The Parallax View

6 lectures on the Digital Image by Joel Gethin Lewis.

Visual Communication Expanded Practice, Spring Term 2019.

Time and location: Thursdays, 1400-1700, GH 219 or GH 233, RCA Garden House, White City, London.

Tutor: Joel Gethin Lewis.

The digital image helps us to think about visual culture in a different way. Digital technologies allow us to probe how images can be made, including elements (such as style) that were previously thought to be exclusively the domain of humans. The Parallax View will be an investigation into three different aspects of the digital image, each lasting for two weeks. For each aspect the first week will be an introduction to a brief, with a tutorial about the concepts involved. In the second week pair responses to the brief will be presented and constructively criticised by the group and invited guests. No programming experience is required, but you should bring a computer to all sessions. Programming and projects will occur in pairs.

1. Thursday 31st January: Digital Pixel 1: brief and programming tutorial.
2. Thursday 7th February: Digital Pixel 2: group presentations and crits.
3. Thursday 21st February: Computer Vision 1: brief and programming tutorial.
4. Thursday 28th February: Computer Vision 2: group presentations and crits.
5. Thursday 7th March: Machine Learning 1: brief and programming tutorial.
6. Thursday 14th March: Machine Learning 2: group presentations and crits.

Thanks to Kyle McDonald, Lauren McCarthy, Daniel Shiffman, Jessica Bland, Rune Madsen, Rifke Sadleir, Eva Papamargariti, Nicholas Mirzoeff, Francesca Gavin, Rathna Ramanathan, Luke Pendrell and Debbie Cook.

Source available on GitHub.

Breakdown of syllabus:

• Digital Pixel:
  • Thursday 31st January: Session 1: brief and programming tutorial.
    1. What binary numbers are.
    2. How images are made using arrays of pixels.
    3. Changing pixel values to animate a static image.
  • Thursday 7th February: Session 2: pair presentations on brief and critique with Eva Papamargariti.
• Computer Vision:
  • Thursday 21st February: Session 3: brief and programming tutorial.
    1. Thresholding images into different parts.
    2. Pixel differences between frames of video.
    3. Live tracking of colours, markers and faces.
  • Thursday 28th February: Session 4: pair presentations on brief and critique with Rifke Sadleir.
• Machine Learning:
  • Thursday 7th March: Session 5: Brief, programming tutorial and remote discussion with Kyle McDonald.
    1. Classification of images.
    2. Transferring the style of an image to another.
    3. Live tracking of body pose.
  • Thursday 14th March: Session 6: pair presentations on brief and critique with Francesca Gavin.

References:

• Parallax - a definition from Wikipedia.
• How to See the World by Nicholas Mirzoeff - a book on visual culture.
• p5.js - a JavaScript library for creative code.
• p5.js Computer vision examples from Kyle McDonald.
• ml5.js - a JavaScript library for creative code using machine learning.
• Daniel Shiffman - the best teacher on creative code using JavaScript.
• Learning Processing book by Daniel Shiffman (quite old now, but still useful).
• Programming Design Systems an online book from Rune Madsen, with a history of graphic design and good exercises in programming graphic design.
• Machine Learning for Artists - an advanced series of tutorials, lectures and in progress book by Gene Kogan.

Image credit: Parallax scrolling layers in the computer game "The Whispered World" – side view. By Claas Paletta, PR & New Business Manager of Daedalic Entertainment GmbH (rights owner).

Student work:

Brief 1: The Digital Pixel

• Magda Tritto, Ewa Poniatowska and Bakhtawer Hadier.
• "Moon" by Shengni Zhang and Danyang Liu.
• "Meat" by Yijia Tang and Yiqi Zhang.
• "五福临门 or Happy Chinese New Year" by Manye Xu and Ping Mu.
• "Sunrise on the Water" by Aakriti Khurana and Tianhang Zhu.
• "The Mobius Band" by Peiyao Liu and Riqi Wang.