Full article (it's 2 pages and the pagination isn't the most obvious): http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/05/bay-lights-project-turns-s...
Bay Lights Project turns SF Bay Bridge into a ‘big-ass display’
11–20 of 22 posts
Re: Bay Lights Project turns SF Bay Bridge into a ‘big-ass display’
#12Hmm, kind of sad that there's no mention of it's forerunner, the Blinkenlights project: http://blinkenlights.net/project It was done by a handful of folks (mostly CCC members) and included an API and the ability to play pong on it via cell phone. The 2002 follow-up was higher resolution: http://blinkenlights.net/arcade
The Blinkenlights project doesn't seem to mention its forerunners either:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwNQqePk8Kg http://bastilleweb.techhouse.org
I wonder who was the first to do this.
Re: Bay Lights Project turns SF Bay Bridge into a ‘big-ass display’
#13Obligatory reference explaining why I read this as "big ass-display": http://xkcd.com/37/
Re: Bay Lights Project turns SF Bay Bridge into a ‘big-ass display’
#14Leo Villareal, the creator of this project, is one of my favorite artists because he is a geek like us. He builds and codes all of his light installations himself (at least to date he has).
My favorite piece is this large floor-to-ceiling gallery installation: http://youtu.be/IhKshdYr5rE?t=34s
There were 5 or 6 Mac minis mounted at the top of the installation driving the light changes.
Additionally the gallery rep explained that Villareal programmed the light change combinations to be random (pseudorandom -- she wasn't a geek), and will never repeat within our lifetimes. I expect the same is true of the bridge installation.
Re: Bay Lights Project turns SF Bay Bridge into a ‘big-ass display’
#15How long until it becomes a billboard, though?
never. I know your comment was a joke, but this dude Villareal takes his work very seriously and I want to convey 1) that he is legit and 2) that all of my fellow HN readers should be following his work beyond just this bridge.
Re: Bay Lights Project turns SF Bay Bridge into a ‘big-ass display’
#16Leo Villareal, the creator of this project, is one of my favorite artists because he is a geek like us. He builds and codes all of his light installations himself (at least to date he has). My favorite piece is this large floor-to-ceiling gallery installation: http://youtu.be/IhKshdYr5rE?t=34s There were 5 or 6 Mac minis mounted at the top of the installation driving the light changes. Additionally the gallery rep ex…
Here's another video with Leo explaining details of how/why he builds:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HplsGiSmnJI
Discusses writing software around the 1:50 mark.
Re: Bay Lights Project turns SF Bay Bridge into a ‘big-ass display’
#17I am very interested in learning how to do this. Can anyone point me to some information; tutorial on how or where to start?
Re: Bay Lights Project turns SF Bay Bridge into a ‘big-ass display’
#18I am very interested in learning how to do this. Can anyone point me to some information; tutorial on how or where to start?
Re: Bay Lights Project turns SF Bay Bridge into a ‘big-ass display’
#19Re: Bay Lights Project turns SF Bay Bridge into a ‘big-ass display’
#20Hmm, kind of sad that there's no mention of it's forerunner, the Blinkenlights project: http://blinkenlights.net/project It was done by a handful of folks (mostly CCC members) and included an API and the ability to play pong on it via cell phone. The 2002 follow-up was higher resolution: http://blinkenlights.net/arcade
According to my book, Leo Villareal by JoAnne Northrup, on page 45, "During the 1996 iteration of Burning Man, Villareal covered his rented camper with reflective plastic to minimize the solar heat. He was suprised to note that this gesture created a stunning illusion--very much like a mirage where the reflection of surroundings creats a kind of camoflaging effect" and continues further down the page, "The following year [1997], Villareal decided to address another practical problem, one that stemmed from the exponential growth of the events attendance: how to find the way back to camp at night...Using 16 strobe lights and a Basic Stamp microcontroller, he constructed his first light pulsation system and mounted it atop his camper on a wooden lattice structure. It turned out to be much more than a simple navigation beacon: it projected sequences that 'expressed a desperate need to communicate in a language that begged to be decoded.'"
and continues to talk about how modified the structure and exhibited it from his New York Studio and worked on several other projects leading up to Disorient in 2001.