Quick Update - November, 2018

HI all,

A quick update on porogress of V2. Admittedly, little has been done since the roller design. Life has a way of getting in the way of open source hardware projects.

But there is good news!

Firstly, I applied for a $10K grant along with Third World Newsreel here in New York City and we got it! We did not realize until we did, however, that it is a matching grant. They will give us $5K but first Third World Newsreel has to come up with the other $5K. At the moment, they’re not sure they can do that so we’re waiting to see what materializes.

I’ve asked the directory of Third World Newsreel if we can share the proposal (including the budget) with you all so you can take a look. I’ll post here as soon as I hear back.

If you or someone you know might be able to help us match the $5K in grant funding, please contact me! info@kinograph.cc

But there’s more!!!

I was recently invited to give a talk to a group of Computer Science undergraduates at Yale about some of the work I do at my job (IDEO.org). The group is called “Code for Good” and they mentioned they were looking for open source projects to work on in the coming Spring semester. I proposed Kinograph and they agreed!

Starting in the Spring semester, they will be given the camera, computer, and reduced Kinograph rig (gate, advancing motor and a few rollers) and will be tasked with researching how we might use computer vision to register frames. If successful, this would be a huge step forward for the project. I look forward to sharing updates with you as the work progresses.

If you or someone you know has done similar work using computer vision to detect frames or film perforations, please let me know! info@kinograph.cc

Lastly, I wanted to share with you some personal thoughts on keeping open source projects alive. I’ve struggled to keep momentum on Kinograph consistent. Many times I’ve said “I think we’ll be done in about 6 months,” only for that time to pass without much progress. It’s heartbreaking! But it’s also just life. Weddings, visitors, social obligations…life has a way of happening despite our lofty plans.

The distribution of work on open source software projects is much easier than it is for hardware. With the Yale project, I’m hoping to start a more modular approach whereby the overall design can be broken down into smaller parts and even shipped out physically for work by other teams.

If you have a particular interest in working on a portion of the Kinograph design, please let me know! The gate, feedback systems, PCB design, power-supply design - these are all areas that are ripe for collaboration and I could use the help! Just drop a line and we can figure out how to modularize some of the work: info@kinograph.cc

I’d love to hear how you have found a way to balance life and open source hardware projects. I’m always looking for ways to get more time and be more productive with my limited resources. I’d love to hear your hacks!

All the best, and here’s hoping to a productive next few months for Kinograph!

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