Day 28 @ ITP: Phys Comp

Week 4
Note re: Quiz

I looked at the quiz for this week and I am honestly stumped on most of the questions. I have been going back to all the videos and previous weeks to cover the material again. Since I feel I would have to look to outer sources for every question I'm not sure if it would be cheating for me to hand it in this week??? But I want to try to fill it out just to find the answers even if I cannot answer them on my own. I scheduled office hours for next Monday, and will be going to the Friday help sessions as often as I am able to, and consulting/working with some classmates and residents as well. It does feel like information is starting to seep in, or the general concepts, but I am not able to write code from scratch yet or troubleshoot on my own. It helped a lot to follow the Arduino project book. Not giving up yet!!! I want to learn how to build a basic interactive system with light/sound and it seems that understanding these principles will be necessary for that.

Day 28 @ ITP: Phys Comp

Week 4
Small project #2:
Light Theremin

Using a Piezo element and a phototransistor...this lab seemed to work as it is supposed to as far as I can tell. It even responded to rapid movements of my hand blocking the light. Not the best video but it gets the gist just for documentation purposes. Note: for final projects, definitely use DSLR!

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Day 26 @ ITP: Phys Comp

Week 4
Small project #1: 
Cat toy w/ Servo motor:

This *kind of* worked. After I set it up the motor started to move back and forth, but erratically and jumping around a lot. The movements didn't seem to correspond directly to me turning the potentiometer to the left or right. I jazzed it up a bit with some arrows and patterns, and my cats were intrigued, but I still have some troubleshooting to do.

Day 26 @ ITP: Phys Comp

Week 4

Videos:

Different kinds of sensors: Photocells, stretch cells...

  • Many sensors don't have analog input, so having a simple sensor that has its own controller on board and can output a data signal makes it much simpler to interface to something that has more complex processing.

How to read Datasheets

  • Data Sheets = "Instruction Manuals" for your electronics

Day 26 @ ITP: Phys Comp

Analog Input Lab (and catchup from Week 3 + before)

 

Finally got this to lab to work with some assistance from a resident, Aaron, after the Phys Comp help session last Friday. Also scheduled a session before that with Chino to make sure the FSR sensor worked, and we used a serialPrint code to read the data. The range was not very high. Turned out my multimeter had broken, also, but I don't think that was the problem (Aaron fixed it !) I still need to recreate this on my own. We also edited the code somewhat to make the range larger so that the LED appears to dim in and out. Also ordered the Arduino projects book so will be using that next to go over some of the previously covered concepts and make something new for this week's lab assignment.

Redoing some experiments with new Arduino:

1) Now I will have one at home and one at school so I don't have to keep carrying everything back and forth...It also helps to have the Arduino book.
This is just the first instructional for making the LED turn on...

2) Connecting a pushbutton to activate the LED:

I had one connector in incorrectly then fixed it to create the full circuit...even one hole off and it does not work of course! So need to test every part of the setup. Also just ordered an auto ranging multimeter which will be easier for me to use to test the connections....

3) Series circuit:

4) Parallel circuit:

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Day 23 @ ITP: Video and Sound

SOUND WORK DEBRIEF

I think that overall our project went pretty well, and we worked well together and had fun, with a minimal amount of frustration and stress or disagreement. The only part that could have used more time was in the mixing I think, possibly also some compression or tweaking of the EQ on different sections, and we also definitely could have re-recorded the voiceover, and possibly recorded a few more of our own sounds (like for the "big city" in the Earth room, for example).

We did learn some tricks about editing in Audition, and about what microphones are best to use for different applications. In one meeting we tried to check out a Zoom recorder and none were available, so we learned also to do that as early as possible before the time we plan to work on a project. We would have also benefited from finding a quiet place to record the voiceover, and I am wondering where the best place would be to do that at NYU or in the Tisch building for group projects in the future. Amitabh and Kemi tried checking out a room upstairs but weren't able to— need to inquire if that was because we are not allowed or maybe they were booked... 

Edit: Also could have had a more simplified map! Maybe with no class numbers or excess info and just color blocks or something that could also double visually as a fictional space/imaginary space... 

Day 23 @ ITP: Video and Sound

Working Title: ‘The Lost Poetry of Craft’

 
 

An innocent exploration of the workings of a man and his machine shop. The beauty of the craft with not a clear idea of the process; a puzzle, and how the pieces fit together. The dance and the tension between the craftsman and the craft.

With the precision of a doctor working on his patient, and knowing that each action and observation matters, he displays the artistry of his knowledge, which transports us into a ritual that has been passed through generations. 

Under the craftsman’s command, as if by magic the machines grind, torch, drill, sand, burn, polish, and rinse in an oil bath, synchronizing in a rhythmic symphony to achieve an overall outcome that has very little tolerance for mistakes. For if there are any mistakes the dance won’t happen, and the machine will be lifeless. But, with the final turn of the key, the machine comes alive.

View Storyboard here

By Alexandra . Camilla . Michael

Day 21 @ ITP: ICM

Week 3
Assignment #1

Group Project:
Chian, Isa, Camilla

Create a sketch that includes (all of these):

  • Make a rollover, a button, or a slider from scratch. Compare your code to the examples in "Examples" below. Later we'll look at how this compare to interface elements we'll get for free from the browser.
  • Create an algorithmic design with simple parameters. (One example is 10 PRINT, see: 10PRINT example). Make your interface element control the appearance or behavior of the algorithmic design.
  • When working in teams, try working separately and then combining your work together. Overlay your sketches, or have the interface element you created control your partner's algorithmic design (and vice versa). Trade sketches and riff on your partner's work. Or, sit next to each other at one keyboard and take turns coding while looking over each other's shoulder.
     

I came up with this part to try and fit it behind the window in the room Chian made:

We ended up not being able to just put her shapes "on top" of the algorithm, and it took a while to figure this out:

Then we tried to add a shade that Isa made on top of the window:

 We had the elements independently but had trouble combining them together. 

Our final version
(with help from a resident, Yuli, and from Chian's friend):

Click the light to change the scene.