of the basic set up of the system -
In the set up there is a computer which receives the feed via wifi. This is then scanned and injected into the media server which itself cannot process realtime feed (but there is a difference here in terminology since "realtime" means something different when talking about motion graphics - will find out what. To me, realtime also has a sense of interaction. perhaps this is the same, but when I propose interaction, it is with multiple users via the internet, whereas in media server terms, it is with the technician controlling the different pre-rendered graphics(?)). What is important here, is that the media server can "serve" the feed into the alloted position on the screens, whatever the screen set up (mentioned in the diagram itself). Within the media server, we place the feed onto its own layer and can then add it to other graphics - either produced within the media server or imported by other means.
Questions of screen resolution will arise and be answered in tandem of positioning.
Having to work at home today due to a sick daughter.
Trying to recap html, as I have said before - moving onto html5, why go back? Have started with w3 documentation - most comprehensive place to start.
Goals for todays work and later on tonight -
1-get an html5 page uploaded with a coveritlive feed incorporated
2-work some on the drop.dk website (will write more about this in a different post)
3-aftereffect tutorial - since I may want to put some moving graphics into the html5 pages in the coming future.
So then, get to it.
Oh, and 4- put up a video blog of how I think it is going with the internship in general.
sine this mornings post, i have been writing mails and getting in contact with folks to begin the collection of materials and evidence into what I have been up to for the past weeks during my internship - but what I want to do now is a short recap on iframes in a html5 context - and to start playing with the visuals for a mock up of what could be a big screen set up for a conference - this would include the real time element of a twitter and blogging feature. quick wireframe shown below.
there are implications of whether the live feed is set up alongside of a "movie" on the same screen when it comes to the setting up of the hardware - how many screens does it have to go through etc etc - when there are many elements that need to be projected and rendered at the same time, it is best to have a committed computer to the task - this type of committed computer is called a "media server". there are various types of media server, and the newest to be introduced to Comtech is called Hippotiser, a window based set-up from Green Hippo - and i have been told, but not able to check out for myself (everybody else wants to play with the new toy and I am at the back of the que, so it seems), that it can "hijack" the screen of another device and add this screen grab into whatever setup is being displayed in a certain position - but this is the only media server that can do this. Strange that none of the servers can import feeds like this directly.
another day at the office - and having to start to evaluate and collect work from over the past few weeks. Also, to recap upon the goals that I set myself for this learning process and whether those are being fulfilled.
In brief, there were three goals (set out in the learning goals document);
1, twitter wall
2, big screen projection
3, sms to screen projection
These three projects, at the beginning of my internship, were all possible to some degree - with scope inside of each project varying in complexity and interest.
Unfortunately, as the internship progressed, one of the propositions, sms to screen projection, fell by the wayside due to a restructuring of the company, meaning that the expertise that was within the company within this field, left. I could have proceeded an investigation of this area, but since it wasn't necessarily my first interest (the backend workings would have interested me, and there may still be time to have a look at this, but the graphical and visual reach would have been limited - again, something I may still get time to look into) i decided to pursue the other two options.
The big screen projection idea, being visually and graphically the most intensive, would have been the most interesting project to me. But after asking different project leaders about the cost and implication of such a project, it soon turned out that it was not feasible. Not to go into the figures, the hiring of four Barco projectors over the proposed time was way over any plausible budget - and this was excluding, manhours, insurance etc etc.
What i did do in this area was to investigate how such a project could be implemented from a designers POV. This is something I am working on at present and will have results for as the internship draws to a close.
The Twitter wall idea has become the compromise project of this internship - as shown in some of the posts below, I have been practicing getting iframes to work (brushing up on my HTML, looking to move to HTML5) and am now in the process of transposing this onto big screens. More to come about this.
unfortunately, i am not able to make a video blog of this at present since I am in the office - but here is a photobooth image to illustrate it. Hope to get a video post up tonight.
Ok, so for some reason the test below did not turn out like I thought it would - i loaded up some test logos and they didn't appear and I forgot to optimize the width of the view window so that it fits into the blog window - my fault.
Will try again but perhaps put it onto my own space so that I can play more with the fullscreen settings - if they exist.
have tried and they do not exist for FF. But am now downloading FF4 to see if it supports full screen. and need plugin for safari. But have tried in chrome and it does support full screen. I don't have chrome on my macbook cause only running OSx.4 when chrome needs at least x.5, so will experiment with that when i get home to the imac.
just getting back used to this doing stuff mode and here is some "stuff".
