Exhibition Material - Aural Terrains

Final Aural Terrains Performance - Top View
(with a slight demonstration of the set up)


Final Aural Terrains Performance - Close Up View


Final Aural Terrains Performance - Audio Recording from Right Zoom H4N


Our aim was to promote the idea of something that we dedicated the entirety of our year to, the creativity behind technology and the possible motives behind it. For this we decided to implicate the idea of communication between technologies or electrical sounds. Communication has been done through many mediums however the one that is most recent and plays a leading role in our lives has become communication through technological means so we aimed to produce as many possible sounds that relate to technological communication as possible.
We had the circuit the basic foundation of electrical sounds. We of course had the laptop with an electrical voice over to truly promote a technological aspect to our performance. We had the record player being one of the original forms of music in its' baby stages but still evolved from that of basic circuitry. And we had a common form of communication in our lives interfering with the large speakers, the interference from mobile phones and speakers.
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Group Composition with Mapping Sounds (Metal and Nature):

The aim was to create a clear division between the hard sounds of metal and the soft sounds of nature and to attempt a integration between what has been seen as two completely separate elements. This was almost a challenge of one versus another and to challenge the criteria that we have been taught to learn and to test the boundaries through the fusion of the two distinctly different elements. The intervals of the sounds jumping back and forth showed the clear the divisions between the two while in the end the hard metal sounds gradually proved to be more and more dominant as the piece went on to show the fact that the industrial side of life was indeed overcoming the nature that we once had in life. Which is a common issue that we have also come to grips with which is present in this group composition where in the end it has proven that the industry is coming up on top.

Individual Composition with Mapping Sounds (Industrial vs Nature):

What I aimed to portray in my composition was almost done through a means of a narrative with pauses for effect allowing listeners to absorb transitions. I began with a timeline demonstrating firstly, nature in all its glory as the leaves cracked underfoot with volumes of water gradually increasing beginning from an initial water swaying. All in between the the sounds of a lighter and what sounds like fire in the background to exaggerate nature.
As a pause was demonstrated we moved into metal works with the sounds of building noises beginning from the simple hammer, to the sander to the heavy machinery all the while the footsteps of man sounded in the background as nature had almost faded as the feet traveled across not leaves but concrete. And ending with the sounding of a traffic light for the pedestrian, the opening and closing of a door and the sound of a car engine starting proposing that this piece was still unfinished and going places almost like a hook.
During the natural clips a slow interval can be picked up when the water volumes are changing to demonstrate the gradual change of nature. But, during the industrial clips the intervals between each tool and machine is quicker to show how fast the industry is evolving.
However one thing that demonstrated true transition was the use of an elevator for each transition. The track sounds with "ground level" as we start the track as nature moves in. Then.. We move into "Level 8, going up" as a cash register sounds to demonstrate technology and industry coming in but still going up. And finally finishing with a "Level 12, going up" Right before the car engine starts after the pedestrian crossing to show that there is more yet to come.

Exhibition Material - Cinematic Flaneur

Cinematic Flaneur - Final Video (Speedy Sensations)

Cinematic Flaneur – Final Video (Speedy Sensations) – Description:

“The intention behind this video is the promotion of perception. Therefore majority of the attention is focused upon speed and qualities unique to that of our rig. Riding and grinding down rails imitates the idea of movement similar to that of roller-coasters and skateboards to an intentional almost identical fashion, both recognized as something fast. I aimed to present a series of questions that didn’t have to be asked but were identifiable. I wanted people to question the true speed of the rig with not only the soundtrack but the sound effects themselves. Where the rig was climbing.. Where the rig was accelerating and even where the rig had stopped. However, the track itself became an instant foundation of speed where it provided a constant upbeat and fast atmosphere to emphasize the idea of speed altogether. The split screen effect however was simply another question presented in video form before you. Is this two worlds or rather, is it a single world just because the videos originate from the same world? In truth, the video may convey any message or image chosen by the viewer and it all comes down to perception and what you see. So I want you as the viewers to tell me what you see.”

The Actual Theory & Rig:

The idea that we aim to represent is the perception and fusion of two separate worlds into a single. This idea originated from the fact that as babies we’re born into the world looking at everything presented before us upside-down. However, as we accustom to the dark we in turn accustomed to the light of the world. Where this light then reflected everything we saw before us instead, the right way up. So, what would happen if this wasn’t the case? IF light didn’t have the power to reflect images the right way up. Would a reverse world then become the norm and the world the right-side up be the exception? Or rather, would a world the right-side up exist at all? Would life become more difficult? Or simply, is a reverse world the right-side up after all?

All humans are capable of seeing everything in more ways than one. One is with the eyes and another possibility exists in the mind.

(The rig is fashioned so that, one camera sits on top and placed in the front to have the greatest range of viewing while, the second camera sits directly underneath facing the same way but upside down instead. The rig is controlled via a rod attached at the back, by placing your hand on a desired placed mobility can be varied to the users liking while on the bottom there are wheels that ride rails or anything else a person may desire as the wheel distance is also adjustable.)

This rig and us as humans only have one difference, our minds. We control this rig to our heart’s desire. But in life we walk our own paths. So say, we had wheels for legs and railings for paths… Things then start to look clearer. So, really… The way our minds perceive something really does a lot after all. However, it is really up to you, we’ve been presented with the gift of freedom of thought and personal perception of the world. Just like there is a mid point we can also see the world in black and white based on images or personal experiences. We choose which rails we ride in life and we choose what world is right and wrong or maybe even neither. And we choose what world we want to see. So we can all choose to see what is placed before us with our eyes or, we choose to see between the lines with our minds. But in the end I’m not here to tell you what to see but we’re here so you can tell me what you see with your own personal perception.

