Preparing for projector night was exciting and fun (only the slightest bit nerve wracking)! VPT is a great tool that allows for so many more options that I would have thought in projection. Quickly I loved the idea that one could import multiple videos and combine them in different arrangements in order to make something different. At the beginning of using VPT I enjoyed using the live camera combined with pre-made videos. The idea that a person could walk into a projection and see themselves is simple but could be a powerful tool. I played around with the camera feature in class and ended up with a still image of my eyes overlooking the classroom from above. Only slightly disturbing but it allowed me to play around with other tools VPT offers like blur edge , masking, and blend modes.
The idea I went into projection night with was: display a central video then surround that video with others and utilize blend mode and blue edges to make the videos appear as seamless as possible. The videos around my central video were the same composition but without the kinetic text. The only thing I didn’t catch was that there were a few seconds at one point in which main color in the central video changes to an orangey color but the surrounding videos stayed blue. This made for a little odd appearance but not a totally mismatched one. Something I wish I had thought about before going into Projection night was that my use of blurred edges would perhaps eat up some of the text in the central video. Simply, if I centered the text a little more in After Effects the blurred edges would have appeared a little bit cleaner.
Overall I was very happy with the end product of my projection and happy with my planning. My video viewed to loop seamlessly- another aspect I enjoyed. It is difficult to be completely satisfied with any of my projects. I always go back and think, oh well if i did this… or did that.., but over all I got more done with the time I had than I thought I would.
Projector Night itself was not absent of pressure. The idea that I could not create the projection in VPT before hand did scare me. I prepared myself earlier and allowed myself more time before class to play with my projection in VPT and get it to look how I would have wanted but it is always different once the projector is on. I closed out and started over at one point because I became frustrated with what I had done. I wanted to create something that was interesting to look at more than anything. I hope all the people who experienced my projection felt the least bit interested in all the colors, shapes, and different moving parts of it. It helped to step away from my projection for a while and experience the projections of my talented classmates. It was a fun and inspiring night.
Projecting was a much more of a fun experience that I would have thought. I would have liked to play around a little bit more with masking and with creating shapes out of my animations as well. If I am able to project again in the future I would most certainly like to work a little bit more with the architecture of a building and space. I also enjoyed the concept that the viewer can become much more of a participant in the projection through the use of the live camera option on VPT. It is in this similar sense that the kinetic text is quite demanding. It tells you what to do, and I wanted to give limited space when reading it. It is simple, odd, and I hope these things were the littlest bit conveyed to all who viewed the projection.
