Technology/Equipment Grant

My artistic goal is to make increasingly richer animated drawings that reveal exquisite detail, show greater depth, and have intriguing, well-executed transitions that will translate when projected in very large scale. Necessary to accomplishing this goal is a new laptop that will be able to provide the digital capability of rendering high resolution imagery that allows detailed graphite hand drawings to translate to video file, screen, and projection. By having this rendering capacity available, I will also be able to focus on editing and transitions within the video editing software that bring the drawings to moving life. Purchasing a more powerful laptop will provide the additional benefit of being able to edit and render away from home. This is important to the work that I do in my field projection installations. The computer I have chosen fits into my existing equipment and software platform, so it will provide a seamless transition without also needing to update other equipment. I have identified the following technical problems in regards to the goal of further developing and refining my animated drawings: 1) In order to create higher resolution videos that transmit detail when projected in large scale, I need to take higher resolution images. Therefore I need a computing platform that has the processing power necessary to complete this task. 2) Because I do not have resources that easily provide me access to powerful computers (for example a University computing lab) it is critical that I have a fully functioning platform and my own computing backup system. So I must have more than one computer that can handle my video workload when difficulties arise. I have identified the solution to this problem: 1) The purchase of a new laptop that will work with the other equipment I already own and have purchased myself, the details of which are available in the attached cost estimate. When purchased, the solution that supports my goal will be met.