And I am still wanting to take some of these images and put them into aftereffects and play there - I think that some very interesting things could be done, especially if the results were to put up on a big screen. Animating the colour/opacity/contrast etc. Some of the images that i have posted before - the bastardizations, as I call them (since they are paintings of mine, scanned and then photoshoped) would also do well in these experimentations, but this 4xpanel image may be a good start just to get to grips with the software.
was listening to bbc 6music and Gideon Coe was coming on the waves. When I saw he had concert tracks from Franz Ferdinand, I had to turn off. The more I hear that band, and don't get me wrong, they fooled me for a while and a few tracks, the more I want to become a police commissionaire and ban art schools. Or is that just me?
Anyway, here is the playlist for this new podcast - I am not sure whether it is in the right order since I made this a few weeks ago - on Garageband, of all things (who needs Adobe these days) and I cant remember if I changed the running order while making the file - but anyway, it shouldn't be too far from the mark.
Mannish Boy - Muddy Waters
DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshake - Art Brut
Treat me like a dog - King Khan and BBQ Show
Diving - 50ft Wave
So Divided - ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
Burn My Shadow - UNKLE feat. Ian Astbury
Une Par Une - Vive le Fete
Waving my arms - The Birthday Party
Photoshop Handsome - Everything Everything
Every Little Girl - Maria Timm
Money(That's what I want) - Barret Strong
Glamorous - The Jesus Lizard
Anarchistic Bolshevistic Cowboy Bundle - Giant Sand
One of the Survivors - The Kinks
Stephanie Says - Lee Ronaldo
Occurance On The Border (Hopping On A Pogo-Gypsy Stick) - Gogol Bordello
Billy Hunt - The Jam
At Home he's a Tourist - Gang of Four
The Beat that my heart skipped - Dan Le Sac VS Scroobius Pip
So then, get it here, spread the word and keep listening.
Injoi!
PS, have checked the running order and all in order! And bollocks, the last track cuts off... ahhh garageband, eh?
As you can tell from the posts below, have been working on the coveritlive.com web based app - and I have to say, apart from the lack of visual adjustments that the user can play with (it has to be said, that there are ways you can reskin the app. but it costs moeny), I am overly impressed by the easiness of the set up and the options available - video, google translate, web cam(bit laggy to be expected) and the general speed of the feed. Of course to do with the upload speed of the connection.
So, whereas, all the engine room components worked a treat, it was the look that let it done. I have been in touch with the company and got an email back within an hour (good service) - here is there reply -
"
Hi Marc,
Thanks for writing with your question. The Viewer Window (the window that your readers see) can be resized. You can click here for more info and instructions.
However, the Writer’s Console (where you administer the event) is one set size. If that’s too small for your monitor then you could try either changing your browser’s settings (increase the text size/ zoom in by launching a browser window outside of the console and adjusting the settings through the browser menu – Safari instructions below) or you can change the monitor’s screen resolution.
I hope this information is helpful to you.
Best regards,
microphoneRachel Metzger
Customer Service, CoveritLive
"
and then I also wrote about them on Twitter, and of course they are searching their own name daily to gauge what is being said and I got a reply through there aswell - talk about service!! So, tomorrow, going to look more into skinning this app.
Was also talking about media servers and if a live feed such as coveritlive.com could be delivered through a media server onto a big screen. i was told that there is one type of server, called Hippotizer - which comtech does not have (they use Catalyst and Pandoras Box) at the moment - they have bought two which will be going straight out on tour with TV2 when they arrive, so won't be able to play with them until after - and by that time it will be the summer. But anyway, what hippotizer does that other media servers don't is a function called "screen theft" where it captures what is happening from another computer. The server itself does not display real time feeds like a twitter feed and so has to capture it from another "server" i.e. another computer. This is only an issue if you are also displaying other media types on different screens. I think I will look more closely at this in the coming weeks.
I am also doing some scans at the moment and am going to try an experiment with them using Aftereffects that I would like to see on a big screen - yippee! could be quite trippy!
so, since the other live event, the window was too wide for my blog, I am making anther one, so that I can see the full window, scroll bar, etc.
here is the code (viewed in the html mode at the backend of course)
and does the live event have to be saved in the control panel before this post with the embed code can be published??
and just to see what I can do below the window with some text and just to see what I can do below the window with some text and just to see what I can do below the window with some text and just to see what I can do below the window with some text and just to see what I can do below the window with some text
coveritlive is a real time live blogging tool. I have read the documentation and so I am going to give it a go here to see what happens. If, for some reason google and thus blogspot don't allow this embedding, then I will try it on my own site.
