Saturday, January 21, 2012

Photography Buzz

     One of the many things we specialize in at Sensebellum is photography.

     Whatever the medium, abstract, landscape, portrait, or heavily altered - it's all a blast capturing the different perspectives from a given experience and sharing them with the world.

     In a recent outing to the Pike Place Market in Seattle Washington, I couldn't bring myself to take a picture of the famous Pike Place Sign. So, after walking around I found a luscious display of vegetables at one vendor's stand. Quickly, before the stream of patrons knocked me over I snapped this picture.


All in good fun, it was a blast at the areas best open air market.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Interactive Planets on Building


On August 22nd of 2011, Sensebellum met up with those at El Capitan's Hot Dogs in Bellingham Washington to create and interactive installation on the side of an abandoned 4-story building. We knew the owners from several occasions "The Root System" had performed there so we figured it would be a great time.

After some local advertising, an event page and a few other means, we had a good gathering come to check out what exactly we were doing. For this installation, we chose to concentrate on the planets, specifically being able to explore them with your body and hands.

We designed the software to enable a user to explore the planets in very natural and intuitive ways. By doing so, no training was needed to interact and explore the planets. You could hold, rotate, and expand the size and orientation of a planet just like you were holding a beach ball. When a person clapped their hands, it would switch to the next planet. It was all very easy to use, which resulted in a short learning curve so you could get right down to it. Those using it could even notice the ice caps of Mars,, "I didn't know Mars had ice caps!" said one man. "I had no idea Africa was so huge!", exclaimed another. 

It was all a really good time and a learning experience for all of us. Thanks again to Zac, and El Capitan's for lending us the space and power!

Interactive Billboard at The Cobra Lounge


Back in August 4th of 2011, Sensebellum met up with the good people from The Cobra Lounge in Bellingham Washington. We met up to see what we could do with some projections on the front of the building. The Cobra Lounge, by the way is a Hookah Bar in the middle of downtown Bellingham with locations in both Tacoma and Seattle.

After meeting with Niko "Nikology" Ritter he was on board and we got the green light. After checking out the location, we thought that projections on the front of the building, the billboard that carried the logo, would be the best place for it. On top of this, we decided it best to add an element of interaction that would synthesize the senses - part of our motto. So, we hooked up the microphone, aligned the projectors and mapped the building's front.

It was really interesting to see how people reacted to the installation. With the projectors out of the way most were awed at not only the precision, but the polished look: no cords or equipment laying around. As they approached, their voices, footsteps, and laughter would alter the front of the sign dynamically. Furthermore, people could walk up and grab the microphone. Some would beatbox, some would talk, other would say gibberish but it all came down to the point. People interacting with the physical environment in a way that blended the senses in new ways thanks to innovative uses of technology. That is what we do and we enjoyed doing it!

Once again, thanks to The Cobra Lounge in Bellingham, to Niko, and to all those that came by.