the background image

This is probably the most important part of the sketch - the background image. It is important that I get this to be iconographic to Nike, as it is part of the brief. I have made several variations of it to make sure I get a good one.

#1



On this one I added a semi-opatic gold fill over the top, with a screen blend mode. It gives the shoe more prominence, but wasn't quite there yet

#2



For this one I asked a few people if the font used for magic was appropriate and they said no, so I went online to dafont and found this nice font called Lobster, which I think works really well.

#3




In this version I changed the white gradient behind the shoe to a golden one, using a colour from the shoe as the base colour. I think that using gold as the gradient looks better than in version 1, and it also highlights the shoe's golden element. I also removed the 'NIKE' part as it is pretty obvious that it is a Nike product because of the ticks and it was proving to be excess graphics to look at.

#4



There isn't much different in this version apart from that I have added an inner shadow to the shoe. It gives it more depth and makes it look like the shadow is cast from the gradient behind it.

more progress

After spending some more time on the sketch, I decided to spice things up a bit. After thinking about making mist particles I have now adapted that into my previous motion particles. When detecting movement the particles now both move and fade away (with a little bit of help from Seb, mind!) I have also improved on the background image:

early development

So far I have now implemented a pciture of the show and golden spheres as particles, I'm having an issue with the placement (lots of empty space above and to the left), but the rest works fine!

getting started with the code

After spending some time generating my idea I have now gotten to work on the code. I have taken the basis of an example Seb made, where particles on the screen move when movement is detected by the camera.

One of my first changes was to make the particles into an image I wanted. One of my ideas was to cover the screen in images, with Processing choosing a random number of different images to display, making it look less uniform. After a bit of searching on the web I came across some code on a Processing forum (here) which allowed me to do this:

// DECLARE YOUR GLOBAL VARIABLES HERE.
PImage fragment;
int rand;

void setup() {
size(800, 600);
rand = int(random(0,4)); //HERE YOU CHOOSE BETWEEN 10 DIFFERENT IMAGES
takerandomimage("frag_" + nf(rand, 3) + ".jpg"); //CALL YOUR FUNCTION 'takerandomimage'
//REMEMBER TO NAME YOUR IMAGES "frag_000.jpg"
}
// THIS IS THE FUNCTION
void takerandomimage(String fn) {
fragment = loadImage(fn); //LOAD RANDOM IMAGE
image(fragment,0,0);//DISPLAY RANDOM IMAGE
}

However, applying this code into my sketch makes it run very slowly, not a particularly desirable result!

Therefore I will continue working with just one image to duplicate over the screen.

idea development: shapes

As part of my 'object reveal' idea, I have to decide on what the shapes covering the shoe are going to be. They have to be something related to Nike.

So far, by researching existing Nike adverts, they tend to have black backgrounds, and then bright colours in the center and white text (if there is any). So I would put a bright gradient behind the shoe to make it stand out.

The shoes mainly face to the left, something that can easily be implemented.

As for the shapes I will be deliberating over how to go about them. At the moment though I think they will probably be the same colour as the shoe, to keep a bit of continuity.

However they don't have to be shapes, the covering object could just be a misty gradient of multiple colours, with slight transparency, so you can see that there is something beneath it, and when someone walks past the mist is blown away, revealing the shoe

nike research

I have been looking at existing Nike print adverts and I have noticed that they tend to feature mainly black backgrounds, then bright colours surround the image of the shoe, making it stand out and give it extra emphasis. Here are a few examples (click to enlarge):

research: existing interactive displays

Shape Stamping



In this floor projection example, people are encouraged to stamp on the shapes. The camera pans up to the projection source. The way this camera set-up works is that they have the projector placed next to a sensor, which detects where the movement is, and tells the computer accordingly, as explained here

iBar



This is a very clever installation, when someone places an object on the bar it's position is found by the computer and is highlighted by light around it. When someone slides an object down the bar the light follows the object and creates a bolt of light down the bar.

I would guess that this is a very different set-up to what I will be doing, but the principles are similar to something I could create. By telling the computer to, when it detects an object, create an image or particles in the position of that object.

idea: object reveal

My idea thus far is to have an object reveal. This means that there will be a screen filled with objects (something related to Nike) and when a person walks past the camera will detect movement and send the objects flying away. This will reveal a fixed image beneath advertising the shoe.

I have created an animatic based on an earlier idea of incorporating magic into the shapes, but after a discussion with Sue and Seb we thought it best not to take that approach, but to go with something more distinguishable to Nike.

research: existing interactive displays

Interactive Apple Store



In this example there are a series of paused movie clips and when movement is detected they start playing, which grabs the attention of the person walking past

Interactive Nike Display



In this example a Nike product is revealed when people walk past the display, the shoe is underneath some shapes and when movement is detected the shapes are blown away to reveal the shoe. Which is a shame because this is exactly the same as the idea I had for this project!

research: lumin vision

LuminVision are

creators and suppliers of innovative Audio-Visual Effects such as the ADVIS Interactive Floor Projection System.

They have many examples of interactive installations, as shown on their gallery page.

One particular video that caught my eye was number 12 "Object Reveal", which I think would be good to use for this project, with the shoe being the reveal object.

research: existing interactive displays

Interactive football floor display



In this example the projection detects movement and when that movement 'meets' the ball it flies off in the opposite direction, a simple concept but no doubt extremely difficult to execute!

