Assignment #1: Oblique Strategies and Process
24 May 2022
Rendered Full Object
ˇ Click the rendered image to view the public Fusion link. ˇ
Fusion Timeline
Pre-Render
Though I did not 3D print the ENTIRE object, I 3D modeled it to get a jist of what the object would look like, what the smaller components would look like, and their size.
Cura Model Screenshots
In Progress
Post production of the 3D printed objects included removing supports, and painting them. The stem of the light bulb was not pointed, as I used a silver fillament for printing. As for the wooden block, I used a buzzsaw to cut the wood to my desired length, and then sanded it down for smoothness. I also lightly painted the wood to give it a rustic feel. I utilized a hot glue gun to put the pieces together. The light bulb is an old one I had around.
Background
Ghosts have always had electrical capabilities, so it was only when electricity was first harnessed by humans that contact with them became possible. Electrical devices would sometimes behave erratically, and once the lightbulb started to become common in homes, the lights would flicker sometimes on and off. A man named David Alter was working on his newest invention, one which could allow humans to communicate across vast distances. His device, what would eventually become known as the telegraph, would exhibit the same irregularities as electrical devices in the past. His messages would read other messages not of his own—messages from the dead! David, using a telegraph and morse code, became the first human to have direct communication with the dead. The word telegraph comes from the Greek word Tele, meaning “far away”, and graph, meaning to draw a message. Today, the telegraph is a relic of the first communication techniques used to communicate with the dead. We now have much more advanced ways of interpreting the messages of the dead. The telegraph serves as a reminder of how far we have advanced in human-ghost communications technology.
Artifact Photographs
Video
Artist Statement
The start of the project was difficult. The assignment is a bit out of the box from our daily ways of thinking. At first, I tried thinking of an object to create and then working out a background story from that, but with this concept I found success in creating a theme/back story first and then creating an object from there. What I think sets this project apart from others is that it is taking a real world object and giving it a new past and purpose. Though my telegraph does not look like a real telegraph (for technical reasons), it still functions more or less the same while being completely different from the non-ghost sensing ones of today. I think what helped this project be so successful was its incorporation of non 3D printed assets, such as the wood block and light bulb. Another reason for the success of this project was the fact that I had my own 3D printer to use, so I was less limited by time compared to others. The more I worked on the project, the more invested I became. I think this is evident from looking at the less polished Fusion render, to the cinematic final video.