Creator: Elisabeth de Kleer
Project: Communities
This week, I discovered the online Matterport interface (Matterport being the company that creates the 3D scanner I've been using) already supports 360 video integration. Using their tools, I was able to create nodes that draw attention to different elements in the scanned spaces and link YouTube videos (both 360 and traditional) to those nodes. Yay!
The downside is that while it works great for viewing on the computer, it's not yet supported in VR. If I attempt to load the scans-with-videos into my GearVR, I get an error message. This means in the coming weeks, I'll need to find a way to do it myself to create a similar effect.
In addition, I've found a programmer who can sit down with me for a day or two this week to help me create the lobby viewers will see when they enter the experience. I'd like to my viewers to be able to see the experiences displayed on a map, on which they can walk around and navigate freely.
Project: Communities
This week, I discovered the online Matterport interface (Matterport being the company that creates the 3D scanner I've been using) already supports 360 video integration. Using their tools, I was able to create nodes that draw attention to different elements in the scanned spaces and link YouTube videos (both 360 and traditional) to those nodes. Yay!
The downside is that while it works great for viewing on the computer, it's not yet supported in VR. If I attempt to load the scans-with-videos into my GearVR, I get an error message. This means in the coming weeks, I'll need to find a way to do it myself to create a similar effect.
In addition, I've found a programmer who can sit down with me for a day or two this week to help me create the lobby viewers will see when they enter the experience. I'd like to my viewers to be able to see the experiences displayed on a map, on which they can walk around and navigate freely.
Micah Week 8 | 8/6 - 8/12
Next week my focus will be on audio and finishing up!
Personal Observations/Progress
- Feelin' the crunch time this week. I worked pretty much around the clock all week to get my final scenes done and in place. Although our deadline may be Sept 10th, I really feel like I need ot be done by the end of next week and have the final weeks for solving issues and putting polish on my submission. I think I will need at least a week to complete the promo images, logos, marketing screens, etc. Unfortunately, I don't think I will have much time to have various people go through the experience and provide feedback. Overall, I feel confident with where I am and what I think I will be able to submit. However, there are a lot of features and elements that I just won't be able to have in place by September.
- I'm starting to stress out about the music situation. Initially I got responses from the artist's management and this week I reached out to the label that the song was released on, and again I got an initial response but radio silence thereafter. At this point, I'm going to have to move forward with using temp score and library music, which really sucks. The song I'm trying to license is such an important part of my piece that I feel it will really suffer without it. Anyway, I gotta keep it movin'!
Production Progress
Task: Integrate the Angels
From my initial sketches, to the concept renders, to the final animated model, I've been waiting roughly 6 weeks for this moment. My modeler/animator finally delivered the Angel for my project and it was perfect timing! However, it took me nearly 2 days to get the shading and materials right and to also get the animation clips broken up in Mecanum. I also had to figure out a system for triggering the appearance of the angels and playing the appropriate animation, which required a lot of thinking and a little programming. However, after all of the tweaking, one of the key components for my experience has been integrated and it really brought things together. If you want to check out the progression of my Angel character, visit this link: https://avcv.biz/wam-concepts
Ongoing Task: Complete All Scenes
So, going into this week, my goal was to build out and finish every scene and include all of the main actors. Although I had completed my main (and largest) scene weeks ago, I still didn't have my "bookends" in place. Well, I finally built my opening credits, starting scene, final scene and linked them up with transitions. Today, the goal is to build the full project out and have my first full viewing!
For my opening and closing scenes, I relied on the Asset Store and found some great core assets. Of course, I still had to spend a lot of time setting them up and making them work the way I wanted them to. However, the scene that took the most time was the opening credits scenario. My idea for the opening credits was fairly simple, however when I started making it, it proved to be really challenging. In the end, I figured how to get it working but it took much longer than I expected!
Next week my focus will be on audio and finishing up!
Implicit Bias Training Lab - Clorama Dorvilias (and Jessica Outlaw) - week 8
Technical Development Update:
Starting putting together the environment this week!
Was playing with the Timeline Editor in Unity 2017.1 and came across a couple bugs when I wanted to preview the the animation for sliding the doors.
found a few animations on Mixamo that I could use when they are doing an introduction to the training.
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Research Development - Collaborating with Teachers
Technical Development Update:
Starting putting together the environment this week!
Was playing with the Timeline Editor in Unity 2017.1 and came across a couple bugs when I wanted to preview the the animation for sliding the doors.
- One was fixed by implementing the solution that a few of the previous blogs are alluding to.
- The next one required a re-import of all my assets due to a duplication of imports for a"Unity.Engine" assembly reference.
found a few animations on Mixamo that I could use when they are doing an introduction to the training.
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Research Development - Collaborating with Teachers
I spoke to my friend Victoria Duran, who's a high school teacher in San Jose yesterday and she's open to be all in to act as an advisor and engage her school to partake in whatever we build, in any way we need to, provided its run by her first.
A few things she's excited about:
- She came across some tech/education grants that she is happy to apply for on behalf of this project.
- implicit bias training and is willing to help us figure out communications on this.
- ideation sessions with us for how we can also serve other types of biases in education
- exploring vr ideas to give students more immersive experiences into curriculum lessons, etc.
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Personal Stuff:
-I'm going to be in Alaska for the week again and will be unfortunately fully engaged to our soft launch research. However, I'm going to try and bring my pc this time so I can work on prototype development in the hopes of an airport delay that tends to happen or over the weekend, if I get some down time.
Fun stuff:
Got to host a VR Jam Session with a few other local OLP at my office today, organized by Andy Tsen!
It was really cool getting to know the others, trying out the different their demos, and overall sharing our own personal journeys in VR. The energy was just really amazing and I can't wait for us to do it again! We Facebook lived some of it (available in the OLP FB group).
Fun stuff:
Got to host a VR Jam Session with a few other local OLP at my office today, organized by Andy Tsen!
It was really cool getting to know the others, trying out the different their demos, and overall sharing our own personal journeys in VR. The energy was just really amazing and I can't wait for us to do it again! We Facebook lived some of it (available in the OLP FB group).