Mathematics and Art! - Documentation

http://robtey-mathematics-art.blogspot.com/

Aural Terrains - Final Video Recordings

Final Aural Terrains Performance - Top View


Final Aural Terrains Performance - Close Up View

Aural Terrains - Final Audio Recording from Zoom H4N

Digital Sounds - Live Performance!

So today was finally the day to really demonstrate to a live audience and to our fellow class members the true progress we have made as individuals throughout the year and as team members of group as well. With presentation time at 5pm, we decided as a team to come in early to ensure that everything was up and running and ready for 4pm, the set up time designated to us by Zoe. So with that, we made sure that we were ready at 10am. With everything placed where we wanted we stored it at the art gallery for when the time came. And as a group we went out and determined what we could do to make our piece better while making sure we enjoyed ourselves for optimum performance for the arrival of the hour. And so as we bonded as a team the time came and it was time to show our performance. at 5pm, we watched Dylan host and groups perform one by one.. The pressure was initially there as it was a performance and it would be unnatural to not be nervous about something like this that had grades on the line. But of course we were still confident enough that we could meet the standards that she expected of us and so we did just that once it was our turn. We followed the schedule that we had set for ourselves in our group by following what parts we entered and left. By following what timing we had to and by naturally following what we planned in our practices. And with that done we came off from the performing area with a smile and hopefully a good mark in turn as well. And that was Aural Terrains for me and my group with Daniel Lee, Yoshin Naidoo and Versha Naidu.

Dress Rehearsal

Being aware that our designated dress rehearsal time was at 10am we woke up as per usual and came in as per usual any other class but today with one difference. we were eager to demonstrate to the rest of the class the level we were now at. Coming in early the session began slowly as we waited for people to drift in bit by bit and once the numbers were looking good we started preparing. In order to grasp how long it would take to set up, our group went first to set up from last to first to determine what equipment had to go where. This was due to our group being one of the last groups to have to perform. Once set up was done it was time to show a section of our piece group by group. Some individuals and groups chose not to show and leave it as a surprise while we decided of course to show how far we had come. And show we did. We believed that we did a good job worthy of tomorrow's live performance and now all that was left was to simply, perform.

Digital Sounds - Practice Session

Today was the day that we allocated as a means of a practice session for the group. So we collected together at 12pm in the Chroma Key Room ready to practice and ready to perfect our compositional piece. We spent out time locating what errors we needed to rectify and locating what sound moments were present in our piece. In an attempt to create the perfect soundscape we aimed to time our composition with a start, a body and a end like most songs. So what we did was assign each person a time to enter the piece and each person to leave the piece while the same person executed the first and the last sections of the composition. We had areas that indicated the introduction and the conclusion and we had a continuous beat in the background to determine the various speeds and timing that was present in the song while of course we aimed to maintain the digital sounds theme. Working hard we came out successful in our opinion but unfortunately as 1pm hit our time was up and we had to leave. However, despite how happy we were with our piece we weren't yet satisfied because we were aware of the possible height we were capable of amounting to so we set that as our goal and practiced furthermore. Initially we had no location for the practice but instead we decided on moving to Yoshin's house being the most spacious house, and we practiced in his garage until the day ended for us at around 6pm. And we were home, more than satisfied with our progress in the short time we had conceived and solidified our idea.

Digital Sounds - Pitch In

With at least the Math and Art Essay out of the way it was now time to dedicate all our efforts towards the Aural Terrains Project until Friday seeing as a we had a live performance in front of a real live audience. Meaning, we had to of course deliver something good for the audience to like. So taking in the compliment and criticism from last week's performance we knew we had to step up our game. We were keen on the idea still, but need more around it so as a team we discussed what we had to bring and what was needed before we found Zoe and pitched in the final idea to her. We wanted four stations, one for each person where everyone would have a different instrument to play at hand. One station was dedicated to the laptop where a robotic voice-over would be narrating the piece in the background. One station for a typewriter to emphasize digital sounds as it was typing it would give off a certain beat because, for every new line you would have to reset the typewriter. One for the circuit that we had before for the basic component of digital sound. And, another would be stationed with a Mobile Phone where we would use the static of a phone next to the speaker to produce the heavy beeping sound that is commonly heard from the interference of a phone and speaker. With that in mind we headed to Zoe and having now heard our idea Zoe immediately had a change of heart towards our progress and liked our direction. So with that we quickly requested a practice session in the Chroma Key Room at 12-1. And with a happy heart knowing we were going the right way with a solidified idea it was time to designate who needed to do what and who needed to bring what. Unfortunately not everyone had all the materials at hand so our job was to of course go shopping. We had the laptop, we had the circuit and we of course had mobile phones however we needed to go shopping for a typewriter but, unfortunately on our travels none revealed themselves to us. So it was now time to think up of something new for the now empty station and that was when we laid eyes on something new.. A Record Player. The disc could be scratched and reversed to create the warping sound, a song could be played in the background that matched our digital theme and of course we could change the speed on a record player for variation. This meant that the record player would be able to play as the base tempo for all of us to follow and fortunately enough for us Daniel already had a record player at home and of course everyone had stereos and speakers already from home too. And thinking ahead we also brought in a little stereo speaker for the static sound of the plug in on the finger by removing and adding the finger at intervals for static. So with all the shopping done, feet tired and ready to go it was home time to freshen our minds for practice tomorrow.

