For the sound, I had used an underwater sound file that I edited for it not to be copyrighted by changing the levels of the three minute audio clip. With that in hand, we talked to the kids on Zoom and discussed that along with an underwater sound, it would be more helpful to have one of the kids to do a voice over with fun facts so it becomes a more educational experience. Because we were so tight in time between PlayTech and Earth Day, we decided that instead of focusing too much on researching the fun facts, to go a different route. At the end, for earth day, we ended up using the original underwater sound from PlayTech with a voiceover of the kids narrating instructions for the audience inside the dome.
I was also in charge of designing AND printing everyone’s posters! At first I underestimated this because for PlayTech I just designed the posters by using a simple template I created and looking up illustrations on my own and having a lot of creative freedom.
This then became a big assignment for me for Earth Day because I had to be on top of everyone for sending me their group’s information, which included the following:
Group’s name
STUDENT NAMES + KID’S NAME
A CATCH LINE FOR THE PROJECT
Illustrations that kids had drawn for their group
The problem was that a few groups didn’t have the time to submit this information to me, so I had to be creative on what I can do with their group, or ask my professors for help.
With this at hand, I then created the first round of posters for Earth Day. I received over 10 different feedback rounds over the course of the 24h before Earth Day. This was really stressful, but paid off!
Once the posters were done, it was printing time! Printing was a huge problem because the plotters were broken at the UC, so we spent over $100 on printing credits only, and about four hours printing and cutting and putting the papers together. It was extremely tiring.
Then: EARTH DAY
Earth Day for me was a very exhausting and very well accomplished day.
I woke up at 4:30, got ready, took the train down to Union Square at 5:20 to meet up with Harry Castro at Union Square. We then met and made our way to New Jersey. We got there around 7:00 and found nobody but Raquel there.
After waiting around 30 minutes for everyone to show up, we went right into action on moving the dome, then setting it up.
For setting up the dome, I helped Harry with tying up the zip ties on the wood.
I also helped with putting everyone’s posters onto cardboard boxes Tammy brought us- which some, were destroyed by the wind :[
After hours of work and turning the projector on for my group: Oceanic Odyssey, it was game time!
We started having people in, and my main jobs inside the dome were:
Hit the play and pause button for every group that came in.
Get people to tell me what they see, what they can do about the trash in the ocean, if they were happy with what they were seeing, etc. Basically: engaging people to actively think about why we were doing this.
Earth day was an incredible experience because I really got to feel what real team work is, and also seeing people engaging with a project I’ve been apart of for a whole semester was extremely satisfying. Earth Day was also exhausting because of the amount of hours and work we put in during that day. And of course, the nasty weather I will never forget.
From what I heard, Playtech turned out just right but there are still things to work on.
I should also mention at this point that I did try recreating the fish from drawings to 3D models in Rhino in a quite rough way. They didn’t end up imho too bad but still figured I’d mention.
And I had it a bit documented already so I’ll just push here a few emails I’ve done preceding to Playtech:
………………..
Date: 12th April
No, the skybox is not mine. Qiyao worked on it. I’m just putting together the Unity scene, testing it, experimented and made sure it’s stable (and kinda worked a bit with the projection mapping).
I had to set up a new collab environment, check out ASAP if it works, I’m uploading stuff as I’m writing this email (sorry I could not get it set up earlier). Basically, there a few more steps: enabling collaborate function in Unity and setting the seat options (owner).
So, as you join da team I’ve created for this project, you’ll be able to access it from Unity -> In the Cloud -> Ed Tech tesrt. At this point, you’ll probably have a 1 number of 2 number next to In The Cloud.
Once you access it, you’ll be able to download the package by going into Ed Tech tesrt (this will start Unity) and then -> Collab (Dropdown menu) -> Hamburger Icon (next to the three people icon) called View History -> Restore/Install newest commit
In case all of this fails, I’ve uploaded a new .unitypackage on the shared drive folder.
