NAVIGATE / SPACE

Create a space and a method to navigate through it.
Carefully consider different possible types of space and unique ways to navigate.
Implement your software as a full-screen application in Processing.
You may work individually or with a partner.
There are five phases: research, software sketches, prototype, refinement / demo, document.

Calendar
04 Feb - Introduction
06 Feb - Discussion, Studio
11 Feb - * Visual research due
13 Feb - Studio
18 Feb - (No class, President's Day)
20 Feb - * Software sketches due
25 Feb - Studio
27 Feb - * Prototype due
03 Mar - Studio (Casey in NYC)
05 Mar - Studio (Casey in NYC)
10 Mar - Studio
12 Mar - * Refinement / Demo due
19 Mar - * Documentation due


Phase 1, Research (Due 11 February, 5 points)
Generate and collect visual material related to your concept. This material should inform your concept development and should also serve as a foundation for the visual language of your final software. Condense your research and present it as 10 carefully composed 1024 x 768 images. Make a post to the SC site that features your images.

Phase 2, Software Sketches (Due 20 February, 10 points)
Divide your project into three independent software challenges. Rise to each challenge and write a piece of software for each.

Phase 3, Prototype (Due 27 February, 10 points)
Integrate your three software sketches into one piece of software. Bring a working prototype of your code to class on 27 February. It can be visually rough, but the software and interface should be working.

Phase 4, Refinement / Demo (Due 12 March, 20 points)
Complete refinements to the software and prepare it for demonstration. Create a full-screen application for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows and post these and screen shots to the SC site.

Phase 5, Document (Due 19 March, 5 points)
Document your software as a short 720 x 480 pixel QuickTime movie using H.264 compression. Consider visually enhancing your software for this animation. Post a Flash video version and a text description to the SC site. For the ambitious, additionally document your work as a 1920 x 1080 pixel movie.


//

REFERENCES
(This is not an exhaustive list, please add relevant projects as comments)

Film:
Touch of Evil, Opening Scene (1958)
2001, Stargate Sequence (1968)
Blade Runner, Hologram Navigation (1982)

Video Games:
BattleZone (1980)
Zaxxon (1982) <>
Super Mario Brothers (1985)
DOOM (1993) <>
Super Mario Galaxy (2007)

Video / Photo Research:
Invisible Shape of Things Past (1995)
Khronos Projector (2005)
Photosynth (2007)

Text:
Visual Thesaurus

// This is general, simple code for each element to be "aware"
// of every other element. Specifically, it draws a line from each
// node to every other node.


Node[] nodes;

void setup() {
size(600, 600);
nodes = new Node[6];
for (int i = 0; i < nodes.length; i++) {
nodes[i] = new Node(random(width), random(height), 10, nodes, i);
}
}

void draw() {
for (int i=0; i < nodes.length; i++) {
nodes[i].connect();
nodes[i].display();
}
}

class Node {
float x;
float y;
float diameter;
Node[] otherNodes;
int id;

Node (float xin, float yin, float din, Node[] others, int idin) {
x = xin;
y = yin;
diameter = din;
otherNodes = others;
id = idin;
}

void connect() {
for (int i=id; i < nodes.length; i++) {
line(x, y, otherNodes[i].x, otherNodes[i].y);
}
}

void display() {
ellipse(x, y, diameter, diameter);
}

}

FILL / SPACE

Develop a generative, emergent process to fill space (2D or 3D) using only black lines.
Modify a known process or invent your own.
Implement your process as object-oriented, full-screen software, in Processing.
You may work individually or with a partner.
There are five phases: research, concept, prototype, refine, document.

Calendar
14 Jan. Research Presentations
16 Jan. Concept due, small group discussion
21 Jan. (No class, MLK Day)
23 Jan. Prototype due, small group discussion
28 Jan. Refinement due, class discussion
30 Jan. Print samples due, small group discussion
04 Feb. Documentation due, class discussion


Phase 1, Research (Due 14 January, 4 points)
A 6:40 presentation (pecha kucha style) on a research topic assigned in class on 9 January (see below.) Work in pairs. All twenty 1024 x 768 jpg files must be bundled into one PDF and placed on the course server by 9pm on Sunday, 13 January. Make the first slide a title slide with your names and the topic. Name the document after your topic (e.g. CellularAutomata.pdf). Please make the presentations very visual and enjoyable.

