Project 1: Important contribution
GPYou

I don’t really know what classifies as an “important contribution”, this is all new to me… I haven’t been in this field long enough to know what is old, what is new, and what is really on the breaking edge of things. I can say I think it’s impressive that it’s generating a million particles real-time with skeletal tracking. Just thinking of that many particles from a rendering standpoint makes my head spin (I tried particle rendering in Cinema4D to generate steam for a project and the render penalty was simply insane). It’s really well done too, quite artistic, I like it.

Project 2: Quick but interesting sketch or experiment
Kinect Hack: Kinect

I don’t know if this is a “quick” project or not, because I can’t read Japanese. But it seems like a quick Kinect hack that I believe is done really well. It feels almost “magical”, and that is probably why it appeals to me. Parts of it look like he’s about to cast a spell… yeah, that sounds a bit silly, but I guess that’s just me and my obsession with magic. Even though it doesn’t have a refined video and appears to just be a demo, I find it to be quite beautiful.

Project 3:
I Spy

This is an interesting project in my opinion, I think it has a good premise (our tablets monitoring our activity and habits). I like the use of the tablets and how they form a disjointed face that follows you around the room. However, I wish the face was capable of expressing emotion in response to the presence of the human. Or perhaps, maybe, it’s just meant to stare that way, in the same blank manner we often stare at our own devices with.