Extreme housework

Following Dr Devabrata Paramanik research presentation on ‘Exploring motion capture technology to transform both the method of creating design and pattern cutting for sustainable fashion design.’ I booked a session in the university’s Motion Capture studio at Eldon.

The idea was to apply Dr Paramanik’s theory and apply it to the gendered items aspect of my project, using the action of ironing and hoovering and capturing the movement through data.

It was so much fun. And ridiculous.

I got suited up, initially in the suit that was made for Lebron James in Space Jam, and anyone that knows me knows that I’m as tall as Thumbelina. Once I downsized and had attached sensors to the equipment, we whacked a soundtrack on and started the extreme housework. 

I’ve included some of the initial videos we played with but the next step for me is to decide how I want to use the data within my project. 

I was surprised that the iron movements were my favourite capture, watching it move on its own, it looked like it belonged in the Weasley household from Harry Potter. Magic. I borrowed a t-shirt so I could properly mimic ironing and I’m pleased I did as there’s this beautiful flow and movement to it all as I place the iron upright between strokes to rearrange the garment. It’s almost like a dance. 

The hoovering was also great other than the dots highlighting how bad my hoovering is. I really like the trails and how the colour can gradient depending on how fast I was moving. In the feature image, the dots are me in the suit and the lines are the hoover movement around my fixed silhouette. I like it because it looks like the electrical cord trailing behind you when you’re hoovering with a Henry, tracking you and tripping you up as you navigate a room.

Whilst replaying the footage, I like how the 360 camera means you can pan from being face on to gradually ending up in a birds eye view and all the angles you can capture in between. 

It’s really fascinating. I’m feeling very overwhelmed, again. Not sure what I do next but I’m sure it’ll become clear. I just had so much fun. Still useless and very uncomfortable being in front of a camera, even doing the most basic tasks. 

Loved it. Big thanks to Alex and Sam in the MOCAP studio for having me and entertaining the ridiculousness of it all.

Reference

Dr Devabrata Paramanik & Dr Debbie Moorhouse. [Presentation] Exploring Motion Capture Technology to transform both the method of creating design and pattern cutting for sustainable fashion design. Department of Music & Design Arts, School of Arts and Humanities, University of Huddersfield, UK.