Setting up the big number

Today I worked on the whole number as much as I could, The parts are big and awkward ,I ended up with less than half of it built,just the bottom of the O,.

This is the most important bit as it sets the angle for the entire construct,and next time it will be easier to stick together,I marked the positions with spray-paint on the back. It took a bit of adjusting but i think i got it square and parallel.

seven segments away

I have moved from the land/lava thing on to another use of the LED chains in the environment,but I may return to the rock art aspect of it again.This project is a large scale 7 segment display which i envisage to be in the grey sea,glowing brightly,reflecting on the water and illuminating below.The first attempt at this is to create a big number, a number base (10) with an exponent or smaller number to the right(26) like whats on the signs at service stations

 
 The segments are connected by thick perspex brackets  that the background will be visible through,these are reinforced to minimize the sulpture shaking in the sea breeze.

 Rough test for the segments to figure out the height.

 These are the led chains all running...thats 3000 leds!

 A shot showing the initial problem I had with different shades of red ,Now I have 12-13 of the same model of led chain,with the more orangey colour.

 The light covers disperse the leds into beautiful geometric patterns.

 planning out the number two,which will be secured with perspex bars,so it looks like its floating in the air(hopefully),All these bits are susceptible to the wind blowing .

 

The chains lenght (5m) worked out quite well,as each chain fitted perfectly into the back,only with the 6, d id I have to add about 30 lights to illuminate the number properly.

 

The large number 10 is built now from light covers that were being dumped out of DLiadt college,I have ordered about 12 lights all the same colour,unlike the lava sculpture,where it didnt matter.  I figured out the scales and sizes of the segments, keeping in mind that sculpture needs to be turned on in the water,I have to be able to get at the lights ,.There are different kinds of seven segment displays,so I picked one type to copy.
Including the frame which supports the lights, and the exponent number,its about 10-11ft  tall.
A few more tests have to be done in the sea to check on how bouyant the frame is,as its made of wood,it should not float in saltwater,but if it does a couple of breezeblocks should  do the trick.

Pavement art/Land painting

 Over the summer I purchased a heap of LED lighting strips ,each with 300 sml.e.d in a 12v chain, I vaccuformed small sockets for them,so that they would fit in old hitachi NIcad drill batteries,which are in abundance at the college..Eventually after a few indoor tests ,I took them out to the coast of clare and photographed them at a couple of locations,the coast is limestone pavement with deep dark cracks ,so I just found a couple of places to shoot them,at Fanore beach,and Doolin bay.There are a couple of Glacial boulders in the dublin wicklow mountains which would look intersting...i suppose its a matter of picking a place ,then let the light affect it.It probably looked like that once, millions..of years ago( yes i know the location is sedimentary).

A lot of shots were taken using one of the chains to 'paint' the air ,on a long exposure,i know its an overused effect but in this instance it seems to go well with the lava bed surroundings. much thanks to Joe,the man operating the lights in these shots. There are a few more locations I would like to try with these chains, I've had to reorder 10 more, half of these ones were damaged by seawater ,all the copper parts went green! The project has morphed into my large 7 segment(BIG NUMBER in the SEA) display which I'm working on at this time.

Fish-amphibian mockup

This is the animatronic skeleton of a prehistoric amphibian i would like to make and film eventually, the plan is to have it remote controlled and waterproofed ,so i can film it coming out of the sea ,or a lake.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPCw9yBiDRk&feature=player_profilepage

The walking mechanism is going to be tricky ,and the jaw ,neck and fin will move, two model aircraft controllers are going to be used ,plus trusty fishing line if its not walking or paddling in the right direction.

bubble level

I've long been interested in the look of bubble levels and at the moment I'm playing around with these food flavourings in small phials of glass.,the latest on backs the phials onto monitors in order to layer up the real and image ,i think the effect is interesting ,so more to do on this one.

Could try putting animated insects or words or colours 'in' the phials.

also will make some clear perspex trays ,as you have to see the monitors to position videos on them.

Another difficulty with filming this is the camera or monitor moving, so a rig where the monitor and camera are attached will be required.

hadron collider

These are the first stills of what I want to be a moving image,whether animated or shot in real time,the project is technically difficult to do as I want the glowing particles and their tracks to be in camera.

wire is the only thing to support the el wire and building jigs to hold these wires without showing up too much on camera.

Experiments and doodles 2012

At this time i'm experimenting with more old fashioned cinema /stage tricks

Theres no clear reason or project at the moment ,these are just sketches on video.

they are

1.the rolling sea,an attempt to create a rolling sea shot with a hdtv background,or projection,a roll of silk ,some led lighting to enhance the waves,perhaps a model of a buoy with a light or something.

2. a back reflected aurora borealis,over a real scene of a dublin vista.

3.a scene where a domesic siuation is disturbed by a particle collision,the particle collision is in camera with E.L. wire ,metal support wire and led's for particle explosions

4.more el writing in natural situations,underwater,the water breaking up the image.