a Quote....

Choregrapher Maguy Marin said, "People now go to the theatre and the arts like consumers. If they don't like something, or it's unfamiliar, they want their money back. But we are not a supermarket."

Week 7 : Thursday

Meeting with Peter and Mark. About the budget, brochure copy and screen shots. Also to clarify the dates that are good for the motion capture demo day in March.

Realise we need a rather large shopping list as far as equipment goes.
Gallery 1
We will need 3pc’s and 2 projectors for a 2 screen installation.
We will need 4 pc’s and 3 projectors for a 3 screen installation.
Numerous cables, drill hole into media-suite, mounts to hang projectors on. Darken the room.
Speakers for 3d sound
Maybe need to paint to get better projection
Gallery 2
Print- outs ( need to cost them)
Spot light
Gallery 3
Plasma or projector, DVD, head phones etc
Material to build false wall etc
Maybe need to paint to get better projection

screenshots of virtual forest

Week 7 : Wednesday

Parcel arrives. 3d glasses and joystick joy to be had. Start to research stereo projectors and CAVE aspect.
Need to follow up 3d Tree software company so we can move along with with making our rapid prototype tree.
Need to do all the cross fades, video transitions, polarising and after effects on the Very Long Movie.

Week 7 : Tuesday

Go to see Rachel Whitereads work at The Tate's Turbine Hall. We really resisted the temptation to climb. Came to the conclusion that all the shows in the Turbine Hall so far look better in Photographs in the Press.
Interesting last night at the Turner Prize opening, we were struck by how calm Gill's paintings made the guests feel. We were interested in the clarity, simplicity and her enquiry into the techniques of painting. The Independent reviewer said they we're boring.
This day trip provided us with good discussions and conversations which led to a much clearer idea of how to present Summerbranch.

Week 7 : Monday

Go to London for the Turner prize opening. Friend Gill has some work showing which actually inspired Summerbranch ( her tree paintings specifically the black ones) maybe she’ll choose them to exhibit in the show at the Tate, we’ll see. Hopefully Toby Zeigler another artist and friend will be there – I need to talk to him about his work which has also inspired Igloo’s Summerbranch project and scope of presentation methods for looking at applications of 2d / 3d/4D work.

Week 6 : Saturday

Work all day editing films and growing/ building endless rows of trees.

Week 6: Friday

Work all day editing films and growing endless rows of trees.

Week 6 : Thursday

Friday Need to talk to Mark about the publicity. Need to estimate shopping list. Computers, plasmas, projectors, lenticulars, wallpaper print outs, rapid prototype tree and so on lighting speakers, ideas for sound and whether we are going to block off certain entrances/exits etc. Do we need to build walls; do we need to paint the gallery a different colour if we are to project? All these things need to be considered. Really want a lovely forest for the publicity.
Start looking at credits etc.

Week 6 : Wednesday

Bruno has a breakthrough with the motion capture by receiving advice from motion builder tutorials and reply emails. Gets a few sequences running well. But as he exclaims it’s like building a house with a pack of cards on a windy day. Pinning jelly to a wall more like.
Spend the afternoon on the terrain again zooming in and out looking for defects.
Amends the first cut of the slow movie. Changing certain aspects like light and depth and matching takes together. Editing and watching full screen.
Really need to go into the woods today, to be sure of a big surprise, but don’t manage it, it pours with rain.

Week 6 : Tuesday

One of the ground texture maps

How it looks in the virtual environment

Ruth spends day looking at first long film draft and adds more sequences. Also sorts out takes for moving film (maybe not to be used in the exhibit).
Ruth spends the afternoon looking through all the source material textbooks and narrows down exhibition ideas.
Bruno spends the day transferring his texture maps from one programme into another (v time consuming). Also we clean mocap data and starts to model it with the Ruth character.
We spend the evening looking at different leaf, twig and branch textures on the moving figure. Lots of emails sent to colleagues with the aim to clean the data quicker.

Week 6 : Monday

We study a Motion Builder tutorial to sort out the glitches with the motion capture data. Cropping and editing the motion, correcting how to lock certain aspects to get the proper cycle. Start and end points of the animation, matching start and end points. Creating poses at the beginning and end so that the motion and rotations direction are adjusted and correct. Zero smooth transitions and layers.
Mapping coordinates-Mapping geometry-Model-Skeleton-Degrees-Stretching-Torso
Arms-Legs-Texture map 3d/2dRelax angles-Spacing of the polygon-sIsolate object- unwrap
Selection modes-Point to point- seam-Trace-Edges-Simulate-Expand pelt /align/ edit
Also contact is made with CAVE company Model environmental camouflage – internal landscape

Stay late – discuss different rooms
Ideas for presentation of installation

Week 5 : Friday

Bruno texture mapping the Summerbranch Virtual Environment. Concentrating on ground textures with grass, leaf and twig maps – he has created a variety of 9 different choices depending on the types of trees growing in that area.
Mark loans us the DVCam to preview the work and a TV monitor to see how the film looks. The next stage will be to look at the final film and virtual environment projected.
Ruth surfs web looking at Pipolotti Rist’s work, how she presents.
Can we make a book for the Artsway Gallery Shop? Do we have enough left in the budget?

