Narrowing the F(o)cus

Monday we have guest critics, the design faculty from RISD coming in to listen to our proposals and see our work. I have been focusing on the history section of the website and doing a lot of research on how to visually show large chunks of time and information on a roughly 800x600 pixel area. I have 200 years where things are constantly happening, as well as information that goes back to 3 BC when people were first realizing how the eye works, which I want to show how the science/medical fields are tied into the idea of stereoscopy.

So I think now I am going to treat this as a visual information piece, maybe it would live within a web site, but I am not going to focus on building out an entire working website. I am thinking that the information has to be interactive and not just a passive movie-like experience.

"I first began to focus on the history section of the website I became aware that I was dealing with the 4th Dimension, time. As a designer interested in web design, interactivity, and motion graphics I thought that figuring out how to navigate through a vast amount of time and information on a screen was an problem that I was interested in solving. As of today I am heading in the direction of just trying to solve this problem and focusing less on the rest of the website. So my proposal might become: How do you show/navigate through time in order to show large amounts of information on a screen-based medium such as a website?"

History Section Timeline

For the history section I am going to create an interactive timeline. To navigate through time you simply roll over mouse over the time "wheel" on the left. As you move through this wheel the text box and the image box will move forward and backwards in space—corresponding to your position on the time "wheel". 

Each spot in time will have a head-line, which is simply the date, and a large pull-quote placed below the boxes, so that people can quickly get the point without having to read everything. 

The text box and image box are set up in separate boxes to correspond with the "cross-view" method of viewing images stereoscopically. There will be a button to the right of the image to turn the image into a stereoscopic cross-viewable image, in which case the receding boxes fade away along with the text in the left box, and a stereographic image appears. 

There is also a "learn how" button. When pressed directions on how to view the image in 3D animate in. 

I see some of these dates having corresponding videos that will live in the right hand square, and if I can figure out how to do it—they will be able to be seen in 3D also! 

A Flashtastic Day

I downloaded the trail version of Adobe Flash CS4 the other day, and signed up for a Lynda.com account today so I can start to learn the program. I have a little experience using Flash CS3 but have never really had the time to delve into it as much as I would have liked to. Anyways since a new version is out I decided that if I'm going to spend the time to learn it I might as well be learning the most up to date version. Also in CS4 you can now move objects in 3D space which you never could before without 3rd party plugins, which is awesome and reminds me of After Effects, which I have spent a lot of time using. 

So I spent all day, about 9 hours, watching the first video set "Flash CS4 Essential Training", taking notes, and following along with the videos in Flash. I feel pretty comfortable with the program already! The end started getting into Actionscript 3.0, which I think I will watch tomorrow and really fry my brain. 

Print design is kind of boring to me right now so I'm glad to be learning motion and interactivity.  Hopefully I can grasp enough action script to pull off a kick-ass web site. 

On a side note: I am researching how other people handle showing timeline on the web. I have to show about 180 years worth of information, where things are constantly happening, on a 15" screen. I think it's a really cool problem to solve and make it fully understandable, interesting, eye-catching, and fun. 

Getting Back to the ID(K)EA

So I keep on talking about how I want this project to "educate, educate, educate" and my professor suggested that I check out WGBHs website, since their purpose is to educate. After looking through the site—something that has been in the back of mind came forward. 

I've decided to add a twist to the project that hopefully make it seem a little more robust. Instead of having it just focus on stereoscopy from the beginning, this will be the new context for the site:

"Welcome to inDepth.

The purpose of this site is to
educate technology enthusiests,
and designers about new
technologies that may someday
be a part of our everyday lives.

Each month a new technology will
be showcased and a library of this
information will be built for future
generations to draw from."

And from there I will then focus on stereoscopy. The topic for the "first month" will be stereoscopy. The goal will be to give technology enthusiasts and designers an inDepth look at the history, the present day and to peer into the future of this technology. 

The focus will be on the different uses and possible uses for 3D. It will ask questions as well as answer them—does it make sense to use 3D in motion graphics, web sites, in print? What are the benefits, the drawbacks? Does 3D really add to the movie going experience? Looking at the history we will see the ups and downs that stereoscopy has gone through—the niches, if you will. 

Do people want to buy all new technology to see movies in 3D in their homes?

