{"id":339,"date":"2008-12-23T05:43:48","date_gmt":"2008-12-23T09:43:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.underwater.ca\/blog\/?p=339"},"modified":"2018-09-22T02:04:28","modified_gmt":"2018-09-22T06:04:28","slug":"the-joy-of-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.underwater.ca\/blog\/the-joy-of-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"The Joy of Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/2503889?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0\" width=\"624\" height=\"416\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>The Joy of Technology<\/em> is a playful video installation that uses both humor and drama to emphasize our intimate relationship with technology. The satirical character inside the cardboard television set responds to the user&#8217;s operation of technology. An <span style=\"font-size: x-large;\">electronic razor<\/span> grows hairs on his face, a <span style=\"font-size: x-large;\">pencil sharpener<\/span> rotates him and tears his shirt, a <span style=\"font-size: x-large;\">stapler<\/span> pokes staples onto his forehead and leaves shatters all over the television glass, and a <span style=\"font-size: x-large;\">blow-dryer<\/span> rotates the screen. All these actions affect the character\u2019s overall appearance once all the technologies are shut off. In addition, the character can also be placed into different settings by turning the television\u2019s rotating knob. Some of the programming that the character is placed into includes a news broadcast, a courtroom and outdoor settings.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><br \/>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-284\" title=\"1\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"416\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nJason Safir giving a live demonstration of his interactive television at ITP.<\/p>\n<p>The main character always appears lost and has lost control of himself through the technology around him. Watching the main character being trapped in an endless, repetitive loop makes his pointless actions and gestures hopeless and neurotic. The piece projects humor and irony throughout the user\u2019s experience by implementing opposite feedback from common technology we use everyday.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n&#8211; A robotic television that vibrates and rotates. Also, an antenna that moves when there is activity inside the screen.<br \/>\n&#8211; Development of character and channels: more channels that individually respond differently to each device. More dynamic animations.<br \/>\n&#8211; Randomized effects implemented by each technology rather having them all pre-determined and edited.<br \/>\n&#8211; A more polished cardboard box television design and more interesting placement of props.<br \/>\n&#8211; Ability to adjust the depth of field (blurring) of the screen when increasing and decreasing the intensity of a dimming lamp.<br \/>\n&#8211; More technology!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/14.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-286\" title=\"14\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/14-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"416\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nSharpening character<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/stapler.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-282\" title=\"stapler\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/stapler-300x215.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"448\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nStaples and shatters<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/nails.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-281\" title=\"nails\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/nails-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"416\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nWhen the screen is rotated upside down with the blow dryer, nails fall down!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/static.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-283\" title=\"static\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/static-300x194.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"405\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nElectric razor static<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/judge.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-280\" title=\"judge\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/judge-300x210.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"437\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nOrlando&#8217;s courtroom<\/p>\n<p><strong>TECHNICAL DETAILS<\/strong><br \/>\nThe installation uses serial communication between Arduino and Flash using the as3Glue library. To make each device trigger an animation, I used Phidgets current sensors to detect how much voltage is coming from each device. Conditions were placed with these values to change the character\u2019s overall appearance once these devices were shut off. Other physical computing components used were a potentiometer, LEDs, miniature vibration motors placed inside the box, a subwoofer, speakers and a flat screen monitor.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/img_2367.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-287\" title=\"img_2367\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/img_2367-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nPhidget current sensors detecting the voltage from the razor, sharpener and blow dryer.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/img_2342.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-263\" title=\"img_2342\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/img_2342-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>All animations were recorded in real-time behind a green screen and then were traced with a fine liner pen using a light box. These selected stills were then scanned and converted into vector graphics using Illustrator and then colored in Flash. This lengthy process helped me achieve the vibrancy and quality I was looking for in both the character and the environments that he is placed into.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/judge.jpg\"><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/img_2350.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-265\" title=\"img_2350\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/img_2350-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>All animation frames were drawn using a fineliner marker and were then vectorized into Flash.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/img_2344.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-264\" title=\"img_2344\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/img_2344-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/img_2350.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-265\" title=\"img_2350\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/img_2350-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/img_2353.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-266\" title=\"img_2353\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/img_2353-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Joy of Technology is a playful video installation that uses both humor and drama to emphasize our intimate relationship with technology. The satirical character inside the cardboard television set responds to the user&#8217;s operation of technology. An electronic razor grows hairs on his face, a pencil sharpener rotates him and tears his shirt, a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,27,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pcomp","category-technology","category-video"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.underwater.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.underwater.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.underwater.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.underwater.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.underwater.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339"}],"version-history":[{"count":61,"href":"https:\/\/www.underwater.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2663,"href":"https:\/\/www.underwater.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339\/revisions\/2663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.underwater.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.underwater.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.underwater.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}