Study 4 (200 word reflection): 

Ziggy, Isobel and I collaborated for studies 4 and 5. We chose the emotion of embarrassment to focus on. Embarrassment is a uncontrollable response which can flush your cheeks whilst making you laugh or cry. Luckily we didn’t cause any tears during this assessment.

We used Max to create an image of a lolly jar. By attaching this to a motion sensor on the webcam, we asked the audience to wave there arms around wildly to fill up the jar. What the viewer didnt know, was once the jar was almost full, the camera began recording a short 5 second clip of them waving there arms. A screen would then appear over the jar, showing this clip to the viewer. In turn, the viewer was surprised at seeing themselves on screen, having not known they were being recorded. This then triggered the embarrassment as planned.

When trialling this work on our classmates, it was evident that people were embarrassed based on their body language. Often the viewer would laugh and cover their face or turn away from the camera. However an issue we found was that once people had seen the effect and knew what to expect, they were significantly less embarrassed. This gave us a challenge as to how to progress the concept further in study 5.

Study 5 (200 word reflection):

Study 5 surrounded the aim for heightening the embarrassment caused during study 4. After brainstorming the issues at hand we found that there were two primary things we could change.

The first being the technical side of the project. Adjusting parameters and sensitivity to allow for the jar to be filled more easily. By increasing the sensitivity, we did not have to verbally suggest to the audience that they step closer to move more wildly.

The second thing we attempted to improve was the level of embarrassment.  To do this, we created a second screen which was linked to the video camera. By doing this, when the jar was full, the recording of the audience waving their arms would appear on all of the television screens within the classroom. By putting the video on a larger scale and multiplying it, we were surrounding people with their silly bodily movements.

Again unfortunately, the element of surprise was decreased as viewers saw what was happening before participating. However, due to the scale of embarrassment being increased we have a larger amount of viewers maintaining their true reaction.

Major Project (200 word reflection):

My major project takes me back to my original research project surrounding Camille Utterback. It was in week 1 that I was inspired by her work and the concept that your body as a viewer could lift and drop electronic objects on a screen. The prime example of this is her piece “Text Rain”.

On a conceptual level, I wanted the viewer to feel empowered when participating in this artwork. Their is something intriguing about seeing yourself on a screen and effecting the environment around you. As the artist, I have the ability to shape the users contribution by altering what object it is that they are moving. For example in this project I have used white lines. Giving the effect that they are the only thing in the room. The white works to black around all of the background and moves around the body as it moves.

My ultimate goal would be to simulate rain falling from the sky however avoiding the body. Giving the illusion that the human body is somewhat “untouchable” in this piece and we can have some control over something much greater than we have imagined.

To create this patcher, my primary issue was with altering the shape of the object. Originally the shape was a red cross, but this did not create my desired effect. So by adjusting the parameters in paintoval to $2 $3 $1 $8 I was able to cover the background. As seen in the picture attached, I began widening the object and it fell on top of my shoulders. This experimentation period allowed me to play with different elements and control the features accordingly.

Development and Reflection (800-1000 words)

The creative process is something which I find particularly interesting. I have always been quite a creative person. I completed numerous art subjects throughout school and have a personal interest in the design world. However when it comes to “Lights Camera Interaction”, I find that i don’t let myself think ‘big’. This is because I struggle with execution of plans when it comes to Max. The program feels like I am trying to learn another language, and in a way I am. Each button, object, comment and message communicate with each other in ways I cant fully comprehend. I continue to watch YouTube tutorials and visit the various discussion boards I have found online. Slowly my understanding increases, however i still feel limited when it comes to ideation.

I have drawn inspiration from artist Camille Utterback. Her work has allowed me to believe that I can achieve some of my goals because she has. Her piece “Text Rain” is precise, interactive and extremely refined. If I could make an artwork which is little as a quarter as successful as hers is, I would consider that a huge win.

Throughout this process I learnt a lot about techniques by interacting with other peoples artworks. My key takeaway was that the facial recognition on Max caused a lot of difficulty. Lots of groups aimed to trigger something on screen when someone would open and close their mouth for example. This proved difficult as the message also picked up things in the background of the shot taking away from the face. It would have been more successful if set in front of a white wall.

I have learnt that in the world of interactive art, a lot of success is based on human expectation. We aim to predict what the natural instinct is and if we are wrong, adjustments can be made or the entire project potentially crashes. Study 4 and 5 are based on two assumptions. The first being that people will follow the instructions on the screen telling them to wave their arms in a ridiculous manner. The second being that they will be flushed with embarrassment after seeing the video of themselves doing so. If no one waves their arms, the project appears literally just as a picture of an empty lolly jar. Luckily for us, we accurately predicted the reactions of viewers and our project was a success. We saw lots of silly arm movements and embarrassed faces as a result of this.

For me however, success feels like the smaller accomplishments as opposed to the final result. Successfully adjusting parameters on the first try, finding a forum which relates directly to the issue you are having or clicking save right before your computer crashes, all of which happened throughout this process.

As discussed in my artist statements. I aim to add to my major project by importing a simulation of rain falling. I am attempting to use the same techniques to have the rain fall around the human body. I am playing on the concept of being “untouchable” as a human and controlling something greater than ourselves. This will take extreme refinement when it comes to the parameters of the work. It will be a big trial and error process and I hope to test it on various people in and out of class in order to determine its success. It is also key to test in various settings which have different lighting. I have found that often issues arise when the sensors struggle with colours and light. Again this is a large scale goal and whilst my Max skills may not be exemplary, I aim to work with other students, Camille and the mighty web to achieve this goal.