Marker Project: Virtual Context Update

In this video, I demonstrate how to add sun effects to the videos created in Lumion. This will be a part of the final renders to create a visually realistic effect.

Week 11 - REMUNERATION

This presentation was presented by the Aerial Ropeway project group. I was somewhat confused with the number of people presenting (Jordon and Hayley).

Pros: 

- Good use of video in the beginning to engage the audience with the presentation 

- Presentation layout is very simple and easy to follow

- Related to real world situations well

- Use of stats to relate to students to give a slight indication of career earnings

- Discussion was very informative and presenters knew their information

Cons: 

- Only two members presented

- Could have gone a bit more in depth 

- 

Marker Project: Virtual Context Update

The terrain was developed from a flat plain on Lumion. The Sketchup file of each location was imported into Lumion and the terrain was developed around the model.

Google Maps Street View was a main reference for the terrain, as well as images we have taken during the site visit to the Sports Park. 

Google Map View

Lumion 

Week 10 - CONFLICT PRESENTATION

This week we presented our own topic of "Conflict." Our group assigned each other to research and present our findings within the topic. The presentation incorporated a few role plays that would somewhat give the audience a clearer understanding of what we were trying to portray. Typical of any presentation, group members were all nervous, however over came and executed the presentation pretty well.

This is the link to the slides we referred to: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1XNfpaiW8qGhCztnUIVAPGSUVqpcLrdhWqeuadnH8VVo/edit#slide=id.g9e4efd077_2_30

This is the link of the collaborative document containing the information we presented: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CwB9S09UBabLygEcCj5MZkWhhRSPBe-cBqo65TlunZQ/edit

Marker Project: Virtual Context Update

Way finding is the main concept of this project, which concluded to the group choosing two locations for the marker project:

1. The eastern rd Bridge over the M7
2. The great western highway exit from the M7

It is decided that we will focus on these two areas in terms of modelling the virtual environment. The plan being that each location will have a bit more detail.

Sketchup allows users to input a location into the environment as a reference tool. When imported into the sketchup scene, the location is printed as a 2D surface.

In terms of scale, the measurements are accurate, allowing realistic measurements and estimations of how large the monument will be. 

Week 9 - INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PRESENTATION

A presentation really well presented by the Oculus Project Group. A really complex topic to present, however a great discussion was brought up and followed through by the audience.

Pros:

- Great introduction speaking with a really clear voice
- Images relate well and headings are clear
- Very precise information about Intellectual Property as well as examples
- Relating to the audience and the other projects reflected the specific and precise information gathered
- Discussion brought a lot of interesting questions
- Minimal reading from notes, which shows they've understood the material
- Everyone is well spoken and very clear

Cons:
- Video may have had a voice-over, however it is still clear.

The overall presentation was really well presented with a great lengthy discussion at the end, having both the presenters and audience engaging intelligently on different problems relating to Intellectual Property.

Marker Project: Virtual Context Update

Project progression has been very slow with the virtual environment. This is due to slow progression of the overall project as well as lack of motivation. The use of rhino and grasshopper to create the environment is getting a bit tedious. I've consulted this problem with my team members and concluded to using Sketchup and Lumion to create the environment. 

Reason for the change:

• The environment did not need any parametric measures to manipulate
• The focus of the project is the Marker, which is grasshopper intensive 
• Roads and highways can be modeled up very accurately in Sketch-up quickly and efficiently, considering the change and the amount of time to complete the project
• Sketchup and Lumion go hand in hand, allowing quick modelling and rendering 

Week 8 - COMMUNICATION

Communication has evolved in the past few centuries. The advancement in technology has introduced many ways to communicate. In terms of this project, there are a number of mediums to enhance communication between each individual. This includes:

• Skype - Online conference calls 

A medium to mimic face to face conversations, integrating visual and verbal means through a computer. This is efficient to communicate informal messages.

• Email - Electronic mail 

Electronic mail can help communicate more detailed and structured information. 

• Facebook - Social Network

Communicating in a social virtual environment, sharing information informally 

• Face to Face 

A personal and more emotive means of expressing ideas and information 

This weeks presentation was presented by the Steering Wheel group. 

• The slides were clear with good use of graphics and illustrations. 

• The video illustration was creative and can be very informative, however the information was a bit repetitive after Peter already explained the Cheney Model.
• Informative about different factors that would affect communication.
• I would have liked to see the group relate to their project a bit more than what was presented 
• Team is missing leadership, which is also evident in the previous presentation as well. 