Mathematics and Art - Practical Project Essay (FINISHED!)

http://robtey.blogspot.com/p/mathematics-and-art-practical-project.html

Electronic sounds!

We had our idea decided upon yesterday or so we thought. With the help of Kim, he explained to us how we could solidify our idea to make it sound really good and what things we could include to enhance our performance. He brought on the idea of uniform to demonstrate our intentions while he explained the limitations of constraining our idea to simply communication so moved into Electronic sounds instead. Once presentation time hit many of us were pretty nervous to go up and present having to see what the other people constructed in the short time given. Criticized about the actual devices used to perform at hand we were disappointed however, we were complimented about a possible extent that our idea could truly produce and we decided to of course go on that so by Tuesday, the plan was to have a solid idea to pitch in that could be liked by all for our future live performance on Friday next week.

Electronic Sounds? - Communication?

So today was shopping day, or so we planned. We ran into a few issues with our initial idea and required a quick transition and idea. So what we ran into was Communication and how we could portray it and what better way than electrical sounds with the knowledge we already had from the previous week? So we went into circuit building only doing what we could limited to the time constraint of the time. So we had the ideas in mind now and a few circuit wires here and there inserted to our circuit boards. It was now a case of making sure it worked and that was our job for tomorrow morning. So we were all assigned a certain part in this performance of course. Daniel would be the vocal idea of communication. Yoshin and me would communicate back and forth with our two circuits. Versha would then communicate with audience help, having people turn their ring tones on she would text people as phones sounded around the room for effect. But I guess we've got tomorrow to see how that goes.

Metal Sounds

Another week which of course dictated the presence of another presentation/performance. As per usual we weren't confined to individual performances however, this time we were given the opportunity to be selective with group members. So with it finalized at this point it was me, Daniel Lee, Versha Naidu and Yoshin Naidoo. The concept we decided to run along was metal and the sounds that metal was capable of making from vibrations of metal to the very foundation of it from shaking and just simply banging objects onto it. So we listed and noted down what materials each person needed to obtain and what instrument each person had to fabricate. With that decided, on mutual agreement the plan was to return tomorrow to locate the materials and fashion our instruments.

Improvisation Workshop with Chris O Connor

Another week, and another sound experience to add to our banks of knowledge. Being informed to come into the class today with a sound maker of some sort I of course had that ready yesterday night. With that in my bag I attended our first lecture. He seemed like a really enthusiastic person which was a good boost to the class's attention. Feeling a bit like a kid again, not that it was a problem at all we participated in a series of games to keep us attentive. The first was a vocal game of harmony. Every person sung a note with the lights off, and upon hearing a note you liked and running out of breath you mimicked it. and sooner or later a harmonious choir could be heard at one point or another. The next game was the facial conductor, a single person, the 'conductor' stood in view of everyone and made facial expressions where we had to mimic that expression but at the same time create a sound based off the facial. So if the conductor had closed lips, we of course would have to mimic it through humming. And next was another game of sound, clapping. By retaining the beat in our head each person was assigned number one or number two. You were only allowed to clap on your number while the first number two in play determines the speed of the game through the interval of clap between him/her and the first number one. And soon we were given the opportunity to change numbers in between sticking to the rules of course. Keeping in time, not just jumping back from one and two back and forth, and the change had to be instantaneous from one to two and two the one, and the interval between swapping back to the original number required at least two claps first. With the games done it was time to do some real improvisation with what we had brought in with the sound makers. As a class we attempted with the sound makers we had to first create ambient sound, the nice quiet stuff. Then, the sweet spot by attempting to get the sharpest sound that our sound maker could produce. Lastly, the scribble, to go crazy and follow instincts by creating random noise of what we had that had no plan behind it much like a child's scribble on paper. An interesting day for me and one I probably won't soon forget. Music isn't simply the organization of bars to music but the art of making sound because all sound is and can be beautiful. The pitter patter of rain, the stomping of feet, the plucking of a guitar. Learning this has taught me much, sound isn't confined to instruments or vocals. Sound is everywhere and sound can be utilized whenever needed.

Circuit Bending - Final Day

So the final day was upon us, presentation day. We were assigned groups reasonably early on and I was working with Christine Marie Probert and Zoe Jamieson. Of course today we decided that we would meet up with our circuits and make something happen so it didn't all have to be impromptu. But unluckily enough we all had problems with our circuit at one point or another across the day. Like a little kid playing and tinkering with my circuit to see what sounds I could get from it when I knew I probably shouldn't have, the Piezo Disc decided to have a cry and break on me meaning it was back to the soldering labs yet again. A second home to me in university by this time already of course. So it was a case of soldering back the wires together so that sound could be heard and despite lacking the steady hands I managed to mend the broken Piezo Disc like brand new. So even though we planned to come together to ensure it didn't have to be an impromptu piece of course plans don't always work as planned. Zoe had managed to finish her circuit by the time we were ready but, Christine's circuit had a little malfunction, it didn't work despite working moments before finding our quiet room to practice. She got help from Simon from it before presentation but it was only up and running on presentation time so with that it was impromptu for us. Once we were up we did just that without and expectations of the type of feedback we were going to receive. But with the comments it seems like we did a good enough job. Another week down, with new information now stored into our brain.

