New Year’s Resolve-lution
The Suck
Doing the same old thing is easy, even when it makes things harder. Reusing those same neural pathways is easier than growing new ones; I don’t make up the rules, it’s just science. But that doesn’t mean we can’t all painfully, slowly push through until we’ve made lasting change. The problem is that the majority of us won’t. I don’t blame people; change sucks.
It took me two years to stop talking about how I was going to quit using Adobe Premiere and switch to Blackmagic’s Resolve. I did so thinking it was going to be painful, like when I started using Final Cut Pro again after the “iMovie Pro” recode to FCPX. FCPX, renaming standard terms like bin, clip, etc., to video-unrelated terms like “event” or “collections” as if a film was an art world event. It required not only learning a new interface but also adjusting my vernacular, my internal voice’s vocabulary, to something that didn’t fit logically with my decades-long conversation in all things video.
Switching to Resolve was not like this at all. If anything, it was like when I first switched to Mac from PC back in 2006. It was more a matter of letting go and finding an easier way to make things happen. Still a bit of an internal code switch, but not like the foreign intrusion of non-video terms found in FCPX. Using nodes is a logical way to connect and influence the video clip, like an idea or memory tied to and influenced by adjacent ideas. The only moments of “change sucks” are in the keyboard shortcuts or navigating the new menu bar and those different pages: Media, Cut, Edit, Fusion, Color, Fairlight, Deliver. Initially, it seems a bit much. Eventually, it serves as a nice mental break between different stages of production.
Unstuck
I’m now resolved in my previous year’s resolution. One year as a Resolve user. My desktop cluttered with a Speed Editor and a set of color wheels makes me certainly look like the expert, but never without a YouTube tutorial away from figuring out a new creative solution to fit my needs. The “suck” is long gone. The benefits of the hard work are reaped.
As for this year’s resolution; you’re reading it. I’ve never put much energy into writing. And as my brain moves towards its 50th year of slacking off, I can feel that it needs some working out. I’ll start with an easy goal. At least one blog post every two weeks. Siri, set a timer…
Long Overdue Update
New Gear
I started blogging while in art school as a way to document the work I was doing in class. Towards my thesis year, this drastically tapered off due to my workload, and was pretty much forgotten about after graduating as my work picked up. My work is still keeping me busy, but I miss having a non-social media outlet for talking about my work and assorted personal projects. So now after nearly a year of not posting, let me attempt to catch up.
The largest leap in my personal art practice has been indulging my non-video interests. Maybe in the same vein as a house painter with a shabby exterior, or mechanic with a poor running car, my personal work has been mostly devoid of video projects save for one with Lou Watson. I have been playing with my turntables more, building extensively upgraded RC cars, upgrading things on my real cars, drawing, and most notably have been learning how to use my new CNC machine (CNC stands for Computer Numerical Control, in case you didn’t know. I didn’t until googling it just now). I’ve taken several 3d modelling classes while in junior college and done very little since then. But, it created a little vacuum in my brain that activated my desire to design things on the computer for use in the real world.
Once the market started delivering cheap CNC machines for the hobbyist I was quick to justify a reason to buy one. The Inventables X-Carve popped up in my feed somehow and hooked me. After setting it up, and making a couple of tchotchkes from some of my old vector files, I was quickly over it with my brain wanting more. Fortunately my time at PNCA qualified me for free Autodesk account where I was able to download Fusion 360. The program took a little mental gear shifting from my experience with Autodesk’s Maya as far as modeling and interface went. Navigating the difference was a walk in the park compared to the CAM interface (CAM, Computer Aided Manufacturing). The learning process (still in progress) cost a chunk in broken bits and ruined material. Probably about $300 and counting as of this writing.
Table Trees
The first “real” project with the CNC was to make some decorations for Christmas. As an atheist that looks at the holiday critically, I avoid decorating the house with disposable or otherwise resource-wasting ornaments. Almost sarcastically I decided to make decorations using plywood. The design was simple, ever decreasing sized triangles with rounded corners, mirrored, with circles removed to look like bulbs. Using a provided Inventables tool that adds an interlocking slot into parts, I was able to finalize the design and cut it out. The final result looked lovely in my sunroom on our big oak dining table, and inspired me to make more things.
