One muggy Thursday, in a converted warehouse space on the west-side of Manhattan,18 youth hatched a plan to protect the open and spirited nature of the internet from the evil forces lurking in the shadows. By joining wits and skills after school — the fundamentals of code, character creation, storytelling and mixed-media martial arts — this team of youth set out to save their generation from the dark overlords impinging on their rights to rule the webisphere. Their weapon of choice—the design jam!

Read more about this Design Jam with Eyebeam, Hackasaurus, Institute of Play and Mouse on mousesquad.org

See the Eyebeam Flickr set of the days adventures here.

Without further adieu, a short clip of MAKE $TUFF/GET FAMOU$:

(download)

Click here to download:

web_streaming.mov (3.36 MB)

And some top-notch quality images of two pop culture parody posters, courtesy of my cell phone camera:

Well, I started out in the Digital Day Camp and then I signed up as a student resident. As a student resident I got to learn on how to make my hobby of origami kinetic. Origami has always been 'inanimate' and until I became a student resident, I never expanded my knowledge of how creative origami can be beyond folding paper. It was great meeting the fellows and residents in Eyebeam. Also knowing about their past projects and current projects was fun too. It was intriguing on what they were working on. I never really thought of art and technology being one before. I mean I know graphic design is, but I mean in a more physical sense. I wish I had participated in more of their parties, because then I would've seen their projects in action!

Nova Jiang was my mentor when I was a student resident. Nova is really sweet and patient :) She always complimented my intelligence (and I'm really modest, so if I seemed like I wasn't taking your compliments, I really have Nova!). She always asked me how I was and yeah! Even though I knew about servo motors, I didn't know ANYTHING about arduino. Arduinos are pretty cool to play around with. I learned how to activate an LED and how to make it activated with a switch. She made this project pretty independent for me, but she was always there if I had any questions or trouble with my research or project. I never really had a mentor for anything before, so having her as my mentor was pretty cool because I got to learn whatever she had to offer me.

This experience was really great. It has taught me how it felt to be an 'artist' at a studio and how it felt to work on an actual project for an exhibition. I've never really had my work shown to the public like this before. It was a really great feeling when people you didn't know compliment on your work (because I've only had my art showcased in school and my school is only 200 kids, not as exciting). This experience will influence my constant participation in my work and meeting deadlines (even though I was a bit late because of an issue I had to deal with to graduate high school!). I learned a great value of independence when I was working on my project and I tried not asking Nova too much for help because I wanted to do almost everything on my own (well mostly because I was afraid to ask for help :P). So I need to learn to ask for help, if I really did need it.

The Paper Greenhouse Globe is 100% origami minus the movement (It's not 100% origami then huh). I always had a fascination for nature and loved it very much. Although the materials are not recycled material, you may do so if you'd like to do this too! You know, the Earth is very beautiful, so in a elaborate sense, the flowers inside is the 'zoomed' view of what Earth has. But in this project, flowers are not the only beauty on Earth, paper is too. Many people (mostly people I knew) could not believe how complex and creative origami could be, when this is just one easy (but very time consuming) part of the art of origami. This garden was going to have a Sun/Moon origami with it to move with the flowers, so it'd seem like the flowers were "blooming," if you agree. The (2) flowers' petals make a twitching sort of movement, while it is pulled by a motor, it retracts back to its original state. Even if this project didn't move, it'd still be beautiful to just gaze upon. It's very cute and not too much is going on.

Hey guys, I finished my project! Out of nowhere, I know. I haven't been updating :(

Anyways, to start off I bought 20x26 paper, I forgot what type of texture/medium (but I got it from Utrecht), for my origami. I was so worried about the rain because you know, my project's made of paper haha. I bought sky blue and viridian paper for my modular encasement. They didn't have enough sky blue to make the whole modular, so I decided to use a green color to make the modular half 'sky' and half 'grass'.

Click here for the instructions on how to make the units for the Windowed Icosahedron, which is the encasement.

If you're stuck on how to make the size of the paper for the units, here is how to make the bronze rectangle from a square. At first, me and Nova couldn't understand what 1:√3 meant, but we realized it was the paper's attributes. So we tried figuring out what it meant, I don't really remember how she figured it out though... But we used illustrator and calculated it when setting in the size of shape we were making so I could cut it out on paper and use those units.

