Machine mechanisms

We've been thinking about the designs for the mechanisms involved in operating the machines. For the boot machine we are going to be using an age old camshaft system applying the same principle effectively as what drives the pistons up and down in any engine (below).

As the two cams will rotate on the rod attached to the windscreen wiper motor, the hitters that strike the boot machine will be pivoted back before falling when the cam rotates past its peak (there will be a big drop to have a sudden release movement unlike with the piston example above which requires a smooth transition). These two cams can be adjusted so that the hitters strike the tank at different times and tempos (relative to the size, shape and positioning of the cams).

For the praxinoscope I have devised a plan to use the backend of a childs bike (crank, chain and wheel) which will be mounted on its side and driven at the crank by a windscreen wiper motor. This will in turn drive the back wheel, spinning the praxinoscope barrel mounted on top. This not only should look great within the installation but give us a smooth and reliable movement.

For both devises, 12v windscreen wiper motors will be used, the boot machine also requires a motor and spool to lower the microphone into the water from above.

Blueprints *updated*

With some further research I have discovered that there is a new Cyanotype chemical mix that you can buy called 'cyanotype sensitiser' available HERE which sounds promising.

More details on the old / new processes of Cyanotyping can be found HERE including useful tips on the kind of paper needed etc. 

I have also been reading about the possibilities of staining the prints in the production of the prints with green tea, bleach, coffee and urine amongst others which sounded interesting.

Weekly schedule

To help progress the project at this tender stage without a space to work within, we have started to devise weekly schedules to organise our workflow and up the intensity. We will hopefully be doing this everyweek from now on, atleast until we are building within the final location. This weeks scheduled tasks are as followed:

Schedule: 13 – 19 of March 2010

Sat 13.03

Wimbledon 09:00

Sun 14.03

Woolwich 11:00 + Compile PDF + Brick Lane

Mon 15.03

UNI 10:00 – 18:00 VHS loops  (Email Woolwich)

Tues 16.03

UNI 11:00 – 19:00 Exact machine designs + blueprints (Email Rich Simkins)

Wed 17.03

Wellcome Collection Library 12:00 – 20:00 Shoot plan / Narrative / Research *BRING APPLICATION FORM*

Thu 18.03

Andy at work, Day off 

Fri 19.03

UNI 12:00 – 18:00   Praxinoscope prototype / Tutorial 3:00 / Plan next week

The blueprints

I've been exploring the history and the process of blueprints as they are a vital material we need to attain, initially our thinking was we would try and find / buy some or produce our own designs on a different but appropriate material (this may still be a good option). However, the more I have been reading, the more appealing the idea of producing our own original blueprints in the authentic manner with which they were once created.

Blueprints were traditionally made using a cyanotype photographic process involving a reaction between two chemicals, potassium ferricyanide and ammonium ferric citrate. You soak paper / cloth etc in the solution then expose it to sunlight (UV) through a large format negative with the design on or expose it like a photogram and place the design onto the paper to block out areas of light to form an image. The chemicals expose to the light will turn a deep blue colour and the areas unexposed (the design) will remain white, the print is then rinsed to removed the water-soluble chemical traces and leave the non-water soluble chemicals.... and you should be left with a white print on blue colour paper!

Cyanotype Print ^

Authentic Blueprint ^

This is all really interesting to me and would pose an exciting challenge to us which could leave us with some highly authentic and fantastic objects. I don't know how feasible this plan is yet, the design has to be fully drawn up for each machine and i need to check the chemicals are easily available (in uni hopefully). Although this would take some time and some testing, it is a relatively simple age old photographic process and given the importance of the blueprints to the narrative and the emphasis placed upon them in the installation, the extra time and effort to produce them could be well worth it.

Woolwich location search

We've been down in Woolwich after contacting the town centre manager who told us to send him details of buildings we think are abandoned and would be suitable. We're putting together a comprehensive file of possible abandoned buildings we could use to build our installation into. We found loads of potential places that would be great it is now just a matter of hearing back from him.

