Overview
Processing, a 13 week course created for artists to develop skills and knowledge using the open source Processing environment (www.processing.org) took place at the Watershed Media Centre, Bristol between March and June 2005. The format of the course consisted of project based learning whereby students deconstructed interactive projects and then re-worked or extended the original code/ideas to accomplish a series of exercises. The course aimed to create a hybrid space, where technical skills are fused with a creative approach.Processing provides an exciting platform upon which to create and implement interactive projects for a number of different contexts - from screen based work to tangible and motion capture interfaces for live performance.
The group consisted of 7 creatives from diverse backgrounds including music, performance and film making. The conclusion of the course was a one off showcase event held on July 21st at the Watershed. The showcase featured a range of work from live performance to installation, highlighting an innovative and experimental approach to interactive media using RFID technology, motion detection, video tracking and sound interaction. This website provides further detail of the work that was shown at the event, including video documentation, images and code.
Background
This course was conceived and developed by Yasser Rashid, an interaction designer and interactive media artist with extensive experience working within the field of digital media in artistic, educational and commercial contexts. Having used Processing since it was first available for download, it was felt that the language and environment would provide the ideal opportunity to facilitate the learning and development of experimental interactive media. The course was designed to focus on the development of programming skills and understanding various methods of interaction including the use of sound, video tracking, pixel manipulation and tangible interfaces. In addition the course also had the following aims:
- To provide opportunities in the South West to develop creative skills in Processing.
- To provide a critical framework for creative development through group critique, external critique and evaluation processes.
- To foster collaborative practice and skills sharing between people from different creative backgrounds.
- To engage with and contribute to the current issues in the online Processing community.
- To make new digital work and processes available to audiences in the South West and beyond through exhibition and/or presentation via the Electric Pavilion umbrella project.
At the beginning of January 2005 artists were invited to submit applications highlighting their current creative practice and proposing project ideas. The artists selected all come from professional backgrounds ranging from academia, film making, performance and music.
The course was funded by and part of Electric Pavilion - Watershed's contribution to Creative Bristol 2005.