According to the docs. it is simply a matter of creating the blog and copy/pasting the code into a page or post (like this one).
because of varying reasons, the internship is only starting to take real shape now - have a desk at the office but the noisy computer is not only an annoyance for me and others in the room, but also shutting down more often than usual - which, if it happens once, is too many times.
So, working on the twitter idea - have the LiveTwit theme working at my sandpit site on the web. need to figure out how I can window this off so that the browser is not shown.
Also looking into Coveritlive - but this seems to be more of a live blogging tool - a little more complicated so will take more investigation.
hope to be able to work off of some big screens soon and maybe get into the media server stuff too - will see. I envisage the twitter feed as part of a more comprehensive interface. Will make up a couple of mockups to illustrate this.
A new vibe going on in my head and so a new podcast - made this mix last week and only getting to uploading it now - I know, I know - how bloody selfish of me to keep my grand view of the musical world to myself and not share it with you at the earliest possible opportunity. Apologies, sincerely...
The Lovecats - CallMeKat
Revelation - Love
Milk Thistle - Conor Oberst
Auckland CBD - Lawrence Arabia
First I look at the purse - The Contours
Safety in Numbers - The Adverts
The Howling - The Phantom Band
Three to the Floor - Lars and the Hands of Light
Stop - People Press Play
Clap and Whistle and Walking - Cornelius
Two Steps, Twice - Foals
Par Avion - FM Belfast
Some Boys - The Bird
Not that many tracks on it you may think, but the Love track is just under 20 minutes so the length is the normal 1hr10mins. Injoy!
It has been a couple of weeks since the last podcast and after listening to this one last night, it seems that I might be a little out of practice in choosing tracks that compliment each other. Some great music here; in fact, not a bad track on the list (imho), but getting it to go together... well, I will let you decide. I don't be put of by the Status Quo number - be pleasantly surprised.
Pump - FM Belfast
Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment - The Ramones
Please Little Baby - Thee Headcoats
Scenic World - Beirut
i just want to see your face - Serena Maneesh
Blues for a muse - The incredible String Band
Lazarus - The Boo Radleys
You're Just What I Was Looking For Today - Status Quo
Mississippi Momma - Adam Klein
Summertime - Booker T and the MG's
The Happy Song - The Aliens
Preservation - The Kinks
A Hard Days Night - Peter Sellers
No one is there - Nico
Daniell in the Sea - Jonsi and Alex
Go Long - Joanna Newsom
Philidelphia - The Kissaway Trail
Fascination Street - The Cure
As a point of departure we have been asked to sum up our hope, aspirations and learning goals for the internship. I have been doing this over the past two posts but have formally written it up and posted it into the school environment on Fronter. Does that make it official? I guess it does - or at least until I am formally told it is worthless nonsense and I should redo it in an effectual manner!... But here are the learning goals of each of the three ideas I have presented to Comtech.
--------------------------------------------
"
Learning Goals.
My 3rd semester internship will take place in a Danish AV (Audio Visual) and event company called Comtech A/S. I have been working professionally with Comtech over the past two years or so and have substantial inside knowledge of their employees, their functions and roles, as well as aspirations and future possibilities of the company.
Some of the main events that I have worked with include the COP15 UN conference on climate change in the Bella Center in December of 2009 and on the Orange Stage at Roskilde Festival, 2010. Both of these events hosted international partners for whom professionalism was of the utmost importance. As a result, I was able to witness and participate with Comtech at the height of their capabilities.
I initially approached Lars Nissan, one of the head project leaders within the company to propose my internship. After a brief consultation, we decided that I would present a number of ideas that I thought would traverse my education with Comtech's competences. Those ideas are presented below – three in total.
We also agreed that my day to day contact in regards to the chosen project would be the crew booker, Liza van der Voorn. (All contact details are at the end of this document).
The three idea proposals.
With my knowledge of both e-media and Comtech's competences, I have devised three ideas that I believe will both benefit Comtech and fulfill my educational requirements. All of the ideas involve varying degrees of project management which will become one of my main responsibilities. Another trait that bridges all of the ideas is visual design and communication. And lastly, at least two of the ideas will incorporate some kind of mobile interaction. On this account, I can confidently say that, whichever idea is decided upon, my module criteria will be satisfied. The ideas are as follows;
A skinable Twitter like application to be used as an official communications tool at conferences, exhibitions etc.