Aeropress Stand
Once the X Carve showed up, this was the first thing I wanted to tackle, and became my first project using Fusion 360. It’s proven to be the hardest thing for me to make so far despite being a simple concept. As one of the billions that start their day with a requisite amount of quality coffee, I exclusively use an Aeropress for making my coffee. This means that when I’m at my most bleary eyed, I have to navigate using a half dozen plastic pieces of the coffee maker. This quickly drove me to find an organization solution. I found a stand on Amazon. It left a world of things to be desired. It was made of bamboo, with holes and recesses that poorly fit the Aeropress parts. The overall design was lazy and not durable. As something that I start every day with, it was far from inspiring.
I knew that I wanted it to be made from hardwood, something dense and substantial so that it wasn’t prone to falling over as I blindly stumble around it while hardly woke. I also wanted the parts of the Aeropress to be presented in a way reflective of the order in which I use them. Lastly, no hardware. The last part became a major source in the design of the stand. I had been watching a ton of Ishitani Furniture videos on Youtube and was very inspired by their work. This lead me to the hardware-less design using plugs (sashimono).
Currently the project is still underway, with design revisions in the works and the current version isn’t meeting my morning scrutiny.
NWIPA
Ever since it opened up in East Portland, I’ve been a fan of the bottle shop NWIPA. Simply put, at the time of their opening, they were the best thing that far out of the city center. The bottle shop has a turntable and shelf of customer provided records on loan. The name and logo is meant to draw a line to Compton’s infamous N.W.A. This with the fact that it’s firmly located in the neighborhood that was my graffiti tagging proving grounds as a teenager long had me wanting to make something that tied all that together. I had long wanted to make something using the shop’s name and my classical Portland-derived handstyle. I spent about an hour trying different letter style combinations and really didn’t come up with something that moved me.
Thanks to the miracle of Illustrator, I was able to write something passable, and clean it up to my vision of perfection. Once I had a vector version of the tagged name, I brought it into Fusion 360 and exploded it into a 3d object. I then took 3 layers of plywood and glued them together, measured the heights of the different finished layers, and then set the heights of different parts of the 3d model to match. After a lot of trial and error, I was able to properly set up the CAM file and set the machine to carve it.
The results were impressive, but not perfect. I then took a chisel and used the sharp edge perpendicular to the wood and shaved off the machine marks and imperfections to reveal a smoothed rough finish on the wood. This method is now cemented as my favorite way to finish a wooden surface as nothing else brings out the look and feel of the wood grain like shaving it (another Ishitani inspired choice).
Depression Era Thinking
My time at PNCA is capped with a thesis project. Since the moment I’ve walking in the door of the school, I’ve been brainstorming on what my thesis would be. I have notebooks of ideas, and a few independent projects that would have sufficed to fill the requirement. Simply “filling the requirement” has alway been in opposition of how I work. I want work filled with inspiration, that shines. Enter Pete Miser.
Pete hit me up in my middle of my thesis proposal year about working on a video in conjunction with the release of a forthcoming album, Depression Era Thinking. He wasn’t really looking for something specific, and remarked on doing a montage of b-roll of footage (mostly aerial) from the Portland area. He wasn’t looking for someone to specifically fullfull his particular vision of a “hip hop” video, but instead someone who would look it without sticking to the troupes of a “rap video.” Despite having been a hiphop dj/graffiti writer, falling into the cliches of hiphop.
With the above in mind, I wrote a treatment divided into 3 acts. The first gives the viewer an easy access point
The above screentest was used to determine the mood of the video in relationship to the mood of Pete’s new album. The music is overshadowed with emotional pain. It doesn’t mire in self-misery but also doesn’t move away from engaging the source of pain; the death of Pete’s mother and two oldest brothers. This makes for very delicate material to work with.
Unprepared
I was fortunate enough to be contacted by Oregon Field Guide for a project they were working on. As OPB has always been on my list of dream employers, it was very exciting. One of those moments where you feel that your life’s work is taking you exactly where you want.
The project was an OFG’s special, Unprepared (full documentary available at the link). Unprepared uses Japan’s 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami as a point of reference to talk about the level of preparedness of Portland, and the area surrounding the Cascadian Subduction Zone. To do this, there were shots from the air that were vital in showing the scope of the problem Portland is facing.
My contributed imagery showed how the city is bisected by the Willamette and connected by a large number of bridges. It showed the vast petroleum farms on the bank of the Willamette built on dredge tailings. In the overall scope of the episode, the footage played a small role compared to the aerial footage supplied by manned craft. This was largely controlled by the bureaucratic climate of the time, which only allowed commercial drone footage to be used if it was pre-existing and shot for fun. OPB as a rule was not permitted to hire me as a drone operator and commission me to shoot specific footage. Now that I’m a Part 107, FAA-Certified Commercial Drone Pilot, I expect to do more project-specific work for OPB and OFG in the future.
