Skill/Ability: Program Development

An ongoing initiative in the Imaging Research Center during the past five years has been the historical reconstruction of Washington DC as it looked at the turn of the nineteenth century. There is an alarming lack of information on this period, and it has been in large part due to the efforts of IRC Director and artist turn historical compiler Dan Bailey that a more accurate visualizations of this period can now be built. The earliest phase of this project centered around producing cinematic sequences utilizing this newly compiled data set. I worked on this project intensely during this period now referred to as “Phase 1”. This culminated in a few key visualizations that verified the research methodology. Aside from project management and the development of intern curriculum, my single largest contribution was producing the animated shot above. Much more information can be found here.

The Bellows March was at one time a pilot initiative between UMBC visual arts faculty Eric Dyer and the Imaging Research Center. The goal was develop a production pipeline that would successfully allow Dyer and his production assistants to build animated sculptures in 3D space with the goal of physically printing them by utilizing rapid prototyping technology. I partnered directly with Dyer to develop the specific techniques and overall production design. The goal was to produce one of these kinetic sculptures or “cinetropes” as a proof of concept. The clip here showcases an excerpt from his finished film, The Bellows March, that include animation that I designed. I also developed the unique character rigging for the interesting concertina character central to the film. Additional information can be found here.

Noetic was a pilot initiative launched by the Imaging Research Center in 2007. Developed around Howard Gardener’s notion of “multiple intelligences”, users were required to function in teams towards a given solution, relying on game play mechanics designed to test and respond to the real-world strength of users. More information can be found here.