Circuit Bending - Day 3

New circuit for the occasion of a new day, it looked easy of course, so we kept that sheet just in case we felt the need for having to make something of it. After attending the lecture, it was off to the soldering labs without hesitation. With new pieces in hand from my morning mission to buy them, I grabbed out my old over-soldered circuit board and got busy removing solder to put on the new battery and Piezo Disc. And finally I was done, all I had to do now was attach the battery and see how they would go with only a few burns along the way. And of course with my incredible luck, there was no sound. Having worked two days on this my only hope now was of course to go back to the drawing board or the breadboard in this case. So I attempted my hand at creating another circuit but a real sound maker this time. The sound Oscillator or what I believed I made hopefully I did it right but at this point I'm just glad I managed to finish something so with that it was now a case of heading in tomorrow early morning and sorting something out with my group for the presentation tomorrow.

Circuit Bending - Day 2

Another day, another circuit. Another day another lecture from Simon. Teaching us a bit more of what we needed know he left us with the task at hand. My task now was a case of reading the other circuit and attempting to get what we could for that, but of course it wasn't as easy as I hoped but by day's end I believe that I now knew what I needed to and directly headed for the soldering lab. Upon stepping in many solders were already busy sizzling on the spot making magic on green little circuit boards and it was now my turn to. Finding a seat I sat down with the sheet in hand and circuit in the other and attempted to replicate the magic that was going on all around me. Hesitant to start I looked around and asked for a bit of help, nervous to solder anything on by mistake this was of course my best bet. Once ready, brain full of the help I received already, I took the soldering wire, resistors and other wires in hand and got busy. Unfortunately for me today, I had to be done by 3pm for other commitments, but.. Despite having finished by the time the circuit refused to work for me. I had pulled too hard on the battery clip and a while came off, but despite ripping the battery clip top and soldering it back on it didn't seem to work much like my Piezo disc so I decided to have another hike up to Surplustronics early next morning to pay for more pieces.

Circuit Bending with Simon Cummings

Another day for sound, another lecturer brought in just for us. This time it was Simon Cummings and what he had to teach us was focused solely on the art of sound making and what better way to electronically produce sound than from the basics, the circuit itself. So Simon came in to teach us just that, buying the materials that we needed for class early in the morning with hike up to Surplustronics, we came in ready with all the pieces we needed and the first piece we were to work on was a bread board. A circuit board by all rights, but just a whole lot simpler without any need to solder anything whatsoever. Just a case of plugging in wires in the right fashion to create a sound. And of course it wasn't as easy as anticipated but through the course of the day and more group help from Kim I did manage to create my very first circuit based off the circuit 'The Champ.' A sound Amplifier, and it was a lot of fun to be able to go around amplifying whatever I felt like I've got to admit. The first of many circuits to go hopefully.

Maths & Art Essay - Solidification

So basically today, we came in today for the maths and art lecture then to attend a short group discussion with James as he helped us solidify our ideas. In all honesty, at this point I was completely at a lost for what creative practice I could possible use as a medium to express the idea of mathematics and art. At this point all I simply had was just ideas for mediums ranging from actual art paintings to music. But by the days end as James advised me, it was more of a case of just looking for something and trying to just do it rather than looking all over the place and changing my mind over mediums so for now I've decided to stick with Music and dedicate my time and effort to researching more about music to understand it further.

Original Recordings

(Car) Open Door & Close Door

(Panel-Beating) Hammering The Door

(Panel Beating) Sander

Branches (Like Burning Fire)

Construction Site Machine

Cracking Branches (Like Fire)

Crunching Branches

Elevator

Footsteps

Larger Water Volume

Largest Water Volume

Lighter

Small Water Volume

Starting The Car

Swaying Pen In Water

Till

Traffic Light

Aporee Website Link!!

http://aporee.org/maps/?loc=8220

Mapping Sound - Day 3

Today we had yet another day of discussion and music clips but this time around no 12pm lecture with another famous face so this way we were able to just jump straight into our project work which benefited us a lot more. So today after working hard I managed to finish my individual project and our group finished the group project. Funnily enough my individual resulted in being the longer composition. The group composition sits underneath.

What I aimed to portray in my composition was almost done through a means of a narrative with pauses for effect allowing listeners to absorb transitions. I began with a timeline demonstrating firstly, nature in all its glory as the leaves cracked underfoot with volumes of water gradually increasing beginning from an initial water swaying. All in between the the sounds of a lighter and what sounds like fire in the background to exaggerate nature.
As a pause was demonstrated we moved into metal works with the sounds of building noises beginning from the simple hammer, to the sander to the heavy machinery all the while the footsteps of man sounded in the background as nature had almost faded as the feet traveled across not leaves but concrete. And ending with the sounding of a traffic light for the pedestrian, the opening and closing of a door and the sound of a car engine starting proposing that this piece was still unfinished and going places almost like a hook.
During the natural clips a slow interval can be picked up when the water volumes are changing to demonstrate the gradual change of nature. But, during the industrial clips the intervals between each tool and machine is quicker to show how fast the industry is evolving.
However one thing that demonstrated true transition was the use of an elevator for each transition. The track sounds with "ground level" as we start the track as nature moves in. Then.. We move into "Level 8, going up" as a cash register sounds to demonstrate technology and industry coming in but still going up. And finally finishing with a "Level 12, going up" Right before the car engine starts after the pedestrian crossing to show that there is more yet to come.
This is all demonstrated in my clip underneath, enjoy!