After the Blu-Ray vs. HD format do people want to go through a 2D vs. 3D format war?

Will television studios and movies studios back the technology? 

The information will be presented in an experimental format at times—like if we are asking the question, "does it make sense to use 3D in motion graphics?", then it would make sense to make parts of this section in 3D motion graphics, and so on, and so on....

Reading / Constructing a Timeline

I've been busy reading "Stereoscopic Cinema and the Origins of 3D Film" and building a timeline that blends the history of stereoscopy in film found in the book along with the history of stereoscopic photography, and the history documenting humans learning about binocular vision and how our eyes are able to see depth. 

Going to watch 24!...

Journey to the Center of the Earth

So I bought the movie Journey to the Center of the Earth, the 3D version, and just got a chance to watch it. It came with 4 pairs of glasses with green/red lenses. They convert 3D movies into this analgraph version with the two colored lenses, because TV sets can't display the 3D using the method that they do at theaters. The movie itself was pretty good but the green/red glasses made the colors really washed out and the 3D was pretty blurry. Wish I got to see this one at the theater! O well...

Nothing

Today was a wash...

Motion Sketches for Video Intros

Today I presented my work to class and got some good feedback. I am going to start some new ideas for the website layout so I don't just get stuck on one direction. 

In the meantime I had an idea for an introduction to the videos. I was thinking that the intro would be modeled after the "cross-view" method of viewing stereoscopic images. In this method there are 2 images and when you cross your eyes, a third image appears in the middle, when you focus on this image your eyes process it as a 3D image. It takes your eyes a minute to focus on the third image, so it is blurry at first. The logo here would act in the same way, starting off as 2 separate images and then merging into one, which is blurry at first, and then comes into focus!

Website Design No.2 :: Refining Sketches

Today I worked on refining the website sketches, putting the navigation into different layers in illustrator so that I can easily click though them tomorrow in class. I'm thinking of getting rid of the first layer of navigation, EDUCATE — but keeping EXPERIMENT on the far right of the page to keep it a separate little part of the site.

I'm going to join Lynda.com and start learning everything that I am going to need to know in order to actually build the site in Flash. I want there to be a lot of smooth animations between the pages and in the navigation. I'm also looking at putting a RSS feed into the homepage so that other info about 3D will be fed into my site, and reformatted to match my layout styles. Not sure how the hell to do it yet, or if it can be done in Flash, or if I need to use HTML. 

I was having a discussion with my professor last class and he suggested that I should choose to either put my time into the videos that I want to make for the site, or the site itself—I'm going to try to do both though, hope it doesn't bite me in the ass later...

inDEPTH

The project now has an official name/brand and logo: inDEPTH. Things are picking up today even though I'm running on 3 hours of sleep. The first website sketch/design for the homepage is almost complete, and the site architecture has been laid out and there is a lot of information to cover. Right now I'm working on placing the information I have into buckets so that it is more organized, and less overwhelming...

Sleepless Last Night

Worked too late on this last night—and when I tried to stop, and lay down to go to sleep; my mind was racing with thoughts, ideas, questions, and worries...so much to think about.

Design Exploration:: Website Design Sketches

This week my goal is to begin design exploration. I am going to explore 3 different directions and come up with 3 different formats for my project.

My first idea is a website that contain a mixture of body text, images, illustrations, and movies/motion graphics to explain and explore the subject [each section using one, or a mix of these mediums, depending on what best suits the topic]. 

Since I am dealing with not only the history of stereoscopy, but also the present and future, a website makes sense because it can be updated fairly easy, is easily accessed by anyone with a computer, and is interactive, making it a better learning tool.

O, I also came up with a [working] name and logo for the project :: inDEPTH. Things may change in the future, but for now I dig it!

Vicarious

The packaging for the band TOOL's video for the song "Vicarious", which was released on DVD, contained stereoscopic lenses and artwork. The packaging was designed by the bands guitarist and art director, Adam Jones.

Blood like rain fallin' down
Drum on grave and ground

Part vampire, part warrior,
Carnivore and voyeur
Stare at the transmittal.
Sing to the death rattle.

La, la, la, la, la, la, la-lie

Definition

Stereoscopy, stereoscopic imaging or 3D imaging is any technique capable of recording three-dimensional visual information or creating the illusion of depth in an image. The illusion of depth in a photograph, movie, or other two-dimensional image is created by presenting a slightly different image to each eye. Many 3D displays use this method to convey images. It was first discovered by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1840. 

