Software: Adobe After Effects, Trapcode Particular, OpenNI PrimeSense SDK
The Possibilities are Endless
As one of my numerous Master's degree projects, taking the opportunity to harness Microsoft's Kinect for my creative exploration was a fantastic experience. By merging an existing technology with open sources development kits and the Adobe Creative Suite, I found that the possibility exists to produce spectacular interactive public and private spaces.
The Kinect V1
Announced in 2009, the Kinect has technology by Israeli developer PrimeSense. With an infrared projector and RGB camera generating a grid to then locate nearby objects in 3 dimensions, the Kinect also featured a monochrome CMOS (complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor) sensor. The Kinect was a perfect piece of cutting edge technology to creatively experiment and produce interactive work as it not only could 3D capture full body motion, but also had an advanced depth sensor.
The Process
Without the help of the OpenNI PrimeSense SDK, obtaining raw data from the Kinect's depth sensor would have been next to impossible. There were 3 basic values that were required to produce the creative piece. The x,y, and z values from the depth sensor of the object tracked were required to use as values within the After Effects project. Writing a line of code to output the required values into a .txt file was the most time efficient option.
Visual Expression
There are specific 3rd party applications that are absolutely recommended to push the creative potential of a project. Trapcode Particular is one of those add-on software applications which has undoubtedly assisted in numerous projects within After Effects.
After incorporating the x,y, and z values over the time the object was tracked by the Kinect, a vivid and organic creative piece is produced. With the plethora of options to tweak and master to develop an appreciable visual effect, the combination of the Microsoft Kinect and Adobe After Effects was immensely powerful.