Project Update: Thesis 4/1/20
As the weeks continue, it’s definitely difficult to stay motivated when you realize the current situation we’re dealing with. Hearing from my fellow classmates about their projects and the things we need to do in order to make ends meet with our showcase and projects, it’s definitely disheartening to see so many projects not become what the person initially envisioned. While I have been trying my best to keep my spirits high, it is a bit disappointing considering that my project can’t truly capture that interactive exhibit feeling.
For my project, a big element that I wanted to capture was the feeling of live interactivity. I wanted people to be able to come in and both visualize and feel the characters from mythology, much like one would get from an exhibit. With the current situation, I feel like this aspect of an exhibit is kind of lost now. What makes museums and exhibits interesting is the atmosphere and feeling of physically being in the space. Sure, there are online museum tours and such, but you will never get the same feeling as physically being in the space. I was definitely looking forward to seeing how the audience interacted with the space with the posters, video clips, and the 3D models.
Speaking of 3D models, that aspect is something I unfortunately had to cut from my project. Due to the current situation with COVID-19, I am unable to go to the Makerspace at TCNJ and print 3D models. A big part of the interactivity was being able to physically hold the 3D prints. That way the audience will be able to not only observe the information regarding the mythical characters, but to observe the characters in a new plane. Without this feeling of holding the characters in a 3D setting, there really is no purpose for having the 3D models anymore. If you take away the physical part of the interactivity, the models really add nothing to the project at its current state. Arguably, this does make my project a bit easier, since I don’t have to finish these models and print them. However without this aspect of physical interactivity my project can never truly give the experience of an interactive exhibit.
Fortunately, the other two aspects of my project are pretty much staying the same as usual. I am extremely fortunate that much of my project is able to be done by computer, meaning I can finish up the rest of it during this isolation period. While I won’t be able to print the posters I am making for the characters, I can still easily present them through a webpage. This also goes for my short animated clips. I am thinking of compiling them all into one longer video instead of having multiple short clips. Since we are showcasing our projects through a webpage, there really is no need to break the clips up and present them separately.
My sincerest condolences go out to my fellow classmates who are unable to complete their projects due to the pandemic. It is extremely frustrating to see the hard work and dedication you all have done go to waste due to very unfortunate outside forces. However, everyone’s projects are all shaping up to be extremely well done, especially considering the limitations we all have to work with. All we can hope for is to make our projects the best that they can be and continue staying strong during these tough times.
