Work over break, so far

It's 3:46 a.m. on Sunday the 25th.

I just finished working on some code, exploring what sonia's audio library can do.  I don't know why minim made changing volume such a big deal buuuuut I can't seem to figure it out, at least not quickly enough.  I'll be playing 7 synchronized audio samples and adjusting their volume based on the number of points inside my boxes.  I haven't tested the code yet but that'll be tomorrow's frustration.  After sleep I'm going to the lab again and I will finish the last of the light strips, 4 or 5 more.  Then I'll get all 12 parallel lines cut and their T-taps connected 9 inches apart.  That'll probably take most of the day but if I have some time afterwards I'll run the code I've got and make some adjustments.  If I want to stay up late again maybe I'll be able to convince myself that finishing the code tomorrow is possible.  Anyway, I'll talk to Wayne more about it this coming week and I have the final small group critique Wednesday.  I'd like to have the whole light setup done and the code in some kind of working order so I can demonstrate what's goin down. I'm not ready to get excited yet, there's still so much failure ahead of me.

Good night,

Michael

Greg Borenstein

Dear Greg Borenstein (author of Making Things See...)

Thank you,

Michael Fox

Motor Setups are done

I spent the past weekend solely focused on motor setups.  Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I spent in the lab but I finished them so now I can move on to the next step.  My weekends are all freed up until the project is due so next weekend is LED weekend and the weekend after that is getting the frame built.  During the weeks I'll be programming so hopefully in three weeks time I'll have the whole thing finished and possibly installed.  Then I can get documentation to make a great project video.  Also, I'll need people to be in my documentation interacting with the project so if you're interested comment on this post.  The hope is to shoot documentation over Thanksgiving Break.  Thanks for the support!

Just like on TV

I worked on the motors for six or seven hours yesterday.  I'm putting them onto a wooden command center that will be in the middle of the top part of the installation.  I need to get that working with four motors running by the end of Saturday.  It's getting a bit stressful.  I've got about a month and I've still got a ton of work to do.  I'm going broke but don't have time to work at the shop because I have to finish this project.  Unfortunately, I can't pay for this project unless I work so I'm in a bit of a mess.  If you ever watch those large project shows where they have a limited time to finish you'll notice they always seem to come down to the wire.  Well, my BFA project should be a TV show.

I Get Knocked Down..... But I Get Up Again....You're Never Gonna Keep Me Down

I was working on finishing up the LED grid last night and after cutting it from the frame I came to a realization. It won't work like I expected. The tubing weighs too much for the line to hold without snapping and when pulled up on, the entire grid moves inwards to compensate, just like any other fabric would.  Lucky for me I only worked on it for a little over a week so I'm not too behind on my calendar.  I'm going back to the original plan of using a black stretchy fabric, like spandex.  It will be lighter weight and will stretch when the motors pull on it, the only downfall is that instead of moving down towards the person it will be pulled up.  I'm a bit down about all the work that ended up failing but that's what I get for experimenting I guess.

Photos of Lining

LED jig

Today I finished the construction of the LED grid jig.  It is about 13 ft by 9 ft and made of 2 in. PVC tubing.  I put screws into the tubing 6 in. apart, this is where I will tie the line to keep it taught as I hot glue the connections.  I also used a router to make small craters in a 2 x 6 x 10 piece of wood.  I cut the wood to fit inside the PVC jig  and each crater is 6 inches apart to line up with the connection points.  I will fill the crater with the hot glue to make sure there is a a solid connection between the line.  I also, bought clear plastic tubing today, 432 ft of it to be exact.  I will cut the tube into just under 6 in. pieces which should keep the line from getting out of control, the tubes will also house the LED stranded wire.  I will add an extra inch or two to the stranded LED wire to prevent strain.  Tomorrow and Sunday I have a 3D room reserved to put the grid together in so I will basically be living on campus this weekend to get it done.  I'll take documentation images and video footage to show the process of putting the thing together then I'll post it to the blog some time next week. Until tomorrow.