Aerial footage used to promote Oregon Field Guide’s Unprepared
Gasco Building
My frequent trips past the St. Johns bridge has another landmark dotting the route. The Portland Gas and Coke Building. The building is over a hundred years old, and has sat vacant for around half of it’s life. I had been wanting to do a quick fly around the building because of its distinctive architecture, and the heavy layer of patina. It’s a striking structure. As the building has sat there untouched for as long as I can remember, I put shooting it on my B-list.
That changed when I heard the NW Natural intended to tear down the structure. Citing that the building was too hazardous to rehab, and that the surrounding lands are a superfund site, they started moving forward with demolition. I knew that I had to go and shoot it as soon as possible.
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- Portland Gas & Coke Building
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- Portland Gas & Coke Building
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- Portland Gas & Coke Building
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- Portland Gas & Coke Building
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- Portland Gas & Coke Building
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- Portland Gas & Coke Building
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- Portland Gas & Coke Building
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- Portland Gas & Coke Building
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- Portland Gas & Coke Building
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- Portland Gas & Coke Building
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- Portland Gas & Coke Building
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- Portland Gas & Coke Building
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- Portland Gas & Coke Building
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- Willamette Week homepage featuring the Portland Gas & Coke Building
ShellNo Protest Coverage
On the morning of July 29th I woke up in the usual fashion. I laid in bed and scrolled through my social media feeds to read about the day and respond to this and that. I was flooded with people asking me if I was going to film the protesters. These protesters rappelled off the side of Portland’s St. Johns Bridge, a bridge I’ve shot via drone on several occasions, my first drone video of the bridge having gone viral. So, it made sense that people would expect me to shoot this happening. I am also actively working on ways to use my drone safely for activism work.
I was reluctant to cover the protest due to the amount of news air traffic, and elected to go down only after my frequent spotter Jeremiah Frerichs said he was available. We headed down to a secluded launch spot on the west side of the bridge and started shooting.
The footage gained a lot of attention quickly. The video posted to Facebook got about 33k views in 24 hours, was picked up by several local media outlets and was used to lead Time.com‘s story on the protest.
The video:
As I sit typing this, I’m reading of the protesters being broken up by local officials and the Coast Guard and have asked my wife to come home early to take over parenting duty.
She came home early, and I immediately set out amongst rush hour traffic to get to the far end of town, where the St. Johns Bridge is located. I ran a couple lights, swerved through traffic, and arrived at my concealed takeoff spot just in time to catch the Finnica pass under the bridge.
When I first flew into the area, I found the space where the protesters had been removed, and parked the drone in that space. I had thoughts of being one of the first protesters to use a drone for civil disobedience. That thought was quickly wiped away with the thought of my kids seeing me behind bars. I then shot photos and videos and got out of there as soon as possible.
I immediately drove to the OPB Studio and handed over the footage. As a lover of almost all things OPB, I was happy to give them some of the best looking imagery of the protest. They were very appreciative and quickly used the photos and video.
OPB also used the video footage in a quick montage of the events.
The imagery moved onto local print as well. The Willamette Week ran a story on the protest and optioned two photos.
It’s always a good feeling to see your work in print. Especially a double page print. My jaw dropped as soon as I saw it. It’s always interesting how tactile media draws a more emotional connection to the viewer, and event the producer of the content.
Screens and Devices.
I appreciated this class greatly. It took my head out of what was on the screen, and brought it out in front of the screen, and into the space that the screen occupies. Instead of mearly considering how the viewer considers the content of the screen, I was able to view how the view engages the screen, and the space surrounding it. It greatly helped me contextualize my medium of choice.
Instead of only seeing the screen, mouse, and keyboard as the interface to interactive computational-based work, I was able to see through the computer as a mere connection between many other forms of interface. It reminded me of the vest possibilities that were presented in OMNI and Beyond 2000, the past histories where the possibilities had not even been mapped, leaving only the creative to navigate a course.