An out door 3d-mapping event
An investigation and development of SMS and MMS to big screen technology.
This idea spawns from my experience of working at the COP15 conference in December 2009. The size of the conference dictated the need for a comprehensive interface that would coherently provide information concerning the different rooms, speakers, topics, etc. This was provided but in a one way level, where the conference organizers would push the information and hence it would be consumed – that is, there was no interaction between the actual attendees and the organizers. My idea, roughly put, would be to develop a web application that could be tailored according to a brand and used, like Twitter, as a communication tool between attendees and conference organizers. The first question that would obviously arise, is, “Why then not just use Twitter?” There are three reasons I can think of to answer this at present; so that conference organizers can brand the application to their own end; to restrict who sees the communication, that is, to “wall-in” communiqués; and, to push traffic to a specific website outside of Twitter and therefore generate income through sponsorship and the like.
The future possibilities of this technology are far. I have tentatively looked into the integration of touch screen technology, real time data collecting, real time video conferencing and such, to name but a few of the ideas. But I believe that to make this kind of service viable, simplicity in the beginning would be best, not only from the developers point of view, but also from that of the end user.
My main learning goals involved with such a project would consist of, but not be limited to;
- learning about the functions and application of the Twitter API
- implementing a back end database through the use of a CMS such as Wordpress or Drupal
- assembling and maintaining the on-site hardware structure of such a network
- implementing mobile integration
- assembling and maintaining a wireless network
- designing graphical content in line with clients visual needs
- maintaining and surveying real time content in line with clients communication needs
- project management
Utilizing powerful projectors, it is possible to use other spaces and environments as screens, for example, the sides of buildings. This can be used in either a strictly aesthetic manner or with some inherent commercial value.
My learning goals for this project would be, but not limited to;
- working on a visual design from conception to final product. This would take into account branding requirements of a given client
- developing and implementing a motion graphical storyboard
- implementation and optimization of different video and file types
- assembling and maintaining on-site hardware
- project management
Future possibilities could include some sort of user interaction by use of mobile technology.
As part of the Roskilde festival 2009, Comtech provided an SMS service wherein audience members could upload an SMS message that would then be displayed on the big screens of the venue during the intervals. This idea would be somewhat along the lines of the Twitter feed, but would also allow 2nd generation phone interaction i.e. SMS and MMS compatible.
It was also used as promotion for the Diesel Clothing Company in a campaign entitled “Be Stupid”. Users were asked to take photos of themselves using their mobile phones and upload them to the web. These were then displayed via a big screen in the shop window.
My learning goals for this project would include but not be limited to;
- designing and implementing a back end application that spans differing levels of technology
- designing graphical content in line with clients visual needs
- maintaining and surveying real time content in line with clients communication needs
- assembling and maintaining on-site hardware
- project management
All three ideas/projects have different levels of challenge and feasibility in regards to myself as the student, my school as an education establishment, and Comtech as a professional company. But my main hope at the end of the project is to be able to produce a product, whether it is a standalone application or knowledge that I alone attain, that will be valuable in future scenarios.
I will be keeping a video diary on my own blog (http://spo3.com) of ongoing events whilst at the same time using it is a platform for investigation, experimentation and exhibition.
"
----------------------------------
I have purposely left out the contact list, if anyone noticed. Critique please? Is there anything that should be explained more accurately? It all makes sense to me but then I have been working with it for a while and have tunnel vision. It may read like ancient Greek to an outside sensor.
Here is a small collection of videos from youtube showing different 3d mapping projects from around the globe. I have to find out the difference between true 3d mapping and what appears to be just using the sides of buildings as a huge screen and integrating the surface into the animation. For instance, for the 2d projections, it would be easy to use after effects or apple motion to produce the content. But what software is used for the true 3d mapping eg the superbien video or the Toyoto promotion.
I don't know if I mentioned it in the video post below, but I have been in conversation with Comtech about a possible 3d mapping event to coincide with the opening of the Bella Center Hotel here in Copenhagen. The ball has been put into motion regarding the right people know and so a decision should be made soon - three months, I feel, may not be a long time for this process, especially for beginners.
Above is an architect's representation of the building though to be honest this is quite poor.
And another which would have been taken quite a while ago since the building's exterior is almost completely finished.