Mapping Sound - Day Two

So today was another day of listening to music clips about sound until we found ourselves in the hand of yet another face and lecturer to talk to us, as he too was a musician focused on pop in his own rights. Clinton Watkins, after his talk he demonstrated a few of his tracks to finish with his music video done by his band, a song called Bees which was an inside joke within his band as he soon revealed to us.With that done it was back to our project and fully editing. Our first focus was the group composition so we could all apply our input into it together as a team and really come up with something that everyone liked. And before the days end we managed to at least come up with an introduction and a theme to work on which was the focus of industrial and natural as we initially planned.

Quick Insight into Group Composition:

Quick Insight into Individual Composition:

Week One - Mapping Sound

So with the first class of the week on the Tuesday I came in ready to learn after reading only a portion of the required reading unfortunately but I went into the lecture to discuss what had crossed my mind as I read the hard copy. Going into class everyone had to say at least one thing on either the Hard Copy or the Internet Reading so I explained about how I never truly appreciated or considered the sound and noise around us and that there was a greater depth that needed to be explored to truly experience life at its' maximum. Or at least I planned to say something around those lines. And after the discussion and a few music clips we were introduced to a famous face, Richard Francis. Expert in sound making and a musician himself in his own rights he talked to his about his life and what he did and what sound and noise was to him. And once that was done we got to truly handle a device called the Zoom H4n. The reason for it's name I'll never know but the device itself is truly amazing. Plugging my headphones into the device and hearing everyone around me was an amazing experience. Feeling like superman for a while felt pretty good being able to hear conversations from afar without even having to be there and hearing the birds themselves properly was something really amazing. So getting onto it we made our four man group quickly as instructed and moved onto recording sounds to get it over with immediately. I was in a group with Versha Naidu, Daniel Lee and Yoshin Naidoo. So we visited metalwork shops, Construction sites and of course Albert Park to follow up on both natural and industrial sounds and went into the studio doing a bit of work to leave the rest for tomorrow.

Image of the Zoom H4N and its functionality below:

No Class! Three Day Break and Relaxation =)

Sound Walk

Sound walk you say? Now that sounded pretty peculiar at first but it had it's reasons. Now this is an exercise that most people would never approach unless told to, what we had to do was explore and walk about with our legs but, for once without our eyes this time, figuratively speaking initially. Walking about what we had to do was open our ears and listen to everything around us with great focus. Appreciate the things that we never truly considered with our ears only. And, of course to make sure this worked talking was prohibited so we could fully experience the sound walk.
One location that has affected me in some way was the most simple of locations, one people commonly use as a means of making life easier which was also a minus on the fitness department and it only went up and down and never left or right. An elevator. So this is where you can usually find yourself standing there in awkward situations at times if the silence is too great just like it was today. But, hey good experience nonetheless. So silent as we were we had to to turn up the volume on our ears and really listen to everything. The shaking of the elevator as it pulled us up by the strings. The very drone of the elevator as it lifted us higher and higher or lower once we decided upon it. But, the effect was there being able to stay still added to the silence, something that I too never looked at before. Silence in itself is a form of noise which is something that became evident to me as I stood there listening trying not to move a muscle at all. Much like the sound we consider white noise, Silence too has become a form of white noise to use that we can either pay attention to or ignore it as we usually do. A thought process I would never typically participate in before. And as the the doors open sound seemed to almost pour in immediately from outside almost as if the silence quietly shattered just as when the door close the noise outside the elevator seemed to evaporate. This definitely affected my thought process in ways I would never consider.

Anechoic Chamber

Progressing through the course I learn more and more about what's present in our world and what it can truly offer which is something I'm grateful more as they make every effort possible to provide us with the staff and resources necessary which is something I've really come to learn. As today soon taught me the more I participated. Today we were split into two separate groups where my group was lead by Zoe to The University of Auckland where we were introduced to and lectured by George Dodd and Gian Schmid separately. We with first talked to about the sound around us and questioned as to what it really is, the factors of noise and if it can be separated into two categories, if noises can be treated as wanted or unwanted or natural and unnatural. And as the time passed on we were soon taught about the ear and how it functions bristles and all with our very ear drums. But the highlight of the day soon arrived as we were taken to the Anechoic Chamber in a group of 8 where we learned that Echo was the main focus of the word taking out the An and the IC in the word Anechoic for a reason. Stepping in the pressure changed drastically as the room expensive as it was demonstrated that sound reflecting off walls was the reason how we heard and because the room was designed so that nothing reflected.. The sound itself almost seemed to be sucked out like a vacuum and it felt like I had either become deafer or that my earphones were already plugged into my very ear drums. An experience I won't soon forget.

Presentation!!

So today was finally presentation day and it's the real deal! For a moment I believed that the presentations weren't going to happen based on a mail I received but I was soon proven wrong but I had nothing to do but to present. On arrival I realized that I had to mail Rob that me and a Daniel were a team but due to carelessness I didn't check the mail for that but fortunately he still let us sign our name up provided we were one of the first groups up which was my initial plan. So getting it over with like I wanted we presented, he asked, and we answered and we were done. And with that after the remainder of the presentations we were done as we were soon introduced to another lecturer that came in personally for us and our new project. Our new project focus was sound and it's role in our society that we don't truly pay attention to and the lecturer was Zoe, someone who has practiced and demonstrated great skill in the area. Otherwise known as knowledge in Aural Terrains.

Relief!