Creating the bronze rectangle on larger paper was harder because 1. I forgot how Nova calculated it, because to be honest, I didn't note it :P 2. The paper was larger to work with. 

When I finished, it looked like a paper globe, which was pretty cool! I was afraid that the paper wasn't going to make a big enough modular. This size actually sufficed. To keep the 'globe' together, I used elmer's glue (hahaha) and paper clips to hold it together. Of course I took the paper clips out after the glue dried. 

The flowers I made were (with square paper, size 20x20):

• Tulip (1/2 yellow flowers)
• Tulip 2 (or Bell flower...?) (the purple one)
• Pointy Flower (the blue one)
• The Red Flower
• Other 1/2 Yellow Flower:

(download)

Click here to download:

out-of-nowhere-moGJbltlpmgyccDHAFbl.zip (418 KB)

But we're not done just yet! I added a servo motor to the project so two flowers would move. Although, the original idea was to make the flowers bloom to another origami piece that was going to represent the sun and the moon. I figured since I couldn't finish the sun and moon in time, why not go on with the petals moving idea. It wasn't much, but what I did was use cotton thread (which is a HORRIBLE idea, please, PLEASE use fish wire if you plan on doing this. This is because the thread likes to unravel, snap, and cause friction. Home depot didn't have any so I bought this picture framing invisible wire, but it was too thick and was...pretty useless...). 

For this part of the project, you'll need hook-up wire (yellow, red, and black), a servo motor, a propeller to attach to the servo motor, an arduino uno board, Type B USB cable, cotton thread, and an AC adaptor. Also to hide the motor, I used two emerald paper squares (13x13) to make the box. 

I attached a thread on each petal (all the flowers had 4 petals, just so you know, but remember I only made two flowers "move") and all four of those threads was attached to one side of the servo motor's propellers. So 8 threads in total. To make the servo motor activated, we used an arduino uno board, a usb cable and installed the arduino software on my computer. I used a simple sweep coding, because at that point of my project, I didn't really have time to make something fancier :P So it just rotates 180 degrees for 15 milliseconds in both directions. When you upload the code to the arduino board, it will remember the code, so all you really need to do is plug in the AC adaptor and the servo motor will move without a computer having to connect to it.

Servo Library @ Arduino.cc
Sweep

I think that's all for how it works :P If I leave anything or if there are questions about it, don't hesitate to ask!

Break out the Kleenex. We're gettin' sentimental.

Working on MAKE $TUFF/GET FAMOU$ gave me invaluable insight into what really happens behind the scenes of movies and films. It's not an easy ride--making the two minute clip took some serious thought and hours of matching scenes together. A large-scale movie production? Whoa.

It was also interesting to consider the technical aspects of producing a coherent film. Every change in scene, bit of dialogue, and shot style is deliberately crafted; scene transitions are all intuitive and streamlined. It was a challenge to seamlessly switch from Richard's scene to Adrian's scene without the need for outside explanation or a cue for the viewers. Even the aural transition from Richard's noisy urban environment to Adrian's quiet, Highline environment required some technical manipulation.*

Most importantly, great thanks go out to Fran Ilich for his wonderful support during ideation, filming, editing. His insights and frank realism guided me tremendously throughout my Student Residency. His intense, thoroughly marvelous portrayal of Richard and Adrian is the $TUFF in MAKE $TUFF/GET FAMOU$.

I plan on further developing uncanny parodies and manipulations of our extraordinary everyday: advertisements, magazines, mainstream movies--all of our pop culture. And wouldn't ya know it, I've just started working on a script for a more linear narrative-type film. 

What else can I say? It's been a good run. Live long and prosper!

*On iMovie, "technical manipulation" translates into moving a slider up 'n down...but it sounded pretty edgy, right? :-)  

Open Studios--what a trip! The week in preparation was riddled with intense video editing sessions and frantic magazine scouting: stressful, but all well worth it.

After looking through video clips of me acting as Rachel (a cynical college student), I decided to do away with the initial four-character plan for MAKE $TUFF/GET FAMOU$ (short film). Let's be frank. My acting? Not so hot.

