Comments on: data mining bodies in motion

By: Karen Griscom

Karen Griscom — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 01:17:43 +0000

Hi, Susan
I want to pass along the TED video I mentioned today:
Theo Jansen: My creations, a new form of life
www.ted.com/talks/theo_jansen_creates_new_creatures.html
I thought of these “Strandbeests” when we spoke about the performance at UVa. Glad to meet you today!

By: Susan Wiesner

Susan Wiesner — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 17:35:07 +0000

Hey Robert, all good ideas, but I’m not really interested in scripting as much as the ability to mine ‘geographical’ data from film in an effort to study how often — and in what context — choreographers and directors use specific spacing/staging. As I am using statistics to study body parts and movement patterns in context (currently using metaphor), the addition of the staging would be really useful. of course, the ability to save a script and the data for future use would be awesome.

By: Robert Vernon

Robert Vernon — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 17:04:37 +0000

Hi Susan ~
…actually, sounds like a 4D problem because you will have to deal with time to show movement. Have you considered KML as a programming language for your project? Here is a link to the Globe Theatre with actors: sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=86a73bea65571dad482171afd151b5c3
that was created with SketchUp.
Python is now the standard ArcGIS coding environment. Here is a link to pyKML:
googlegeodevelopers.blogspot.com/2012/01/introducing-pykml-python-library-for.html
which may be a good way of scripting the action you want.
I have seen some amazing motion KML projects. KML may be the best way to approach your project short of Hollywood resources. Cheers! ~ Bob