Real Deal Video

Here it is, my first ever film...sniff sniff.
I won't get too choked up, the editing has left a lot to be desired for and I'm doubting whether it makes any sense.
So on that note, here for the first time ever, A Yossra Omar Picture...for your viewing pleasure (Big props for Emily, my lead star)

Test Shots

Here are some shots i have recorded on my phone. Just trying some things out, testing the water if you will. Features the amazing Gulistan and Sumena (thanks for helping out)
I had the 'citizen sensor'in mind when doing these test shots, where for instance Gulistan would scan the QR and then answer or pose questions or statements in regards to her immediate environment.

Come aboard the storyboard

Trying to fit my ideas in actual contexts, so I started to storyboard some ideas.

1,  2,  3

4, 5, 6

6, 7

8, 9

My own little QR..

I made a QR code that is linked directly to this very blog!
Exciting stuff, but so surprisingly fuss-free.
It makes me wonder why everyone hasn't  got several of these yet. Hmm......

Commuting to & throe

Thinking about commuting and particularly as that moment to try exploit.
So here is someone's average London journey to work via underground. Something for me to chew on....




Got me thinking about the amount Londoners spend on daily transport, commuting to and throe.
I tried to find some stats about the average time the londoner spends sitting (or getting jostled) in transport and importantly how many months or even years is spent doing so as a result. Strangely enough, I had no luck.
But I came across a website that had some interesting stats on the affect of ads placed on the underground and buses on travellers.
Could prove useful considering the QR code effectiveness in getting people responding to it.

This (London) audience is constantly bombarded with advertising messages but how prevalent is ad avoidance? Which ones are achieving cut through?

A variety of methodologies were used to achieve the research including online questionnaires, travel surveys using PDAs and also ethnographic sections and interviews. 90% of the survey respondents lived within the M25.

Key facts:

• Buses and the Underground are icons of London, ahead of Nelson’s Column and other media such as the Evening Standard and Capital FM.
• The London commuter feels that there is too much advertising on TV and on the Internet but welcomes the advertising on Buses and the Tube, more so than any other media.
• Tube advertising with its captive environment provides a welcome and non-interruptive distraction. 87% of LCs prefer the Tube with advertising and ¾ have actually stood closer to a Tube poster to see it better.
• 73% of LCs also prefer buses to have advertising, which is far higher than the next most popular media with advertising, cinema at only 42%
• The problem of ad avoidance is highest amongst LCs on the Internet and radio, and is smallest for Tube and Bus.
• 58% of heavy Tube users have followed up a Tube ad, highlighting the Underground’s ability to drive response due to its captive audience and the dwell time with its media. 
• Amongst all London commuters the Tube beats radio, the Evening Standard, Metro and all other outdoor formats for its response levels.

The PDA section gave a good highlight into people’s behaviour whilst on the Underground and it provided some interesting statistics:

• 91% of LCs notice when poster ads change on the Tube.
• People are a lot calmer than previously thought despite the stereotypical frenetic nature of the system.
• People generally felt that Underground site types had good positioning, were visible and very few people found them dirty.

QR Technology

QR?
Those strange black n white block shapes you see dotted around everywhere.
Well, these shapes are nifty little so & so's.
You've probably passed 20 of them in a single commute, and had 15 of them right under your nose whilst reading your morning paper

Although they are mainly used for marketing purposes, they are great for their discreet and almost elusive quality which is refreshing when considering how agressive & garish ads are increasingly being. As well as as being economic in that you only require little ad space or printing costs to produce.

social clubs on the go

Flash Mobs not subtle enough you say...

Cooking up ideas

I've been thinking about what is that Im setting out to achieve with this project and where and how I should do this.

Still pretty vague... I'll set it out as what will be my objective(s)

• Make the public realm a far more engaging place to be
• Utilise the (unavoidable periods of time in between our daily lives

Further thought, is to perhaps create a platform that can gather, collate and eventually galvanize people in those given moments. To try firstly initiate and facilitate a 'share an experience, thought etc" moment in places which we physically share.

"the best kinda mob is a flashing mob, you hear"

Theres no excuse for not knowing what exactly a 'Flash Mob' is. Even old Nora here knows the lowdown on it. 

