Posts Tagged ‘Flash’
UNI [SITE + MOTION] – FINAL FLASH ANIMATION
May 27th, 2009 | Richard Almond
Well the Flash animation is finally finished, take a look here – Glimpses of the Spectacular
Below is a recording of the animation.
Glimpses of the Spectacular from Richard Almond on Vimeo.
Recording of the final Flash animation.
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UNI [SITE + MOTION] – INSTALLATION PROPOSAL SKETCHES
May 26th, 2009 | Richard Almond
PLAN
DETAIL SECTIONS
LONG SECTION
UNI [SITE + MOTION] – INSTALLATION PROPOSAL RENDERED DRAWINGS
May 26th, 2009 | Richard Almond
I’ve added a little texture and detail to the initial drawings. Hopefully these further demonstrate the intended atmosphere generated by the installation.
PLAN
ELEVATION
UNI [SITE + MOTION] – INSTALLATION PROPOSAL
May 26th, 2009 | Richard Almond
The installation comprises an elevated viewing platform, pentagonal in plan, with projections of the 5 main timeline images located on screens along the perimeter edges. The screens are positioned over head height and their top edges are angled inward at 45 degrees. The space will be enclosed around its perimeter, with the projection screens acting like an angled ceiling. This, and the long journey to the installation via a stair represent the studio space and in particular the stairwell. Users feel confined and even oppressed beneath the screens which represent the looming rooflights. In its physical incarnation, the navigational aspect of the main images will not be required, since the user will be free to move between screens as they desire. The triggered animations, however need more thought. The screens will be hung on counter-weighted pulley systems similar to those found above theatre stages. Certain actions by the user will trigger the movement of the main screens, allowing glimpses of those special images which are located on screens behind the main screens. The counter weight system means that these special images, the ‘glimpses of the spectacular’ are only visible briefly, and the method to trigger these images depends on the screen that is being viewed.
Image 1 – the primary method of physical interaction between the user and the animation will be a series of pull cords, the use of which is reminiscent of operating blinds. The first image, like most others, has passive, non-triggered animation, but there are also aspects which will require human interaction. The shadow animations emanating from the lower window panes will be activated by a series of these pull cords.
Image 2/ Image 7 – there will be a section of the screen cut away which corresponds to the gap in the lower window panes. The user will be aware that there is something behind the screen and so move closer to the gap, from which they will be able to peer through to the next image, located on another screen behind the first. As the user moves forward towards the screen containing image 2, they will stand on a pressure sensor which will trigger the upward movement of the screen via the pulley system. This will reveal image 7, albeit only for a short time before the screen containing image 2 returns back to its original position, denying the user more than a glimpse.
Image 3 – both of the fluorescent light buttons will again be activated by pull cords, but image 3 requires a more complex, user-defined positioning method of interaction to control the smoke/stars effect. The device to achieve this effect will be a laser pointer embedded into a torch, which the user will pick up and point at the screen. Using a method similar to that used in the Laser Tagging project by Graffiti Research Lab, the user will be able to draw clouds or stars behind the glass, depending on whether the image is in day or night mode.
Image 4/Image 6 – a series of four pull cords will be connected to the slabs of snow which cover the central 4 rooflights. These cords will be looped, similar to those found on Venetian blinds, and the amount of snow seen on the glass will be directly related to the amount that the cords are pulled. When the user has pulled all 4 cords enough so that the glass is clear, the pulley system is triggered and the screen containing image 4 is lifter upwards, revealing image 6. Image 6 will be the opposite to the web-based version of the animation, and will initially be fully saturated. Drawn towards the vibrant colour, the user will be encouraged to move forward to explore the image in more detail, but as they move closer to the screen the image will become de-saturated, proximity sensors controlling the saturation based on the user’s distance from the screen. Again, the user is denied much more than a glimpse of this special image, and again after a short while the screen containing image 4 drops back into place.
Image 5/Image 8 – pull cords will trigger the opening and closing of the blinds within the animation, when fully closed, the screen containing image 5 will lift, temporarily revealing image 8.
UNI [SITE + MOTION] – INSTALLATION PROPOSAL DRAWINGS
May 25th, 2009 | Richard Almond
Proposal drawings of the physical incarnation of the animation.
