Exhibit F on CBC Radio

Exhibit F was on CBC Ottawa Morning Radio at 8:15am on Monday, May 11th 2009. You can listen to some of the interview here:

CBC Ottawa Morning

Thanks for all the support and interest in our work.

The Exhibit Team:
Grant Vogl & Eric Espig

Exhibit F Hits the News!

Exhibit F hit the newspaper today with a little positive exposure. Erin Fitzgerald from the West Carleton Review interviewed the team a few weeks ago and the article was published in this week's issue of the local paper. Great to get some press! Thanks Erin!

it was also picked up by the Perth Courier

Original photo by Erin Fitzgerald.
For full article, click here.

Video Interactives III

While Eric was tied up with video editing, I started wiring up the first video interactive unit. I had to teach myself how to connect components, power LEDs, crimp wire and other new skills in order to make everything work...

First mock-up with scavenged wires, keypad and DV-66. While Eric worked on formatting the videos, I began learning how to wire LEDs to a power source, connecting TVs with periphery and other electronic experiments. Having never done anything like this, I welcomed the chance to try new things and work my way through a problem until it was solved.

Custom wiring job...Using scavenged wire, a few connectors, and some trial and error I wired up a power source for the LEDs using a variable voltage AC/DC Adapter at 1.5V. It resembles a bird's nest, but I made sure to colour code each switch with all of its 4 connectors. I also tried to tidy things up with some zip ties and electrical tape.

Once the LEDs, switches and video were all working, I began switching a few settings on the player to achieve the best result for the viewer.

Within the 'guts' of the DV-66, there are 6 dip switches which can be toggled on or off to control aspect ratio, repeat mode and more. Read your manuals!

Final mock-up of first video interactive. All switches, video and LEDs are working. This unit will be partially disassembled and installed in-situ.

-Grant

Video Interactives - II

Construction of the first video interactive was started today. An existing pedestal was first lightly sanded, then, using a printed mock-up, the hole position was determined for button/switch placement.

Pedestal with post holes. The box is hollow underneath the button holes and will house the DV-66, controllers and wiring.

Using a Forstner bit, I cut matching holes into a piece of 1/8" acrylic to cover the final printed text/grapic panel.

Each switch came equipped with a locking notch, so each corresponding hole was also given a notch using a 1/4" drill bit, thus locking the buttons from turning and twisting the wires.

Acrylic sheet, complete with notched post holes.

Test fitting.

Mock-up of final pedestal. The buttons will have red LEDs and the final graphic panel with describe each video, have a run time and small thumbnail in English and French.

-Grant.

Lighting Installation - I

Lighting begins...

Lighting installation began today. We are using "fake" track lighting with 4 halogen bulbs. The lights came stock with 50W bulbs, but we will most likely be installing dimmers and new bulbs.

Once placement was determined, holes were sawed into the ceiling tile to fit the lighting boxes. After the lights were set up, it was much quicker & easy for the Electrician to wire them up.

Light boxes were installed using existing ceiling channels (a Diefenbunker speciality), welded bolts and collars and threaded rod cut to length.

View of threaded rod and lighting box from above the ceiling tiles.

Head in the ceiling! Be extremely careful when working in old structures. I wore a respirator, goggles and long sleeves to ensure that I didn't inhale or come into contact with any dust, insulation or asbestos.

Ceiling inserts using custom hardward and existing channels in the ceiling.

Lights up! Currently, the installation is complete but the lights are not aimed or balanced.

Mount Construction - I

Each and every one of our exhibition artifacts requires a custom mount, both to provide proper support and protection, and to work with our existing cases in a functional and aesthetic way.

We chose to work in acrylic and keep the mounts simple. Acrylic sheet was cut to size based on individual artifact needs, and bends were created using a heating element and wooden jig cut to 45 degrees. Additional supports are provided by mylar banding, the addition of support posts and shelves, and padded, and carved extruded polystyrene and muslin mounts.

Simple supports and common bends allowed for ease of production as all artifacts require a custom mount for display.

Custom carved mount for military cap. Construction of carved extruded polystyrene, unbleached polyester batten and unbleached muslin.

Mount and label examples.

More...

A quick snap of what has been done so far. A mannequin is still required for the display of a military uniform, but this was a big step to put a check beside.

The interior of each case is lined with colourfast cotton muslin.

A quick mock-up of one of our case displays.

Cases IV- Pedestal Construction

We've moved onto some basic construction for the exhibit. Two existing cases required pedestal mounts to give them proper height. We wanted the black stripe present on all cases, so the height was measured accordingly. For the pedestals, we've opted to use MDF which is heavy (to avoid tipping) and takes most finishes quite well. It's also relatively cheap when compared to nice Baltic birch plywood.

Ensure that high-strength carpenters glue is used to provide a good bond.

After all the pieces were cut, I decided to use a locking mitre bit on the router table to give a better bond and more surface area for the glue to stick to.

Once the pieces were dry fit, we clamped everything in place then slide out one side at a time, applying glue to all contact surfaces, then tightening the clamps and allowing to set for at least 30 minutes before moving. Its a good idea to use corner templates to ensure a square box.