They've been around long enough, first rallied up apparently by some senior editor from Harpers magazine (although I think thats too much credit, forms of it have been around since the sixities), which was organised back in 2003, which by the standards of an earlier post ("Well,    I never...") thats almost like 50 years ago.

Wikipedia's (aka Gospel) take on it:

 A flash mob (or flashmob)^[1] is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and artistic expression.

Essentially the genius is in its manner they're organised...telecommunications, social media or viral emails making it appear very fast and prompt, which makes it similar to a...well, a flash flood I guess, instantaneous and swells a lot of folk in its path. Hard to resist it, if you're caught in one.

Roll the film...

Here are a few examples of Flash Mobs. Beware of those pesky commercial ads masquerading as ones (why I oughta....)




Which one's your fave??..

Lifts with lift off!!

Wow, if you couldnt help but smile at this video then frankly, you ain't human (just some species posing as one)
I loved this one because it totally annihilated that dreaded awkward moment made worse by that dreaded lift jingle! It's given me some  ideas...maybe I should capitalise on those very moments, those in-between periods that are not long nor short (just annoying) that we all inevitable share in our day-to-day lives.

You had me at...fun!

To get our juices flowing, we were shown Volkswagon 'Fun Theory' website.
A really great site that seem to resonate well with our project, but distinctly with the notion of it being... fun, Fun, FUN.

Really pleased to be shown this, as initially I was gearing towards a device that could perhaps cure the world of it's woeful ills, bring awareness to heavy underlying issues and something that could give Mahatma Ghandi a run for his money  ....you know, something simple like that.
So when we shown all the different ways that these sensors were ingeniously used...all in the name of fun, It got me thinking that fun can be good....its effective, its different and well its fun.

Here Volkswagon's little blurb on this folly...
"This site is dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better"

Well I never....

Here is a video I came across that hooked me instantly.
Its from "Shift Happens" (in partnership with the Economist) from 2009.
In a nut-shell its about our changing media landscape and how essentially its evolving in accelerating speed.....I mean light years speed! Its definitely got me thinking.
Great to watch if you're glutton for those nifty facts and stats.

Arduino Board

Arduino can sense the environment by receiving input from a variety of sensors and can affect its surroundings by controlling lights, motors, and other actuators.

The microcontroller on the board is programmed using the Arduino programming language (based on Wiring) and the Arduino development environment (based on Processing).


Arduino projects can be stand-alone or they can communicate with software running on a computer (e.g. Flash, Processing, MaxMSP). The boards can be built by hand or purchased preassembled; the software can be downloaded for free. The hardware reference designs (CAD files) are available under an open-source license, you are free to adapt them to your needs.

Here's one I made earlier...

Today in class we got shown how we can start implementing our self-assembled Arduino circuits and moreover its potential developments in actual technologic applications.

We talked about various sensors and was shown several mocked up versions including

• infra-red sensor (heat)
• pressure sensor
• spectrum sensor (colour)
• slider or dials (potentiometer)
• heart-rate sensor 

Pete brought out pre-assembled devices while we ooohed and ahhhed over them. I guess it was fascinating to actually see how the arduinos could physically work with these sensors and I think gave all of us food for thought. As you can imagine, there are an array of sensors measuring all sorts of data, so essentially the tip of an iceberg of possibilities (???)

Setting up the Arduino Board

When setting up the board you must first start by initiating contact in the serial language.


Serial.begin (9600) The number featured represents the speed in which it will process (9600 x per second) Then you follow by entering the functions in serial too (language recognised will appear orange otherwise it will read as error)

Design Project Three Brief

Sniffff.....don't you love that new blog smell

Fresh term, fresh project

Tuesday, was briefly 'briefed' on upcoming project.

So this blog has been created in hope to document and support its development.

Also it's very use is apt. The project is interested in gadgetry of electronics and how we can use these to facilitate and respond to human activity within various environments.

Great and all but...I dont blog

I don't Facebook, I dont twitter. I am a virtual social vegetable. (I flat-lined my self the day I pulled the cord on my Facebook account).
Im not going to be a skeptic about it, I will try to embrace (strong word?).... adopt it and have a real good shot at it (almost convinced myself there)