Hong Kong MTR / IME Installation
As part of an Interactive Multimedia Exhibit class, I conceptualized, designed, and built a life-sized replica of the Hong Kong public transportation train called the MTR. The exhibit featured a flat screen display replicating the travel experience on an MTR, and adding the ability to slow down the scenery 1000% by pulling on a handle.
The project is titled "Slowed Down" - encouraging Hong Kong residents to take a look at their surroundings and appreciate the details in their hectic lives. MTR riders are typically glued to their phones, and so the exhibit attempted to change habits and have people see the beauty outside.
I sketched out the general build for the installation and interaction flow to demonstrate how the exhibit would work. A 3D model was also made using Sketchup to appropriately plan measurements and materials needed for the actual build.
Managing a team of 3, I oversaw the construction of the frame and direction for the multimedia assets. Construction, sound editing and video capture and production was completed over a 2 week period.
The final build measured 2 meters high, 1.4 meters wide and 0.8 meters deep. We were able to purchase train handles from an online shop in China, and painted the interaction handle "MTR red" - the classic colour of the MTR handle. Lastly, when pulled, the handle pushed down on a modified Griffin Powermate button, that was reconfigured to produce a mouse click.
experience a slower life
Upon pulling the handle, the video and audio playing switches to 1000x slowed down version, giving people a unique look at the details and beauty passing them by. We used Max 7 to create a patch that handled the video switching based on the frame number to transition between regular and slow speeds.
"Slowed Down" was selected to be featured in the PolyU Annual Design Show 2016, showcasing the top innovative and creative works of the entire university.
