The Blue Paradox

Role: Creative Technologist
Client: Radical Media‍‍
‍Team: Sean Leo, Cam Vokey, Dave Tennent, Trevor Grove
Location: Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
‍Date: March-July 2023, Ongoing

Project Description

The Blue Paradox is an immersive exhibition at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, IL. ‍

Working with the team at Radical Media, my role in this project was focused on TouchDesigner programming for a number of installations, as well as a variety of general development + installation tasks.

Under the coordination of Sean Leo and Cam Vokey, I worked alongside Dave Tennent and Trevor Grove for the duration of the project. Our team coordinated with AV vendors, construction crews, production deadlines, and museum schedules to install everything on-site from May through July 2023.

The scale of this project required each member of the team to be focused on different areas of the exhibition week-by-week and day-by-day in order to complete the project. Below, you can see a map of the exhibition and a breakdown of my involvement.

TouchDesigner

Project Highlights

The Blue Paradox consists of a number of rooms which guests move through sequentially:
‍
1. The Knuckle / Ramp
2. Staff Podium
3. Pulse Point
4. The Wave
5. Microplastic Particles (Set/Reset)
6. Interactive Plinths
7. Conveyors / Tickers
8. Communal Action / Pledge Wall
9. Portholes

Light blue indicates high levels of involvement in pre-production and on-site, including TouchDesigner programming, GUI development, troubleshooting, and final execution.

Dark blue indicates installation-only involvement, including content management and network integration.

‍Dark grey indicates limited involvement as troubleshooting support.

'The Wave'

Photo courtesy of Radical Media

After checking in with a museum staff member with a timed ticket, visitors are lead down a winding corridor to a waiting area just before the first experience.

The entry podium contains a custom GUI built in TouchDesigner for staff members to monitor and control the exhibit, as well as initialize the introductory film and control the flow of visitors.

My responsibilities included pixel mapping, TouchDesigner programming, and designing a back of house GUI for testing and maintenance purposes.

I also assisted Dave Tennent in rigging, calibrating, and testing the Oak-D IR cameras for motion tracking and interactive playback in Notch.

Interactive "attract" state using Oak-D sensors

Oak-D infrared sensor for motion tracking during interactive "attract" state

Movie playback with TouchDesigner, controlled + monitored by exhibition entry podium

Photo credit / Radical Media

'The Communal Action Wall'

Photo credit / Radical Media

The Communal Action action wall is a massive U-shaped structure in the final room of the exhibiton, consisting of 11x 4k Planar monitors, and one large TouchDesigner server for playback.

In order to ensure smooth playback across such a large display surface, I programmed the server to utilize Nvidia's Mosaic and Affinity features. This allowed us to take advantage of TouchDesigner Pro's hardware lock and avoid frame jitters and tearing.

It was also my responsibility to map content that was provided by creative and sync playback with the audio team.

Final output mosaic + custom GUI for playback (pictured on laptop)

Photo credit / Radical Media

'The Portholes'

Photo credit / Radical Media

The Portholes are a group of interactive kiosks at the end of the exhibit intended to connect visitors to additional resources on the ocean plastic crisis.

The kiosks are all identical TouchDesigner builds, installed behind the wall and linked to kinetic porthole frames. It was my responsibility to program the user interaction in TouchDesigner based on the graphic treatment provided by the creative team.

Once we arrived on site, I was able to coordinate with the scenic team from Chicago Scenic Studios, and test the kinetic elements of the kiosk- which included a large ring bearing, gasket, and rotary encoder.

I also ensured that the Arduino was receiving signal from the encoder, and built a failsafe in the event of encoder failure for the sake of long-term maintenance.

Photo credit / Radical Media

Backstage GUI for Porthole maintenance and encoder control- made in TouchDesigner

'The Wave'

The heart of the installation is a series of interactive "time portals," each representing a different historical era. These portals are equipped with motion sensors, touchscreens, and augmented reality interfaces, allowing visitors to step into different time periods and explore them in an engaging and informative way.

The Portholes

Our team has meticulously choreographed the installation process to ensure that every element seamlessly fits into the overarching narrative. We've worked closely with artists, historians, and technologists to guarantee that every aspect, from lighting and sound to digital displays and physical artifacts, complements one another perfectly.