future landscapes
ENHANCING SEEN & UNSEEN LANDSCAPES WHIT MIXED REALITY
How can we take agency over the seen and unseen landscapes that surround us through augmented-, virtual-, and mixed reality?
• 6. May - 31. May 2019
• Based at the National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway in Galway, Ireland
• Four weeks, full-time
• Up to 18 participants accepted
Pricing
Artist / Student (Full Time)*
€1950
Professional*
€2150
course
description
Future Landscapes is intensive four-week program created in collaboration with the Moore Institute at NUI Galway and Galway 2020.
Compelling us all is an interest in creatively exploring vast landscapes in the physical world and of the mind while gaining an understanding of the potentials of augmented-, virtual-, and mixed reality through a myriad of critical, conceptual, and hands-on approaches.
Using technology to imagine unknown realities can inspire new ways of looking at the world. In designing new forms of interactive and tactile experiences, artistic creation and storytelling, what could we add or augment to our surroundings to develop new narratives about landscapes, be them physical, social, or mental, that permeate our lives? What forms of play and togetherness might we be able to create and sustain? Could thoughtful discourse on landscapes and realities empower us to making impactful change?
Mixed Reality (MR) refers to a suit of technologies that anchors virtual objects in a space, allowing for the possibility of "real" interaction with those objects. With Augmented Reality (AR), in addition to superimposing images and 3D models over the camera feed, these toolkits offer the opportunity to map physical spaces,
understand ambient lighting and track the position of a phone in space. Pokemon Go used these techniques to capture the public interest and brought AR into the mainstream, but it begs the question, what else can we do with this technology? In this class, we'll explore the spectrum of what these tools have to offer.
These techniques are just a starting point for what may be possible. There is much experimentation to be done by utilising the other capabilities of handheld devices to stream live data, communicate with others, and incorporate information from built in sensors.
Although various types of augmented and virtual reality systems have existed for some time, recent advances in mobile technology platforms provide us more powerful ways of creating and sharing these experiences with a wider audience. So as the technology is advancing, what happens when we bring conceptual ideas and criticality to the fore?
The primary tool of this program will be Unity 3D. We will work with the ARKit and Vuforia libraries. As we engage the potential of these new tools, we will also take a critical perspective discussing the shortcomings and challenges of future technologies.
in this course,
you will be
introduced to
Critical and conceptual development of projects
Creative development with Unity3D
Scripting in Unity3D to create interactivity
Introduction to ARKit (iOS) and Vuforia
Attaching virtual objects to real image markers
Creating both AR and VR experiences
Recording and placing sounds inside a virtual AR space
Designing an AR space that can be shared and explored with multiple people at the same time
Building mixed reality experiences
An amazing network and community of like-minded creative beings and potential future collaborators
**No previous experience necessary**
course
outline
Week 1: Introductions, concepts, narratives, play, and critical discourse.
Week 2: Tools and techniques for creating interactive experiences in Unity
Week 3: Advanced tools and techniques for creating interactive experiences in Unity. Adding physicality into our work through props and found artifacts.
Week 4: Preparing talks, presentations, and Mixed Reality experiences for final showcase open to the public.
who is this
program for?
This workshop is geared toward anyone involved in creative projects (architects, designers, makers, artists, musicians, performers etc.) and the arts and humanities research communities that wish to begin incorporating mixed reality experiences into their work or practice. This course approaches mixed reality from an introductory level. A basic knowledge of programming (in any language/platform) is encouraged *but not required*.
meet the instructor
Sarah Buser
German Literature and Philosophy
Sarah Buser is born in Switzerland. After studying German literature and philosophy she completed a Master's degree in Theater at the Zurich University of the Arts. She currently works as a director and writes software for various projects at the intersection of participative theatre, philosophy and art education that deal with the nature of our reality. She examines, among other things, augmented reality and location-based software as theatrical means. She teaches at art academies and gives workshops on the artistic and theatrical use of new technologies and lives in Basel and Berlin.
Leon Butler
Visual Narrative Designer, Filmmaker, and Educator
Leon Butler has worked as a visual narrative designer, filmmaker, and educator for over ten years receiving plaudits along the way from The Type Directors Club, at the Future Makers awards, Digital Media awards, Young Directors awards and the Irish Design Awards 2019. Leon’s has completed residencies in the School of Visual Art New York, and at 72andSunny in Los Angeles. He was appointed as a Research Fellow at the National University of Ireland Galway in 2016 – 17 and in 2017 as Designer in Residence in Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. Leon is currently working as a Lecturer at Technological University Dublin as a as well as continuing to grow his own practice at Bold Visual Narrative.
Meredith Thomas
Artist and Creative Technologist
Meredith is an artist and creative technologist based in Berlin. He studied biomedical engineering and science communication at Imperial College London. After moving to Berlin he became interested in creative uses of technology. His work now focuses on intersections between artistic tradition and practice and new technology.