From things to note:
– Qiyao was working on an updated skybox, reflected text, clear sky, perhaps also different colours. To update the skybox you need to:
– Import the video file (just drag and drop into Assets folder, wherever)
– Find on the left-hand side in hierarchy (by searching or scrolling through) test2_2 (Converted)
– Click on it
– In the inspector on the right-hand side Video Player component there is Video Clip (and currently Dome Animation v3)
– All you have to do is drag and drop the new Video file into the box with Dome Animation v3 on it
– The skybox will automatically update, at first it will look black but once you play it, the skybox should run updated
In case you want to mess around with skybox options in detail, the skybox itself can be found in: Materials -> Materials -> Sky; and then you can browse through the shader options like Skybox Cubemap, 6-sided, panoramic etc. You can however, adjust the rotation of the skybox, which can prove useful during the calibration. Once you click on Sky, you’ll have the options visible in the inspector.
From other very important things:
I don’t know if that will happen once you download the project but if you use .unitypackage, it’s very likely your dome projection prefab will not work.
All you have to do, is import from your own hydrodrangeas project the dome projection prefab component, delete the existing one, throw in the new one. You may try doing the same with the existing prefab you import with the Ed Tech tesrt.unitypackage but from what I recall, that would just not work for some reason. If you import it again and add the component to Player in hierarchy, it will work.
I will try to update as much as I can before I go to sleep and perhaps also before the hackathon for Tech Media Democracy starts. But let me know ASAP whether anything doesn’t work, at the latest please text me or anything before 8:30, afterwards I will have very limited availability throughout the entire day.
It’s all a bit wordy but all should be included in case of what if, what may etc.
Post-scriptum:
– You can easily adjust last-minute colours of particular objects, like bottles by changing the material colours for: Plastic, Wieko (you may have to adjust both: Albedo and Emission colors)
– If you see missing scripts or even prefabs, don’t panic, take a look if it runs. I had to carve out GoogleCardboard stuff, so you may come across missing scripts but it works without them
– If you or anyone else hates the raining bottles, just disable ‘vending machine’ object in the hierarchy. The bottles disappear after 60 seconds, the scene runs well on my computer even for longer periods of time but if it doesn’t on yours, just disable this ‘vending machine’. If that doesn’t help, look up also the terrain and disable it. If that doesn’t fix it, idk, disable ‘xbot’ and ‘xbox (1)’ in hierarchy, as the mocap + shader combo releasing particles may be just too heavy
– If you can’t get madmapper configured on time, just use use Game windows in Unity project and adjust the scale slider
With all this, you should be set and be able to madmap anything you need!
I’ll try to push through any updates once I receive, either updated skybox or sound or other stuff. The base is there, even underwater sounds.
Hope all this helps if needed,
Cheers,
Fuad
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Experimentation
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Recreating drawings into 3D models
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Date: Unsent
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So, there are a few other things that I threw in:
– Microplastics: I introduced a particle system that is released based on motion capture data, the particles themselves are squarical but so tiny that should give an impression of microplastics if we want them there
– Plastic bottles: There is a neverending pile of bottles coming down on the camera atm, which piles up around in camera (and kinda cleans itself up, I might reduce the timer on this)
Soon to be implemented:
– Updated skybox with narrative
Considered:
– I thought of having animated fish spawn continuously and after they get hit by the bottle, they would crash into the environment. Unrealistic but could support the narrative.
Will need to be setup on Saturday:
– Madmapper (this application is way to complex),
– Tripod with the mirror
…………..
April 11
Hello all,
I just tested the new skybox and it works really well on its own and with 3D objects in the environment.
Funnily enough, there are a few interesting things happening with Unity when I extend the projection (with the skybox at least). I’ll let others take a look and assess by themselves but it’s as if a good workaround if Madmapper did not pull through (I’ll be experimenting with it very soon, better to madmap this).
