Experimental Camera
Description
For this project, we had to design and code an experimental camera that expresses a novel way of capturing a body, a place, or an object. We also needed to use the Array and createCapture functions in this project.
Design Process
I happen to be one of those people that hates being in front of a camera, especially as the focal point, and find things like selfie cameras to be the bane of my existence. I also find the issue of surveillance and the constant documentation of our day-to-day lives, willingly or not, incredibly interesting. For this project, I wanted to create an "anti-surveillance surveillance camera" that both provides security but also ensures some level of anonymity to the public. This project is more or less a solution to the very troublesome tendency for the police, FBI, or whomever to release images of suspects in the wake of a tragedy as more of a knee-jerk reaction rather than one founded on evidence. This only not only goes against the idea of being innocent until proven guilty, but it also endangers yet another person in a highly emotional time. Two instances, in particular, come to mind, one is from 2016 in Dallas, Texas after a sniper killed five police officers. That day there was a protest in response to the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile by police officers. At the end of the protest, shots rang out killing five officers. Theories of the assault began circulating, one which claimed that there was more than one shooter. Mark Hughes, a Black man, was in attendance at the protest. He was carrying his gun with him as many people do at protests in Texas. DPD released an image of him as a potential suspect and, upon finding out he was a suspect, he and his brother ran to the nearest newscaster and made an emotional plea defending Mark Hughes' innocence. Nevertheless, death threats continued. A similar circumstance happened in 2013 after the Boston Marathon Bombing. Sunil Tripathi, an Ivy League student, was wrongly accused of being a perpetrator of the attack. He was eventually found innocent but the incident caused severe trauma that eventually led to him taking his own life. The idea behind this camera is to have a security system that prohibits these kinds of knee-jerk responses by law enforcement while still being able to provide security to the public. This security system requires you to piece together three or four images, from separate cameras or storage devices, into one to get a complete image. You will still be able to get a suspect once you piece the images together, but it simply allows more time to gather evidence rather than reacting purely on emotion or racial bias like the instances with Mark Hughes and Sunil Tripathi. For the example image, my face is obstructed by a series of blue bars. The blue I picked is called "Cosmic Cobalt" which is the official color of the NYPD.
Reflection
I enjoyed making this project, as I mentioned previously I think there are far too many cameras in this world so coming up with something that is the antithesis of that was very fun. I'm not really the kind of person that just likes to toy around with effects just to see what they can do - not that there's anything wrong with that. I just like things to have a purpose rather than doing something just because. I actually came up with a loose idea for this back in 2016 after the Dallas shooting because I saw live how afraid Mark Hughes and his brother were. He was in unimaginable danger, not only could the police find him and perceive him as a threat (because even gun laws are not equal in this country,) but he was also in danger from an anti-protestor, or anyone in Dallas really who wanted to take the matter into their own hands. This is a fairly simple solution to a convoluted issue, but I think even an extra hour can prevent putting yet another person in danger in the wake of a tragedy.