Personal Statement of Intent

Personal Statement of Intent

My name is Alex Pinchin and I am currently a sophomore at the University of Florida in the Digital Arts and Sciences within the College of Engineering. I am also getting a minor in Light Design through the College of Fine Arts. When I found out about the new BADAS I was excited because that is what I had been originally looking for.

The track within the BADAS program that I have the most interest in is the Design and Production track. I have been doing work within the world of theater for about 8 years and have been involved on every level of production. The jobs I have enjoyed most were with the light design and the sound design of shows. I really enjoy working performances that involve technology into them and interact with that technology. Over the past few years I have been working with some of the tools used in the world of digital production. These tools include Audacity, Pure Data, Isadora, Ableton Live, and Photoshop. I was introduced to Pure Data, Isadora, and Ableton Live by Pat Pagano in his Digital Audio Design and Projection Design courses this semester.

I am really passionate about using the technology with the arts to move people. I love to see people brought in to a whole new world all-around them with sound and visuals. That spark in a child’s eye when they see their favorite stories being brought too them is amazing. That is the biggest reason I plan on working with Disney as an Imagineer. Another reason is because Disney is one of those companies that is really playing with these new technologies to use in their parks. They work with them in their productions and rides to enhance the experience for their guests. As an Imangineer I want to work on various large scale performances. Examples of those kinds of productions include the “Celebrate the Magic”, “World of Color”, and “Illuminations”. “Celebrate the Magic” uses 3D projection mapping on Cinderella’s Castle to turn the castle into an assortment of infamous Disney scenes. It combines projections design to map out the castle and create the visuals, audio design to create the music and sound effects while also mapping the sound to make sure everyone can hear it evenly, and it uses pyrotechnics in the form of fireworks that are timed with the projections. “World of Color” is a fountain show housed in California that uses more projection design on water as well as LED fixtures in the water. It also uses one of Disney’s newest tricks where using radio frequencies they can light up guests Mickey ear’s to match the show. “Illuminations” is the night time firework show that plays at Epcot. It uses pyrotechnics in the form of open torches and lots of fireworks. It also has its own soundtrack and video design that is shown on a giant globe floating in the middle of the lake.

I am already a part of a club on campus called UFX which is a club that focuses on special effects. Our current project is to create a fountain show that will go in the Green Pond by the Reitz Union. It was actually inspired by “World of Color” and we hope to build something similar so it can be used by students who wish to design their own shows. It’s going to have its own sound system, water system, LEDs, and projectors.

In my own free time I have also done my own side projects for various reasons. Some of these projects include taking a series of songs and through Audacity mixing them together to become a soundtrack for laser light shows. From there I worked with a friend of mine to design and program the shows. I have also worked with iMovie to gather footage and put it together to make a video to help advertise a group on campus. With the help of Photoshop I was able to create a series of posters and banners.

I am hoping that through the BADAS program I will be able to continue to grow as an artist and designer. I want to be able to continue to work on the forefront of new technology while still learning the basics that have come before. I am really interested in playing with 3D sound environments where you don’t have just a front pair of speakers but really being immersed in the sound and hearing where everything is. An example of that would be the Barbershop audio illusion. I also want to play with 3D projection mapping on full buildings to create shows for large audiences such as maybe having a gator come crashing out of the O’dome.