Sandra Barth | Brave Technology Tutorials

Biography

Sandra Barth works as a designer, illustrator and animator in Leipzig. After graduating from the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig, she founded Studio BARBAR together with Beatrice Barth in 2013, focusing on graphic design in print and web. In the same year, she took part in the Professional Media Masterclass in Halle/Saale and made the documentary short film HERE together with Katharina Knust.

After participating in the lab 2 - Poetry in Motion program, in which the animated short film PARADISE WITH LAUBE was created, the desire to shift the focus to animated film intensified. Since 2018, Sandra has been running Studio BARBAR on her own, specializing in illustration and animation, primarily in the field of education.

Questions for Sandra

What was your contribution to Brave Technology Tutorials?

Presenter & Expert, Script

Can you describe one work or project that is significant to your practice and provide details about the technology you used for it?

After several small experiments with augmented reality, I had the feeling that there often needs to be a special incentive for users to look at artworks in AR outside of exhibition spaces, especially if an app needs to be installed. This thought gave me the idea of an AR advent calendar with 24 doors that give no indication of what is hidden behind them, like 24 puzzles to be solved. The number also plays a role, so that it is “worth” checking out the whole thing. Since I quickly realized that I couldn't fill an Advent calendar with animations alone, I invited colleagues to submit or create contributions for it, as well as artists I admire but didn't yet know personally. I was able to place the Advent calendar as a wall-high installation at Leipzig Central Station and repeated the campaign the next year with simultaneous exhibitions in four locations: Leipzig, Amsterdam, London and Atlanta. In the first year, I used Eyejack as an AR tool, which I had gotten to know through an exhibition I had previously participated in. I found it amazing how easy it was, as you basically just upload a picture and a video. The following year I tried Artivive. Both tools are extremely easy to use and offer a lot of potential to experiment further with what you can do with AR without having to program an AR app yourself.

What typically encourages or motivates you to acquire a new (technological) skill?

I'm very quick to want to acquire a new skill and often have to slow myself down a bit to avoid getting bogged down. I usually already have a rough idea of what I want to try out. New ideas keep emerging during the process, especially if it doesn't work right away and you have to modify the idea.

Based on your experience, what makes a great tutorial?

Clarity and not too many excessive explanations.

In your opinion, what makes someone an expert?

Everyone is an expert in something, thanks to the unique experiences they've gained. Each person has valuable insights to share and is continuously learning and growing—a journey that ideally never stops.