hjc309’s blog

Flash animation

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Flash animation -storyboard

Audio File

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Week7-DC Motor Control

This was definitely one of the harder labs. I found it difficult to interpret the schematic. I went slowly, deciphering each step. I thought I had done everything right, but nothing happened. I went over my board again, but still no result.
The LED flickered at first, then blinked and did nothing. I redid my board, reviewed the schematic and read through the lab. Nothing. I reloaded my code many times. The LED flickered again then went out.
Finally, I asked for some help. They went over my board and checked my pins. Still nothing worked.

DC Motor Control

Midterm week

Midterm week1-Observation

I observed a man playing the bongos in a city park. Bongos are a pair of drums each about the size of a small bucket. One is slightly larger than the other. They are made of wood with a “skin,” which can be animal or synthetic, stretched tightly across the top. Metal tuners stretch the skin to create a higher or lower pitch. The pitch is also influenced by the size of the drum. Thus, the larger drum provides a lower pitch than the smaller drum.
The goal of this activity is to provide rhythmic music, or percussion. In this case, the bongos were being played solo. They may also accompany other drums or musical instruments. In some cases, perhaps, these bongos would also be accompanied by dancing. In the case observed, the bongos were being played for the enjoyment of the player. The man was sitting on a bench with the bongos on his lap. His hands struck the tops of the bongos. There appeared to be some variation between what parts of his hands struck the bongos. In some cases, the man’s palms appeared to be striking the drums. In other cases, the man’s fingers and thumb appeared to be doing the striking. The location on the drum also appeared to change according to the sounds the man desired to achieve. It appeared that a higher pitch sound came from the edges of the bongo. This would make sense. The tension would be higher in these areas because the skin was wrapped tightly around the edge of the bucket.
The man’s head, shoulders and torso swayed as he moved to the rhythm of his playing. His arms were relatively fixed from the shoulder to the elbow. His forearms provided most of the movement. They moved up and down to beat the drums. They also moved along a horizontal plane in a circular motion, as if he was also rubbing the drums. His lower body remained fixed. His legs moved up and down to the rhythm of his playing.
His attention was focused on the contact being made between his hands and the top of the drums. One set of hands and arms moved independent of the other set. Secondary focus of attention was in the motion of his arms and the tapping of his legs, although this focus could have been unconscious to the player. The most engaging aspect of the playing was the rapid striking of the bongos with the hands. This created a sharp, short sound. There was very little reverberation, or echo. The sound lasted just as long as the hand hit the drum. There was little variation in sound or rhythm. This created a trance-like effect on the player and the listener, which could lead to boredom.
After viewing a recording of this man playing the bongos, the initial observation was confirmed. Different parts of his hands and fingers struck the bongo. Also, different parts of the bongo were struck. Observation confirmed that these variations were deliberately done to get a different sound from the bongo.

Midterm week2

We have decided to add sound effects as the drums are played and the images are displayed.
Our drum is made from paper and clear vinyl.
We also bought a toy drum as our prototype. Arduino programming was uploaded to Arduino board. We tested very bright LED lights as we hit the drum.
This test required us to reprogram the Arduino board so that the light stayed on longer. This was accomplished by using the delay function. This keeps the light on longer to display the image.
The image will be created by placing a cut-out pattern on the top of the drum.
We connected the Arduino board to the speaker and uploaded the sound effects.
We have failed so far in initiating the sound and light programming when we hit the drum. We have tried several methods, all unsuccessfully. We will ask Greg and others for ideas.

Midterm week3

We decided a good idea for the drum project would be to shine an image on the ceiling every time the drum was struck. We discussed what power of light we needed to accomplish this task. If we were going to use LED or a higher-watt bulb, we decided we would need a powerful light. In the future lab, we realized we needed to use a relay or a transistor to active the higher watt bulb.
Based on the advice of Tom Igoe, we used a focus lens for our light display. He also recommended a slight delay between the hitting of the drum and the shining of the image. He also recommended that he use a light projector for shining these images.
We began work on this idea with the Arduino and Processsing programming. We also asked other students for their ideas. One idea came from Sean. He suggested an interesting interface for the images. We sprayed the drum and adorned with LED lights.

This project required a variety of skills that relate to my own interests. By observing an individual play a drum, we were inspired to make this process more interactive and more high-tech by adding light and sound effects. This required very bright lights to get the image from the drum to the ceiling or a screen. We used powerful LEDs and tried it in darkened rooms. We also added special sound effects with photocell sensors. We placed a microphone in the drum to active animation and the light and sound effects.

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Response of Marshall McLuhan’s “Understanding Media”

I found that McLuhan’s prediction of media and its’ influence to be hauntingly accurate.  My one criticism is that he perhaps takes his definitions beyond the limit of logic.  I think that his definition of media is far too broad and I find the interchanging media and medium distracting.  For example, I can easily see where he would reference newspapers, magazines and television and forms of media.  Indeed I think that the blackberry (including all variations of it), would also be included, as well as the i-pod and various other forms of technology.  This is especially so for the new Apple I-phone.  What I find to be incredible however is the reference to a light bulb.  I am not convinced that a light bulb or any form of lighting is something that should be acceptable as a form of media.
Rather, lighting in any manner may influence our interpretation of media rather than being a direct medium.  The distinction should not be confused and unfortunately, in my opinion it is in this book.  It is contradictory to say that lighting is a direct message; it merely adds or detracts from interpretation.  Likewise as applied to cars, trucks or other automotive vehicles.  The size and shape of the vehicle can lead our interpretation of the actual message to be casual (Jeep), intimidated (Hummer), refined (Lincoln or Buick) or earthy (Honda). Unless these objects are the subject of a message they cannot be considered a medium but simply an influence towards the interpretation of the message.  This does not mean that there important messages cannot be delivered by these subjects but that the operative word here is delivery.
Aside from the foregoing, I found the book to be enlightening and somewhat over the top.  I am curious to know what he would have to say about media today.

Storybord of new video

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Based on Kristen’s 55-word story
Carefully, slowly, Roger cracked the cubes of ice into the glass. He looked out the window. Nancy would be home shortly. Carefully, beautifully, he poured the cyanide into the glass. Vodka. A drop of sweat. Then the cranberry juice. A little swirl of the ice now. Nancy at the door now. Swirl, twirl; drink, Nancy.

stop motion

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Response of Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I absolutely embrace McCloud’s definition of “icon”.  This to me is one of those rare books that makes absolute sense out of the ironies and idiocies of life.  What I do not understanding is omitting the “Far Side” from this definition.  I would have liked to see a conclusion in the term “moment”.  The definition seemed open ended to me but perhaps that is because it depends on whose moment we are referring to.  It can be my moment as I am reading or viewing the cartoon, or it can be the moment of the character. I like the way McCloud demonstrates that the realm of comics has brought our earliest forms of communications (Egyptian hieroglyphics and Mayan drawings on cave walls for instance) to a level that is humorous and sophisticated at the same time.
I personally had failed to make the connection and it is a simple one.  McCloud’s definition of closure has a definite psychological backdrop and I cannot say that I honestly see that in cartoons independent of what I have already “assumed” through my own impression of closure.
I also admire the way he differentiates between show and tell.  It is true that as youngsters we see them as one and the same yet as we get older and more educated, they are distinct actions.  This, I think we take for granted.  What would be interesting would be to show my opinion of this book as opposed to telling it.  All in all, it was an intellectually entertaining read.