the tests turned out to be quite easy and gives me confidence for more elaborate tests and final outcome.

For the professional project I set out with the aim to create and showcase live projections for an outdoor environment. The difference with the projections I wanted to achieve and that of other outdoor projections is that I wanted the ability to walk around while projecting to add more spontaneity. Creating the opportunity for this type of projecting was really good to look into as it is rarely seen in today’s digital media industry and still evokes a great reaction from the public. After M-O-T-H TV came to visit us for the day back in February I’ve been interested in this kind of projection, from looking at all their prior events and the projections going down really well I wanted to try it for myself. When the chance came up for doing a light installation for ‘LumenOrtis Artificial Light’ a light show around Bournemouth Gardens for artists all round the country.

Three Arts and Events management students from the Arts Institute, Poonam Dhanjal, Tom Clark and Eleanor Mottram headed the ‘LumenOrtis’ lightshow. The event aimed to highlight up and coming talent from across the country through the use of creative lighting with the theme of using eco friendly materials and power. The event took place on the 24th April and was a complete success. This event was the perfect prospect for trying out portable projection for myself. To make a better installation for the light show I joined three other students in my class, Filippa, Damien and Gary. Together they wanted to create light sculptures from cans and other recyclable materials. We wanted to set up a space between the bushes and trees where the lights would sit naturally. With the light sculptures and my projections I was excited to start experimenting with ideas of what to project.

After some deliberation with the group I came up with the idea of animating animals and insects you would find in your local woods and forests. Along with the Alice in Wonderland feel we were going for I knew our installation would come together nicely. As a big part of the project was to account for the time we spent and budget for daily rates as if we were commissioned to create a light installation for Bournemouth Gardens. I decided to budget my time accordingly as if I was working individually. Filippa and Damien concentrated on producing and budgeting for the light sculptures using L.E.D’s. At the start of the project I spent a lot of my time deciding what animals to animate and what style I wanted. Some experiments followed including hand drawing rabbits, humming birds, rats, foxes, squirrels and so on. I even projected footage and attempted to hand draw the walk cycles of squirrels to see if it would work. The end result was interesting but not what I felt would be classed as professional standard. I had to start thinking more about what I’ve learnt on After Effects and how I could incorporate the eco friendly theme and also link my animations to the rest of the group’s sculptures. Then it hit me after trying to animate a butterfly in 3D space on After Effects, make drinks cans the body of the animals I wanted to project. None of this however is accounted for in my budget, as it was still idea development. I only started budgeting when I started animating on after effects and sorting out all the equipment I would need to make a regular projector mobile. All in all I came in at just over budget from £2225 at £2704. This overall cost includes everything; Animating in After Effects, the hire of projector for two weeks prior the event for testing and final use, power supplies, cables and travel with overheads, contingency and fifteen percent profit. I feel that when I budget for real I will be a lot more scrupulous with the hours I spend working, a lot of my time on after effects was spent working out the ideal way to work. I had to figure out what I already knew to an animation style I hadn’t tried before.

As for the light show itself, the event went off without a hitch. We arrived at Bournemouth Gardens on Saturday 24th April to set up the lights and sculptures only to be told we now had to fill a much larger space, half of the left bank of the gardens. We were surprised to say the least but got on with it and when were done it looked great, now with more open areas to project which was perfect for me. Night drew in and our installation got quite a bit of interest and the public for the most part enjoyed the light sculptures lighting up the trees and shrubbery. Then it was my turn to project, the first showing was pretty nerve racking for me but I wasn’t worried for long after my first showing went perfectly, in fact a little boy ran around chasing my projections which the public found really funny and after that I felt really confident about my animations. As the power supply I bought for the light show didn’t last as long as it advertised I couldn’t project for as long as I had hoped. I had a couple more viewings and on the last viewing I even got some applause, which felt good. There were a few aspects I liked more than others such as the fish I animated out of plastic bottles, I got the best reaction from projecting the fish onto the stream running through the middle of the gardens. If I had a few more weeks and the funds to refine the power supply I would love to project again and I’ve heard theirs some interest for the projections and light sculptures to be set up at a night club in Bournemouth. This shows there is definite public interest for this unique combination of lighting sculptures and free roam digital projections.

Reference for the wing cycle of a dragonfly, came in handy!