{"id":252,"date":"2011-12-13T17:42:42","date_gmt":"2011-12-13T06:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lucazoid.com\/bilateral\/?p=252"},"modified":"2011-12-13T17:57:17","modified_gmt":"2011-12-13T06:57:17","slug":"the-human-fax-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lucazoid.com\/bilateral\/the-human-fax-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"The Human Fax Machine"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is a set of instructions for a workshop activity I ran in Tasmania recently for the Convergence Lab. The original activity was devised by Brogan Bunt<\/a>, and together with Brogan, I developed it in collaboration with Bettina Frankham<\/a> at UOW Media Arts<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The instructions below are by now fairly refined… although having carried it out in Hobart with nearly 60 highly trained artists and teachers, I have some ideas how to push it even further. <\/p>\n

The Human Fax Machine <\/strong><\/p>\n

AIM:<\/strong>
\nCollaboratively invent a sound-based code system to transmit an image through space.<\/p>\n

HOW IT WORKS:<\/strong>
\nYour group gets one unsophisticated soundmaking device:
\neg a spoon+glass, or a bell, or a jar with dried chickpeas.<\/p>\n

As a group, develop your transmission\/reception system before you play the game. <\/p>\n

Your group splits into two sub-teams:
\nThe \u201cENCODERS\u201d, who transmit the image-message, and the \u201cDECODERS\u201d, who receive it.<\/p>\n

You should write down your code, so that both the ENCODERS and the DECODERS have a working copy of it.<\/p>\n

Test your system out with a simple graphic image (a line drawing) that you draw yourself. <\/p>\n

Discuss how it works, and refine it by answering the following questions.<\/p>\n

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELVES:<\/strong>
\n-is your code appropriate for the soundmaking device you are allocated?
\n-what if the ENCODERS make a mistake when transmitting part of the image?
\n-what if the DECODERS make a mistake when receiving part of the image?
\n-how do you deal with \u201cnoise\u201d in your system?
\n-what if you need to clarify, pause, or start from scratch? <\/em><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t agonise over making it perfect. Make sure you leave enough time to play the game!<\/p>\n

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME:<\/strong>
\nYour team will be allocated an image you have never seen before.
\nTHE ENCODERS will be handed the image, but the DECODERS must not see it.<\/p>\n

The ENCODERS sit on one side of a partition and the DECODERS sit on the other side.
\nThe two cannot see each other. Nobody is permitted to speak.<\/p>\n

The ENCODERS use their soundmaking device to transmit the encoded image.
\nOn the other side of the partition, the DECODERS listen carefully & decipher the audible sound.
\nThe DECODERS now re-draw the image according to the established code.<\/p>\n

Once the transmission is complete, the whole team gets together, discusses what went wrong, improves the code system, and carries out a second transmission.<\/p>\n

FINALLY, RECONVENE WITH EVERYBODY AND SHARE:<\/strong>
\n-what species of code systems you all invented;
\n-what processes you went through to arrive at them;
\n-how successful your systems were at approximating the original image
\n(compare original image to received image);
\n-what was learned in the process;
\n-what was frustrating or enjoyable about the process\u2026<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following is a set of instructions for a workshop activity I ran in Tasmania recently for the Convergence Lab. The original activity was devised by Brogan Bunt, and together with Brogan, I developed it in collaboration with Bettina Frankham at UOW Media Arts. The instructions below are by now fairly refined… although having carried […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,161],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-collaboration","category-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lucazoid.com\/bilateral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lucazoid.com\/bilateral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lucazoid.com\/bilateral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lucazoid.com\/bilateral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lucazoid.com\/bilateral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lucazoid.com\/bilateral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":256,"href":"https:\/\/lucazoid.com\/bilateral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252\/revisions\/256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lucazoid.com\/bilateral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lucazoid.com\/bilateral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lucazoid.com\/bilateral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}