Kinect + Synapse test video

Dailies from my Kinect+ Synapse experimentation.

Kinect + Synapse

Yuri Endo 2011

*LEFT: After striking the "psi" pose for several seconds, you get a image of skeleton binded to yourself. RIGHT: The image you get from running Kinect test.qtz in the downloaded package.

Kinect can be also connected to Mac OSX via Synapse. Unlike cocoaKinect, this open source application seems as though there are no tilting functions, however, it allows us to use Kinect to control Ableton Live and Quartz Composer, among many others to add more visual and sound effects.

Dream Z-Mobile

It's high time I made my original trolley for Z-tracking.

Market research

Yuri Endo 2011

Since my previous Z-mobiles (Z-trolley 001, Z-trolley 002) were such amateur jobs, I would like to create more sophisticated and esthetic trolley this time. Above images are some design inspirations that I browsed at Dongdaemun Market in Seoul.

Z-nect + Munny Test video

The test result indicated that Kinect needs at least 10 ㎝ distance to capture objects ahead of it. As the camera came closer to the object (approximately 15-10 ㎝ ahead) it showed color change and created an interesting imagery. Testing on the maximum distance would be my next mission as I only could test up to 3m this time due to my room size.

When Z-nect met Munnies

Yuri Endo 2011

To get a general idea of how a Z-nect imagery look like, I tied Kinect to an unused metal luggage carrier which I initially purchased for my previous Z-depth and Motion project, and captured 2 Munny dolls on my room floor.

Don't be afraid of the dark

Yuri Endo 2011

I set cocoaKinect as in the image above and checked how the image look like with and without room lights. It goes without saying, the results looked exactly the same since it's an infrared camera, which proved that it is surely suitable for night shots.

Z-nect (Z-depth+Kinect) agenda

Highly inspirational project, Hyper(reality) by Maxence Parache

Maxence Parache, a recent graduate of the MA at Central Saint Martins created an augmented reality helmet working with Kinect which allows the user to change his/her point of view of space and navigate through the 3D environment. His video experimentations show clear ideas of hyperreal vision that the user sees while he/she physically interact with the real environment; in public spaces such as museums and stores.

While his experimentations are largely focused on the user experience; human behavior when they constrained by technology and how it influence their life and social interaction, I would like to put more weight on the easthetics of the actual hyperreal visions that can be achieved from Kinect camera and if possible, other devices such as Arduino to enhance the visual effects, then connect these experimentations to explore new possibilities in the motion pictures and video art. In that sense, my tasks for next few weeks would be;

1. Experimentations in public spaces and evaluation of locations:

Experiment how the Z-depth movements can be seen through Kinect at day and night, open and closed settings.

2. Scenario development:

Considering a Kinect is cut out for capturing imageries within 10m distance, my challenge is to develop possible scenarios "compactly".

3. Exploring more Kinect hacking options:

My Kinect is currently operating via CocoaKinect. Although it's going to be a great challenge, I probably need to experiment with Openframeworks and Processing to capture much sophisticated imageries.

4. Z mobile invention:

Search and evaluate much accurate and aesthetically pleasing ways for Z tracking.

It's business time

A short experimental movie, The Zbender, was completed as my final project for the course, Media Environment Unit One, in which I was given an opportunity to experiment with the concept of the Z and zdepth intergrading with stereophonic 3D effect. During the course of this project, I took advantages of my knowledge and skills from my previous specialization in the film production along with my 2-year education in design.

Through out the course of Media Art Unit Two and ongoing "Green Growth" research project, one of my new challenges is to expand what I have learned from this project utilizing Kinect and other devices.