So I came in knowing that I would have to possibly present, and even though the application was ready and I believed to be ready. I was all too aware that in the past I wasn't always the best speaker around. But to my relief we discovered that it was only second years presenting today because they had a certain class to attend tomorrow so another day of being able to relax to come into uni with a fresh mindset fortunately enough for me.

Last Day! Simple Painting Program!

So we came together on our final day before presentation with the possible chance of having to present tomorrow meaning, we had to be one hundred percent finished and ready to talk on the Tuesday if we have to. So with one final discussion over our application we sat to think over if we missed anything that would be useful to have in a simple paint program and for a while nothing came to mind. But, as the time drew near our minds clicked on something that was essential to all painting programs. A means of undoing mistakes.. And that would mean being able to create a new page. Or in the case of an iPhone application, being able to reset to a new page. So what we needed was a button that could clear the entire page or either just swap to a new view. So we went onto the idea of swapping to a new view only to realize halfway that there was no point when it didn't clean the page when swapping out.. So we decided on a total reset button that changed the page back to it's original white state. And there we sat to agree that we had truly finally finished a Simple Painting Application worthy of presenting tomorrow. Finally we happily left ready to present tomorrow, or at least hope to be ready for.

Simple Painting Application - Day Four

So here I am again at uni ready to finish what I can for this project returning more prepared than the last with each eventual return. We had created a simple painting application that implemented both a background changer via RGB slider scale and a drawing function with choices of Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Black. But we still weren't satisfied quite yet with the amount we had achieved so we aimed to create something more. In order to match the Black color we of course complimented it with a White color for purpose of an extra function. We wanted our programming to emit somewhat of a fancy aura and we decided that the only way to do that is if we could implement an easy to follow layout. This was the part that I was typically dominant in the designing which is where my know how all though not much was necessary in Interface Builder. By utilizing the View Windows one blank page was created for the iPhone to show a blank screen first. And only when you first touch the screen do you start drawing. But.. We needed a way to bring back the menu which we used the title tools to create for the various color choices. So with utilizing two View Windows and the double touch or, double click in this situation we managed to bring the menu back in all it's glory. So with a job well done we were reasonably satisfied leaving today with the idea of future discussions.

Simple Painting Application - Day Three

So this was our third day of returning to university during the holidays which wasn't entirely favorable but once again necessary but with the weekend to think about what we had to do we had a fresh mind and new ideas. So we decided that although we couldn't play with the width we followed through with an idea that was present in Photoshop. We wanted to insert images, as a means of a substitute for a pencil and brush, so like Photoshop we wanted to have the possibility of choosing to draw with a star or maybe a leaf as a pencil and brush. And so we worked on that, we managed to develop the image button which was a start, but found ourselves at yet another dead end for an idea too complicated for us to achieve. We weren't able to find a way to connect the image into our Xcode and Interface Builder both at the same time so it was time to implicate our other idea which was changing the background color. This was inspired by the most basic of paint programs, Paint itself, which like the paint bucket tool, you can change the background color so we decided to work on that and with great joy we came up with the idea to create an RGB slider. Based on where you slide it on the Red, Green or Blue scale, you can change the background color completely to your own preference which was a good moral boost altogether for us. So with the days end it was time to leave and come back again another day.

Simple Painting Application - Work Time

So upon deciding to come into uni once again with our minds already bustling with ideas and already on track from having to work on it yesterday we came in discussing our ideas first to enhance everything we already had. Mutually we decided that we wanted to implicate a function to change the width of our lines. So we had to do this through xCode of course and we attempted to change the width by inputing the code of line width in CGContext with applying a set number in front of the set color. But this resulted in every line coming up as a single width regardless of what we entered so eventually but unfortunately we agreed that width was something that we weren't able to implicate despite how much we wanted to so this meant that of course we had to move on to a new idea to implicate but after spending the day on width and having to leave reasonably early there was nothing else we could do today but think up of what was possible.

Holidays - Programming

Unfortunately, but necessarily enough here I am in uni completing what I can on the assignment with Daniel Lee. After discussing over what would be the best to approach from the list we first decided on designing a weather application as we soon moved into creating a simple painting application when we discovered that there were more opportunities for us with the painting application. Our first job was to read over the handbook to see what was involved for us with a simple painting application and we started from there. Initially we were able to begin with the blank page to draw on but in a single black lined color unfortunately, and this meant that we had to play around with the programming some more to understand it and to create something special by the end of it. So by putting in the effort and hard work by the days end we had fully adopted ourselves into creating this painting application. We came out with being able to draw with red, blue, green, yellow and black as our final result after reading thoroughly through the handout that Rob gave us. So with the days end we set out to plan another day to come into uni to do some more work.

iPhone Programming - Assigment 2!

After the hard work and effort I applied to my stopwatch I handed it in on the Tuesday happily on CD to Rob Beck hoping that it come off as well as I planned it to. So with that done it was back to learning more about what iPhone Applications and what we would be able to do with it. And as time passed on we familiarized ourselves with the many functions ranging from sliders and buttons to understanding how messages functioned and engaged from the programming. An extremely fulfilling experience and one not to forget as the years go on. But now came the second assignment with requirements to fulfill as per usual but now done in two man groups. So I teamed up with Daniel Lee as we set out to finish as much as we could initially and to finish the rest throughout the holidays as this is a holiday assignment.

