Spring Break is finally here, and our 2D scanner, Candida -the person, and not the name of the Epson©- is enjoying a much needed break from Fluxus. This break also gives Emily and I a much needed breather to once again try and tackle metadata and file structure for the 3D scanned objects and the myriad of files the 3D scanning process creates. How do we make the file structure as shallow as possible to enable easier migration from server to server? Are we able to name the files in the same way as the 2D counterparts? What files are necessary to save? Everything? Only the non-proprietary files? How do we structure and store our files so that someone can replicate the 3D model or modeling process in the future?
Metadata discussions always last twice as long as you schedule for them and you usually leave rubbing your temples, with a longer To Do list than you had before, but we are making headway. Who knew metadata could be so thought provoking and stimulating? We are essentially developing a language, a way to communicate our thought process, the relavent material and they way everything relates to each other.
I wonder if the creation of the first mutterings of language was this labor intensive, trying to answer the questions “what do I call this thing?”, “how is this different than the other and how do I distinguish it?”, “how do I make these labels as obvious and timeless as possible?” Or was the development serendipitous? Was language simply a product of a larger adaptation process allowing for more efficient way of describing something, or making a thought clearer? And at what point on the spectrum is creating metadata for 3D scanning outputs?
Unfortunately for us, the Fluxus objects seem to be purposefully muddying the water of our perception, making them rather difficult to capture in controlled vocabulary and structure. In regrads to Fluxus, sometimes there are no words. I have a feeling, as we develop our own kind of communication, there is going to be some trial and error.