And, thanks to Sol, who would be the main conspirator in this project, his mobile image after he had lit up the building last week - so you can see the difference. This, I would suggest, would be the "screen" for the projection.
Hmmmmmmmmmm.
And for anybody not quite sure what the billy shears I am on about go here for a little taster!
have been experimenting with oil paints, ink, water paints and squeezing them inbetween two sheets of acetate and then scanning the dried results - manipulation afterwards - here are some of the results. Passing the images through various filters, then refiltering them I was able to get some interesting results. Next step will be to put them into either Motion or FCP and manipulate the colour saturation, vibrancy etc over a timeline. Will post the results when they are ready and if they are any good.
At the computer almost 16hrs a day now and will be for the next few days - but not all the work is to do with the exams. In fact, very little of it is at this point, though that will change in the next, ohhhhhh, 16hrs, probably. But to keep some sort of sanity visible on the horizon, here is a playlist to weather the storm - bit of a mix alright...
Pray for Rain - Massive Attack Feat. Tunde Adebimpe
DLZ - TV on the Radio
Police - Fucked Up
Moar Ghosts 'n' Stuff - Deadmau5
Fot i hose - Casiokids
Yeah You're Right, You Know You're Right - The Gaturs
Wily Coyote - Thee Headcoats
Sensemilla - Yellowman
Wild Youth - Generation X
Craptelly - Band Ane
Dare(DFA mix) - Gorillaz
Gum - Cornelius
Par Avion - FM Belfast
Come On Feet - Pete and the Pirates
William's Blood - Grace Jones
As part of my third semester for my study, (still studying! - some folks said I was a late developer) I have had to find a company that I can use and who can use me in a process of mutual "useiness" (what a great word! don't bother looking it up, it don't exist). Luckily, the company who have agreed to work with me and I it, is one that has agreed to work with me in the past and paid me for such pleasure - amazing that there are still folk out there willing to hire an old unknowledgeable horse like myself - I jest, of course.
But to the brass tacks - I have to come up with a few ideas that said company could use me to implement/ investigate etc. As I have been working with this company before (btw, the company is called Comtech A/S) I have a good idea of what they do and what they could do. In this, coupled with my education and some of the ideas that I have, three different(though could be connected) avenues have opened for investigation -
1. to design and implement a skinnable Twitter like api that could be used for communication and interaction at conferences and industry/commercial expo's.
2. to design and implement a 3d-mapping project for a cultural event - the grand opening of the Bella Center Hotel which will take place in about three months time could be a contender.
3. to design, implement and extend the use of SMS, MMS and social media on a commercial basis in a real time environment. An example of this can been seen here (video at bottom) where Comtech were involved in setting up the screens and the back end frame work.
So those are the three ideas which I will submit to the company and see which one sticks.
As for this blog, I will be posting stuff on it applicable to the internship, the previous semesters work so that I can build a portfolio (though I will be working on another more appropriate site for that as time goes on and my own (stunning!) graphic work which I just can't seem to shake - that and the music - I guess those my catharsis. And above is a video blog broadening some of the three ideas. My writing my be long winded - but by christ, you should hear me talk!!
And here is a little of some things that Comtech could be getting themselves more into - video
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Happy new year and all that jazz - and here is a new mix for you kids on the block. And how many more cliches can I fit into an opening sentence. Cliches?! - soooo last year.
Podcast number 16 this time around -
A rose for Emily - The Zombies
Echoes around the sun - Paul Weller
The most expensive sleep - Graham Day and the Gaolers
I don't know - Willie Mabon
One of the survivors - The Kinks
Dance Of The Inhabitants Of The Palace Of King Phillip Xiv Of Spain - Jason Q. Lytle
Toxic - CallMeKat
Quatsch - Vive Le fete
Hazel - Cocteau Twins
Flying V - The Untamed
Safety in Numbers - Strike the Colours
Rocking Horse - Kelli Ali
Natural Tune - Efterklang
Claustrophobia - Choir of Young Believers
Golden Phone - Micachu and the Shapes
Knock Load(Live) - Neko Case
Lemonaide - Kak
Killemall - Menomema
All Blues Hail Mary - Joe Henry
I have a load of things to do at the moment but thought to get myself started in the way of work again after the holidays, I should make this mix. BTW, if anybody is looking at any of the other mixes from previous postings and want copies, then they should get in contact since none of these shows are hosted any longer and the links are dead.
