GMU:Istanbul/WALKING IN ISTANBUL

WAKLING IN ISTANBUL

Istanbul is a big amazing city with wide streets and thousands of tourists coming to Istanbul every day. From 09.07. to 29.07. is the shopping festival time in Istanbul and thousands of visitors come to see this charming city and enjoy the multicultural environment and delicious food.

Under the support of these eager helpers from Marmara University, the game “Walking in Istanbul” helps people to explore the unknown regions and to understand the Taksim area in Istanbul further.

Most of the participants of the game study in Marmara University and majority of them were born and live in Istanbul. Taksim Area is a gathering place for young adults. The Turkish students, who took part in my game “Walking in Istanbul”, know this district quite well. After they joined my game, some participants experienced the unknown place in this familiar region.

The game rules listed as follows:

1. Choose a starting point, count the number of people from moving towards the direction in which you are facing
2. At an crossing of two streets: If the number of people is less than 10, turn 180 degree .If the number of people is bigger than 10, continue moving in the same direction. Taking the first digit in a double digit number and walking to the same number of intersections. i.e. if there are 23 taxis, walking to the second crossing
3. Using the second digit in the count of people, the direction to turn at the crossing is based on even and odd numbers. Even numbers, turn right. Odd numbers, turn left.
4. At the new intersection, repeat steps 1-3

Before the project “Walking in Istanbul”, Lingling Li and I documented an investigation game in Montepulciano, Italy following the same game roles. <videoflash type=vimeo>44417307|400|230</videoflash>

During this one week project, we also collected the data in the different time period and showed the diversity routes among the city through the contrast analysis materials. <videoflash type=vimeo>50301704|400|230</videoflash>

The same game roles were used in Taksim area in Istanbul. Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey with 13.5 million populations. The participants start from the same initial point in Istanbul. Taksim area is an amazing region. On one side it is a flourishing business district; while on the other side it is chaotic neighborhood. In this extensive intersection the players can choose one direction and survey Istanbul obeying the same game roles.

Demonstration, tramcar, pageant, story scrawls are hidden in the surprising corner in the city. My assumptions about an endless route were proved completely wrong in the game. When the participants get out of downtown area and step into hotel district, only few of pedestrians pass by. This leads to different varying lengths of the route. <videoflash type=vimeo>50891772|400|230</videoflash>

The separate walking route is based on the scaled downed Istanbul map. I project the video in the mapping way, so that the audience can directly perceived the different paths among the Taksim area through the senses and at the same time there is a basic knowledge about the streetscape through the continue moving video record. <videoflash type=vimeo> 50930315|400|230</videoflash>

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3D Mapping requires 3 parts of consideration. Expect the video clips; making prototype and laying up projector are the 2 important part of the process.

I use 3D max to model and input the 3D data into Pepakura Designer. With the help of this software, it’s simple to make unfolded 2D patterns from the 3D models. The paper craft patterns can be easily designed and changed without any problems. This is my first small experimental prototype.

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Here is the magnified the paper craft patterns and 3D sketches. I use cardboard to support and stabilize the new modeling.

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The plan of placing of projector changed in the practice. My first assumption is to position the projector in the vertical axis and project directly on the model.

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Considering the structure of the projector, this will lead to the danger of spontaneous combustion. With the help of Max, the projector still lay up in the horizontal way. The images reflect by 45 slant mirror.

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<videoflash type=vimeo>50920465|400|230</videoflash>

Preparing for the semester exhibition, I edit a trail for my game in Istanbul. Through contrast cutting, I would like to show the audience that Istanbul is not only a bustle city but also a tranquility place. In the game “Walking in Istanbul”, I let the participants to fix the camera on part of their body. This camera helped to record the streetscape they went through. In the trail, the sense of stretching out the camera lens indicates the game starts. <videoflash type=vimeo>45871887|400|230</videoflash>

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<videoflash type=vimeo>50593351|400|230</videoflash> Each end of the game is expressed by the participants through their own way. <videoflash type=vimeo>50895982|400|230</videoflash>

Special thanks to Bernhard, Cem, Eli, Eren, Eva, Gizem, Gunnar, Gülper, Hazal,Ilsum, Isin, Max, Özer, Raphael, Ursula.

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