I'll upload the .pdf we'll sent him here soon, it is going to look really great so hopefully our professional and enthusiastic approach could help us finally secure an abandoned space.

Recording VHS

Using one of the VHS cameras we bought at the bootfair that smells slightly of urine and that can only be described as grimey, we have finally managed to record some test footage onto tape. Initially when me and Andy were sorting through the cameras and assessing their use we didn't have a recordable tape to try out. I managed to get hold of one earlier tonight and me and Faysal tried it out:



The colours and distortion are really nice, it is recording sound (albeit quietly) and I think it could be really effective for what we need. The main draw back is that we can only shoot indoors with it because the batteries are dead and needs to be run off mains power but I think this will be the case with 80% of the VHS cameras left out there from what I can tell.

This feels like an exciting development anyway, we grew up with VHS and it definitely took me to a rather nostalgic place, it has such charm despite being such a sub-standard and degraded medium by todays standards.

Carbooty

We're deep into our collection period and this will continue for the majority of this project really. Every saturday morning we will be heading down to Wimbledon carboot which has proved itself to be the most reliable and consistant of all the carbooties.

We'll ofcourse carry on scavenging from skips / flytips / markets in addition but our main source of props and materials will be the carboot over the next few months.

Little action, big sound

We've been testing the underwater recordings for one of the machines using a microphone inside a condom to waterproof it. It sounded great with very little effort, the sound created (although it doesn't translate so well in the video below) is impressive and just what we were looking for; we are hoping that it will be even better with a greater water mass, larger speakers and a more forceful metal striking instrument.

This was a successful test.

A grand day out

In an effort to collect some interesting materials and start adding some intensity to the project we scoured a couple of miles of a really cold and miserable Thames river... the wrong side of the Dome. We found some interesting bits on the bank with the tide out and met an awesome old carpenter known only as 'Dad', we also attained some useful metal box tubing which we can use as legs on the machines from two old guys in a metal workshop.

We also found some nice abandoned buildings opposite this old derelict bridge jetty which we are planning to follow up. It was a hard, dirty day and we were totally unprepared, we clearly need to invest in some good, tough, waterproof gloves for the kind of dirty collecting we are undertaking at times and bring suitable, strong bags in which to carry heavy objects. Andy would have been the better prepared for the task if he had worn his wellies, alas he thought we were going to laugh at him... in the end we laughed at him for not bringing them.

A week written off

I have been really busy in the last week Gaffering on Doug & Co's major project film so the blog hasn't been updated in a little while but it was a really good experience. We have been working on collection mostly and some testing in the time since I last posted and will now work through the backlog of information in the next few posts!

Wellcome Collection

I had long been wanting to visit the Wellcome Collection and we decided to head down there to check out the Identity exhibition, this was interesting in how we construct identities and the efforts we undertake to make an impact on the course of the world. This exhibition, although a great source of interesting facts and case studies, was no where near as AMAZING as what was waiting upstairs in the permanent collection.

Henry Wellcome (pictured) was a pretty interesting chap himself, who built up a monumental collection of objects on the history of medicine and man, with strong interests in anthropology and ethnography. The subject matter varies hugely and ranges from stuff like alchemy to witchcraft in what can only be described as a cabinet of curiosities (or Wunnderkammer).


It is the most relevant exhibition to our project I think we could hope to find, the relics on offer not only pay tribute to different belief systems in their sometimes obscure, obscene and fantastical nature; but also pay tribute to a true visionary character in Henry Wellcome. If the downstairs gallery exhibition concentrated on 8 identities, the upstairs, through the fake limbs, mummified bodies, bosch paintings and medical instruments explores the identity of the original collector. It is this narrative through the collection and research of extraordinary objects and beliefs that is a model of the highest relevance to how we will conduct our own research and convey a sense of character through it all together.

We will be returning to the Wellcome collection library which houses many more texts, photographs and research  that we didn't have a chance to explore on this original visit. Below is an animation made by the Brothers Quay that explores and documents many of the items in the collection to get a sense of what is on offer... enjoy.