PLAN
ELEVATION
UNI [SITE + MOTION] – SPLASH PAGE
May 19th, 2009 | Richard Almond
Now that the animation is beginning to come together, I felt it necessary to define a graphical style for any text, instructions, descriptions, etc. Below is the splash page for the animation, which will be embedded into a customized html page upon completion. The splash page contains a set of isolated greyscale window panes which again relate back to the Constructivist imagery, and the script typeface is in keeping with the poetical atmosphere of the piece.
UNI [SITE + MOTION] – FLASH ANIMATION IMAGE 8
May 17th, 2009 | Richard Almond
Image 8 is the last ‘Glimpse of the Spectacular’ and accessed through Image 5. Another very simple yet quite effective animation, cool rays of light from a winter sunset glisten between low clouds as the day sinks into dusk.
The effect is achieved by creating a star-like white vector shape which is blurred and has a blend mode applied to it. This vector is then tweened to simulate the subtle flickering of the rays of sunlight. Again the scene reveals itself only briefly, before again disappearing.
Below is the final version. Please note that the transition buttons to other images have been disabled for preview purposes.
UNI [SITE + MOTION] – FLASH ANIMATION IMAGE 6
May 17th, 2009 | Richard Almond
Image 6 is the 2nd of the ‘Glimpse’ images, and is located through Image 4. When the glass in Image 4 is clear of snow, the transition to Image 6 is triggered. The scene is the simplest of all, yet probably the most effective. A dull, grey view of a rooflight appears, there is no interaction from the user and the scene seems to have little interest. The user soon notices however that the image has become vibrant and colourful, with bright yellows and blues glowing through the dirty glass. A burst of sunlight has illuminated the rooflight. The panes appear like thin, opaque slabs of brilliant marble, just for a second, before again the image blends back to its initial gloomy grey.
The method for creating this scene was very simple, consisting of two versions of the same image, one full saturation, and one with a very low saturation. The saturated image is arranged above the de-saturated version, and a very slow alpha tween is applied, from 0% to 100% and back to 0%. Because of the pace of the tween, the user often does not realize the transition is occurring until the image is at full saturation, and they remember how grey it was initially. As with all of these “Glimpses of the Spectacular”, the view disappears as suddenly as it appeared. The user is limited to a brief interaction, a brief pleasure.
The final version is below. Please note that the transition buttons to other images have been disabled for preview purposes.
UNI [SITE + MOTION] – FLASH ANIMATION IMAGE 7
May 17th, 2009 | Richard Almond
Image 7 is the first of the feature images, the first ‘Glimpse of the Spectacular’. The image is reached by clicking the small gap between the lower window panes in Image 2. It is immediately apparent that this image is different to those the user has viewed up to this point. Intrigued by the glow piercing the gap in Image 2, the user wonders what is behind this gap, and when clicked they are offered a glimpse through. A vibrant, warm sunset squeezes between the misaligned panes. The user’s mouse becomes their eyes any they are able to pan around the image of the sunset, exploring.
However close the user feels to the sunset, streaks across the glass remind them that there is still a layer separating them from what they desire, and as quickly as this ‘Glimpse of the Spectacular’ appears to the user, it is taken away from them again.
To create this animation, a zoomed-in image of the gap in the window panes was blown up to fill the scene. This was blurred to achieve the effect of being in the foreground and to simulate depth. Behind this, an over-sized image of a sunset was taken, and ActionScript applied to allows it to move in the opposite direction to the position of the mouse, relative to the centre point.
Below is the final version. Please note that the transition buttons to other images have been disabled for preview purposes.
UNI [SITE + MOTION] – FLASH ANIMATION IMAGE 5
May 17th, 2009 | Richard Almond
The final animation in the main timeline, image 5 was taken at dusk. The darkness symbolises the animation drawing to an end. The single clean window pane of the rooflight glows alone as the last rays of dull light pass into the space. This pane is initially the button which takes the user back to the previous image. Being at the left side of the image and unique in appearance, it is hopefully obvious that this is the last of the main images of the piece, as there is no hint of another buton on the right hand side to take user to another image.
Small, subtle shadows randomly pass behind the glass as if the last of the birds or first of the bats, and a click of the florescent light triggers the drawing of black-out blinds, again symbolizing the piece coming to a close. The blinds however stop short of the single, glowing pan, and now the user is offered one last glimpse of the spectacular.