Risk assessment – Sheet Brooke Mckay-22vq4vw

Although we were asked to reflect on the most recent 3 studies, I find it difficult not to reflect on the semester as a whole as it comes to an end. I remember sitting in our first tute, introducing ourselves. We were asked to state our name, primary interest in media and our favourite type of cake. In this class we downloaded Max and sat looking at a program which made absolutely no sense. I didn’t even know what it was meant to create. 4 months later, whilst I definitely haven’t mastered Max in the slightest, i understand. I understand the basic setup, the shortcuts to different actions, the formulas and the capabilities the program has. Interestingly most classes at uni do not teach you something entirely new, they often build on existing knowledge. Lights Camera Interaction has created a completely new skill set.

In terms of the creative process, I believe that the most significant thing I have learnt is the need to be flexible. More often thannot, I have had a big idea and when implementing it, things have been put in my way which cause me to have to make decisions. Altering your outcome is not always desired, however it can make your piece logistically more successful or aesthetically better. Whilst we like to think that anything is possible, realistically some detours have to be made on the way to achieving our original goals. For example originally when creating my study “rain on me” I wanted physical rain to be falling and moving around the body in the shot. This however was too big of an idea, instead I have made the colours as similar to rain as possible and added the sound of rain in the background. Whilst this is not what i originally intended, it is a close simulation and my flexibility in the creative process allowed me to achieve a similar goal.

The techniques behind interactive art making vary greatly. In terms of motive, I have learnt that the best way to engage with an audience is to give them either control or a clear purpose. If someone has a goal they are trying to achieve, they will continue to work until they get it. This may be as simple as getting them to wave their arms about until they trigger a reaction or it may be that they need to complete a quiz in order to receive praise. Interactive art is about engagement and providing the viewer with the opportunity toparticipate. It doesn’t have to be digital. You could set up balloons on a canvas which are filled with paint. Viewers could throw darts at the canvas to make the balloons pop and splatter paint everywhere. Sometimes people just want to have fun with art, it shouldn’t always be about the philosophical meaning.

In terms of success, my final piece which was displayed at the exhibition was a success. It actively engaged viewers for an extended period of time. It also had an element of humour. Every person i tested it on prior to the exhibition smiled when completing the maze and laughed at the ridiculous song that played. The importance of laughter is forgotten in art. Look at the most expensive pieces in the world today. “Number 17A” by Jackson Pollock (see below) recently valued at $200 million. Pollock is an abstract expressionist and an extremely famous one, to me however the piece has no emotion. It has no story or subject. How is it that something worth

$200 million doesn’t provoke a single emotion within me. I think that art should be thought provoking and mesmerising. That is why when creating my work, I hope to get a reaction out of my audience, good or bad. All publicity is good publicity right?

Every element of my work could be improved on in some way. Personally I am not the most advanced at using Max, but i have tried all semester and have learnt a great deal. My biggest issue was that my laptop broke and put me a week and a half behind in my progression. It is because of this that my final piece is somewhat basic. I completed this without any assistance. Whilst I completed my other 2 outputs by myself, I had guidance and suggestions from my tutor and other students. Due to my laptop, my class time was limited and therefore when we had our last class I was still working on my 2nd patcher and had another to complete. It was a learning curve and challenged me to use a virtual desktop on a 2007 laptop. Therefore I admit that my last piece could have great improvement, I was simply unable to do so given the time and resource limitations I experienced.

This semester has taught me to experiment with my creativity and has increased my level of patience. It is important to remember that if one idea fails, it can simply lead to a new one. I have had a fantastic (if not always easy) semester in this class and have learnt a great deal.

Reflection 1: Study 6

Study 6 was designed to encourage students to discuss and reflect on the work of another student in our class. For this process, I chose Yuhans to draw inspiration from. Yuhan used voice recognition and “aka.listen” to make specific words change the brightness on the output screen.

In today’s society, voice recognition is everywhere. The most influential and common example is that of Siri and Google Home. Both having advanced technology to recognise words and have actions which occur as a result.

On a simplistic level, this is what I have done with my project. I have programmed my patcher to change the colour tint depending on which trigger word is said. The key however with my design is that I have chosen colours which corrolate with different meanings in the human mind. For example, we are trained to understand that the colour blue associates with sadness, red with anger or death and pink with love. Therefore I carefully chose each trigger word to relate to these emotions.