Communication, in terms of the Marker Project has been lacking lately. Although the group members know the general direction of the project, communication can be improved in many more ways. Examples include dedicating days to meet up and share information gathered and progression of set tasks. Collating documents and listing resources that the group can refer to in the future. This has been done on Google Docs, however the information seems like it is all over the place, which is shared on the group facebook page.

GROUP MEETING - 22 April

Today's group meeting consisted of gathering more inspiration and conducting research on our approach to the project. The pathway is still not clear with our approach, however many ideas are being shared.

The group presented a number of ideas to Nicole (tutor). One major concept raised is capturing the movements of athletes from the sports played at The Blacktown International Sports Park, which is an idea brought up by 'Alexander Lee, z3466382. Alex research can be found here:

http://code3100alexanderlee.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/pathfinding-stance-analysis.html

Issues brought up in the discussion by Nicole mainly focused around the fact that the marker needed to be a bit more conceptual and less straight forward. This is an example of positive conflict. The collaboration of ideas communicating between the group and Nicole helps develop and point out the flaws in the project, ultimately leading the group to a more conceptual end product.

Reference:

Lee, Alexander. 'Pathfinding Stance Analysis'. http://code3100alexanderlee.blogspot.com.au/. N.p., 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.

Week 7 - PLANNING PRESENTATION

A video was produced by one of the team members using a stop motion styled edit to create a sense of originality and hard work, which caught my attention. The information they shared verbally was enhanced by the video, visually stimulating and engaging the audience and myself into reading and absorbing the information.

The presentation about Planning, addressed by the Virtual Museum group outlined how to plan very clearly. Major points outlined include:

• Preparing for every situation
• Case study of how planning helped themselves individually and as a group
• Ensuring efficiency and being able to execute 
• Enhancing productivity with thorough planning

Planning plays a critical role in executing a project on time. This not only relates to collaboration projects but also plays a major role in everyday life as an individual. Planning consists of having goals to reach and to possibly go beyond what is expected. Considering the residential distances of each student in the class, planning and collaboration must be a priority for the majority of the groups involved in this subject.

In terms of The Marker Project, planning has been a very poorly executed aspect of our approach to the project. The team does not have a team leader and runs in a non-hierarchical manner where team members are allocated tasks. Experience from previous group projects somewhat gave a sense of knowing each others strengths and capabilities. Alex and Annisa are allocated the modelling process of the markers, Maurishka has been assigned to create the draft for the presentation and document some research, Chris is allocated the interactivity and I have been allocated to create and prepare the virtual terrain for the markers..

Marker Project: Virtual Site Focus

As a group, we've decided to focus on the development of areas in the virtual environment which will be of greater value. This means that we will only be developing the M7, M7 exits and the route to the Blacktown International Sports park in higher quality compared to the roads which don't relate to our network of markers.

This image is the starting stages of elevating the main roads and placing onto the terrain. The colours represent the three main highways.

Red : M7 (Main focus)
Blue: M4
Orange: Great Western Highway

The bottom part of the image illustrates the elevation of each highway. The next step is to integrate Wallgrove road, which is right next to the M7 and branches off to intersect into the Great Western Highway.

Marker Project: Creating the Virtual Context

As a group, we've decided not to stick with one marker, but plan to create multiple markers, which indicates and enhance the directional cues towards The Blacktown International Sports Park. Each member of the group has been assigned a particular task. The tasks assigned to each members are:

Chris Tee: Prototype
Alex/Annisa: Modelling
Maurishka: Design Concepts and creating the ''Conflict" powerpoint
Jeremy (myself): Topography

I've been assigned to create the virtual context of the site.

Alex has recommended to use a grasshopper plug-in named "Elk". Elk uses two topographic and map platforms from OpenStreetMap.com. The website contains maps with road presets, distinguishing highways from major and minor roads. Elk uses this information to plot points onto grasshopper, keeping with its respective elements of highways, highway exits, major roads and minor roads.

 Plotting of Map using Elk

Elk Coding

 Elk Terrain Map

Elk Terrain Map Coding

Marker Project: Layering the Concepts

As a group, a few concepts were made to strengthen the underlying representations of what our marker will be. Concepts will be layered within all aspects of the marker. This includes the whole journey from the M7 to The Blacktown Sports Park.