A baby carrot-fueled seven hour editing crunch* (take that, Steven Spielberg!) yielded a two minute long parody-drama, starring Adrian the tipsy Highline philosopher and Richard the middle-aged businessman. Taking inspiration from shows like The Sopranos and House M.D., MAKE $TUFF/GET FAMOU$ ridicules the contrived drama and misguided idealization we see in our daily TV lineup. Ordinary businessmen become mafiosos and gun-toting smooth criminals. Hardcore druggies like House M.D. are idolized to high heaven as badass geniuses or gentle, tortured souls. The short film reverses the businessman persona and parodies the druggie persona. Featured are a voice-over of Richard gently scolding his young son on the telephone and footage of Adrian rambling about cigarette butts in between swigs of paper bag liquor.

I also developed a visual accompaniment to the work, inspired by the candid, frank demeanor of advertisements and print media.

"Got body odor? Try NuFRESH deodorant today!"

"Worried about that rash? Embarassed to leave the house because of acne? Contact Dr. Fields, Licensed Dermatologist!"

"Find a date, a partner, or even true love on GoodLookingSingles.com!"

After sifting through and cutting apart twenty different magazines, I created eight poster parodies of our pop culture madness (and racked up a handful of Captain Obvious health tips--who knew that drinking water can prevent dehydration?!).

Showcasing MAKE $TUFF/GET FAMOU$ alongside the eight posters during Open Studios was a blast. A fabulous cap onto three months of creative crises and, of course, creative inspiration. Many thanks to Fran for his support and insight throughout the project's stages.

See the actual posters and short vid in the next blog post!

*That pun was so intended.

Today I learned how to use an Arduino chip. We also used hook-up wires, a breadboard, resistors (220 ohm & 10k ohm), a momentary button, and LEDs.  I had already learned about the breadboard and resistors in my physics class, so I knew how to find the right resistors for the lessons they gave us on the Arduino site. 

(download)

Click here to download:

arduino-lessons-3-wJudnopuJexxsaqEhpqu.zip (3.9 MB)

Emoti-Con 2011 is officially over, and it was officially awesome. The sunny Saturday afternoon was a delight, from the innovative, student-developed projects, to the respectful and engaging atmosphere, even to the cutely packaged food (Cafe Metro sandwiches, samplers of pasta, fruit 'n yogurt, and fresh pieces of fruit).

Emoti-Con was chock full of brain gear-turning exhibits, ranging from wearable, solar-powered gear to nifty light-up pillows. Secret judges explored and reviewed each exhibit; four finalists were chosen to be in the running for favorite project.

Briefly, the final four projects were:

• A student-led program providing tech guidance, computer lessons, and comprehensive technology user manuals to autistic youth. 
• The LED pillow, a whimsical way to add some pizzazz and flair to a bedroom; the pillow emits a brilliant array of lights when squeezed.
• A cool and comfy means of getting solar power: hats, pants, and bags laced with tech-whizzy solar power-capturing equipment.
• An Edgar Allen Poe-inspired tour of Harlem via virtual and face-to-face interaction.

While I was only able to catch the latter two hours of the event (oh, those SAT IIs...), I thoroughly enjoyed seeing each of the finalists pitch their project concept to a panel of judges. Adding to the fun was Text the Mob, a backchannel projected onto the stage, showing real-time responses from audience members. Folks were able to text questions, comments, and witty zingers to the backchannel, to be publicly seen by all in the room.

My favorite text of the day? In response to "What does FTW* stand for?" a joker texted, " It means 'five telephone wonderworks.'"

The past few weeks have also been hectic with intense filming and scene-writing. In an ambitious stretch, I've added three more characters to my short film-in-progress: Richard, a down-on-his-luck, frustrated real estate broker; Rachel, an avid jogger and college student recently dumped by her boyfriend; and Claire, an overly ambitious, aspiring playwright-actress-philosopher-novelist-essayist. Adrian, of course, is still our rugged, loner protagonist who enjoys rambling on the Highline, equipped with a paper bag-wrapped thermos:

Looking forward to filming more scenes and editing them down to a final film. It's gonna be five telephone wonderworks!

*For The Win.