August 2018 – Page 17 – [OLD FALL 2018] 15-104 • Introduction to Computing for Creative Practice

Rachel Lee Looking-Outwards-01

The Neon Map, an interactive feature that archives neon signs around the city and encourages user participation.

A year ago I developed an interest in the neon lights heritage of my hometown, Hong Kong, and stumbled upon neonsigns.hk, an interactive online exhibit created by the M+ Museum of Visual Culture. Perhaps the thing that I admire the most about this project is the effort that the creators put into shedding light upon a dying custom and celebrating the integral part that such neon signs play in the city’s culture. I also appreciate the multimedia nature of the project, as documenting the history and narratives of neon signs through video, story and interactive live maps (a community effort that goes beyond the original curatorial team, but includes commissions and willing participants) provides a more variegated picture and immerses the viewer in the experience. The ‘Neon Map‘ was created based on Google Maps, though the geographical tags and participant uploads might have been developed with third party software. I believe that the project creators were inspired by museum exhibits in general, but wanted to find a permanent way to preserve this curated exhibit; furthermore, the Neon Map may have been inspired by a walking tour, as interactive elements are embedded in the project. Future opportunities for development and expansion of this project are highly likely, as the ‘Adding Your Neon’ tab encourages viewers to add to the existing narrative and further the legacy of neon signs.

Carley Johnson Looking Outwards 01

The summer I inhaled the 2D animated movies made by Studio Ghibli. I did some digging into my favorite one, “From up on Poppy Hill,” (2011) and learned about Ghibli’s really interesting process that combines both software and hand-drawn art. Studio Ghibli uses a software called OpenToonz, which is a free software also used for TV shows like Steven Universe. It’s free and commercial, however it’s an open software, so you can code in whatever tools you want. Studio Ghibli created a tool for themselves- a GTS scanning tool. The founder of the studio and one of the most successful directors perhaps of all time, Hayao Miyazaki, believes firmly that the root of animation is hand drawn art. This means that they need a great scanner to stitch the characters into the sets and the frames into scenes. Miyazaki stresses using minimal cgi for the films.

For “From up on Poppy Hill,” there was a massive production team of both the original movie and the English dub. There were 21 animators, and the film was directed by Miyazaki’s oldest son. The film’s production was interrupted by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster and the blackouts following. It forced the team to work mostly at night to avoid disruptions, and slowed production significantly. However, even though some staff members had to go on break for ‘mental affectedness’ from both the quake and the long hours, the studio was determined to release on time and they did just that.

The inspiration for Miyazaki was that there was no inspiration. He made his studio to revolutionize and revitalize the anime movie world, and he did that. He did work previously in Japanese film and television, but he values the ideas most. Every film of his started with an idea and a story. Miyazaki just retired, so people have wondered about the future of the company, but I think that this film most notably points to the director’s ability to create success as well.

This is the English dubbed trailer for the 2011 Studio Ghibli film, “From up on Poppy Hill”

Looking Outwards – 01

Photo by Pablo Enriquez taken at MoMA PS1

Jenny E.Sabin’s Lumen project is really interesting because her project allows for many varieties of transformation and multiple experiences. She got inspiration from this project by thinking about architecture, materials, and their response to the environment. Through this project she was able to innovate the application of materials to bigger scales. The canopy of Lumen is made up of windows of different sized cells and conical forms hang down various lengths from it. Each individual solar active fiber is knit through a Shima Seiki machine with the whole project consisting of over a million yards of thread. Because of its lightweight texture, there is continuous movement and with its fiber makeup, it generates a reactive response with the sun. The process of this project require a robot to test weave the fibers around a mold and computational software like rhinoceros and grasshopper to simulate how these fibers might move. The process for this project was long and required the help of her students, Dr. Peter Lloyd Jones, his lab, other research associates, and Andrew Lucia.

Lumen Article – Author: Laura Amaya on Jenny Sabin Discusses ‘Lumen’ as MoMA PS1’s 2017 Young Architects Program Open

Lumen Video

Fake Project Post

sketch

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function draw() {
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Fake project post

blue circleeee

function setup() {
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}   
   
function draw() {
    //inside color
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fake project

sketch

function setup() {
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}

function draw() {
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}

fake project post

not sketch

function setup() {
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function draw() {
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fake project!!!

fakeproject

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fake proj post rrandell

sketch

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function draw() {
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fake project post

not sketch

function setup() {
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}

function draw() {
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	fill(255,200,200);
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