Greetings from #rdcHQ! We have another update from our Infrastructure Track at the All New #rdcHQ. Below is the current Lightmapping Map featuring the state of the media lab and the street level gallery at 351 6th Street (a.k.a. Point.B Studio). It is a substantial upgrade since our last report and was timed to coincide with the launch of our excellent grand gala opening event “Interazione.” We added another row of A19 Phillips Hue bulbs as well as two more BR30 Philips Hue downlights which enhance the brightness of the gallery considerably. Our LiFX now has a prize position at the top of our stairway as it is our LED Bulb of the Moment!

The current configuration. We’ll be working with LEDs on our green screen in the #rdcHQ media lab.

We’re getting ready to conduct experiments with color values in our lab and gallery, although we are finding that consistently producing a particular set of colors or color temperature over time with RGB lights is an unknown variable. Much of this limit in functionality is inherent in the UI applications that control the bulbs, however the individual LEDs (R + G + B + sometimes W) age at different rates and color mix will shift. Much, of course, depends on the manufacturing of the bulb; the addition of an extra white light emitting diode enhances the color gamut dramatically, and to ensure a longer life, manufacturers such as LiFX incorporate three times the diodes in their product (which, of course, has its own set of drawbacks such as a heavier and hotter bulb). In the course of our research, we found this recent review by CNET most … illuminating!

LED Bulb of the Moment
The Mighty LiFX w/RGB+W!

As the technology is so new, we plan to measure these results to see how great the shift is (we have noted that some respected early adopters claim that an A19 Philips Hue will only be a quarter as bright after two years of use). The complaints we have found to date are general and not supported by any data (such as conditions and the amount of daily use) … so like all things worth doing, these things take time … So …

Stay Tuned … and Stay Bright!

Animated soccer ball using SMIL courtesy of Wikipedia.

Greetings from #rdcHQ! We are pleased to announce that in addition to our Cobwebs College track, we will be continuing our good work on Codes of the World, exclusively on the SVG Illustration track. This year, we have an opportunity to work with color imagery and animation which will be a bit off the usual path from previous seasons. We’ll be exploring a few different methods to animate them, including SVG animation using the DOM as specified by the W3C, and SVG animation using CSS3.

PNG rendition of an SVG in our “Codes of the World” queue to be animated this summer!

So, it will be back to basics just as when we first ventured into vector drawing at #rdcHQ, starting simple and building from there. We’re sure our superstar animators will have a few ideas how to take it to the next level!

Stay Tuned …

Cobwebs College and Part Three Begins June 7 2014

This year, our primary focus will be Cobwebs – The Movie – Part Three … and this milestone marks the grand finale of the Cobwebs project. During the summer season, the Cobwebs Crew will be learning web design and animation, as well as advanced illustration techniques in our SVG Illustration Track of Codes of the World. We are also very pleased to announce that Jerry McManus will be joining us to mentor The Crew in animation and Blender. We have limited space in all tracks this year and we only want strong creative talent who are serious about contributing to and completing the project.

It’s going to be a great summer, and our participants will be picking up new skills along the way, every day! If you are interested in our summer program, email webchick@invisible.net for details or drop by #rdcHQ … (now located at 351 6th Street in Historic Triangle Square in Port Orford, Oregon).

Nathan Malamud sets up the Cobwebs screening room for the summer!

Greetings from #rdcHQ! At long last, the second part of Cobwebs – The Movie has been released. You have waited patiently, and now your patience will be rewarded!

During the Interazione art show, the Cobwebs crew had the first public screenings of Part 2 of the Cobwebs movie. Below are some pictures of Evelyn Jennings and Nathan Malamud presenting the movie, and “Cobwebs – The Movie – Part 2″ as it was seen at the screening.

Evelyn Jennings answers questions asked by the audience.

Nathan Malamud explains the animation program that the Cobwebs crew uses to make the movie.

There may be a couple of bugs in the video that the Cobwebs Crew may fix, and not all of Part 2 was featured in the video. We will be sending what you have watched to the Portland Film Festival as well as the Oregon Coast Film Festival later this summer (after we fix the bugs, of course!).