Week 5 : Thursday

Helen visits the studio to see where we are at. Our ideas so far and what we have achieved. We talk about how we want to manipulate the space and in what rooms (gallery 1, 2& 3) we imagine our works to be presented.
Film – gallery 3
Wallpaper – gallery 2
Lenticulars – gallery 2
Rapid Prototype Tree – gallery 2 or entrance foyer
Computer Generated Virtual Environment – Gallery 1
Helen thinks we need some time before March to come down and check the space and have a play. This could happen when Alison Turnbull’s exhibition closes and before the Open exhibit. Before we go to Australia, so sometime in November. This needs to be discussed with Mark & ArtSway. (We may have to stay with Helen as accommodation and travel budget is looking tight)

Ruth watches all rushes through twice. A decision is made to show the film in Gallery 3 as an opening into another world. The musician is contacted and the run time of the film is approx I hour 6minutes. He will compose a score which he will play live along to the visuals, which will then be recorded and then played back on a loop. We choose electric guitar (but sounding acoustic for the film). Need to start doing the transition cross fades in Final Cut pro. Look at polarising filter sections.
Bruno makes more virtual trees.

Week 5 : Wednesday

Bruno texture mapping all day making virtual woodland.
Ruth chooses all the still 1-minute clips from August and makes a rough edit, with all the clips side by side. Then she sorts out clips for the moving film. Then chooses a sequence where Jo improvises in the Ghillie suit for the first time.

Week 5 : Tuesday

9:15 A diary meeting with Helen and Mark to arrange a time to meet Portland.
Discuss writing a small paragraph for the ArtSway 6 month brochure text to go to Peter & Adelina high profile exhibition text to Mark & Helen for the actual blurb for work later on.
Map and make diagram of the space and how we are going to exhibit for this Thursday, catch up meeting with Mark & Helen.
Copy for the marketing deadline is December. Logistics of the event.
TA – outreach different audiences
Ramblers????
All mentioned on the fly
Follow up Tim and the Rapid Prototyping.
Projector 3d 3d glasses In focus depth cue 3d video projector $4K need to wear glasses – flicker proof

Week 5 : Monday

10-1pm Ruth does admin catch up with Summerbranch project. Including writing to Animazoo about the demo day happening in March/April when the exhibition is on rather than this month. Write to Helen and Mark arrange a meeting as to the next 3 weeks and copy deadlines etc for the exhibition. Write to rapid prototyping company about the tree.
Bruno worked on Studio max to familiarise himself again with the package and updates the igloo website.
Need to talk with Helen & Mark some conceptual text.
Mark popped in and suggested the demo day ( mocap) would work nicely as our educational day.

Week 4 : Wednesday

Sadly return to London. The next week will be spent editing the research material, 2 short films and the motion capture documentation day.
Cleaning data.
Making the 3d environments.
Making the 3d Trees.
Should hear back from the Reading company to see whether they have managed to make one of ~Bruno’s 3d Trees.
Sort out the return visit 1st October – 24th October re accommodation with the lovely Mel at Artsway.

Week 4 : Tuesday

10am -7pm Cancelled Henry who was going to work with Ruth in the media suite to finish off digitising the rest of the footage. Bruno & Ruth go into the Forest to get more footage.

Week 4 : Monday

Need to shoot some extra shots for the films, texture maps and to simply experience being in the forest again after a week of being on the computer in the studio.

Week 3 : Friday

10am – 7pm Bruno works on making CG trees. Meeting to look at what needs to be done next week. Planned trip to the Forest is cancelled because of rain. Still to do are some still shots of the forest locations, texture maps and two scenes in costume. ( Ruth will take Jo’s place from now on to do the final performances for the film studies.

Ruth works on the administration of the project. Payments, organising the next month’s residency and filing all receipts for travel expenses, costumes, tape stock and miscellaneous goods bought specifically for the project.

Week 3 : Thursday

10am -7pm Ruth works with Henry in the media suite digitising all the footage from the first 2 weeks. Bruno follows up Tree software and developments with the Rapid prototyping 3d physical tree.

Week 3 : Wednesday

10am – 7pm. Ruth and Bruno visit Reading to meet the managing director of the Rapid prototyping company. Visit New Greenham Arts to see Sally Childs. Discuss the project on the train journey. Happy with the results so far but still a long way to go. Happy in that ideas within the film studies worked such as our subject is both “the observed” and “ the observer” depending on whether movement was involved or how the camera changed the narrative. We have to decide how we carry this forwards into a single user 3d environment. What we can learn from simple things as camera techniques, motion and to some extent choice of colour. We have to decide whether our films studies are relevant for exhibition or should be kept as valuable process material.