Our two cases all glued up. All in all, I am quite happy with the results. A little sanding and wood filler and they'll be ready for primer and paint. -Grant.

Panels V- Pressure Mounting to Substrate

We began mounting our printed/laminated panels to their gatorfoam substrates this afternoon. The first step was trimming the prints right to the edge. Take your time, straight cuts really count.

The backing was then peeled off of the top 1" or so, aligned and stuck onto the substrates with care. Our prints were made approx. 1/8" larger than the substrates, so we had a small amount of play on all sides.

Keep everything clean! Little bits can get embedded and leave bumps. The same machine laminates and mounts. Pressure mounting required no webbing, just an adjustment of the nip height for 1/2" gatorfoam (see previous diagrams for laminator anatomy).


In this photo the Gatorfoam with red painted edges is coming out of the rollers with the print adhered to the surface. I am holding the backing in my hands as the rollers pull the substrate through the machine and the backing is slowly left behind
~Eric.

Panels III- Lamination and Substrate Prep

For "Cold War Berlin" each panel will be effectively turned into a sticker before mounting to the gatorfoam substrate. The bottom layer is a pressure activated adhesive with a paper backing, while the top layer consists of a UV filtering matte lamination, which will protect the panels from fading and damage. The laminator was first webbed and adjusted to the proper tension, then checked for wrinkles, air bubbles etc. It is always good to do a test with a blank or duplicate.

Once your piece begins feeding through the rollers there's no adjusting, so make sure it is square with the feed tray and within the limits of the laminating materials. Our widest panel was 36" wide, and the laminator is 38", so there's little room for error. For an introduction into the world of large scale lamination, see here.


If possible, prepare multiple pieces and begin feeding them in as the one ahead comes through to avoid wasting laminating materials. Each piece must be brushed clean with a soft-hair brush to ensure that no dust/debris is trapped under the lamination. This can marr the professional appearance of your pieces.

Our 0.5" white gatorfoam substrate was prepped for mounting by painting the edges red to match our panel borders. Pieces of similar size were stacked and painted with a roller.

Panels were then stacked with small spacers and allowed to dry. Next, each panel will be thoroughly cleaned with a brush and tack cloth to remove and dust, debris or particles before the mounting begins.

Panels II- Printing

Printing began this week. We don't want to give too much away just yet, but so far progress is good. Panels are being printed using Adobe Illustrator and the HP DesignJet 800PS. At approximately 1 minute per megabite (Post Script processing speed), we estimate a total printing time of around 33 hours. Luckily, most jobs can be set to run over night and on weekends. Keep checking back for more updates.

Panels I - Construction

Before moving your materials into your printing and laminating space, make sure to clean dust and particles off with a brush and/or vaccum. These these little specks can contaminate other "clean" machinery (computers, printers etc.) or get laminated over top of, leaving small bumps on your finished product.


To ensure straight clean cuts, concentrate on the fence, not the blade. Pressure should be exerted on the diagonal towards the fence to the right of the blade. Feeding from the opposite side can cause binding, over-reaching and wobble.


Make sure that your measurements are accurate, and use a rip fence and the factory edge to produce square corners and straight sides. Feed all materials through the blade to the other side.


It also helps to have a pair of extra hands when cutting large materials. Set your blade so that the gullets between the teeth are at the same height as the top of the material.



With large pieces of material, it is very helpful to have something to act as side and through supports. Here we improvised with overturned material carts, boosted to height with scrap wood and held in place with cinder blocks. Please plan your cuts well, keep your space clean, check your access and movement and review safety guidelines.
Panel construction began this week. For "Cold War Berlin" panels are being designed using Adobe Illustrator with a combination of historic photographs, original text and graphics, and custom colours. On of the most important aspects to exhibit development in public institutions is budget, and for construction, that means maximizing use of material. Our substrate, white Gatorfoam, comes in 4' x 8' sheets. Our original panel dimensions were 2' x 3', but were adjusted very slightly to allow for the kerf of the table saw blade (1/8"). AI documents are easily resized before printing, laminating and mounting. Excess material will be used for smaller panels, labels etc.

Sign Vinyl & Stencils III

To add more detail and atmosphere to the rooms, several more memorable and/or common border area signs were reproduced using sign vinyl.

Where applicable, fonts were matched or photos were modified using "Live Trace" in AI to produce a workable stencil file. The lines have been thickened for easier viewing. Files must be "clean" (i.e. solid workable lines, without ghosting etc.) to be properly cut with the CAMM-1.

Below are several of the finished stencils which will be place above doorways throughout the exhibit. The effect is quite good.





My personal favourite...


The "Cold War Berlin" logo was also reproduced in this fashion using AI and the Roland CAMM-1. Overall, these pieces will build on the atmosphere of divided Berlin and help to transport visitors to that time and place. I was very pleased with the look of this piece, and after a number of modifications in AI, it was cut out without incident.


Colours must be printed separately and assembled later when using a sign vinyl cutter. More to follow...