A few people came to visit and so a few notes:
– I might have to change the water bottles, as they don’t look like water bottles but like germs or meteors (I have those raining down, which I thought could be an interesting thing, especially that the bottles can react with the fish, I could program them to let’s say, once they hit the fish, the fish changes colour to red and it starts to drop (I know that’s contrary to how it works in real-life, could do either way))
– I was asked if anyone will be giving out snacks outside
– I was asked if the Dome will stay around D12, cause apparently it would be a good meditation space (I second the opinion, it’s an amazing space and I’d say even perfect to project 360 videos, I experimented a lot with my Gear 360 and while experiencing these videos on a phone, VR headset or a computer is just inferior to regular videos, having them projected in a dome-environment? I see potential, although naturally I didn’t test it due to time)
Also, just an update note: we are in fact working with 3 colours here:
– Red
– Blue
– Purple
Each reacts with the blue/red differently:
– Red Glass with Red keeps it Red
– Red Glass with Blue makes it Black
– Red Glass with Purple makes it White
– Blue Glass with Red makes it Black
– Blue Glass with Blue makes it Blue
– Blue Glass with Purple makes it Blue
– without glasses, looks, well, as is.
Interestingly, darker shades of purple with blue glass makes it more distinct blue that differentiates with the lighter purple turning blue, which works well with the fish that have darker purple outlines. It may be hard to picture this with just simple text but my point being is, there are many ways to experiment with the colours here and the experience.
The most important part is, that it actually does work in a very interesting way.
For now I need the narrative, probably a second pair of eyes, in case of the assets, I think we’re set. The skybox contrasts a bit too much with the terrain, though but perhaps I can make both of these work with one another.
Oh, also I mentioned already to Anezka, my laptop works in a weird aspect ratio of 3:2, I won’t be here for Playtech since I have to attend Tech Media Democracy Hackathon on Saturday. So however the experience will be madmapped, it will have to be on a separate computer running very likely in 16:9. Any other projector would have this running in such but since it’s a 4K one, it extends my 3K screen exactly as is, as a result, even without the madmapper and due to a Unity-VideoSkybox bug, the dome is almost entirely, fully projected on, well, right now actually, even without the Madmapper 🙂
That’s all for now.
I’ll be here at the Dome on D12 today and tomorrow if anyone would like to pop up.
……..
……..
~8 April
On this day I was observing the construction of the Dome. It took them around 3 hours to get it raised, which I found as incredibly impressive (from what I heard, by BFA students from Space/Materiality Course). Impressive! Afterwards it was just setting up the environment and seeing how it looks like within the Dome, additional work and calibration.
The Play Tech experience was so much fun! We received a lot of feedback from our LCCS team which consisted of Richard and Ailisha on the day. We played two games with each game consisting of 3 questions (This took us good 45 minutes!). The teams that participated were made up of families, friends and, we’re quite certain, also kids who most likely just met on the day (i.e. who are not friends or from the same family). It appeared that the participants enjoyed the game and everyone, including the parents, engaged well with it.
Key Takeaways
1. Structure the game so that each game starts with an easy question, followed by a medium difficulty question and ends with a difficult question.
2. A buzzer or another system may be needed instead of the nose-touching to determine who goes first -> we decided to keep the nose-touching idea.
3. Strikes (X’s) on the PowerPoint are unnecessary – we did not use them as we allowed each team to take turns with the answers instead of following the exact Family Feud style where a team continues to give more answers until they get the answer wrong.
4. A contrast colour background for the questions would help highlight them better on the screen.
5. Simplify some answers to make them easier to guess: e.g. instead of listing South African countries individually as the right answers, one could simply say South Africa and receive the same points.
This week we stayed at Parsons and communicated with our team over Zoom. The main focus of the day was to get the kids’ opinion on the questions and involve them as much as possible in developing the structure of our game.
The kids rated the questions Raquel and I finalized (which consisted of questions the kids came up with as well as questions we ourselves came up with). We decided to allocate 1 point for every right answer to an easy question and 5 points for every right answer to a difficult question. Below are the ratings.
