Main Sequence

INTERACTIVE PROKARYOTE 2

admin — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 01:02:15 +0000

It started as a video. Then it was a Flash interactive. Now I’ve ported the good ‘ol prokaryote to HTML5/Canvas using Processing.js, which is rad. While I’m glad that this latest version is theoretically accessible on any modern device/browser, authoring this stuff is waaaaay more time consuming than doing it in Flash. Or maybe I’m doing it wrong?

Just mouse-over to see all the exploded view goodness…

And, for fun, here’s the prototype I made to do ‘sploded views:

INTERACTIVE PROKARYOTE

admin — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:16:16 +0000

I recently did an experimental educational animation on everyone’s favorite group of microbes: prokaryotes.

That was a proof of concept video–I hoped to some day make interactive. Here’s progress toward that end. It’s not what you would call “rich” interaction, but hey, it’s getting there. It’s also still done in Flash…is there an intuitive way to do stuff like this in HTML5/Canvas/Javascript?

CAN’T PLAY WITH MY YO-YO

admin — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:30:11 +0000

Here’s another video featuring one of the songs from my first album. And I thought “walking the dog” was hard…

In honor of the occasion, I love this song:

RIPSTIKS AND RAZORS

admin — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:40:55 +0000

And you thought Razor Scooters were just for hyper kids or awkward looking men in business attire…

These two videos use songs from my first album, “The Ownership Society.”

I like that these two sports did not exist when I was in high school.

PROKARYOTE ANIMATION

admin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:16:29 +0000

This is a bit rough, but here’s my latest experiment: a kinder, gentler type of animated scientific illustration. Now, how to make the exploded view starting at ~1:13 interactive? It’s easy enough to do in Flash, but is there a good way of authoring stuff like that in Javascript/Canvas/HTML5? Link to vimeo page.

CLOUD BUSINESS

admin — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:58:23 +0000

Here’s the second of my two most recent animated explainers, this time on the future of cloud computing in business. It was tied to a feature I wrote on the same subject as part of a content package sponsored by IBM.

MENTAL HEALING

admin — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:52:53 +0000

Here’s the first of two recent animated explainers for New Scientist, this one on the healing power of the mind, tied to a recent feature by Jo Marchant.

SOMETHING FROM NOTHING

admin — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:39:36 +0000

This one is stirring up quite the debate over at New Scientist. It’s based on Amanda Gefter’s excellent piece, part of the New Scientist existential issue. If the video leaves more questions than answers, I highly recommend Amanda’s story.

I hopefully will get a version of the music out soon, for those interested.

THE ANIMAL CONNECTION

admin — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 19:45:03 +0000

Here’s my latest animated explainer, tied to Pat Shipman’s feature on how humans evolved to care for animals in the 28 May issue of New Scientist.

This one has some sound effects and more complicated transitions. If you’d like to see more, here are my previous explainers on free will, dreams, and living in a video game.

ANIMATED EXPLAINER: FREE WILL

admin — Mon, 02 May 2011 18:51:08 +0000

Here’s my third foray into animation, complete with motion tweens and nested graphics. This one caused a bit of a stir over at NewScientistTV, generating over 60 comments, mostly in favor of the idea that humans do indeed have free will. The video’s not really about that though…

Check out my previous animated explainers on the meaning of dreams, and life inside of a videogame.