UPDATE + REFLECTION 28.2

Tis the eve of the presentation.

I'm pretty happy with how the project has panned out. I was excited with my initial idea and I'm very pleased to have brought it to life with a working prototype.

There are some things I've not succeeded in though. I haven't been able to put it directly into context onto a kerbside to test people's reaction to it - I can only presume from the verbal feedback I've received and from other examples already demonstrated by The Fun Theory (with whom this all started) that it would have fulfilled my wish. That is, to occupy pedestrians during the Red light to encourage them to wait for the Green Man before crossing.

I'm most disappointed that I was unable to perfect the animation how I wanted to (as I laid out in this older post). I ventured into the code to try and improve the two details, but I unfortunately could not figure it out. The most frustrating thing is that I know it can be done! Arduino wins this time. Also, one more element I might have added, is a countdown bar down the side or something similar, to indicate when the light would turn Green. It's a whole different instruction (in terms of coding function) so I chose not to approach it, but as far as product development goes, this would be my next step.

Having said all this though, I am pleased by my learning of the software, having been able to grasp a decent understanding from zero within these few weeks. The magnitude of its potentials are still pretty cool I'd say. And I am indeed satisfied with what I have developed with it. There may still be room for development and even actual instalment!

Now I just have to convince the class. Presentation tomorrow!

PRESENTATION MOVIE REVISED

It's just been edited to fit the music better, cut snappier and look better.

DEMONSTRATION MOVIE

Unlike the LEGO presentation movie, this simply demonstrates how my project will physically be used. Very simple: step to shoot. Yes.

And again, I may not own the rights to the music used. Credit to M83.

PRESSURE PADS MADE PRETTIER

GRAPHICS IN APPLICATION

I had first imagined the Red Man graphic to be on the other side of the road as are normally. This could work, but maybe the animation would be difficult to see, or certainly difficult to notice. So if it was on the same side as the pedestrian, fixed with the WAIT button, it would be more effective. Like my mock up illustration demonstrates. Of course the second screen of black would be where the Green Man appears.

COPYRIGHT ISSUES

It appears YouTube has clocked my music usage on the movie haha. I've used two tracks which I may not own the rights for. No action has been taken yet, which means it's still perfectly accessible, but we'll see how that progresses..

PRESENTATION MOVIE DRAFT

Compiled earlier today is my project movie.

I chose not to film the real object for several reasons, which I hope are of benefit. The real pads are most fun when used by you, so I have decided to save that entertainment for first hand experience during the presentation, for you to try it rather than just see it. It's also much clearer to see the connection between visuals and pad action that way. Perhaps most importantly, considering the movie's main purpose is to show it in context, I found it a lot easier to do it on my table top rather than facing the difficulties of actually taking this to the streets, what with the wiring and logistics etc. Plus, I wanted to try using LEGO stop motion, having just had a class last week in stop motion. I've not used a digital SLR which unfortunately downgrades the image quality (Tomás would not be happy!) but it was fun to cut nonetheless. I hope it shows how I envisage it to be used. Would be great if crowds formed for it huh.

THE CAST

CHEEKY CCTV

So here's some footage I shot on that epic Tuesday this week with Pete. We struggled to get it all working (as seen in the footage) but in the 10 minutes I managed to shoot (without informing Mr Rodgers) we actually find some success, progressing from a sticky patch of not-working. It's unedited so probably very boring. In fact, I'm not sure it adds anything at all, but it does show our work first hand. And it captures glimpses of progress as I mentioned so that's maybe nice to see.

SOFTWARE IMPROVEMENTS 10.2

1. Bullets rectangular not round.

2. Red Man brighter.

3. Fill square black not white.

4. Bullet to stop upon contact with Red Man.

5. Layer order: background, Red Man, block fill, bullet.