Being Introduced To Immersive Labs
Immersive media and art is probably the newest and most innovative way to present products and engage with an audience in a variety of different ways. Even though some immersive platforms have been around for a long time such as branching narratives or games, a lot of the technical advances and productions have been what has advanced the newer aspects of immersion within the media. This has been done in numerous ways from new game engines being developed, to include VR, AR or XR, to new technologies such as the Meta Quest 3 which allows for better pass-through and immersion into a VR environment.
Through these Immersive Lab experiences we learnt several of these different softwares and what these technologies, platforms and softwares are capable of. So, when being introduced to immersive media we started off with projection softwares. Projection is a powerful immersive tool that can be used in numerous ways to engage and immerse an audience with specific locations.
Impressions on and Learning about Projection Mapping
One major immersive technology or event that uses immersion would be projection mapping. This uses projectors and spatial augmented reality to fully engage with an audition in a location based environment event. Projection mapping can be used for a range of different things from creating object based illuminations, lighting, presenting art onto objects, bringing art into a 3D environment, creating location based animation and a range of other creative projects. As this is such a powerful tool it would be useful to know how it works and what could be created within the different softwares that are made for these techniques.
Projection mapping has allowed animations,designs and other art to come to life within real world environments such as the sides of buildings. Unlike other software’s projection mapping, such as madmapper, it uses real objects as its main interactive elements. Using projection to demonstrate art on a larger scale, or even a small scale around an audience. So when trying out this technique of projection mapping, I played with the software Madmapper. Although this software is not as powerful as some projection mapping softwares it manages to allow exploration of projecting on objects within a room and possibly could perform on a larger scale.
Even though I did not do much experimentation with projection mapping, the idea of using it as project art or animation would be a huge deal that I would need to further explore, possibly experiment with this further either in my own time or as part of a future project. As I want to find innovative ways of bringing my art to life I am definitely considering this to be a valuable technique to do this. However, I did not create enough time to experiment enough with it, both with the software and the technology involved, during this time. I would, despite this, consider it to be a beautiful way to demonstrate and display an interactive or immersive art piece.
Despite having limited experimentation I wanted to learn how to use the software and what projection mapping is capable of. By doing this it allowed me to gain relevant knowledge on how I could create with these techniques and create a project surrounding the technology, so despite not having much time to work with the software I am aware of how it works and what to do when forming a projection mapping project whether big or small.
Along with this projection mapping can be used to present art in a way that art has never been presented before. This allowing a new way to observe and be immersed within an art piece that normal still art often can not produce. As someone who has studied and creates art I wanted to look into how this is done and if I could design a piece that would captivate an audience within a locations, that could tell a story and that could be immersive in a location based environment as well.
So, in order to learn how to do this I started to learn two major projection mapping software's, Madmapper and Isadora. Although these platforms are fundamentally different they can both use projectors or projection mapping in different ways.
So, to start off, I learned the basics of Isadora and then quickly moved on to trying to learn Madmapper, through being visually self teaching myself the different aspects for the platforms. So, once I had learnt the basics I could eventually experiment with the technology further and see if I can create a whole project within atleast one of the programs.
The Software's: MadMapper
The first software that I used was MadMapper which is a program that allows for you to take the real world environments and use projects and adjust where the projectors are projecting to fit an object, wall or space that you need. Along with this you can also take images and dimensions from event spaces that you are going to use and program the projects that way.
Madmapper was an interesting software to experiment as it allowed me to see how simple projections can be an effective way to immerse an audience. Learning the software I found that the program is capable of creating intense immersive projections. So, I originally looked into the software by finding guides on different ways to that it could be used, even though there are limitations to the power of this particular software, so I do not believe that it could create projects to the extreme that I have researched from companies such as Frameless (2023) or Marshmallow Laser Feast (2023). It is proficient in making projections on walls and objects. I currently have not tried if the software can project animations and so forth, however I believe that it has the capabilities of doing so.
Companies such as laser marshmallow feast have used projection mapping to accomplish the idea of being virtual worlds into physical spaces. They have made projects involving video projecting, projection mapping and spatial audio to immerse their audiences as well as creating environments that are beautiful to observe similarly to art in museums but modernised and stylised for projection mapping purposes.
So, ‘using projection mapping enables us to bring virtual worlds into shared physical spaces.’ (Siegl et al., 2015) which could allow the opportunity to project other environments into a room. Along with this this type of technology would be interesting to use to create and incorporate environmental art around an audience as well as characters, such as having a full 360 degree experience within a room using projectors so that people could be standing with an artist's work.
Testing The Software:
So, when we originally tested out the software I found for doing simple projections the software is pretty simplistic when working with one or two projectors and you can see what you are projecting onto in person. Once you have your projectors connected up in order to use the software within your environment you just simply have to adjust where you want the projection to be within the projectors range. I do know however that the software is capable of pre-designing where you will be putting your projections and how many projectors you could need. I found that this can be done by inputting the photo of the building, object or place that you want to be projecting, so therefore you just have to set up where the projectors need to be.
Pros, Cons and Thoughts:
In spite of the fact I only used the demo version of this software it is powerful enough to do simple projects with projection mapping. However, it does have some limitations as it is only the demo, so it does not withstand projections without the input and output being watermarked and the space scanner resolution limited. Whilst there are limitations the software can be used in a way that would be effective for an audience to be immersed in an environment.
