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Working: Pix2Stitch

I feel confident in my cross-stitch pattern generator idea! (But if you wanted to see what else I had been considering, check out this post.) In short, the idea is to create a web application that turns an image into a cross-stitch chart that utilizes more than the single-color stitches seen in other current online pattern generators. I want to utilize edge detection for outlining, as well as turn “dithering” into multi-color stitches. Adding ornamentation such as beads is a reach goal.

After a few weeks of uncertainty about what to call this project idea, I have come up with what will suffice at least as a working title: Pix2Stitch.

“Pix” refers to both “pics” or images as well as the “pixels” that display them. “2” is a homophone of “to” in English, but it also represents the two lines in each X-shaped cross-stitch. “Stitch” refers to the fact that a user is generating a chart to follow for embroidery!

In order to create Pix2Stitch, I will need to:

  • identify a suitable programming language
  • find or develop a series of algorithms to transform an image into pixel color data
  • analyze this data to find an optimal color palette from among available thread colors (DMC floss)
  • utilize further algorithms to detect edges and segment pixel data into cohesive shapes
  • develop a way to output the resulting chart

Already I am gathering resources and talking to experts, including the brain behind Pixel-Stitch and TCNJ’s own Dr. Salgian from the Computer Science department.

I predict that this project will be very challenging, so I will learn a lot about design and development, including User Interface and Experience (UI/UX). Already, I am learning about how computers “see” and store color data in bits. Foreseen ups include making breakthroughs in what features the program has. Foreseen downs include potentially having to come up with my own algorithms to get it working.

Continue to follow my work here on this blog, category “Robin Friedman.”

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MOTION MAGIC

I currently have two ideas for my senior thesis project, of which to pursue I will make a final decision very soon. For the first idea and one I had in mind when going into this class, is to create a demo reel of work I have created thus far in my areas of motion graphics, 3-D animation, cinematography, and more. The idea is to have all of my best works compiled in a cohesive, fluid segment that can be easily viewed and accessed by any person wishing to see. I believe this is a great way to sum up my time here in college, to show all that I have to offer, and show it in a way that would be representative of my skills in editing.

Video editing I would say is my biggest strength. It is also the type of work I love doing most. Composition, rhythm, flow, artistic direction… these are all elements that go into it, and are all elements I love spending lots of time on perfecting. I believe my senior thesis project itself would be a demonstration of my largest skill, while also featuring the other skills I have. Below I will have attached a recent video I edited as part of rush marketing for my fraternity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7qAhIQzOsk&feature=youtu.be

Materials for this project will include all works I have completed up until now (which I have saved, for the most part – other pieces were unfortunately lost in hard drives failures), as well as any programs I need to edit/create them. These programs can include Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, MAYA, and Final Cut Pro. The only fear I have at this point is not having enough examples of work to create the vision of a video I have. To remedy this I plan to make more pieces on the side, adding to what I already have. I hope to learn the extra leaps it takes to really create an impressive piece that potential employers will be sold by.

ALTERNATIVE IDEA: CMF PROJECT

This is my other project idea for my thesis, it is a lot more ambitious and pretty exciting to me. Given I have permission to pursue, I would like to begin preliminary works for my Spring 2020 Campus Movie Fest film idea, which will be a cyberpunk-themed 3-D animated experience. Last semester, my friend Greg Patten and I created (with some help from others) a 3-D animated film called “A Hero’s Journey” which was originally set to be a VR-compatible short film. Due to our crew being limited to only us two for the majority of the time, we could not tackle this endeavor, although research was made. The film won the silver tripod award for Best Editing, of which I am very proud to have edited, and also got nominated for the golden tripod award at the CMF National Convention. We did not win, in the end, however looking back we really made this project in a last-minute effort, and with better help this time, we plan to go big this upcoming one.

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AdPrice.io

My idea for the senior thesis project is to create AdPrice.io, a social media marketing reference tool for the internet. This will be a website that marketers can use to quickly view the current Pay Per Click (PPC) and Cost per Thousand Impressions (CPM) for advertisements across the most popular social platforms.

While researching the topic, I used many relevant keywords on Google to try and find the existence of such a tool already online. However, all I came across were social media marketing blog articles, mostly written by advertisement agencies, which sporadically mentioned potentially outdated price figures. There does not seem to be web tool that has been built for this purpose, where the important PPC and CPM numbers for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat, Pintrest, etc. are all easily viewable and updated on a single page. Like I previously mentioned, the closest thing I could find was a cluttered list on an old blog article, written by a social media marketing agency which was trying to sell their services. AdPrice.io would not have ulterior motives, and wouldn’t clutter the webpage, making for a fast and friendly experience.

I have purchased the domain, and am thinking of building the site on a TBD wordpress template. With some templates, it is impossible to tell the site is wordpress. I love working with wordpress, graphic design, and learning about social media marketing (something I do a lot of during my free time), so this project would definitely leverage my skills. Hopefully this project can help me land a dream job of working in content marketing for a startup, and helps me to learn a ton about the subject.

Ideally, I would love the price values to be as updated as possible, but I believe it is impossible to gather real time values. I will do more research, but it does not seem like there are any APIs or bots around that grab the current values, and it would be difficult to create these. Since price values do not change very quickly, I was thinking this site could be more of an educational experience where I update the going rates a few times a week (easily viewable on the top of the page), and then break down the individual nuances and strategies for advertising on each of the platforms on the rest of the page. I could also attach a blog as a separate page, which would help for google rankings. I still need to spend time thinking about the type of content I want on the site, in addition to the actual PPC and CPM’s.

As far as backup plans go, I would make a content strategy and video for my startup Vey.io, but right now I’m confident in AdPrice.io and am currently trying to figure out a logo. Thanks for reading!

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Minigame Masters

It’s a game where you play minigames. In VR. That’s pretty cool!

I’m not great at making games, so I’d like to design games instead. Having made games before, I know the kinds of things that go into them and the different kinds of workflows that development includes. As such, this document will be the “everything you need” to make my game: Minigame Masters.

The ups will definitely come in designing each of the minigames. However, there is so much more that goes into a game other than just the games itself. I have to think about the UI, the music, the player experience, and so on. It’s going to be a lot less fun when I get into the actual building part. My skillset just isn’t as proficient as it should be for that kind of work.

If all else fails, I could jump into one of the other 30 ideas I have: Esports set design, voice acting an interactive meta/4th wall-breaking story, Dragon’s Lair-esque game…

I’ve already posted my design document, but here it is again: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JhwvaiGwqwkBxH0IY7rEHbV4f1-gaTnqvjX4YQjqyTA/edit?usp=sharing