[Noisebridge-discuss] Hologlyphics grant letter of intent

Walter Funk marybraindoe at yahoo.com
Wed Dec 3 16:31:47 UTC 2008


Hi Noisebridge folks,

   Below is the letter of intent, going to the Creative Work Fund, asking to be considered being invited for a full proposal. At last nights meeting, it was requested to the letter out to the list. Here it is, plus links if people are interested.

Creative Work Fund:
http://www.creativeworkfund.org

My Website:
http://www.hologlyphics.com

   For now I am planning on delivering this later today. Thanks for being open to my creative ideas.

Thank You,
Walter

Dear Frances Phillips, Creative Work Fund Director,

This letter is inform you that artist Walter Funk and non-profit organization Noisebridge intend to apply for the Creative Work Fund grant in the new media category by June, 3, 2009. The request will be for the amount of $30,000, the funds will be used for the creation of Hologlyphic movies, stereoscopic movies without special glasses. For the past 15 years, Walter Funk has developed technology, techniques and artistic content revolving around 3D movies imagery without glasses. This unique artform has now been developed to the stage where it is prime to become available to other creative people. Noisebridge is an educational non-profit corporation, a space for artistic collaboration and experimentation, with a special emphasis on the crossover of art and technology. Noisebridge supports the development of, and provides resources for the development of free and open source software and hardware for the benefit of society. The project would encompass the
 artist Walter Funk collaborating with Noisebridge on the creation of true 3D movies, and also making all the technical and creative processes available to the general creative community.

Noisebridge is self-financed through membership fees, an $80 monthly membership, or a $40 “starving hacker” rate. It provides work space, storage, and other resources for projects related to art, science, and technology that will benefit the individual members' personal growth in their fields of interest, encouraging the individual members to share their projects and knowledge for the betterment of society through art, science and technology. The collaboration is to take place over two years, with several overlapping aspects. It will begin with Walter Funk holding workshops at Noisebridge regarding true 3D content creation and technology. Noisebridge members would have access to custom 3D displays and unique artistic tools outside of anything commercially available. Concurrent to the initial workshops, a portion of the funds will enable the building of several 3D displays larger than the current version, enabling the expansion of audience size. One
 of the systems will be be available to Noisebridge members full time permanently, and the other displays will be available for the full duration of the project's two year period. After the larger 3D displays are created, focus will turn to collaborative content creation. On top of workshops, at one year after the start of the project, the artist will obtain a space temporarily for several months, making it available full time for creative content production. Noisebridge members will have complete access to the workspace and displays. Content creation will in no way be limited to just this time period, it's merely an accelerated time of growth.

The final stage will be public showings of Hologlyphic Video Art. In addition, full hardware designs of the larger system and related software code would be made freely available to the creative public. That is why the name of the project is Hologlyphic Birth, as the artform gives birth to itself through non-commercial propagation.

For the requested amount of $30,000, the summary budget is as follows: 

Walter Funk-
Materials for three 3D displays - $12,500
Rental of work space for several months - $3,500
Basic Costs of workshops - $1,000
Various artist's expenses - $3,000

Noisebridge-
Overhead costs of project $10,000

Total Budget for Hologlyphic Birth project - $30,000
Materials for the project will be for the larger 3D displays. This will consist of a small metal frame, thin projection surface, computer hardware and projection source for each large 3D display. Three large 3D displays will be constructed, one to become the property of Noisebridge, the other two to be available to Noisebridge for the duration of the project, then to remain with the artist. The total cost for the three large displays will be $12,500. At a year into the project, the artist will obtain a workspace for several months, easily accessible by Noisebridge members, for unhindered Hologlyphic movie creation. The amount of $3,500 is dedicated to renting work space. During the duration of the dedicated workspace, the artist requests the amount of $3,000 for living basic costs, to make himself available on a full time basis at the workspace. To cover small expenses related to multiple workshops taking place over several years, $1,000 has been
 budgeted for the artist. Noisebridge being a member supported group, with the artist collaborating, would need the funds of $10,000 to cover costs related to the project.

This project is new and exciting, yet has a strong background. The Hologlyphic art of Walter Funk pushes the creative boundaries of the moving image. Elements of holography, music, visionary film, experimental video art and sculpture are combined to create a unique new artform. True 3D moving images can be controlled and guided as a performance, by musical keyboards, sound sculptures and human interfaces. 3D movies can also be replayed as a non-performance. While not the same technical process as holography, the visual result is the same, a true 3D image without glasses. Yet unlike traditional holography, the images create beautiful unique flowing 3D patterns interacting with sound, evolve into stereoscopic landscapes, and transform into surreal animated worlds.