A really positive aspect of this software is that it is simple and you can easily adjust the projections within your environment with little trouble. I think that being able to create even simple projects could be an effective way of making an immersive project. I would like to explore projection mapping further, maybe with an animation ingrained within an environment.
After doing basic tests of the software, I understand the basics of how to do projection mapping and could definitely be able to create a project with it. However, I could definitely develop my skills further to gain more skills within the software and be able to understand how to use these types of software's when creating bigger projects such as on buildings or bigger environments that could require multiple settings, projectors or so forth. I think attempting to create animations or art within a smaller environment that could immerse an audience would be a lot more achievable when doing a solo project.
However, if I were to try to attempt to do a larger scale project I would have to plan out how each projector would be placed. But I would start off by getting the information of the location, environment or building I were to do do the project on and then input a photo of it into the software and plan out where the projections need to be, alongside this I would create what would be projecting and then once I had adjusted each point of the different projectors to be angled and using the image of the location, I would then set it up in the location and see what needs to be adjusted on the day, before the event started.
Conclusion and final thoughts on the software:
So, after learning how to use the softwares and setting up the projectors, I think trying to create something that could project and try out as an overall project would be what I would need to accomplish next. As I know how to use the software fairly proficiently I believe that even with the limitations I could create an interesting immersive experience using my art or animations. Although I would not be able to create a piece as professional as Frameless, I could definitely attempt to create projections as close as possible. Despite there being limitations, mainly due to it being a free software, I could definitely want to try and use this software more within the future.
I also briefly experimented with softwares such as Isadora. Isadora can use motion tracking and can be connected to a projector and could definitely be used for a range of immersive products ranging from projection mapping to motion tracking to using sound with projectors.
The Software's II: Isadora
Isadora has many uses, he being interactive elements such as tracking movement or projection mapping. Its interface can connect to video, sound and other elements making it possible to form codes or elements to a project to ensure the overall outcome of projects come out smoother and flow more efficiently.
New immersive and interactive technologies are clearly shaping the future of the arts, projection mapping being a major part of this. I know that Isadora could definitely create an interesting aspect to normal projection mapping as you can program it into having motion detection projections through cameras, sound activated aspects and so forth. I only briefly used Isadora so I am unsure about all aspects that It is capable of doing, however I do know that although there are aspects of the software that is tricky it can be used to create impressive projects.
Conclusion:
To conclude with Isadora even though I only used this software very briefly I can definitely see the benefits of using the software for a twist using projectors. I would love to learn and experiment with this software more to form more of an opinion of it and see what more it could be capable of. Along with this I would also need to understand the software better and similarly to Madmapper I would need to experiment with the technology alongside the software, which I currently do not have access to as of right now. However, I am unsure whether I would use this software within further projects.
Conclusion on Projection Mapping:
To further sum up, projection mapping is a powerful immersive tool that I would undoubtedly want to explore further. The idea of using a real world space to immerse an audience is fascinating to me and using softwares such as Madmapper alongside the technology would certainly be a unique way to present art and animation. I would certainly explore the possibilities of presenting my art and stories in this way within the future for other projects and possibly experiment to see if I can include other techniques within the projections such as digital animation or zooming art.
References:
Bommarito, E. (2023). MadMapper - Projection Mapping Basics. [online] www.youtube.com/@emilybommarito. Available at: https://youtu.be/-NbJY4mU424?si=BFYGOZ36HLRxxAyy [Accessed 31 Dec. 2023].
Frameless (2023). Home - Frameless. [online] frameless.com. Available at: https://frameless.com/ [Accessed 31 Dec. 2023].
Glenton, R. (2023). Rey’s Projects [Social Media Links]. [online] bio.link. Available at: https://bio.link/talesfromtherain [Accessed 4 Jan. 2024].
Limelight (2019). Top11 3D Projection Mapping Artworks. [online] www.youtube.com/@Limelightart. Available at: https://youtu.be/jtFthRSqRwQ?si=_0QoiSFVUFY6ujmk [Accessed 31 Dec. 2023].
LumaBox (2021). MadMapper House Projection Mapping Walkthrough. [online] www.youtube.com/@LumaBox. Available at: https://youtu.be/YVgUWpfaRNU?si=o4TgrbXVJDDv7iDQ [Accessed 31 Dec. 2023].
Marshmallow Laser Feast (2023). Features. [online] Marshmallow Laser Feast. Available at: https://marshmallowlaserfeast.com/ [Accessed 31 Dec. 2023].
Siegl, C., Colaianni, M., Thies, L., Thies, J., Zollhöfer, M., Izadi, S., Stamminger, M. and Bauer, F. (2015). Real-time pixel luminance optimization for dynamic multi-projection mapping. ACM Transactions on Graphics, [online] 34(6), pp.1–11. doi:https://doi.org/10.1145/2816795.2818111.
Troikatronix (2023). Isadora and IzzyCast Demo - Prolight + Sound 2023. [online] www.youtube.com/@troikatonix. Available at: https://youtu.be/mObxmEInPqc?si=RQzdv-KsUC0sAcqT [Accessed 31 Dec. 2023].
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