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"Inside the Box: Teaching Engineering Design through Theatrical Special Effects"

"Inside the Box: Teaching Engineering Design through Theatrical Special Effects". P. Paxton Marshall, Benjamin W. Kidd Charles L. Brown Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Virginia. Goals of ENGR 162. Enthusiasm for engineering Leadership and team skills,

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"Inside the Box: Teaching Engineering Design through Theatrical Special Effects"

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  1. "Inside the Box: Teaching Engineering Design through Theatrical Special Effects" P. Paxton Marshall, Benjamin W. Kidd Charles L. Brown Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Virginia

  2. Goals of ENGR 162 • Enthusiasm for engineering • Leadership and team skills, • Design skills: creativity and discipline, • Resourcefulness, • Critical thinking: problem definition and solution, • Social consciousness of the impact of engineering • Hands-on skills

  3. Inside The Box Participating Classes • ENGR 162-12 – Introduction to Engineering • Instructor: Paxton Marshall • TA: Benjamin Kidd • DRAM 351 – Directing and Stage Management • Instructor: Betsy Tucker • DRAM 372 – Playwriting II • Instructor: Doug Grissom

  4. The Project: • Playwriting students will choose three (3) effects • Directors will choose two (2) effects • Engineer teams will design and build five (5) special effects • 5 minute setup and strike time • 10 minute performance • Effects must be controlled from a minimum distance of 20 feet

  5. The Five Effects

  6. The Five Effects (Continued)

  7. Structuring the Teams • Nine teams • Four to five engineering students (40 students total), playwright, director and stage manager. • Engineering teams formed using a self-evaluation of leadership, technical, and theater experiences, which the students completed during the first week of classes. An attempt was made to create teams with strengths in all three areas.

  8. The “Grid” Provides “Theatrical Rigging” for engineers: • Structural support of effects • Safe and convenient electrical hookups • Confines theatrical action to manageable area • Portability and fast setup

  9. Grid Components 1” Conduit Clamps (Back-to-back) 1” EMT Conduit Electrical Connections (120 VAC & 12 VDC) Standard PA Speaker Stand

  10. The “Acting Space” • 5’ Margin around front and sides of Grid • Effects shall originate from within this space • Control shall be from 20’ from front of grid

  11. The Acting Space in Action Photographs from Inside the Box “Weather or Not” (left) and “We are Both Hypnotized” (below)

  12. Creating Red Tape

  13. Technical Topics • Basic Electricity • Circuit Protection • Electromagnetism (Solenoids, Motors, Relays, Transformers) • Mechanics (Torque, Gears, Belt Drives, Pulleys) • Pneumatics • Lighting and Optics

  14. Structured Design Methodology • problem definition • establishing objectives and user-requirements • identifying constraints • establishing design functions and specifications • generating design alternatives • preliminary design and test • final design, documentation • design presentation Course Text: Engineering Design: A Project Based Introduction by Dym and Little

  15. Class discussion • Adjusting to college, • the engineering profession and disciplines, • team dynamics and communication, • case studies in engineering ethics, • time-value of money, • safety and environmental considerations in design, • customer relations.

  16. Some Required Assignments • Proof of Concept Demonstrations • “Interviews” of both assigned playwright and (later on) director and subsequent documentation of the interview • Design Options Report • Final Report • Final Presentation Group 4 Final Report Cover (Right)

  17. Proof of Concept Demonstrations • Preventing last-minute projects • Allowed Professor and TA to keep track of individual group’s progress • Provided opportunities of idea sharing (or steeling) and peer review

  18. Financial • $1k each from E-school, A&S, Provost • $100 allotted for design and build materials per group • $50 of personal funds were allowed in addition to the provided $100 • Teams were required to keep detailed records of their expenditures

  19. Project Costs

  20. Popping a Balloon • Group 4 • Title: “Mario and Lugi on Sabatical” • Context: Balloon pops as a sound effect when the game ends • Basic Operation: Solenoid pulls pin releasing screw which falls and pops balloon

  21. Falling Objects • Group 8 • Title: “We are Both Hypnotized” • Context: Leaves fall vertically, one at a time. • Basic Operation: Motor winds up a string threaded alternately through eyehooks and leaves

  22. The Flying Effect • Group 1 • Title: “Sugar Rain” • Context: Cupid’s Arrow flies across the stage and hits a love smitten actor squarely in the chest. • Basic Operation: Arrow slides down a guide wire after being released by a motor with a movable stop.

  23. Panning a Light Across an Actors Face • Group 2 • Title: “Maybe Prague” • Context: In a melodramatic moment, a fortune teller cast in an eerie, swirling light. • Basic Operation: A MR-16 lamp projects through a cardboard pattern wheel rotated by a small motor.

  24. The Weather Effect • Group 3 • Title: “All of Me” • Context: Snow is seen falling outside of a door on the set • Basic Operation: A cardboard mailing tube punctured throughout the tube is loaded with “snow” (ground up Styrofoam) and rotated using a small AC motor.

  25. Control Systems • Group 5 • Needed to Control: • (2) AC Motors • (2) 12VDC Motors • (2) 12V Solenoids • (1) “Hot-Wire” resistance wire for puncturing a balloon • (1) 60W Lamp (Dimmed for intensity control)

  26. Setup Planning Example Setup Procedure List from Group 5

  27. More Setup Planning Setup Diagram from Group 9

  28. Evaluation • 56% of students reported working 7 or more hours/week outside of class (vs. 7% in all first year courses) • 78% strongly agree or agreed “I learned a great deal in this course.”

  29. The Inside the Box Website www.seas.virginia.edu/academic/insidethebox • Students’ final reports • Students’ final presentations • Power-point presentations from the technical lectures • A brief description of the project

  30. Future Plans for the Website • Addition of resources to assist in creating a similar project at any engineering school. • Student resources and documents such as “How To’s”, Schematics, useful websites, practical building tips, etc.

  31. Websites of Interest • Project Webpage www.seas.virginia.edu/academic/insidethebox • University of Virginia Webpage www.virginia.edu • UVA School of Engineering and Applied Science www.seas.virginia.edu • UVA Department of Drama www.virginia.edu/drama • All Electronics (A source of many of the components used for the students’ effects) www.allelectronics.com

  32. Acknowledgments • Doug Grissom, Department of Drama • Betsy Tucker, Department of Drama • R. Lee Kennedy, Department of Drama • Deborah Park, SEAS Graduate Student • The Actors, Directors, Stage Managers, Playwrights, and Engineering Students who participated in Inside the Box

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