We will start working with the Motion Capture equipment on the Black Box Theater, but first we need to learn how to use and get ideas on what we want to do.

Mood board

Following my latest projects, I want to keep on exploring themes on identity, representation and expression. For this, I created a mood board that draws inspiration on three different dimensions, according on the full playground that this technology enables, and tries to guide where my efforts will go on this class: Motion, Space and Themes.

Capturing the performer’s motion is the central theme of the class, so it would be a missing chance not trying to enhance this dimension. As the movements are recorded as simple data, I want to replay these moments delayed in time. By using particle systems or smoke-like ghosts, I want the past movement of the user to haunt them, giving them the chance to interact with their past actions, reflect on their own decisions or just observe the past.

I want the space to give out a dream-like quality of wonder and exploration. At the same time, it has to allow the enhancement of the motion and what it brings to the experience. I drew inspiration from some video games: Journey for it’s highly stylized and marvelous environments; The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess‘ Arbiter’s Grounds for it’s tower structures and the Coliseum structure on the top; and Final Fantasy XV‘s Altissia also for the circular buildings and fantastic architecture.

Finally, the themes to explore have to bear relation to the space and movement described before. Through the space I want to push the users to discover and interact by using their motion. This will act as a very personal form of expression, which will be reflected back to them in an attempt to establish and discover their own identity.

Crawl before you walk: setting up the system

This week’s lab aimed for us to become familiar with the system and to know how to properly set it up. This was a great experience to refresh what we saw Kat and Todd did during the class and see if we had any doubts on the process by exposing us to do it ourselves.