The first layer of the concept is not represented through the marker, but the movement of the journey to the Sports Park. This will be represented by the trajectory of a boomerang, a traditional hunting weapon used by the Australian Aboriginal. (Also used as the logo for The Blacktown Sports Park to represent the return of the community into the sports park.) The location of The Blacktown Sports Park does not directly correspond with any M7 exits. Commuters must make an exit at either Wallgrove Rd or The Great Western Highway from the M7 and drive north towards the Sports Park. This pathway somewhat mimics the trajectory of a boomerang where commuters must turn back after exiting the M7 to get to the sports park, which also represents the "come back"of the community into sports.

(Blue - Sports Park// Red - Exits from M7)

As the collaboration continues, more conceptual layers will be added onto the project.

Reference:

n.a, (2015), Blacktown International Sports Park [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.internationalgoalkeepers.com/images/BISP%20sm.jpg [Accessed 03 May 15].

Marker Project: Images of Site Visit

This is a dropbox link which contains high quality images of the site and its context:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/c5aqi36q7duib2b/AADdwJeBnHZUlsOCzFfBo__5a?dl=0

*Can be sourced for future reference and possibly render images

A second visit may be needed for a more thorough documentation, focusing on the concentrated areas where the network of markers may be placed.

Marker Project: Ideas

The following is a collaboration of research into the ideas that would influence the outcome of the whole project. The information gathered must also relate with the theme of "Mobility" and somehow incorporate it into our own.

AIM: Exploring cutting edge design solutions for a marker that indicated the existence of the Blacktown International Sports Park from the Marker Project Meeting

#1 Lightpole/network

Through site visit, the tall light posts from the sports park played a major role in finding the way to the park. Somewhat change the design of the light post to contrast the landscape.

Idea 1: The secondary lights of the light pole (does not affect the lighting of the playing field) responds to the cars from the M7, which has fixed sensors. (Indicates mobility).  

Idea 2: There are multiple markers set on the route towards the sportspark e.g. a bus stop designed with two boomerangs – followed by a a street light pole redesigned and orientated to point towards the sports park located a hundred meters down the road.

#2 Architectural QR on M7

Inspired and suggested by Russell, the group has researched into the development of a 3D QR code which can be scanned from the M7. Influenced by the increasing and rapidly changing development of technology, the idea seemed viable. However, after a bit of discussion with the group members, a 3D QR code on the M7 may end tragic due to the possibility of the driver attempting to scan the 3D QR themselves on a moving vehicle. 

#3 Kinetic Architectural Marker

Kinetic Architecture is a direct visualization of "mobility" through the responsiveness of the architecture to a moving element. Examples include the distorting facade of the Brisbane Airport Parking Garage by Ned Kahn and UAP, where the facade consists of thousands of little panels that swivel and move as a response to the wind passing through. The second example Windswept by Charles Sowers conveys the same idea; by using the wind as a kinetic factor which manipulates the facade.

The manipulation of Kinetic Architecture greatly depends on the current environment of where the marker will be placed. From personal experience and the site visit, the environment of the site was not very windy. 

#4 Anamorphic Markers

Anamorphic markers are objects/illustrations strategically placed to create an illusion of a regular object, shape or pattern when viewed at a specific angle.

This is an idea which may be integrated into our project through the manipulation of a viewers perspective. This may link to the idea of way-finding where the perfect angle at a certain spot on the journey to The Blacktown Sports Park indicates the right way.

References:

Dezeen, (2012), WINDSWEPT [ONLINE]. Available at: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/17/f9/32/17f93276b731a0abb314ddd3bbdf2704.jpg [Accessed 01 April 15].

Entech Creative, (2012), Creative Bus Stop [ONLINE]. Available at: http://qe1pr67o4hj19lx494tvhiwf.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/orlando_bus_stop_02.jpg [Accessed 01 April 15].

Felice Varini, (2014), Perspective [ONLINE]. Available at: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/18/a6/8d/18a68d898d1869422ffc4bc994b6413e.jpg [Accessed 01 April 15].

Felice Varini, (2014), Anamorphic Illusion [ONLINE]. Available at: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/12/36/96/123696ee4bf3299171c38a01424105bc.jpg [Accessed 01 April 15].

n/a, (2012), Sports Lights [ONLINE]. Available at: https://nuvolo.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/yggdrasil2_01.jpg?w=510 [Accessed 01 April 15].

UAP, (2012), brisbane airport kinetic parking garage facade by ned kahn + UAP [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.designboom.com/weblog/images/images_2/rodrigo/09_september_2012/01_kineticFacade/airport_02.jpg [Accessed 01 April 15].