On a technical level, the process is as follows. Once turned “on” the microphone in my laptop will recognise any of the words listed, then moving through “aka.listen” each word is associated with 3 numbers. The combination of the 3 numbers are different areas on colour charts which combine to make a whole colour. This colour then appears on the screen as a tint over the viewers face.

My primary aim is for the viewer to connect emotions with colours and begin to understand the association at play.

Reflection 2: Study 7

Study 7’s criteria was that we must take an idea, concept, or technique used in a previous study, and develop it further. Focusing on keeping user interaction for 5-7 minutes.

During class a few weeks ago, we brainstormed things which can maintain our attention for extended periods of time. The primary thing I took out of this session was that we like to have a challenge in front of us to complete. We become “hooked” when we have a goal to achieve or a reward at the end. For me, doing a sodoku is both a therapeutic and frustrating activity. It provides a great sense of accomplishment when completed, however infuriating annoyance when you get stuck. This is what I hoped to achieve with my study.

I decided that the puzzle i would focus on was a maze. A simplistic, get from one end to the other type maze. The concept developed with the previously mentioned emotions in mind. I designed the study so that if you were to let go of the drawing when you hadn’t completed the maze, the computer would let off an annoying sound and the word “boo” would appear. On the contrary, if you were to complete the maze successfully, the computer reads “yay” and plays a funny, celebratory jingle.

On a technical level, I used “Loadbang” to make the setup automatic. When opened, the maze is immediately shown empty and the songs and triggers are turned on. The main difficulty i encountered was trying to have both sounds available to play depending on where the mouse was “unclicked”. The solution was found through the use of “gswitch2” which caused some issues initially, but was resolved.

Overall, my study “aMAZEing” successfully sustains user interactions for several minutes (depending on how quickly they solve the puzzle). When testing my product with friends, the fastest completion I saw was 3mins and the longest was 7.2mins. I would deem this study, a success!

Reflection 3: Study 8

Whilst study 8 may appear the most simplistic over all, i have a great deal of self accomplishment from it. I completed this patcher without any help from tutors or in class. The design whilst straight forward is meaningful on a conceptual level. It goes back to the first assessment from semester 2 I studied on Camille Utterback. Throughout the semester I have continued to develop the concept further. Whilst I wanted to originally put a simulation of rain on the screen to move around the body. This was something I couldn’t achieve so I did the best I could. I have used a recording of the sound of rain to add to the effect. I have also chosen a blue colour to represent the rain.

Throughout this semester we have learnt about messages, notes, buttons and formulas. Developing a sort of language to communicate with Max. It is knowledge that to me felt like it didn’t make any sense at all. However when it came down to it, I was able to combine all of the tutes to make something. Something small, but to me very symbolic.

Using threshold alterations to change the shape of the fill in, I have created a symbol which looks like rain. The study allows viewers to lift and move the rain when interacting with the piece.

Study 7’s criteria was that we must take an idea, concept, or technique used in a previous study, and develop it further. Focusing on keeping user interaction for 5-7 minutes.

During class a few weeks ago, we brainstormed things which can maintain our attention for extended periods of time. The primary thing I took out of this session was that we like to have a challenge in front of us to complete. We become “hooked” when we have a goal to achieve or a reward at the end. For me, doing a sodoku is both a therapeutic and frustrating activity. It provides a great sense of accomplishment when completed, however infuriating annoyance when you get stuck. This is what I hoped to achieve with my study.

I decided that the puzzle i would focus on was a maze. A simplistic, get from one end to the other type maze. The concept developed with the previously mentioned emotions in mind. I designed the study so that if you were to let go of the drawing when you hadn’t completed the maze, the computer would let off an annoying sound and the word “boo” would appear. On the contrary, if you were to complete the maze successfully, the computer reads “yay” and plays a funny, celebratory jingle.

On a technical level, I used “Loadbang” to make the setup automatic. When opened, the maze is immediately shown empty and the songs and triggers are turned on. The main difficulty i encountered was trying to have both sounds available to play depending on where the mouse was “unclicked”. The solution was found through the use of “gswitch2” which caused some issues initially, but was resolved.

Overall, my study “aMAZEing” successfully sustains user interactions for several minutes (depending on how quickly they solve the puzzle). When testing my product with friends, the fastest completion I saw was 3mins and the longest was 7.2mins. I would deem this study, a success!