Stereoscopy is used in photogrammetry and also for entertainment through the production of stereograms. Stereoscopy is useful in viewing images rendered from large multi-dimensional data sets such as are produced by experimental data. 

Traditional stereoscopic photography consists of creating a 3-D illusion starting from a pair of 2D images. The easiest way to create depth perception in the brain is to provide the eyes of the viewer with two different images, representing two perspectives of the same object, with a minor deviation similar to the perspectives that both eyes naturally receive in binocular vision.

Wikipedia

Journal :: Printed Version Concept No.1

Movie Review :: Coraline // Viewing Method No.2

I went and saw the movie Coraline last night and it was mind-blowing! It is the first stop-animation movie ever filmed in Stereoscopic 3D. 

On a side-note I just read that TOOL is filming their latest music video, for the song "The Pot", using this same technique! Awesomeness. 

How they do it :: Circularly Polarized Glasses

To present a stereoscopic motion picture, two images are projected superimposed onto the same screen through circular polarizing filters of opposite handedness. The viewer wears low-cost eyeglasses which contain a pair of analyzing filters (circular polarizers mounted in reverse) of opposite handedness. Light that is left-circularly polarized is extinguished by the right-handed analyzer; while right-circularly polarized light is extinguished by the left-handed analyzer. The result is similar to that of steroscopic viewing using linearly polarized glasses; except the viewer can tilt his head and still maintain left/right separation.

Real D Cinema System (used recently with the stereoscopic Disney movie, "Chicken Little 3D") uses electronically driven circular polarizers that alternate between left- and right- handedness, and does so in sync with the left or right image being displayed by the (digital) movie projector.

Wikipedia

Viewing Method No.1 :: Cross Viewing

View my desk in 3D!

To view images in 3D :: cross your eyes until a composite image forms in the middle. Then focus on the center image until it becomes clear. This is not an easy technique, some people can master it in less than a few minutes, others take more time, and a small percentage of people can't see them at all. Once you get used to this method it will only take seconds to see images in 3D. 

Research! Research! Research!

Just checked the mail today and my book from Amazon came in! It is "Stereoscopic Imagery and the Origins of 3D Film", by Ray Zone. I also finally found the 3D version of the movie "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and bought it at Walmart [Free Yo-Yo Included Yo]. 

I am also going to see the new movie "Coraline" this weekend with Rachel. It is the first stop-action animated movie to be filmed in 3D! I just read some reviews that the movie has the best 3D to date so I'm siked to see it, plus the movie just looks really cool. 

Here are some quotes from rottentomatoes :: 

"The 3D effects aren't overdone but are used intelligently to make this world come brilliantly to life."

"A fine-looking 3D stop-motion fantasy that 4 years of top-flight craftsmanship can produce."

Stuck on Motion Graphics

So last class I presented a Visual Context/Mood board where I had to answer a list of questions about the project as well as present visual research. After answering the questions I began to second guess if what this project is REALLY about. I want to use this time I have to develop a project that showcases what it is that I want to do when I finish school—which right now is Motion Graphics. But I began [over]thinking asking "Is the subject, STEREOSCOPY, just a some crap-shoot subject that exists just to make some cool Motion Graphics—is there any real substance in the topic itself?"...

The Beginning::A Journal

Hello. 

My name is Neal Fassnacht, I am a senior Graphic Design major at UMass Dartmouth. I am currently taking my last and only class that I need for my Bachelors Degree! Woohoo! The class is Graphic Design 6, and our responsibilities for this class is to create a "Degree Project" over the course of a the semester. 

The degree project is a mini-thesis project, where each student gets to explore whatever aspect of design and whatever topic interests them. I have chosen the topic of STEREOSCOPY or 3D imagery. 

There are 2 main Goals [right now] for this project, they are to:

EDUCATE

Educate people about stereoscopy: the history, the scientific aspects, uses/possible uses

EXPERIMENT

Experiment with stereoscopy as a tool, in graphic design and motion graphics, to help people understand complex ideas. 

This is a journal that will try to update daily to document everything that is in my head in regards to this project. When the project is complete I will take all of my posts and use them to help me design a book documenting the process of my degree project.