CMU School of Drama


Friday, September 21, 2012

Video: Giant kinetic moving sculpture walls wow in South Korea

DVICE: Giant 3D video displays can be pretty cool, but it's hard for a virtual 3D effect to compete with an actually moving 3D display. This crazy wall design built for the Hyundai Motor Group's Exhibition Pavilion is a great example, with giant walls of moving blocks creating patterns that wow a bunch of visiting school kids.javascript:;

12 comments:

Luke Foco said...

This is a really cool automation project that could be scaled to fit into a theatrical application. The shear size of the project is amazing. This seems like it would be a giant pain to troubleshoot and to program. I would love to see the control software and how they interface this monster with the lighting effects. If the cubes had an ability to be rear projection that would be amazing. The design group that did this did a very nice job with the execution of this effect and I wish that GM still had enough money to have an answer to this.

Unknown said...

That's fucking badass. Like Luke, I'd love to see the software for programming SO MANY individual objects at what appear to be so many positions. And despite how amazingly cool it looks and all the technology undoubtedly used to make it; I'm really glad to see the styrofoam used for the blocks looked to be cheap disposable coolers...

april said...

Wow, that was pretty cool. It would be interesting to see the effect if you could somehow work in color changing blocks. Perhaps with LEDs or something, although the cost for that im sure would be outrageous. There are so many ways to work with this, its such an interesting idea. Like what if you increased the size of the blocks a little and used a softer material and then used them as a floor. That would be a fun interactive museum exhibit. You could also use that in the theatre as a totally mind boggling set if you had three walls a floor and ceiling all made out of the blocks. I cant wait to see if anyone else puts them to use.
Thats pretty effective advertisement as well, no one who saw it in person especially is likely to forget it any time soon.

seangroves71 said...

thats really epic, kinda want to have rane throw some funky lights on it and gather some stoner kids and play some dubstep and watch the utter confusion. but all reality its sick development. i smell a playground project. Im kinda curious just how many actuators these walls use and what possibilities there could be with projection mapping.

skpollac said...

WOW. That is actually amazing. With the technology these days you would assume that nothing surprises anyone but this is incredibly surprising. There is something unexpected about 35 foot walls moving around you that is completely unnatural and beautiful. I would go crazy thinking about the possibilities of using this in a theatrical experience. Cirque should get on this.

S. Kael said...

In addition to the walls being really interesting, I'm a little bit curious as to what the lights were doing. At some point at woman stands up and walks in front of the group, and it appears as though there's a light that tracks her movement across the deck. After seeing that I noticed that most of the kids on their floor had their own small top lights.

The lighting on the wall when there was a fairly random pattern about them also drew me in. It was elegant in its own weird way to see the shadows cascading down the walls when the blocks were pushed out in said pattern. Maybe next time instead of styrofoam, they should try LED panels!

kerryhennessy said...

Technology is amazing. People are constantly coming up with new and unexpected ways to use it. I enjoy when people make bold choices such as the idea to make a 35-foot wall of moving “pixels” this is amazing to see in person, but I think it would be breath taking to see it in real life. The massive size of the wall does not come across as well in the video. I was also intrigued by what was happening with the lights on the floor when the video ended

Unknown said...

It is cool to just sit and watch it work, but its even cooler to think about how many systems have to work together to accomplish this. As technology gets better, more efficient, and systems get more cooperative, things like this become not only possible but easily accessible. Media Designers are only a recent addition to theater but I doubt they will be the last. Now automation operators are becoming more necessary and how soon till there exists a commonly held position for computer based design like this? This just shows that everyday there are new and exciting things that could be applied to theater. This is certainly a good time to be entering he field.

Robert said...

This is really cool. The number of automated axis is ridiculous. I have done some research on how something similar was done and it is amazing. They put a gray scale video into the program and assign values for each extreme and then the computer does the rest. I wonder if this on was programed this way. It is a shame that this did not go to a lot of places. I would love to see this in person or something similar and see the wall move around me. I wonder what the time this was for install and tech before they got it to work. Also how much noise does it make is another question that I have. Hope to see more of this type of installation in the future since the technology is changing so fast.

Unknown said...

This looks amazing! It actually reminds me of those magnetic toys where you press your hand on the back, and the impression is seen in 3D on the other side. When I first saw the article, I thought I would be disappointed at a slow and choppy moving display, but I was delighted that it was fast and fluid. Not only should we think about the moving blocks, but we should also think about the lighting design. Without the lights from above, the shadows would not be seen well, and the effect would be lost. The different shades of gray work really well also. If it were vibrantly colored, it would be too busy and take away from the movement. I also like how the blocks make the pictures look pixelated. It gives a very modern effect, which works with the design of Hyundai

Unknown said...

Well that's amazing. Super cool. You could tell how much the audience loved it too! The wall reminds me of those toys where there are a bunch of skinny metal sticks and you stick your hand up to it and when you press against it, the shape of your hand appears on the other side as you press the sticks through. Hopefully that makes sense.. but the wall just looks like shear fun! It's incredible how fluid it is and how many different shapes and patterns it can make. I also really like how it could form a car, and represent actual objects-- not just patterns. As Lindsay said, it's incredible how fast and fluid it is.. a true technological marvel! (albeit probably a programming nightmare...) As others have said it would be even more cool if they made the boxes light up, maybe sometime in the future!

Andrew O'Keefe said...

I really want to find something else to say about this than "Wow, that's really cool," but alas, it just is. But that's all it is, right? Cool. It's not provocative or stirring or anything else, really, at least to me. I usually shudder a little when technology overshadows concept in a creative piece, but the only concept here is to wow, and to get the brand on the wall. Like a lot of innovation, unfortunately a lot of our best energies and resources are put into commercial enterprises, leaving it up to the rest of us to take those innovations and put them to better use. But thank god for commercial enterprise then. What would really be cool is if this system were open-source, but I'm guessing it's patented from here to the styrofoam planet of Maliboon. Anyway, great inspiration at the very least. Thank you Seoul.