Dance on Camera at Tufts University: Day 6: Augmented Reality with Marlon Barrios Solano

Monday, February 23, 2015

Day 6: Augmented Reality with Marlon Barrios Solano

This past Friday, we were visited by guest artist Marlon Barrios Solano of dance-tech.tv who taught a class on augmented reality and how it can be applied to dance, giving us an opportunity to look at something within the intersection of dance and technology besides screen dance. After a group discussion, some improvisation exercises, and watching a few examples of dance-related AR (found here, here, and here), we got to create our own little AR project, which can be seen by scanning the image below with a smart phone or tablet using dance-tech.tv's AR app.

More detailed instructions for viewing our "project" can be found after the jump:

First, download dance-tech.tv's augmented reality app on an iOS or Android device. The app is free, and, at least in Apple's app store, looks like this:

Next, open the app and "scan" the above picture of us from our trip to NYC. To do this, simply hold your phone so that the photo is visible on your screen like so:

You may need to move your phone around a bit and/or wait a few seconds for everything to come into focus in order for the trigger picture to be scanned, but once it's happened, you should see a loading graphic:

Once it has finished loading, you will be able to see a short video taken during our class with Marlon in place of the picture!

This video remains on top of the picture even when you move your phone:

If you double tap the video, it will switch to full screen and you can continue watching it even if your phone is no longer aimed at the photo:

(Alternatively, you can always watch the video here if you either don't have a smart phone/tablet or are unable to make the app work, but it's way more fun and exciting to watch it through the app.)

Marlon's class was a great way to learn about a new (or at least new to us) realm of dance technology, and we're definitely looking forward to finding ways to implement AR into our future work within the course, whether through using it to help promote our upcoming screening or as projects in and of themselves.

- Cassie

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Dance on Camera

Dance on Camera is a Tufts University course designed for any dancer, artist, or student interested in film and video production with dance or movement as a medium. Through storyboarding, shooting, editing, choreographing, and directing, students will learn basic video production techniques and advanced camera work.

The Spring 2015 version of the course is being supported by a Tufts Innovates! grant, which will aid us in our goal of creating two professional level projects for submission into various national and international film festivals by providing us with the resources to purchase high-quality digital cameras and other video-making equipment, to take a class trip to NYC for the 2015 Dance on Camera Film Festival, to organize an on-campus dancefilm screening, to learn from guest artists in the field of videodance, and more.

This semester, the course is being taught by Jaclyn Waguespack with assistance from Cassie Burns.

Dance at Tufts

At Tufts, dance is a well-established and vibrant part of the academic, cultural, and community life on campus that includes the Dance Program in the Department of Drama and Dance, and the many and varied extracurricular student dance groups across the university.

The dance program exposes students to the rich history of the discipline and current practices in the field within a fully integrated vision for liberal arts education. Students access the program as new-to-dance practitioners; as members of cultural arts studies programs; or as committed dancers in the field. All have the option of working toward Minor Degrees in Dance. For students who enter the program with advanced training, we offer the opportunity to study dance within the context of a liberal arts program (differing in its focus from more technically-oriented conservatory programs). While we do offer a number of advanced technique course options, our program focuses on creative process, modern dance, and non-western dance forms, all of which involve a balance of both experientially and academically rigorous course work.