Blight: bubbles with light (IDMT, 2015)
Blight: an interactive immersive installation based on the technique of motion tracking using Processing language, and inspired on a bubble painting technique for kids. This document will outline the general concept, development process, along with the skills and challenges obtained during the project.
Objective: to create a real-time interactive installation based on motion tracking, where the user can live an immersive experience thanks to the digital system developed as well as the spatial settings of the installation.
Class: ludic and art interface.
Twist point: simple flashlights controlled by the users will create a digital paint, without the need of sensors or wireless connection.
Use: for fun, creativity, interaction and experimentation.
Target: kids, lovers of drawing and painting, people interested in interactive experiences, and digital artists.
The concept.
Blight is designed as an interactive installation that suggests an immersive experience, thanks to the visuals and sounds generated in real time. The target of this project plays with the idea of bubble painting made digital, letting the body movement to generate digital audio-visual results in the same space where it is moving, and at the same time.
Under a motion tracking technique, the user will be able to access a dark room, step in front of a camera and move three different kinds of flashlights around the space, in order to paint on the screen.
The result will be: a) the apparition of bubbles on the screen, drawn on the places where the light is tracked and based on the colours coming from the captured frame, and b) the generation of a bubbly sound that accompanies the paint effect and gives a more real impression of the bubbles the user is creating, the frequency and amplitude of this sound changes based on the amount of bubbles being drawn as well as the position where they are located.
Installation.
The setting of the space was simple but specific:
A very dark room, with a flat surface to project.
A webcam in front of the screen, connected to the computer running the Processing app.
A projector also connected to the computer, and focused to the flat surface.
Speakers to amplify the sound.
Flashlights with different shapes and light colour to paint.
Special credit and thanks to:
Andrew McPherson, lecturer of the IDMT module for the MAT PhD, Queen Mary University of London.
Abe Pazos for information included in his webpage "Fun Programming", availabe at http://funprogramming.org
