5.2 Lab Report (from TextEdit)

Archive No. 1

Title : Conversation with the Photocopy Machine

Test Date : Sat 16 May 2009 

Materials Used : 1 HP Photosmart C4180 All-in-One, 1 HP Tri-colour Print Catridge no.342, 1 HP Black Print Catridge no.337, 1 Ikea torch no.10523, 1 Light bulb with the switch, 3 various sized plastic stencils, 1 white Lersta reading/ floor lamp, 1 Lloyds TSB envelope, 1 The Photographer's Gallery flyer, 1 HP Black Print Catridge no.337 product detail catalogue, 1 compact disc, 1 nail clipper, various computer components 

Method : With the objects I found in my art box, I started photocopying straight from the machine. I played with the scale (mainly with 50%, 100%, 200% and 400%), layers and materials. Different techniques of scanning was tested especially shining the light while scanning, moving the object around while scanning. I also tried scanning just the light on the glass using a torch.  

Results :

Conclusion : Depending on the position of the source of light, I was able to create beautiful abstract imgages. The reflection of the light on plastic stencil was also very pleasing so I tried layering different materials to see how the light reflected. Light was the very important factor while scanning and I concluded that it is very possible to make imagery with just light. 

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Archive No. 2

Title : Conversation with the Television I

Test Date : Sun 17 May 2009 

Materials Used : 1 Alba model CTV3451, Technika AESTBS7 Digital Terrestrial Receiver, Canon 400D, Tamron AF 17-50mm 1:2.8, Slik U8000 Tripod, The Movie 'Theodora Goes Wild' on Film4 with various TV commercials in between

 

Method : The frames of the movie were captured by the camera using the tripod. Different shutter speed and different size of aperture were used. 

Results :

Conclusion : Depending on the speed of the shutter, I was able to capture various sized strips of light on the TV screen. The faster the shutter speed, the thinner the strips. 

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Archive No. 3

Title : Conversation with the Television II

Test Date : Mon 18 May 2009 

Materials Used : 1 Alba model CTV3451, Technika AESTBS7 Digital Terrestrial Receiver, Canon 400D, Tamron AF 17-50mm 1:2.8, Slik U8000 Tripod, The Movie 'Theodora Goes Wild' on Film4 with various TV commercials in between

 

Method : During a long exposure of the TV screen, the camera lens was zooming in and out. Also, I tried shifting the camera upwards and downwards.

Results :

Conclusion : Zooming in and out with my camera during the long exposure enabled me to create different effects on the images. It certainly added this unique and somewhat horrifying distorted layer to the pictures. Shifting the position of the camera created different layers in one image and I concluded that these distortion techniques could be very useful in intimidating the viewers.

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Archive No. 4

Title : Conversation with the Typewriter

Test Date : Tue 19 May 2009

Materials Used : 1 Olivetti Lettera 12, 1 Olivetti 2780766 black typewriter ribbon, 1 Challenge Restaurant Pad, various A4 sheets with images (my own and some of Rankin's) printed on

 

Method : Applying the conventional way of using a typewriter, I tried to make some imagery with typography. I also used the pages from a restaurant pad to trace an image onto the receipt paper underneath it. The complete set of alphabets was spelled out with letters as well.

Results :

Conclusion : Depending on the composition of letters, the mood of the phrases changed drastically. Overlaying text on image added uniqueness to the image.

5.0 Science lab report format?

I found some free science experiment report forms on About.com. I think it makes perfect sense to organise my findings in a science lab report format. I haven't written this in a while so this is gonna take me awhile to think about everything objectively for method & results and subjectively for conclusion. 

4.6 Typewriter

The components of my old-school keyboard looked fancy but I thought I'd start from somewhere obvious when it comes to word processing. I have a little Olivetti at home and I thought I'd start a 'conversation' with it and see where I end up. I started typing stuff, learning how it works, what each key does etc. The noise it makes, I reckon, is what is so great about this mechanism.

Then I started feeding it with different papers. A book of restaurant receipt (they write orders down and the paper behind it records what's being written as a receipt) was alot of fun and these are what I got from it.

There is a very similar way of creating with word processing called Ascii art. I had no idea it was called 'Ascii' before but yes, I guess that's what I was trying to do with the typewriter. And I created a whole alphabet set with it too.

Visit my website for more.

4.5 What television is really saying to us

There was some kind of copyright issue on YouTube with 'The Secret Life of the Television', so I watched some short clips of it. I suddenly felt like taking photos of my TV screen. I wanted to see what was going on on the screen, to see if I could capture things that we cannot possibly see with our little eyes. I attempted to hear what TV is really telling us. Click on image for a much better view or visit my website.

Depending on the shutter speed and the aperture, I was able to capture various size of strips of light. I was fascinated by the appearance of the images as a set. It was almost like a music score or some kind of keyboard game. Perhaps it's morse code, perhaps it's sheet of music. Perhaps it's a conversation..

After awhile I started also playing with the lens. While exposing, I zoomed in and out. These are the beautiful results;


Then I started shifting the camera too;

4.4 The Secret life of the Word Processor

Watch this video on YouTube

I have an old keyboard at home. I picked it up from the college backyard, it was black and I had a feeling it might be useful one day. After watching The Secret Life of the Word Processor, I wanted to open it apart and see what it looks like inside. The result was incredible. It was just a simple mechanism with a circuit board.



There were three films - the top and the bottom ones had lines with circles and the middle one had no pattern on it but some holes. The patterns were really appealing and I started wondering what these patterns mean..

4.3 Random

While I was editing the photocopied and scanned-in pictures to make the imitate / repeat website, some unexpected images were created by Photoshop and 'All Windows' function on Mac. The irregular alignment of ruler of each window on Photoshop made some kind of code that only computers might understand.



Looking at both images now, I am starting to wonder if these two images appeal to me because of its randomness. Sometimes I think too much about grids and aligning things - surely there are golden ratio and how to line up things, but like the 'All Windows' function on Mac, scattered images in irregularity almost like on the wall are also interesting.

Repetition in pattern is attractive but repetition without pattern is also attractive!

2.10 The Secret Life of the Fax machine