As with anything, there was room for improvements, thankfully. A perfectly mapped out course curriculum is stifling. There was room for student/instructor exploration of the new. This exploration with an experienced hand, was one of the best educational experiences I’ve had to date.
the need for blogging the work was key to my rebuilding of my personal website/blog. this professional practice reinforcement is what is latently needed in more classes. Not only did I learn a great deal about the curriculum, but I now present my findings with my artistic following in a professional, current manner.
The Wrap
After spending a lot of time considering the video of the users of Reaction to Legalism, I was able to figure out some patterns of behavior. Some that reinforced the project’s intent, and some that were distractions. This lead me to correct some deficiencies in the installation, and focus some of the image and sound interfaces to guide the actions of the users a little more precisely. Previously I had used a blighted door and lock as the UnPles to make the user feel claustrophobic. This did not happen, and lead the user to think of the UnPles as a problem the needed solving. This created a tangential narrative, and detracted from the installation’s intention. For the revision I chose to be a little more blatant. Using the optically physiological discomfort experience while red and blue light is flashing in contrast, I was able to use the same phenomenon used by law enforcement to cause and immediate sense of disorientation, leading to compliance. The Artifact was also changed from being something that you only had to lightly bow to use, to having to full on kneel on the floor to use.
It worked, exactly as expected. The reaction time of the users, from seeking to avoid the UnPles, went from several minutes of “playing around” for a solution, to quickly seeking relief from the oppressive visual and auditory sensations. The users still submitted to being implicated, despite having previous knowledge of what they might experience. I also changed the physical interface in a simple, and impactful way. I used a short throw projector to create a much larger screen on the wall. This made for a much more immersive project.
There were still some technical difficulties upon installation setup that I think could be resolved if there were a dedicated space for students to build out their projects beforehand. The processing power of the computer was still an issue. The audio would “skip” instead of playing back smoothly. In the case of the Ples, this created a distracting texture, pulling the user out of the calming state of brown noise exposure. The delay in setup, also removed the possibility of setting up my DSLR for video documentation of the latest rendition of the project as I was eager to get the installation up and running.
Ultimately, I am very happy with the functionality, and the reaction of the project. I learned a great deal about considering the installation space, and the reactions that users have when encountering the space. There was a new social aspect to the project that I hadn’t encountered in the initial iteration. The use of a more influential UnPles, led to users applying peer-pressure to their fellow users to comply. This was unseen in the initial iteration of the project. It brought out a very substantial talking point about social organization and group psychology. When the individual is experiencing discomfort, they will influence those around them if they feel it will bring an end to their discomfort, even if it means implicating them into an oppressive environment. It is the Crab mentality, we will drown one another if it means we have a chance to escape.
I also learned a great deal about showmanship, or the amount of spectacle to add to an installation. This was proven by the revising of the installation, but also by having the chance to see MSHR at S1 this semester. Their work was very informative in regards to interactive installation design, as well as the performative aspects of a work. I also need to give Ben Glas a solid amount of credit. Our projects ran in a natural parallel regarding Isadora functions, and user reactions. We were able to bounce ideas off of one another. His input was an invaluable part of my discovery.
Static, Static, Recursive, Static
Reaction to Legalism had a little problem when first installed. The artifact would deliver a false read to the MaKey MaKey. This is why in the final video, you see me sitting there, as I’m manually triggering the project.
After researching, I’ve potentially found the culprit. It seems the static caused by a laptop’s power supply is enough to cause a false trigger. This being the cause is also reinforced by the fact that the project was originally designed using a desktop computer.
Recursive error. Why? I have no idea. I don’t believe in flukes, so I’m hoping that this doesn’t happen during the final presentation.
I was able to find this out due to this post: http://www.makeymakey.com/forums/index.php?topic=1225.0
Pure…
…as the driven snow.
Pure Data. Taught courtesy of Jesse Mejía.
The Physical Interface
User Implication Device (UID):
Prostration to cooperation.
Nuts serve as leveling devices, and bolts as a cord storage location
Chair to establish scale.
Maximum care was taken to not disturb the patina.
Programming Complete
I’ve wrangled Isadora into doing what I want. When there are no people detected (using blob counting), then the project is in a dormant state. Once a two people (blobs) have been detected, the “Ples” video plays and an UnPlesCounter (UPC) starts counting down. Once the UPC reaches a specified value, a crossfade between Ples and UnPles occurs. Once two people complete the MMc (MaKey MaKey circuit, the video switched back to Ples) The UPC will not count down again, until the MMc is incomplete. The project will become dormant once there are no blobs detected.
Now to get started on the physical interface…