Phase 2, Concept (Due 16 January, 4 points)
Before class on 16 January, make a post to the SC site explaining the concept for your software; include text and images. We'll discuss ideas about translating your concept into software during class. I recommend that most of you build on a known emergent process and that you modify existing code (there are hundreds of examples online). Read units Structure 4 and Structure 5 of Processing to learn/remember object-oriented programming.

Phase 3, Prototype (Due 23 January, 8 points)
Bring a working prototype of your code to class on 23 January. It can be visually rough, but the process should be working.

Phase 4, Refine (Due 28 January, 12 points)
Make process and visual refinements to the software. Using the Processing video library, make a 640 x 480 QuickTime movie (H.264 compression) of your software and save it as a Flash video. Post the video and a text description to the SC site.

Phase 5, Document (Due 04 February, 12 points)
Document your emergent process as a 70cm x 100cm print. Bring print samples to class on 30 January and the final print framed on 04 February. Post your final image and a text description to the SC site.


Research Topics

01. Cellular Automata (1D, 2D, etc.)
02. Autonomous Agents
03. Swarm Intelligence
04. Artificial Life
05. Genetic Algorithms
06. Fractal Geometry
07. Game of Life
08. L-systems Plants
09. Boids
10. Braitenberg Vehicles

Due 9 January 2008

1. Find an image at the Space Collective that you find fascinating.
2. Search for and find an image within the context of the Space Collective that has not been posted.

Research both images and verbally present your findings in class on the 9th. When you get your Space Collective account, make this information your first post.

CONTEXT
+ Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, & the Economic World by Kevin Kelly
+ Turtles, Termites, and Traffic Jams: Explorations in Massively Parallel Microworlds by Mitchel Resnick
+ Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software by Steven Johnson
+ The Computational Beauty of Nature: Computer Explorations of Fractals, Chaos, Complex Systems, and Adaptation by Gary William Flake
+ Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychology by Valentino Braitenberg
+ A New Kind of Science by Stephen Wolfram
+ Network Practices by Anthony Burke and Therese Tierney
+ Programming Cultures: Architecture, Art and Science in the Age of Software Development (Architectural Design) by Mike Silver

PROCESSING & PROGRAMMING
+ Processing: A Programming Handbook for Visual Designers and Artists by Casey Reas, Ben Fry
+ Processing: Creative Coding and Computational Art (Foundation) by Ira Greenberg
+ Visualizing Data by Ben Fry
+ The Nature of Code by Dan Shiffman
+ Foundation ActionScript Animation: Making Things Move! (Foundation) by Keith Peters
+ Processing @ del.icio.us
+ Processing @ Vimeo
+ Processing @ Flickr
+ Processing Discourse

BLOGS
+ Generator.x
+ Visual Complexity

DESMA 152A/252A: Programming Media I
UCLA Department of Design | Media Arts
Professor C.E.B. Reas
TA Aaron Siegel

Time: Monday & Wednesday 9:00–12:00
Location: Broad Art Center, 4220

This course is a continued introduction to creating images and interaction within the context of software. Each student’s foundation in basic programming will serve as a platform for further exploration. This course is designed for students with previous computer programming experience. The prerequisite for the class is DESMA 28 or equivalent experience. This is a collaborative studio class; we’re embarking on a group exploration and the Professor and TA are the guides.

The themes for this class are space and emergence. All work is situated within the context of the Space Collective . There are two projects for the quarter, but each has multiple parts. Project 1 is about filling space with an emergent process. Each student (or pair) will write an emergent software process and produce a print as final documentation. Project 2 is about navigating through space. Each student (or pair) will write software for navigating through a space. A rendered video will be produced as final documentation.

The grading is based on the Project 1 (40%), Project 2 (50%), and the participant’s active participation during the class meetings (10%). Projects will be evaluated based on their concept and quality of implementation. Feedback will be primarily qualitative but numeric scores will also be given. More than two absences without the Professor or TA’s prior permission will lower the participants final grade by one unit (e.g. an A will become an B). With each additional unexcused absence, the grade will drop an additional unit. All exercises must be completed to pass the course. In addition, participants must attend at least three D|MA sponsored lectures during the quarter.

The grade breakdown follows:
40% Project 1
50% Project 2
10% Participation