TRASH TRIVIA QUESTIONS
Trash Trivia LCCS team edited questions
(2)Name a species affected by water pollution… | Fish, Crabs, Birds, Sea Gulls, Dolphins, Sea Turtles, Sea Lions, and Manatee
(3)Name a commonly found form of pollution that lies within the ocean… | Plastic bags, food wrappers, plastic bottles, beverage cans, cigarettes
(3-4)What countries are most affected by waste? | Ghana, Philippians, Vietnam, India, China, Pakistan, Somalia, Indonesia
(3)Name something affected by air pollution… | People, crops, animals within the ecosystem, trees, the soil.
(3-4)What are the main causes of water pollution? | Human activity, Rapid Urban Development, Dumping of Chemical Wastes by Factories, Throwing plastic into the ocean, Oil spills, Use of Toxic Chemicals for the Plants (pesticides and harmful fertilizers)
(1)Which indoor home activities use the most water? | Toilet, Water from the tap, dishwasher, showering, Clothes washing
(3-4)Name an item that cannot be recycled… | Plastic shopping bags, Batteries, Styrofoam, Tires, Takeout containers, Disposable napkins and paper towels, plastic packaging (ex. candy wrappers), anything that is smaller than a post-it note (even if it is recyclable)
(2)Name something that can be recycled… | Paper, Glass, Plastic bottles, Tin and aluminium cans, cardboard
(3)Name a common species that is endangered or threatened by human activity… | Bees, Coral reefs, Sumatran Elephants, Birds, Whales, Hawksbill Sea Turtles, Mountain Gorilla, Black Rhino
(3)Name the causes that reduce the population of bees | Climate change, Habitat loss, Unsustainable agriculture, Pollution, Pesticides
(1)Name something you know about the earth… | Very old, Mostly water, Beautiful, Polluted, Round, full of humans
(1)Name something a visiting alien would say is a huge problem on earth… | Plastic/Waste/Landfills, Pollution, War, Human greed/Humans
(2)What are some things people can do to be more earth friendly? | Recycle, Plant trees, Use less paper / plastic, Use canvas bags instead of plastic, reduce water waste, Start a compost pile
(1) Oysters – single answer question?
We also received many interesting questions (both multiple answer ones and single answer ones) from the NY/NJ Baykeeper team and decided that the following questions are worth considering including in the Trash Trivia:
Family Feud-style questions sent by Elana (Baykeeper):
Question #1:
(3) An oyster reef, or living shoreline:
Protects the coastline against erosion
2. Serves as speed bumps for waves during storms
3. Acts a natural water filter.
4. Creates habitat for marine life
Question #2:
(2) Protecting natural habitat and open space is essential because:
It protects water supplies.
2. Improves water quality.
3. Protects flood-prone areas.
Creates and improves parks.
Question #3:
According to the United Nations, plastics pollution impacts 267 species of marine life including:
seabirds
2. whales
3. turtles
sea lions
fish
Single-answer Baykeeper questions:
What is the first stage of life called for an Oyster?
Larvae
What is an Oyster called once it has permanently attached to a surface?
Spat
How many Oysters is NY/NJ Baykeeper incubating for 2019?
1.5 million.
How can Oyster reefs help prevent coastal flooding?
During a storm, underwater oyster reefs act as a natural breakwater, absorbing wave energy before it hits the shore.
How do Oysters help improve water quality?
Oysters are filter feeders, consuming phytoplankton and improving water quality while they filter their food from the water.
How many gallons of water can an oyster filter in a day?
50
According to NY/NJ Baykeeper research, about how many plastic particles are there polluting the Estuary?
165 million!
What type of plastic pollution was the most present, making up 38%, according to NY/NJ Baykeeper’s study?
Foam.
How many single use styrofoam products are thrown away each year worldwide?
14 million tons.
How long does it take for styrofoam to biodegrade?
Styrofoam never fully biodegrades.
What landmark is at the head of tide of the Hudson River?
Troy Dam.
In what city is the head of tide located?
Troy, NY
Where are the headwaters of the Hudson River located?
Upper New York Bay.
Why is land conservation important for water quality?