Happy Birthday Me =)

iPhone Programming

Across the week we moved straight into our new topic which I was all but too eager to participate in. For a long time now I've demonstrated a great deal of interest in this department and to be part of it only makes me too happy. A staff member of this department personally came in to teach us how to create and fashion our very own iPhone application. Across the days we learned of xCode the program we use to type up codes with to create commands for our application to carry out and, Interface Builder, the program we use to determine the final design and layout of the application. And as time went on we were given our first project to be completed next Tuesday. Sounded simple enough initially and of course we were given a set of requirements to fulfill in the process, create a stopwatch. So when the chance arose I decided to quickly finish it before the weekends for a nice break from a long project. And fortunately enough I managed to collaborate everything together to fulfill all of the requirements all ready for Tuesday today already.

Cinematic Flaneur - Hand in!

So we had finally reached the sixth week of our Cinematic Flaneur without at first realizing how much time we truly had to adopt into this project, but it was time well spent for experiences well learned on how to critically assess not only our project but how to follow through with our aim. Something which we initially found difficulty in but, in the end I believe that I managed to show it in the end with my final edited footage. So we just had to make sure that everyone had their individual hand in requirements sorted as we put the final touches on the group hand in on CD. With the final bits sorted and with the intention to lighten the load to an absolute zero for the time being we handed our project in.

Final Edited Footage Below:
Cinematic Flaneur - Final Video (Speedy Sensations)

Literature Review - Hand In

Monday had arrived and judgment day was upon me. I would have to hand in my literature review before 4pm, so I came into class with what work I had initially done at home planning to finish writing my 1500 word essay within the confines of the uni atmosphere. Feeling the stress of something so large apply it's pressure was not a comfortable feeling but, I found myself finishing around 1pm with the hopes that it could be something good. However, I managed to find a little trouble of locating a good place to print of the literature review having to travel queen street to find a place to print it off for quite the cost, but printed off nonetheless. So closer to 2pm I handed in the paper and went home with a lighter load.

Documentation

So today was the final weekday to really finish anything, so basically here I am tidying up my blog and my journal to make sure it's up to hand in standard for Tuesday. But the first focus of course is the Literature Review as that's due in Monday. Fortunately for me I've kept my blog and journal well up to date so it's just up to me to now adopt time during my weekends to finish everything to make my life easier for hand in time.
So today I just spent my time doing last minute notes and pictures for the blog and the journal and moved on home to work on the Literature Review for the rest of the time. With reading and research and plain writing up.

Presentation Critique 2

Today was the second day of presentation with the second set of groups presenting their rig and films. So today was pretty much dedicated to the remaining groups.

Presentation, Critiqued.

So today was presentation day, and obviously the butterflies really settled in as it usually does for every presentation that I have to do. But before that, we had to make sure that everything was on DVD and we had a menu for it using DVD Studio Pro. So once everyone arrived we put in all our videos after finding out that we were the last group of the day. After some discussion we decided that our order we be me starting, then Daniel Lee, Jack Yang and we would then finish with Moke Xu. So once 12:00 pm hit it was time to get up and do our thing. After our session was up I couldn't help but feel nervous because I not only didn't get to say what I wanted to, but I got a case of the stutters here and there. Initially I planned to go up saying

"This video's intention was all about perception and emphasizing that, and what better way to do that than focus our attention on speed, and a quality that could be unique to our rig. Riding and grinding down rails just like the roller-coasters, and skateboarders. Almost like the real deal. So with the effect that you saw, I aimed to present a question to you. How fast did you think the rig was really going? With the soundtrack at hand, that plan was to create an upbeat and fast atmosphere in an attempt to emphasize the idea of speed in the video. While, the split screen effect is simply another question presented in video form before you. Is this two worlds or rather, is it a single world just because the videos both came from the same world? Really everything here is about perception and what you see, so I want you as the viewers to tell me what you see."

But missing out the opportunity to say this had pretty harsh repercussions as I soon learned. James had given his critique and it really showed that we were missing a large portion of what the project truly was, the thought process. Basically the focus was spent all on the effects which hid the true potential of the actual video and footage. Something that was present in all four videos which I found that was dominant in my video by far. Unfortunately the mistake I made was big but, it was all a learning process and the best thing I can do is learn from my mistakes and do better the second time around. So for now it's just about reflecting on everything thus far.

Outputting DVD and final editing

Today was the day before the Critique so really it was all about buckling down and making sure that the video was up to scratch. Learning majority of the effects and how to put things together pretty much on the spot initially it was a very slow process but in time, it soon became reasonably natural to me and I started to play around with things. After a while of playing around I managed to find an effect that could exaggerate how fast the video and rig was truly traveling at. So the next task was the find a soundtrack to fit with it, and to fit the idea of speed I needed to find something upbeat so I began to dig around in the trance and dance archives. With an upbeat theme behind it, it would bring up the excitement levels of the film, and along with excitement speed is soon to follow when excitement forces everything to appear faster before us. And after finding it applied it. I intended on starting the video slowly then moving it into something upbeat to finish slowly in the end.

Matrices and Golden Ratio

Today was another day where we adopted our time into maths and art again. Today, we learned about, Matrices and the Golden Ratio in two separate sessions due to booking times of the rooms we were in. But by 1pm, our overall knowledge was vastly expanded. Parts of it started to interest me when we first learned how matrices were combined with one another having to keep the same order to be able to. While, we in turn learned how to construct Golden shapes that followed the golden ratio using the program we got the last time, C.A.R otherwise known as Compass and Ruler.
So with that lesson done it was back to concentrating on our project once again by getting together the films and playing the selection game.

