In the continuing series of awesome artists that we get to talk to about their work, here is Projectile Objects!
Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Cornelius Henke III, also known as ProjectileObjects.
Most of the projects I work on are in the realm of film/video, but over the last decade, my interests have spread. (Projection mapping masks, VJing, LED light sculptures, etc.) I think most of the work I do fits somewhere in the category of a creative technologist. The natural progression of my work was from Music Video Creator/Director -> VFX & Motion Graphics -> VJing/ Projection Mapping -> “Creative Technologist” / Video Producer/ Editor.
Bill Shannon's projection mapping mask V1(2015), made with two LaserPico projectors and two iPod Touches
What tools (hardware, software, non-digital...) do you use in your work / creative process?
DeafHeaven, Liturgy & Little People, Yppah @ VIA 2014
The tools range, I like to think of my "day job" as a video editor/director, so for that, software such as Premiere/After Effects and various cameras. My “night job” VJing primarily utilized VDMX & Mad Mapper. More recently I’ve been incorporating, Unity, ISF, KodeLife, and the occasional TouchDesigner into projects. But I also have experience with Resolume, Mapio, and pretty much every VJ projection mapping related software I could get my hands on. Pros and Cons for each, but I keep coming back to VDMX 90% of the time and Mad Mapper because it is ever expanding and has never let me down. Not to geek out too much, but on the hardware side I’m in love with my Livid Ohm controllers, Rolands V1HD 4in HDMI mixer (They have a two input one in now :o), Magewell UVC capture cards, H.264 capture boxes, and various Raspberry Pis for dedicated projects (Check out the PocketVJ or Madmapper’s Minimad if you haven’t already). The scope of the project will determine the tool, but I'm always experimenting with new hardware and software.
Experimental microvision laser pico projector
Tell us about your latest projects!
Last year I came off a project called Touch Update by Bill Shannon it incorporated multiple projection mapping masks that would project distorted faces and talk with each other on stage. It was fun and gave me an excellent chance to deep dive into custom laser pico projectors and Raspberry Pis.
Coming off that I was in talks with the multidisciplinary duo slowdanger about building a custom visual rig that they could tour with. I had an idea some time ago about lights shifting shadows, lighting, dancing, and music paired with their aesthetic seemed like the perfect opportunity to give it a try. So I sent them this.
They said yes in I built a working prototype in about a week. I was still experimenting, but they wanted to put it in a show as soon as possible. Here is the office dog finding a new purpose to the LED ring.
Audiences loved it, and I'm still excited about the potential of this project and the technology behind it. There were definitely some lessons learned from version #1, but the second iteration is taking it to another level. To start, we began collaborating with the computational artist, Char Stiles. She was able to bring an interactive component to the ring that utilizes an infrared camera and machine vision to make this thing interactive. On top of that, I’ve been experimenting with higher density LED’s and motorized DMX winches to squeeze in more functionality and movement. And still, even with all of that, this whole thing fits in the trunk of a car and weighs less than 25lbs (excluding the DMX winches). If you get a chance you have to see it in person, the video just doesn’t compare to the real thing. Not to mention, as a cinematographer, it's a lot of fun to film.
And some video samples…
As slowdanger continues to develop VLX (a full-length dance performance), more opportunities arise to collaborate and experiment. The ring is a blast to film an edit. So much can be done with LED lights, shadows, and dancers.
For more work from Projectile Objects, make sure to visit his website for tutorials, product reviews and a portfolio of amazing projects!