Interactive Shark Reef Display



This example again detects movement and ripples the images beneath it. Perhaps, when movement is detected, a ripple/distortion filter is applied to give that disruption effect?

research: existing interactive displays

Interactive display - Experiments

In this example the video waits for a detected movement before generating particles in the place of the movement

Multi-touch Music Wall

In this example users can play a variety of musical instruments through touching the display. I'm guessing a series of actions are predefined for when the user touches the instrument

new project: processing

Today we have begun a new project in which we are tasked to create an interactive display using the open-source program Processing to write the code.

The product we are creating the display for is a new shoe by Nike called Magic.

finished

I have now finished editing my video and here is the end result:

lewes bonfire at 120fps

As it was bonfire night this Friday I thought I'd take a 120fps video of the fire. It will be interesting to see how many views this gets, and what people's reactions may be to it.

feedback from the crit

I showcased my videos at the crit and got some suggestions.

Slow motion stamp

- Superimpose another Aquapax carton onto the one in the video (The shot I used to show was actually meant to be a practice shot, but turned out to be the best one! With it being a practice shot I used a taped up Aquapax as all the others had already been stamped on...)

- Shorten the video. At the moment it's verging on 1 minute, with a lot of build-up at the start (due to the music crescendoing), with this in mind I will make alternate versions of different length.

videos have been shot

I have now completed filming on both my ideas. The class 'crit' is tomorrow and I will post the responses on here

120fps videos

Here's a collection of 120FPS viral videos:

Slow motion wall flip



Lightning at 120FPS



Cup spinning



Water balloon



Water balloon

new idea: slow motion video

Due to me breaking my phone on Friday night, I reverted back to my old LG Viewty. Upon remembering that this phone has 120FPS video recording it led me on to a new idea: a 120FPS carton stamp.

120FPS videos have a viral community on Youtube with many different activities being filmed at super-slow motion, which I will upload later.

My idea is to stamp on the filled-up Aquapax, and the FPS will allow the viewer to see what happens at this speed, hopefully something that is awe-inspiring.

practice shot

I made a practice shot, without the carton pierced however, to get the reaction of the dog:



He reacted in the way I hoped and all should be fine for the real thing.

more viral videos

Sunglasses catch



This viral video tests the boundaries of reality as it features two guys throwing sunglasses onto each other's face impeccably. The video is obviously edited very intelligently, and looks very genuine. Again, this viral isn't advertising a product, other than their own video channel.

Improv Everywhere - Star Wars Subway Car



This viral video combines real life and fiction, by acting out a scene from Star Wars in a real life situation. The bystanders are all laughing and recording the events on their devices, making this a feel-good viral and a very sharable one. The video is similar to Improv Everywhere's videos as they act out unlikely actions in public spaces, using the publics reaction to set the tone of the video.

Skateboarding dog



This viral video has over 13 million hits, and features a fairly common human exercise, but this time performed by a dog, which gives it that 'wow' factor. This viral doesn't advertise anything, it's just there to show the world something extraordinary and 'cool'.

ideas and animatics

I have two ideas, of which I have created animatics for.

The first idea is to stage an 'accident' involving me, an Aquapax and my dog. The person in the video (most likely me) will be being filmed whilst on a dog walk. The subject will then have an empty Aquapax and decided to do something with it. The subject drops the Aquapax on the ground and stamps on it, making a loud noise. They will then pick the carton up, and start shouting through it, like a megaphone or a horn. After doing this for a few seconds the dog will come running at them, jump up and knock them over, leaving the viewer in surprise at this unexpected action.

Animatic:



The second idea is an animation, dissecting a stereotype in how to look 'trendy'. The video will show a cartoon character, who then gets a make-over and a fashion change. There would be an accompanying narration adding quips to each product that is placed on the character. For example when some skinny jeans get put on him the narration will say something like "skinny jeans, to disguise your child-bearing hips from the world."

Animatic:

research: viral examples

Charlie bit my finger

This is a viral video at its finest. There is no product to advertise here, this was just a home-video posted online for friends to see, and 240 million people ended up watching it. The video relies on the 'cuteness' of the two children, and the typically cockney accent of the victim.

Coca-Cola Happiness Machine

This viral video is advertising Coca Cola, by using one of their products in a different manner. The happiness machine does what it says and gives everyone in the video a big smile, making this a feel-good viral and an element of 'I wish that would happen to me' to it.

Old lady hits car with purse

This viral video at first seems to be genuine, but the text at the end shows that it is an advert for a car insurance company. The video deceives at first, showing two people skateboarding, whilst being filmed by a friend on a low quality camera (adding to the realism), and then switching attention to the old lady in the road.

Will it blend?

This viral is an advert for the company Blendtec, and a rather genius way of advertising that product. By using everyday items such as glow sticks and iPhones, people are curious as to whether they can blend and are intrigued by the results, thus sharing the videos with friends. Also, during the blend the viewer gets to see the Blendtec blender in action and might be impressed with its blending skills, making the viewer potentially buy the product.

what is viral marketing?

e-traffik defines it as:

This is known as advertising and/or marketing technique that spreads like a virus by getting passed on from consumer to consumer and market to market. (Examples: Hot Mail and Yahoo). Viral marketing techniques have the potential to start very small and grow to enormous proportions. This is an effective online marketing technique because of the speed and efficiency of Internet communication.

project 1: aquapax

We have been briefed on a new project. Neil Tomlinson, founder of the water product Aquapax, came into class today and asked us each to create a viral video promoting his product.

The aim of the video is to not advertise the product too much and to make the video watchable for a vast number of people.

new year

I have now enrolled on the BA Digital Media Design top-up course. I will be using this blog to document my research for projects and show work in progress.