The project began in 1994, evolved continually, overcoming many hurdles. The original intent was to merge music with holographic type imagery, and the scope has expanded greatly since. Over the years, the Hologlyphic system became increasingly capable of new visual effects. Walter has adapted tradition 2D special effects to the Hologlyphic system and created a flexible platform for 3D image generation and transformation. Music and sound is completely integrated with the visuals, and distributed spatially through multiple loudspeakers. The Hologlyphic video art has been shown extensively at music festivals, sound art festivals, movie festivals and art shows. Currently the last hurdle is to jump to a larger size, enabling expanded audiences.

While Hologlyphics is Walter's main focus, he has many years experience with various new media art projects. He has performed music internationally, appears on over 20 commercial recordings and is a long time collaborator with well known musician Daevid Allen. Recently, in a collaboration with artists Cork Marcheschi, Reid Johnston and Konstantine Baranov, Walter developed a large scale interactive sound installation for a public atrium in Hong Kong. Colored cones hanging in a large tree sculpture contain motion sensors, which trigger sounds to the motion of the crown below. He provided artistic content, did all the software programming, and physically installed the system on site. In addition, he has designed experimental musical instruments, authored technical papers on Hologlyphic Movies and recorded legendary Filipino Musician Danongan Kalanduyan.

The organization, Independent Arts and Media, in regards to fiscal sponsorship of the Hologlyphics project, expresses great interest in fiscal sponsorship of this project, were equally excited about the project involving Noisebridge. They asked to pass on currently they are in the middle of a big organizational shift, and final decisions can't be made until January due to that reason alone, but they are strongly interested in fiscal sponsorship of this project. Walter contacted Frances Phillips regarding this matter, she recommended although not optimal, to mention the situation in the letter of intent, and update the Creative Work Fund as soon as something definite is known. Josh Wilson of Independent Arts and Media, replied upon hearing this, that Frances was well aware of their work and very supportive of them. Josh feels confident a positive decision could be made very soon.
With the requested funds, the Hologlyphics Birth project could push the boundaries ever further than before, raise awareness of the true 3D movies, reach new audiences and allow creative artists to animate images on a spatial plane. The Hologlyphics system was intended to be driven by creative and artistic intentions, not commercial product development. Noisebridge, being a magnet and hub of activity, involving many talented members with a strong interest in art and technology, is the perfect home for the initial workshops and resultant content creation period. 

Public showing of works in progress will be held, and after a complete work is finished, a dedicated show will be executed, all arranged by the artist. During the creative process, the artist will allow members involved in the workshops the add to the existing software features if they desire, as there are many programmers at Noisebridge. In the same spirit, no one would be required to do so, and anyone needing assistance at any level would be give the necessary guidance. Walter is equally comfortable with pre-recorded movies or 3D visuals involving a human performer, leaving it open to which approach people wish to take, or even both.

The Hologlyphic Birth movies would be created with custom content creation tools, with face to face assistance every step of the way. With the range of skills among the members of Noisebridge, this ensures no one will be left out nor put upon. Amazing things have already happened at Noisebridge. Within the first 24 hours of renting a space, Noisebridge raised over $10,000 for a the location and meaningful projects. Popular workshops have been given on soldering, programming, and circuit design.

Walter will document the technical design, draft technical drawings and make this material available on the Hologlyphics website, along with the required software, free for use and continued development. Collaborating with interested Noisebridge members involved in the workshops, would provide a strong springboard for propagation of this unique creative technology. The artist and organization both have a strong interest in art, technology, and the development of free and open source technology. This alignment in thought will ensure the growth of spatial movies, outside of commercial development.

Now is a great time to take up this unique opportunity. Moving 3D images without glasses, interacting with music and sound, is truly a new artform. Artists do not have to wait until companies develop such tools, in fact they are better off doing it themselves. This opportunity is unique because there is a huge cornucopia of creative expression to be explored. Audiences will benefit from expanding their horizons, with the resulting showings. If the possibilities of true 3D movies could be shown to the public by artists who love the new medium, not companies looking to make a buck, then result could only be beneficial all around. We can not only raise awareness of true 3D movies, but make it something highly worth being aware of.

If the requested funds were granted for the Hologlyphic Birth project, The Creative Work Fund would allow an amazing artform to grow in the hands of creative minds, empower artists to create Hologlyphic movies and provide audiences with the rare chance to experience something truly new. We sincerely appreciate you taking the time to read this letter of intent, and would be pleased if you would strongly consider inviting us for a full proposal in March.

Thank You,



Walter Funk            Noisebridge



      



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