Experiments

These experiments informed my final three animations. They involved working with the text, rectangle, circle, ramp and noise TOP components of TouchDesigner. I incorporated the displace, mirror, transform, noise, switch and composite TOPs in at least one of the experiments to broaden my horizons. I also took advantage of the 'absTime.seconds' Python script, as well as the LFO and pattern CHOPs.

A lot of my process involved the idea of adding something new, taking something away and changing something existing as this type of experimentation opened me up to new directions and possibilities. I often did this with CHOPs (patterns/LFOs), connecting them or disconnecting them from different components and reconnecting them elsewhere after a few parameter tweaks to see how it would affect the animation. I also sometimes implemented this idea into the work I did with TOPs, after coming to a point where I was done with executing my thought process. I would add TOP components in certain places to see how it would affect the output, and in this manner, obtain new ideas that I could work with. Adding CHOPs usually was towards the end, or sometimes in the middle when I already had an idea of what the animation would look like. If not, I would play around with different values corresponding to ranges of respective component options, and that would either work well or lead to new ideas to develop.

I found that mirroring and tiling can transform a simple visual into an interesting animation, especially when combined with the blur component. Balancing between different frequencies of waves worked well as it made the animation less overwhelming to the eye, and the contrast in speeds allowed the viewer to take the animation in more effectively. It also added a layer of subtlety, which was interesting because the viewer doesn’t tend to focus on one moving element at a time, but rather the motion of the animation as a whole. These ideas can be most clearly seen in the fourth animation.

I found that getting cooped up into an idea or vision that you have can be rather taxing because it limits your ability to explore other possibilities. This is what happened with my second animation involving the tiling rectangular lines. I had somewhat of a vision in mind, and after executing it, I was not happy with it but it was extremely difficult for me to figure out ways to animate it in an interesting way, or tweak different components to make it something that I was more happy with.

Reflection on Final Animations

I used the second, third and fourth experiments as the base for each of my final animations.

It was refreshing and effective to take on the ‘add something new, take something away, change something existing’ approach. It allowed me to push my animations and explore boundaries beyond what I previously thought I could. I explored new solutions and ways of manipulating the components I had been working with. When I made the four experiments, I thought I had maxed out in pushing them, as I tried many different processes and ways of manipulating the components with TOPs and CHOPs, but just by bypassing every component one at a time and seeing how it would affect the animation, I was already able to push my boundaries. I would then play with the toggles of the added or already-existing components in my network to see if any would have a compelling effect, and proceed to implement a CHOP component to drive this. In the end, I was able to create three very different animations using the same methodology; the first is reminiscent of a carpet, the second resembles a circuit board, and the last plays on the idea of watercolor being diluted as it depicts it as vibrant with a flow. This approach is definitely one I would like to implement in my general working methodology.

I relied a little too much on the noise TOP for my visuals, and this hindered my experimentation with other TOP possibilities. Experiment 2 was the base for the first final animation. The way I manipulated the experiment removed its essence. It now looks completely different to the original, which can be a good thing, but I wanted to see how much I could push the experiment while still keeping its general feel and visual componenets. This was quite tough because of the constraints I was implementing on myself, and I ended up letting those constraints go. This was an interesting learning curve that shows that sometimes, it is okay to let go of the ideas in mind as they can lead to greater outcomes.