Comments on: The Fulgurator

The Fulgurator

GuyZero — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:35:16 -0800

The Fulgurator. By using a flash detector and a high-powered flash of its own the Fulgurator can project images that are only seen when photographed. "This procedure is very inconspicuous, since it takes place within a few milliseconds." A short video of the Fulgurator in action shows its usage and the results.

By: nowonmai

nowonmai — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:40:08 -0800

There can't be many public places where you could wield something that looks like that and not get tazered. Neat idea though.

By: lupus_yonderboy

lupus_yonderboy — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:48:19 -0800

Great idea, can it display "STOP PUTTING THAT CAMERA BETWEEN ME AND THE BAND" to assholes at rock shows? This weekend I was at a show where the band asked audience members to actually look at the band themselves and not take photos. People refused. The lead singer actually hit the hand of a guy beside me with a drum stick, who looked puzzled, but they kept holding their fucking cameras up in front of everyone and snapping photos.

By: quin

quin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:51:35 -0800

This procedure is very inconspicuous Except for the part where there is a guy in the middle of the street pointing what looks more than a bit like a good sized firearm at you. A neat technical idea with an unfortunate final shape.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:55:29 -0800

Is this one of those things where you have to shake your head back and forth really fast to see it?

By: rokusan

rokusan — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:55:41 -0800

Quin is right, this would be much more effective as a permanently-mounted device, which means... uh-oh. Someday soon every picture I try to take of the Statue of Liberty is going to come out with © 2008 Getty Images already silkscreened onto the photo, isn't it? This invention will not make the world better.

By: kcds

kcds — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:08:19 -0800

This is a very ingenious hack, easily assembled from readily-available components with little or no modification required, other than some duct tape to hold things together. However, I fear Rokusan is right, this will be used for viral marketing - in fact I'm sure you could argue that it already is. Also: fulgurator? I 'ardly knew 'er.

By: nevercalm

nevercalm — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:15:37 -0800

Yeah, I can just imagine pointing that thing anywhere in NYC....you'd have people ducking and about 20 cops on your ass within seconds. It is a neat idea, though. I wonder if the video could have been longer, though, with more time before it got to the point?

By: CKmtl

CKmtl — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:27:46 -0800

Google Translate seems to be broken. It's not translating the German word for art into "ruining unsuspecting people's photos", nor artist into "wanker who ruins unsuspecting people's photos".

By: Navelgazer

Navelgazer — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:29:33 -0800

Indeed, shame about it looking like something that'll kill you. I'd love to see that thing used at political press conferences.

By: oaf

oaf — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:47:17 -0800

It's not translating the German word for art into "ruining unsuspecting people's photos", nor artist into "wanker who ruins unsuspecting people's photos". You have to transpose the last two letters.

By: oats

oats — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:56:22 -0800

Agree with nevercalm. Calling it a 'short video' is slightly disingenuous. Interesting idea, though.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:23:17 -0800

It appears to be just the (standard, removeable, found at any decent camera store) pistol grip that makes it look like a gun. It could just as easily have a side grip, or no grip at all. The pistol grip seems like the best ergonomic choice, although, yeah, it looks a bit terroristy.

By: DU

DU — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:32:09 -0800

Great idea, but why does the video consist of 3 hours of random people taking pictures, 10 seconds of the payoff and then no explanation?

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:39:34 -0800

Could anyone decipher the text? I got something like "Hundreds of people died last year by trying to cross the US-Mexico border".

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:42:08 -0800

WTF is with that video requiring 1:30 before it even shows the device, and another 1:30 of wankery before we see the effect? Sheezus.

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:44:19 -0800

I would have felt almost compelled to use this in a prank to superimpose a grinning skull over a painted figure like the mona lisa, or put a looming demon in the backdrop to a family photo.

By: CKmtl

CKmtl — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:48:23 -0800

"Hundred of people died last year by trying this at the US - Mexico border"

By: subgear

subgear — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:02:13 -0800

"Hundred of people died laughing last year by tying this thing to a Mexican boarder"

By: aeschenkarnos

aeschenkarnos — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:21:18 -0800

You could easily make it look like an ordinary, if large, camera. (Just as you can make a gun look like an ordinary, if large, camera.)

By: kcds

kcds — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:36:34 -0800

It appears to be just the (standard, removeable, found at any decent camera store) pistol grip that makes it look like a gun. It could just as easily have a side grip, or no grip at all. That's not a pistol grip, that's the flash gun that projects the image. The image to be projected goes on a piece of 35mm film, and you put it where the film would normally go in a 35mm camera, but you open the back, and put a flash gun behind it, and wire the flash gun's sync terminal to the flash trigger. When the tourist's flash goes off, it triggers the fulgurator to fire the flash gun behind the transparency, and the image is projected through the lens on the front of the camera onto the target.

By: OverlappingElvis

OverlappingElvis — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:51:30 -0800

This is so cool.

By: rhymer

rhymer — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:53:37 -0800

It's a silly gimmick which thinks it's all post-modern and clever.

By: bwg

bwg — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:23:07 -0800

(Just as you can make a gun look like an ordinary, if large, camera.) Or a camera into an actual gun, which in Hollywood's eyes just might get an assassin close enough to whack the President.

By: seanmpuckett

seanmpuckett — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 05:44:10 -0800

Guess who's now on the NSA watch list.

By: kalessin

kalessin — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:05:13 -0800

That is totally effin' awesome.

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:13:58 -0800

The video was long. But I liked the music. There choice in what to project was no fun at all.

By: monocultured

monocultured — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:45:17 -0800

The device is interesting & the video well paced. You get time to think about the social implications of the device by showing the consternation of those taking pictures, while underlining the premise of an artist as someone who takes the right to invade others life. Not revolutionary in its' concept, but certainly new in execution afaik. @rhymer: Are there examples of good public art that is "post-moden and clever" or are those terms derogatory?

By: echo target

echo target — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:19:34 -0800

I don't think I've ever seen an art project that wouldn't be cooler if it wasn't framed as 'art'. This is a kind of cool tool for hiding messages and/or messing with people. But what's up with this "targets the very fabric of media memory" crap? Remember when we had those guys who rigged a projector, camera, and laser pointer so that they could write graffiti on the side of a building? That was kickass. But how much lamer would it be if they said that it was a comment on the impermanence of graffiti and, by extension, the transience of all things?

By: dasheekeejones

dasheekeejones — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:59:27 -0800

I thought it said The Fugulator (as in making people ugly)

By: rokusan

rokusan — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:25:49 -0800

As always, Wired Magazine goes places that MeFi has already run roughshod. Summary of new info from Wired piece: (1) It's from Latin 'fulgar', lightning. (2) The inventor is applying for a patent in order, he claims, to prevent it from being used in commercial, product-placement, this-vacation-photo-copyright-getty-images fashion.