About the workshop series
[NOTE: Parts II and III will take place on Saturday, February 18 and Saturday, February 25]. The purpose of this workshop series is to provide attendees with the skill set needed to prepare any video or animation for projection onto a variety of real world surfaces. Projectors and space will be provided by the Columbus College of Art & Design (participants are welcome to bring their own projectors). The workshops will take place in the 3rd floor MFA seminar space in the Design Studios on Broad building on the CCAD campus. The space for the workshop is being donated in-kind by the Columbus College of Art & Design. The workshop series consists of three three-hour sessions:
Session one (Saturday, February 11): The first session will focus on learning how to use the projection mapping software VPT (VideoProjectionTool), a free multipurpose realtime projection software tool for Mac and Windows created by HC Gilje. Prior to this session, participants will need to download VPT 7 onto their personal laptop by visiting this site: https://hcgilje.wordpress.com/vpt/. They will also need to download the latest free version of Quicktime.
Session two (Saturday, February 18): The second session will focus on creating interactive projections using Processing, a flexible software sketchbook, and the Arduino microcontroller. A limited number of Arduinos will be made available; participants may also bring their own Arduinos, or purchase an Arduino at https://store-usa.arduino.cc/products/a000066. Prior to this session, participants are strongly encouraged to download Processing onto their personal laptop by visiting the Processing site.
Session three (Saturday, February 25): In this session, participants will apply what they have learned in the previous two sessions in a real-world setting. Weather permitting, participants will take the projectors outside and engage in projection mapping on buildings, trees, fire hydrants, etc.
Requirements
All you need is a strong aptitude for experimentation and creativity. No prior experience with projection mapping, videography, electronics, the Arduino, VPT, or Processing. All laptop platforms (PC, Windows, Mac or Linux) are acceptable.
About the instructor
John Cairns grew up in Willowick, a small suburb on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio. John’s family and home environment have always been an important part of the creative process because they gained an appreciation for art, nature, and creativity from their grandmother, Eleanor. Memories of John’s father and mother working in Cleveland’s factories and hospitals awarded a passion for hard work and an understanding that collaboration with industry will lead to opportunities greater than one self. John went on to pursue an education in the Arts and earned an Associate’s degree in Graphic Communication Technologies from Columbus State Community College in 2006, a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ohio State University with a focus on Art and Technology in 2010, and a Master of Fine Arts with a concentration on Electronic Art from the University of Cincinnati in 2013. In higher education John earned an appreciation for new media and was drawn to using contemporary technology as material for an artistic practice. Currently John is employed as the Graduate Admissions Counselor and Mentor for Graduate Studies at Columbus College of Art & Design’s Graduate programs and lives in Grove City, OH. John continues to make art and enjoys educating upcoming artists about new media.