For my project I am starting with the topic extended consciousness with Interaction Design as the production method. The three concepts are also related in the way that they compare the emotions associated with physical and digital mediums.

The first concept is to probe the empathy people hold for computer generated visual communication compared with that of traditional physical mediums. Aspects of this concept are associated with the uncanny valley theory, the realism in artificial human faces get to a point where they they look creepy. Why is there not a similar problem with oil painting?

The second concept is an examination of happy accidents, a unexpected result in physical arts that is beneficial. Does the logical computation of imagery reduce the chance of unplanned results? An example of a happy accident is in Holga film cameras, they are not perfectly light tight and produce unique pictures when the film is exposed. Film camera do not give an undo option and a fair amount of mastery is required to get it right the first time.

The third concept is a study of the value given to digital art considering there is no original copy and infinite copies can be made. If a physical created illustration is viewed digitally, does it hold higher value than one created with software? Does the value given to digital and analogue art come from universal considerations such as composition, technique and energy?

One idea I have for making interactive clothing is have several mercury tilt switches in the arm to act as an angle sensor.

Each tilt sensor is at a slightly different angle to detect if in arm is swinging, resting or holding an object.

This information can represented by two animated creatures that play, sleep or work according to the corresponding arm.

I haven’t decided on whether the display would be separate or integrated into the clothing.

For this project, I am making an item of clothing or something that can be worn that lights up. The final object needs to be portable and cannot be plugged into a wall socket.

The Daft Punk light suits led me to look into Electroluminescent wire (EL wire). Connecting EL wire to an arduino requires an inverter to convert DC to AC, so it will more difficult than LEDs but the wider light area will be worth the trouble.

This low polygon mask by Eric Testroete and other wire frame models have inspired me to create a mask in the shape of a simple geometric human head.

The mask will be made from flat planes of diffusing material, perhaps some sort of plastic film. El wire inside the mask will cause the head to light up uniformly. The EL wire could be triggered by sound or switches mounted beneath the wearers shoes. Air circulation and visibility will have to be considered, possibly black mesh could cover the eyes and mouth.

I am researching the following items of wearable technology:

Nintendo Power glove

Daft punk light suits

LED hoodie bomb scare

In the process of technology becoming wireless and more portable, it has now indeed become wearable. From electronic fashion accessories to health monitoring products, wearable technology is a new growing area of interdisciplinary research.

In the development process to create a live performance, I have taken a strong visual style influenced by retro video synthesizers, paper rad, tim and eric awesome show, wonder showzen and jimmy joe roche. These visuals can contain cartoons, intense flashing, primative 3d and bright colours verging on being painful for eyes to watch. The main goal is to create an intense experience in an imaginative virtual space in real time.  There will also need be a virtual camera to explore the virtual space this would move pan and zoom to experience the perspective of being immersed within the environment.

Examples of the scanimate video synthesizer

Tim and Eric use modern techniques to replicate the old video synthesizers.

paper rads flashing images should come with a warning, jimmy joe roche using a diamond transition

An improvised performance will take place between virtual performers and a virtual camera. There will also need be an improvised performance between elements controlled within the environment and a virtual camera. To optimize the improvised possibilities there will need to be freedom in every possible aspect of the virtual performers. A Midi controller will be used to interface with interactive elements in the environment and could also be used to create audio. A game controller would be perfect for manipulating the virtual camera because it will help to make the movements of the camera more mastered.

The basis on the relationship between the Feedee (a-life creature) and the Feeder (the user) is based on the habits of eating.

The creature has a fussy personality and does not like eating new foods, however it becomes accustomed to the food that it is fed.

Facial expressions in the claymation character are shown in response to the food it is fed, it can be happy, angry or neutral.

Interfacing hardware is made from bowls with resistors mounted on the bottoms. An Arduino reads the resistance of the bowl and sends the information to flash, which determines which bowl has been presented.

In interacting with a creature, Tamagotchi’s are the first thing that I think of. People become attached to their Tamagotchi and form a relationship where they have an artificial being who’s life is reliant on being fed and cared for. I want to further examine this relationship

The main point of my video is that I wanted to add another element to the video without adding any new content. The solution was to add the same video to the screen several times, each playing out of sync from the others. The videos a transparent in certain places depending on the music that is playing. The result is a glitch effect on any moving object that occurs when music is playing.A further element that I added was to play the video in time with the music by scrubbing the video according to the audio level.

To complement the glitch look, I used an electro song called Puppet Mechanics by Carl Phaser. This song has a Creative Commons Licence and can be found at http://starfrosch.ch/2009/07/18/carl_phaser_end_dark. The most effective video for remixing is footage of people moving because there is more of a contrast in glitching organic forms.

Once the final remix video was captured, I noticed that it looks terrible without audio. It is only when you can hear the audio that the video is reacting to that it looks good. It might be hard to further remix this video without the original accompanying audio.