Just a couple of possibly bad ideas:
Textures and materials in the final piece that represent each pixel such as a leaf for a pixel which contains trees, pebble for beach ect, either using computer texture or photo. The images could be mapped to the pixels.
Using a single strip of pixels and narrowing down focus.
Changing perspective on the image.
Blurring the pixilated image to create a smooth effect.
I’ll add to this as I come up with more and make decisions.
After watching excerpts from Man with a Movie Camera (1929) I was left impressed by the range of cinematic techniques employed that were well ahead of their time and the focus on observing and documenting everyday life. It seems to capture a moment in history, but rather then a single event, a segment of life.
In this module we are looking at ‘Visual Intelligence’ which I would describe as the way information can be extrapolated without having to be processed through a mental system that has to be trained like language so that people can immediatly identify what they are seeing. Text has to be read in a serial way in a linear order, the words are recognised from the patterns of shapes that are letters and put together. After this the person must assemble and understand the meaning encoded in the text for the information to be transfered.
A visual image can bypass the need for a common language to give information. By coupling written words with visual imagry you can convey information on a number of levels.
This leads onto our project for 02/11/09. We will each make a ‘Digital Signature’ which reprisents various aspects of our identity and possibly our constructed online identity which is how we choose to project ourselves.
Started learning the basics of CSS. It seems fairly intuitive, with proper software anyway, rather then trying to write it in notepad which is like threading a needle, blindfolded, with your elbows.
From my short time using Javascript I’ve come to realise the full horror of programming where a single misplaced uppercase letter causes the complete failure of everything, causing the computer to crash, catch fire and eventually explode.
Edit: Now in HDTM
From today’s session I’ve gotten a better idea of the direction to take my part of this project. Using the idea of amalgamating areas into single pixels in which a single colour is derived, this colour can be used to reprisent the location and can indicate its appearance, landuse and ‘atmosphere’.
In the IDAT106 module, having been split into groups, we have been tasked with collection of data from Stonehouse, an area of Plymouth, for use in an abstract form to be presented as art that with context can convey information in a fresh and interesting way.
Fortunately for me I happen to live in Stonehouse and know the area very well so my “local knowledge” should be quite useful.
Using an aerial photograph from google maps as a starting point our group split up to each develop our own separate ideas and themes for the project.
One of my intial ideas was to map the areas of green (trees, grass and plants) verses the areas of grey (buildings, roads ect). This led onto the idea of working out the overall colour of parts of the area and eventually to pixilate images to the extent there is only one remaining colour that can be used to describe the location. By combing these into a mosaic they can become a texture into which over data can be reprisented as the height of each tile. As not every location in the area can be accessed, this could possibly take place along a route or journy along with the collected data.
Using the inital aerial photograph I made this example of how this “texture” could appear. This average colour information could also be used in a different, more abstract, form to compliment the data and provide meaning. For example landuse would relate well with the colour. Also the level of detail and size of each pixel can be changed.
I feel that it should retain some context and meaning rather then becoming entirely abstract yet I would like it to be aesthetically appealing.
Leading on from the task in the previous week in which we attempted to create a map of our lives and identities we have now began to focus in on the media aspect specifically and the interactions between various elements of it and people. Fortunately my work for the previous week had been done from a media influence standpoint.
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In a small group we discussed how to go about mapping the structure of the media. I suggested that the media could be broken down into three relatively distinct areas of Content, Delivery and Feedback.
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I also identified a distinction between forms of feedback to the content provider, that it could be either passive, for example viewing figures or page hits, or active such as a complaint.
Using the website MindMeister.com we were able to better organise and present this interpretation. The site allows collaborative work on the same mind map in real time over the Internet. Once I got home I increased the complexity of the diagram to include greater depth. With such a vast and interconnected field as the media some things like the various combinations of elements could not be explained in detail. An example being the degrees of which something can be both informative and entertaining.
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The diagram shows a looping system in which content is created, delivered, consumed and the feedback is then transfered back to the content creator. With this feedback content creators may adjust their output.
This way of looking seems to me to be a usefull basic model for understanding the complexity of the media and has prompted me to think though it further.