Cinematic Flaneur - Post Production

Today was basically all about making sure that we had all the know how we needed to finish our project to the desired standard. So Kim offered to teach the class on a basic level of After Effects which I unfortunately couldn't make it to at the specified time because I had to leave early. But today was a good day for me to catch up on any loose ends with the workload by reading up on what I had to and the little touch ups that were needed. So with the day ending early and Moke attending after effects fortunately for our sakes, we just had to make sure we were ready on Monday and Tuesday to finish what we needed to.

After Effects

Today we had a session with Gabriel Teo about after effects. On first glance this definitely attracted not only the attention of my eyes but many others. It was another outlook on another path that I could choose to follow as a future path or career. But, he also made it evident that it wouldn't be easy at all to follow. As time went on, he introduced more and more points and more features along the way. And soon, it just became overwhelming with all that he showed and it was difficult to keep up to the point where I got lost basically. There was no issue with what was shown but rather the amount but hopefully I can get a chance to revisit this issue another day.
Other than that, after the session we went straight back into working on our project. Finding out that we still needed more footage, we made our way back out exploring the city for more rails to ride and to take footage off and by the day's end we were hoping that we had got the right amount of footage needed.

Cinematic Flaneur - Filming

With the presentation of our research and theory over and done with it was time to really put our rig to the test through actual filming. So we did just that today. Walking around as a group and using our rig we each got a chance to use the rig to do portions of filming each. Because of our rig's design we had to go around the city locating suitable rails, curves and edges for the rig to ride. And by the day's end we got a reasonable amount of footage prepared for editing once the chance comes. And really, walking back to to the studio after the filming it really got me thinking that it opened my eyes to the existence of an object that is considered insignificant in our lives when we pay no attention to it. My eyes scanned around taking notice of all the rails, curves and edges that surrounded us from the small poles to the wide curbs that lived around the city. Something visible that may as well be invisible became fully visible to my eyes from this day onwards and it was it's own way of telling me that I've now kept my mind open to something new.

Presentation of Research & Theory

So the day had finally come for the presentation to the class as an audience. We had to show our design, how it worked and the idea behind the rig's purpose. So with the final touches and mental preparation to what we had to say in mind we believed ourselves ready. Or so we thought, as time went on as group after group went up, I found the courage to finally go up and talk. Or not as we ended up being the fourth to last group to show our rig. So as the stomach bugs built up over the passing of time, we went up to show what we had finally. Unfortunately despite all the mental preparation I didn't get the chance to say a single word with everything already having been said before I got the chance, but I guess that just means I have to assert myself for the next presentation. Upon sitting back down, we were just glad it was over and sat back to watch the rest before the days end. So with that done, it was home time and a small period of rest and relaxation.

Art & Preparation

In the morning as per usual we had a lecture, this time around taught by James. Throughout the lecture he gave us a rundown of artists and their works and discussed about the foundation of the realization of truth, proof, and reality. He did this by going through many artworks and artists over the years of history in art. And really, I sat there just tor realize that I was sitting through yet another class of art history. It was almost as if I hadn't left school at all so on a positive note, I knew what was going on without any issues with the artists and artworks. But, on a negative, I had to learn everything that I already knew yet again. But after a good hour the lecture was over and we moved on back to our Cinematic Flaneur Project.
Being the day before the presentation, as a group we really needed to know what we were going up to present to the class theory and concept wise. And also, we needed to make sure we had some pictures and videos for the class to see that represented what our project was about so preparing what info and media that was necessary for our preparation we were ready for home with fingers crossed that the presentation would go well tomorrow.

Cinematic Flaneur - Fabrication & Research (Day 4)

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to come into uni again because I had coaching to do. But once I got the free time I got on to what I had to do in class, and it didn't hinder the rate at which the group worked fortunately. Getting home late, and starting late I did what I had to do at home while the fabricators and CAD operator worked on their own tasks at hand. So for now all we could do is work on what we were set to do and wait for Monday to see the combined results.

Cinematic Flaneur - Fabrication & Research (Day 3)

Today was the third day in the fabrication and research front and we were coming along nicely in my opinion. Having already shopped for bits we got from a baby skateboard we combined it with what we already made. Admittedly, we still had a bit of way to go to finish it, but we could see a future image of what we had already made thus far which was good track to stay on. So we had the parts and now all we had to do was to combine them altogether. Then, next was to make sure we had a good idea behind it.

How it should work:

A small thought...

With an arrival into uni twenty minutes early, I found myself with the opportunity to think about everything thus far. I was uncertain about how I would adjust into uni life, or if I would at all. Initially walking the city streets, it was all uncharted territory for me.. But, as routine found it's way back into my life, so did uni. The city streets became the equivalent of my school grounds. The tutorials the equivalent of my classes with more flexible hours. And uni was just school to me. But despite uni simply adopting another version of school life in practically every way, I still wasn't able to treat uni in the same way as I would school and to me the reason was that when I left school I still left a part of me there. And when I arrived at uni I found a new me. So as I move on through the stages of life, really.. I had to choose which me to keep, and which me to leave behind as I make my way into the unknown future. Because, even now, I'm not sure which path I want to take. But, what I do know is that I'm headed into the right direction, I don't have the evidence to justify my the truth of this path but my belief has comfortably walked this path along side me. I'm unsure as to what led me here, or where it would lead me exactly which brings me to ask myself who I'll be, and where I'll be after this is all done, and my schooling years are over. But despite the past and present having the capability to mold they future, the past and present will never have the capability to predict a true image of the future to be.