Week 3 : Tuesday

10am – 7pm Work in the studio. Decide on which way to go for the film studies. Still unsure whether to exhibit this. There are two films suggested, a funny one with plenty of handheld and lots of motion and a more effective one with stillness. The stillness film seems to be more appropriate to the project and the camouflage themes.

Week 3 : Monday

3d tree

10am -7pm Start to clean data from the motion capture day. Bruno works with Tree software and solves problems regarding shadows. Ruth learns from the software how to identify certain trees in the forest. It is noted after a meeting with Helen that we are like modern day Ruskin nature watchers (as well as using pencil and notebooks, maps and pressed leaves) we are working with software in the same way considering disguised mobile phone masts, army camouflage and integration of technology and nature.

Mocap software

Mocap sessions

This is us doing mocap outside and in the studio with Ali from Animazoo. Note the treemounted wireless receiver

Week 2 : Friday

10 am – 1pm Ruth and Jo do class at Forest Arts in New Milton.
2pm – 5pm plan the schedule for next week.
5pm – 8pm Artsway host an artist talk and get together with local artists and interested parties. Really interesting group of people artists, cuarators. sponsors etc ask about past work and the latest developments of Summerbranch. The group view previous work on DVD in the Forester’s Arms garden.

Week 2 : Thursday

10 am – 1pm Ruth and Jo do class at Forest Arts in New Milton. Bruno………
2pm – 7pm Ruth & Jo edit small version of the film studies. Search for what is needed re extra shots.

Week 2 : Wednesday

10am – 7pm Motion Capture Day. Lisette & Henry document the day’s events and we capture all the movement sequences outside in the grounds of Artsway.

Filming In the New Forest

Bruno is behind a tree

Week 2 : Tuesday

10am – 1pm Jo rehearses motion capture material and warms up at Forest Arts in New Milton. Ruth briefs Lisette and Henry (Bournemouth University Film Students) on the days ahead.
2pm -7pm Film with 3 cameras at the Wilverly location.


Henry up a tree

Week 2 : Monday

10am – 1pm Rehearsals and warm up at Forest Arts in New Milton
1pm – 2pm Meet and schedule the day. Mark arrives as 2nd camera for the day to help with the filming. (We like to run a military style operation..)
2pm – 7pm Bolder wood & Ornamental Drive filming

Week 1: Friday

10am – 1pm Rehearsals and warm up at Forest Arts in New Milton
1pm – 2pm Meet, make a new schedule, look at weather forecast. Plan for the next week.
2pm – 7pm Bruno goes out into the forest to photograph bark and leaf textures.

Week 1: Thursday

10am – 1pm Rehearsals and warm up at Forest Arts in New Milton. Start to integrate motion capture dance material into the rehearsals, research and development of what was found in the field. Develop movement material as a direct result of working in the Forest. See how this applies to the movement in the virtual environment. What differs, what will works in the forest, what will work with the motion capture kit?
1pm – 2pm Company meet to discuss location for the day.
2pm – 7pm Wilverly Film in Forest

Week1: Wednesday

10am – 1pm Jo and Ruth Rehearse and warm up at Forest Arts in New Milton. Decide that the movement material needs to be as close as possible to our animal studies and very minimal for the film to blend in with the environment (camouflage). Improvised dance sequences don’t work for the projects ideas particularly in the film studies. Bruno works with motion capture test files. Buys the Tree software and designs trees. Applies forest texture maps.
1pm – 2pm Company meet to discuss location for the day. Visit deer feeding part of animal research for movement material in the virtual environment.
2pm – 7pm Ornamental Drive Film in Forest

Week 1: Tuesday

Image of Artsway


10am – 1pm Jo and Ruth Rehearse and warm up at Forest Arts in New Milton. Ruth buys extra costume material in an Army shop in New Milton. Bruno works with motion capture test files. Locates New Tree software on the web and tests it out. Bruno orders Ghillie suit for main costume. Applies Texture maps.
1pm – 2pm Company meet to discuss location for the day. Look at Film footage to see what works on camera, and anticipate what will work in the mc suit.
2pm – 7pm Bolderwood Film in Forest

Week 1: Monday

10am – 1pm Jo and Ruth Rehearse and warm up at Forest Arts in New Milton. Try out the dance themes (still movements and very fast travelling sequences). Bruno works with motion capture test files. Designs trees. Start making 3d environment.
1pm – 2pm Meeting, Schedule, Weather reports. Plan the week ahead.
2pm – 7pm Explore locations and movement material in trial costumes in the New Forest.
Head off to Bolderwood, Ornamental Drive and Wilverly.