[Noisebridge-discuss] Hologlyphic-Movie/Noisbridge grant funding re-application

Wed Nov 23 16:42:51 UTC 2011

Hello  Noisebridge,

At the Noisebridge meeting last
night I announced I'm re-trying for the Creative Work Fund grant
project to build large 3D displays. This was approved at NB a few
years ago. It's re-applying for the same project, asking for $30,000
to fund collaborating on large 3D displays and art for a live
performance.

I plan to send an updated letter of
intent on Friday, Dec. 2nd, 2011.

Rubin asked me to post this if
people want to discuss, or if anyone has any questions.

Here is the history of this project:

https://noisebridge.net/wiki/Hologlyphic_Video_Art

https://www.noisebridge.net/pipermail/noisebridge-discuss/2008-December/001853.html

https://www.noisebridge.net/pipermail/noisebridge-discuss/2009-May/004886.html

https://www.noisebridge.net/pipermail/noisebridge-discuss/2009-May/004890.html

The project has been slightly
updated, for improvement, the same artistic goals, but with an
improvement in the hardware. I still want to build 3D displays, of a
newer design than last time. They will be simpler to build, as I have
massively updated the design for easy construction. In addition, the
idea of also using one large pre-made display has been added, for
which I've already developed a set of artistic tools for the open
source 3D software Blender.

This will be the best of both worlds.
The purchased display will be able to show and develop content
instantly, and involve people who do not have any hardware skills. 

I am sending a copy of the old
letter of intent, which has been altered to a template for the new
letter. The budget figures are x-ed out, that will be updated over
the weekend as I source new materials and the big commercial display.

My website is here if people don't know
what this Hologlyphic  Movie stuff is:

http://www.hologlyphics.com

Anyhow this is where I plan to take
this project, and thanks again for people's enthusiasm around 3D
movies without glasses. 

Thanks,
Walter

Here is the template letter of intent, just slightly modified from last time:

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,
x, 2011. The request will be for the amount of $xx,xxx, 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. Two
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. A large commercially available display will also be acquired,
on which artistic work and being immediately. After the larger
non-commercial 3D displays are built, focus will turn to
collaborative content creation on them as well. 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 $xx,xxx,
the summary budget is as follows: 

TBD

Materials for the project will be for
the larger 3D displays. This will consist of a large metal frame, a
projection surface, computer hardware and projection source for each
large 3D display. Four large 3D displays will be constructed, two 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 four large displays will be $xx,xxx.
In addition, a large commercial 3D display will be purchased to a
variation to the visual art. The artist has already developed
prototype software extension for the creation of artistic work on
this large commercial 3D display. The software works in conjunction
with an the open source 3D modeling program Blender. The prototype
software extension will be developed into a fully functioning 3D
creative suite, it will be open source and available for free
download on the internet.

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 $x,xxx is dedicated to renting work space. During the
duration of the dedicated workspace, the artist requests the amount
of $x,xxx 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, $x,xxx has been
budgeted for the artist. Noisebridge being a member supported group,
with the artist collaborating, would need the funds of $xx,xxx 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.

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. 

'Updated Indy Arts and Media fiscal
sponsorship to be added here.'

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 xxxx.

Thank You,

Walter Funk               Noisebridge
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