VR HotSpots
2016 was the year of VR and now, in 2017, VR is everywhere.
Content for VR can be created in many different ways. Over the duration of your studies in CoDe you'll learn how to take advantage of several different forms of digital content creation. Today though, we'll utilize one of the easiest techniques .... but expand it with a little #biohacking.
Exercise
Each CoDe staff member takes one of the Samsung S7's and a group of CoDe participants to find a site on Cockatoo Island where each student in the group can illustrate one of the words below:
Repetitious
Rhythmic
Horizontal
Tesselated
Heavy
Light
Reflective
Beautiful
warm
void
perforated
solid
emergent
disjointed
system
smooth
striated
landmark
interstitial
open
closed
delineation
defined
syncopated
staccato
cold
creative
uplifting
atmospheric
geometric
curvilinear
fractal
seamless
responsive
generative
Use the "Surround Shot" mode in the Samsung camera app to create two 360 degree panorama's for each group.
The CoDe staff member takes the 360 pano while the students appear in the environment using frozen gestures or poses to illustrate their chosen word.
Once each shot is taken you can review it in 2d using the phone, or move the image to the Oculus 360Images folder to view in VR using the Samsung GearVR.
For the second 360 panorama, swap words with another student, find a new way to illustrate their word and have the CoDe staff member recapture the scene in 360.
Think about framing the subject, perspective, concealing or revealing elements, light and shadow, implied actions, teamwork, etc.
Spaghetti Bridge
As seen in the image above, the Spaghetti Bridge is a well known structural challenge. You might think structures are of particular concern for engineering students and not central to what we do in CoDe ... but structures, more broadly, are present in almost everything we do or in the ways we think about things. Bridges perfectly reflect the nature of what you'll most likely end up doing as graduates; bringing different disciplines together to solve complex problems.
Exercise
Use the notoriously weak spaghetti sticks and much stronger sellotape supplied to construct your own bridge that will be assessed in terms of beauty, strength and innovation (three words to live by!).
You might find the diagrams below a good way to get you thinking.
Digi-Drawing words and buildings
While digital tools, techniques, and processes have been widely adopted in processes of design, representation, documentation, and construction, the drawing-hand continues to be revered in architecture. This is particularly reflected in distinguished Finnish Architect Juhani Pallasmaa’s reference to the “thinking hand” (2009).
It is often presumed that computational design techniques render redundant prior modes and methods of design, yet drawing or sketching remain prominent activities in design offices and can be powerfully complementary to digital modes.
This series of quick drawing exercises on Cockatoo Island aims to flex your drawing-hand muscles, and encourage new ways of perceiving and understanding the built and urban environment.
Drawing/sketching is an active way of perceiving, interpreting, learning, knowing and communicating.
The intention here is not to produce ‘accurate’ or photo-realistic sketches, but rather to employ drawing as a tool of analysis, interpretation, and importantly, experimentation. Here ‘drawing’ is understood in a broader sense: to draw in, to collect, and to draw together.
Drawing locations:
1. Industrial Precinct ( Interior/Exterior Turbine Hall) – Lower island south east side
2. Docks Precinct – Lower island south side
3. Power House and Crane Precinct – Lower island west side
4. Historic Residence Precinct – Upper island east side
5. Ship Design Precinct – Upper island central
6. Convict Precinct – Upper island west side
Exercise 1
A CoDe staff member will take all students to their first location.
In pairs, one person is blindfolded while the other leads them (following the Code staff member) to the allocated drawing location. In pairs sit back-to-back. The blindfolded person is the sketcher and is required to face away from the place/building of interest they will be sketching. Person 2 will face the place/building of interest and is then required to describe to person 1 what they see and how they should sketch the scene.
Person 1 is required to sketch the scene based on the instructions given by Person 2 // 10 minutes.
Note – once this is done Person 1 can take the blindfold off!
The CoDe staff member will then take all students to the second location with Person 2 blindfolded this time - then repeat the exercise // 10mins
Exercise 2
The CoDe staff member will then take their group to the next allocated location and choose a vantage point for sketching.
Sketch a) Quickly sketch the scene. Focus on outlines, primary details, such as strong horizontal or vertical lines, repetition, i.e. shape defining elements // 2 minutes.
Sketch b) Sketch the same scene again this time using your non-dominant hand (the hand you do not usually write with) // 2 minutes
Sketch c) Sketch the scene again, this time as a continuous line drawing – this means you start the sketch and you cannot take the pen/pencil off the page until the end of 2 minutes. You must continue to draw, accepting all your line-work and not attempt to ‘correct’ it // 2 minutes
Sketch d) Choose a smaller-scale detail from the scene – such as where two forms of materials join and draw this, define the shapes using shade and shadow this could include cross-hatching // 5 minutes
Insta-exhibition:
Using your smart phone take photos of each of your sketches and upload to Instagram. You can edit the sketch if you wish using the tools in instagram: crop, rotate, sharpen, filers etc. Use the following hashtags: #campCoDe2017 #instaexhibition
Welcome to CampCODE for 2017
Co-ordinator:
Dr. M. Hank Haeusler,
E: m.haeusler@unsw.edu.au
T: +61 (2) 9385 6821
M: +61 417 117281
CoDe Staff:
Russell Lowe, russell.lowe@unsw.edu.au
Lan Ding, lan.ding@unsw.edu.au
Nicole Gardner, n.gardner@unsw.edu.au
Rebekah Araullo, r.araullo@unsw.edu.au
Eliot Rosenberg e.rosenberg@unsw.edu.au
9.45 - 10.00am
Arrival and meeting
Introduction roll call Outside the Cockatoo Island Visitor Centre
(near the ferry wharf)
10.00am -11.00am
ACTIVITY 1: Digi - drawing words and buildings
Introduction: Nicole
Each CoDe staff member to select a group of 8-9 students.
See separate post for details
Grass area – Northern Apron Park
11.00-12.00pm
ACTIVITY 2: Spaghetti Bridge
Introduction: Hank
Groups of 4.
See separate post for details
Grass area – Northern Apron Park
12.00pm – 2.00pm
Lunch
2.00pm – 3.30pm
ACTIVITY 3: VR HotSpots
Introduction: Russell
Groups of 10
See separate post for details
Grass area – Northern Apron Park
3.30pm - 4pm
Wrap up and Depart Outside the Cockatoo Island Visitor Centre
(near the ferry wharf)