Animate Projects - The Phantom Museum - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Website???

One of the things I think would really benefit us would be a website, not only for promoting our major project but also displaying our previous work. One resource that we could send people to, to see all our work and our intentions for major etc. This could help us in finding a space and promoting our work at a later date, this would also meet the requirements for our Professional Launchpad module in a useful application of the brief.

This is something I would like to explore in these early stages of production, it may not be accomplishable in the time available currently.

Public liability insurance

We always knew we would need insurance to cover our use of the space in allowing it to be open to the public as we planned, it was clearly one of the biggest concerns for the councils who got back to us so I tracked down Andy Powell who informed us of the third-party public liability insurance of the university that will cover our project and anyone who enters it.

This is fantastic news, not only is it free but it is also hassle free and has a cover letter available on blackboard we can now attach to emails to show we are serious, professional and organised. 

Thanks to the university we are covered for up to £30,000,000 with a £250 excess, this should help us secure a space. We will have to be really careful with the type of materials and electronics involved to keep everything safe but things will get a little crazy i'm sure...

Responses to Emails

We have received a good amount of responses from our first wave of emails, including some positive feedback from our previous work which was nice (most of these can be seen on Andy's blog HERE and HERE). Despite this, there is only really one response that looks pretty promising in securing a space through the council avenue. We have secured a viewing with Wandsworth Council for an old derelict chapel just across the river in South London. Its condition means there is no electricity supply but the description of the place sounds exciting (smashed windows, over grown etc). As the space would hopefully be free, buying and running second hand generators which we could sell on should easily fit within our budget for the location.

This could be a really great opportunity, the viewing isn't until march 9th so we will continue the search until we know any further details, it is by no means certain we could secure it.

One of the things that has been coming out of these emails is the strong interest in our insurance and liability cover, we will need to arrange this in order to secure a rental on a place, especially through the councils as it is one of their most prominent concerns.

Kinetica Art Fair

Kinetica Art Fair was a major influence in our work last year and helped introduce us to the technology involved in our projects, I went again this year with a much better understanding of the type of work involved and the problems with it. I am much more sure of the work I like and the work I dislike now, a lot of the work proved to be more of a spectacle than interesting but there were some standout pieces that really I really enjoyed.

 

 

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All these pieces were particularly relevant to the work we are doing in some way, Nik Ramage's boot kicking the wall piece is really similar in style and nature to one of the machines we had planned... although ours will be kicking a bucket of reflective water with a microphone submerged but it is a good reference point visually. Other work involving projections and extravagant movement were also useful to check out / evaluate mechanisms and methods. I will research the artists that proved most relevent to our project in more depth from Kinetica to contextualise our own work further.

Contacting councils and organisations for help in finding a space

Following on from our initial plans to find an alternative space to build the installation in, it is clear that the earliest approaches need to be to the councils and other collectives / organisations that we believe have the potential to assist us.

We sat down together after the major project briefing session and kicked off this process by drafting emails to all of the major councils and collectives deemed potentially productive.

These included:

Hackney Council
Tower Hamlets Council
Wandsworth Coucil
Lambeth Council
Camden Council
Brent Council
Southwark Council
Lewisham Council
www.measure.org.uk

Each email was individualised and gave a basic summary of our intentions and requirements. We mostly accessed the council through their arts / culture divisions and are now awaiting replies!

Pre-production feedback and reflection

Having received feedback on our pre-production processes and subsequent dossier, it has given me a much greater sense of confidence in the project we have devised and in what we are trying to achieve; now we need to do everything we can to build upon this and develop the project further.

One of the criticisms highlighted in the feedback was the hesitancy in some of our responses during the oral assessment, I feel as the project develops and we get further into the production phase, this confidence in our decision making will improve massively. Making decisions within the group dynamic we have established, has in the past, been extremely beneficial to the final work. When we spend more and more time on the project in the coming months and a physicality to the initial ideas is obtained, I feel confident we will make the right decisions and take the right actions en route to the final piece.