Land conservation is vital for water quality. Open space provides flood control, storm protection and clean air. When land is developed, permeable surfaces are replaced by impervious surfaces such as roads, roofs and parking lots and less permeable surfaces such as lawns. This increases stormwater runoff and is one of the most significant impacts to natural water systems.
What year did NY/NJ Baykeeper start fighting pollution and polluters?
1989
(2) In what ways can you reduce waste on a day to day basis?
We can reduce our use of non-recycle-able products, reuse what we can, and recycle! Invest in reusable cups, totes and other household and travel products, and try to avoid single-use plastics such as straws, plastic cups, bags, cutlery and containers.
What is a more eco-friendly decoration to replace balloons?
No balloons is definitely the way to go! Try reusable flags, banners and streamers instead!
(2) What is a good way to be chic and pro-green when shopping?
Buy local– this reduces the amount of energy it takes to transport food to your table!
Use resuable shopping bags.
Try to buy products that are in recycled packaging.
Shop less and avoid impulse shopping!
Buy in bulk, which translates into less packaging.
Why are plastic straws out, and reusable cups in?
Straws are one of the top single-use plastics that end up on our beaches and in our waterways. Reusable cups are a relatively inexpensive and eco-friendly way to go.
Why is going BYO with reusable products fun and eco-friendly?
By using reusable products, we can reduce waste and reuse what we already have. With the dangers of plastic pollution on the rise, there are plenty of eco-friendly alternatives that can be stylish and convenient.
What is the largest a bog turtle can get?
4.5 inches.
When was the bog turtle listed as critically endangered?
1974.
What is a black skimmer?
The black skimmer is a seabird.
When was the black skimmer first listed as endangered in New Jersey?
1979
Where does the black skimmer get its name?
Its stark black and white plumage.
How does plastic pollution in the environment heavily affect the black skimmer?
Seabirds like the black skimmer ingest plastic particles that end up in the ocean.
Why is it a good sign to have osprey around?
Ospreys are a sign of a healthy habitat and ecosystem.
What is often found in an osprey’s nest that end up injuring these bird or their young?
Plastics.
PROGRESS ON TRASH TRIVIA ASSETS
Richard’s drawing in the progress of being turned into an animated, enchanted forest. All the other drawings will also be animated and used in the game.
Our team missed the opportunities at play tech, however kids are were reimagining the whole experience from ground farm to ocean underwater experience. we still need an test and selections on sound and dialog audio to enhance the VR animation experience thru Cospaces.
PlayTech was fun and visitors enjoyed our Oceanic Odyssey experience. Although I thought yesterday would be out of control because the number of people, it turned out great. LCCS students helped us guide visitors and offered glasses to them. While visitors were in the dome, they were a bit confused about where to look at in the beginning, we have to tell them “stand here and look at that direction”etc., it would be nice have some kind of instructions first or even verbal guide them before they enter the dome. Another thing I noticed was their reactions after wearing glasses, it was a bit hard for people to think and read at the same time surprisingly. When they read “cover your left eye”, they usually need a moment to think about which one is left and which one is right. So for Monday, we plan to have LCCS students help us narrate these stories and instructions for a better experience. Overall, It was a nice user testing yesterday.
This week is Playtech and we spent class testing the projection inside the dome and combining aesthetics of student drawn work and unity. I will be animating the drawing and creating the underworld for Fuad to apply to skybox and project onto the dome. We finally saw the dome this week and to be honest, it was smaller than what I had expected. It was very hot during class and being inside the dome added to the humidity. We hope it will be cooler when we present on Earth Day.
In regards to the Oceanic Odyssey I was really excited to have people experience it. I even had two friends come over to test it, and they said they liked it.
My first impression was that the thing has yet to be polished. Maybe it was the little amount of things showing on screen, maybe the very low volume, maybe that the mirror wasn’t on the tripod, maybe that some light was leaking, maybe that the AC wasn’t working, maybe that the colors were not there for full disappearance, maybe all of those. But to be honest there was more positive things. The number of smiles, the good comments, just the fact that it was working…
It was great to have this experience and it gets my excited to finalize this project and have it ready for Earth Day!
