CART 412 FINAL PROJECT PROPOSALS
Prof. Sha Xin Wei, Winter 2012
Date: Wednesday April 16 or 17 ?
Ben, Katherine, Joseph - Sunday 5 pm
Along with two others, I plan to build an interactive, multi-touch based platform for creating music using Max/MSP and Jitter. The piece will consist of a plexiglass table with multi-touch surfaces on one end, which users will manipulate with gestures and drawings to produce sounds. The piece isn't necessarily intended to be used as a serious instrument – rather, it should be a fun, engaging way for any user to create sounds (and hopefully music).
The table will be two feet long by one foot wide, and sit on legs a few feet above the ground. This part—the sequencer—will be divided into 16 vertical sections. Each represents one beat. Three horizontal sections will correspond to bass/drums, mid-range synth, and one for samples. Using their body, marker or any objects really, the user will draw to create sounds. A camera mounted under the table will track the user's inputs and send the information to Max through Jitter. The audio will automatically loop. A projector mounted under the table will overlay light as the user plays.
The table will have two multi-touch surfaces, where the user can draw waveforms to change the sounds created in Max (using frequency modulation) and to select pre-set synths. Two cameras will track the user's movements and send them to Max using TUIO.
Modified proposal to fit more within the blackbox “event”.
Bringing movement where bodies are static.
The interior of an ellipse in covered in mirror material (mylar?).
On each focus point a person stands, the mirror at the height of head.
Above and under them, circular arrays of individual white light decomposes their faces in discrete sections.
Each lit up section becomes visible to the other person and vice versa, reassembling both participants’ facial attributes in physically static but perceptually dynamic choreography.
Tech
space - 3m x 3m x 2m minimum
ceiling mounts (tdb, but either steel rods or simply rope)
1 110vac 15a circuit
TOTAL DARKNESS REQUIRED - THIS REQUIRES PRECISE LIGHTING
All equipments to be provided by myself.
No sound.
In Michel Carné’s Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise, 1945), there is a scene in which a mime pretends to walk forward on stage in front of an animated screen that provided his act with a moving background in order to create the illusion of moving forth, the illusion of progress.
Whilst quite caricatural, the aforementioned tableau holds interesting human dynamics. Indeed, both the audience and the performer are aware that the act is all pretend. The audience permits itself to bask in the warmth of the show, to enjoy it and be entertained. The intentions of the performer are clear in that case, and so is the context in which this perpetual movement is made. The performer and the audience are accomplices, forming a rather symbiotic relationship of entertainer and entertained.
Now, what would happen if we were to change the states of both the performers and the audience? What if the performers were only projections of pre-filmed and pre-edited footage of people stuck in a perpetual cyclic movement, or in other words, unconscious ghost performers? And what if the audience was not informed of the performance, and the performance was just there, seamlessly melded in the busy urban environment, waiting to be discovered by the inhabitants? This becomes particularly interesting as we will be projecting at a time and space where a student struggle is boiling up and a young generation is taking to the streets, reclaiming Montreal.
The nature of the movement we are interested in projecting is one that is tediously cyclic, never-ending, mind-numbing, and pointless. So far, we have planned three tableaux. The first one is that of a person walking in place. The second portrays a figure walking up endless stairs. Finally, the last one is composed of two figures: one holding a camera and the other a picture frame, posing for the camera. After a picture is taken, the two participants switch roles and props, and carry on with the cycle.
Ideally, the figures would be neutral so as to not convey whether they are conscious of their entrapment and completely powerless or whether they are painfully candid and oblivious to their state, and have been caught in the illusion.
We want to focus on the realization of very fluid movements and cycles in the videos. We would also like to take the time to experiment in different locations and to document the process thoroughly.
Deliverables:
We will present our work as videos, photos, explanatory text, a live projection, or hopefully a projection in the city.
In the Future:
The project can be brought to a new level of interactivity by projecting live mime/dancer performances on walls in the city.
List of equipment:
1 projector
1 set of speakers
1 place to project the video (depending on the place we can have, if it is possible to project on one panel or it can be a more small projection)
lighting condition: the more dark possible
<chris.drogaris@gmail.com>
Also, the project idea I had was to collect twitter text that starts of with "I want" ...
and take the whole line, then create a interactive (or non interactive) display
of all these "wants" displaying one at a time. Perhaps in a thought bubble.
I would like to use processing or flash to do this.
I had a few other ideas, but I don't think it would be feasible to complete with the amount of time left.
“I Was Here”
Project Proposal
Group members: Ben Simpson, Katherine Lauriault, Joseph Tran
Equipement needed for project:
1 x webcam (we have)
1 x screen
1 x projector
1 x power cord extension
1 x laptop (we have)
1 x camera (we have)
1 x opaque screen
1x measurement tape
1x dress up the screen
For this project we thought it would be interesting to play with time and space in an open environment. This idea of movement originated from the lectures and readings that were assigned to us during the course of our semester. Our inspiration is a short experimental piece called “Pas de Deux” developed in 1968. We were really interested in the aesthetic quality at around 9:50 of the movie. This technique used in this film, while projecting on a screen could offer individuals an interactive environment not only showcasing their series of movements but also creating an interesting and aesthetically appealing image.
It will be presented much in the same way as the series of dancers as shown in class. Participants would stand in front of the projected image and the camera would be on the same side as the projected image and capture their movements. The images would stay on the screen piling onto one another and creating an abstract “painting”. We also plan on installing a light behind the screen so the spectators in front of the screen also see the shadows. This would give a second dimension to the piece.
We would like to present our piece in a darker environment, we thought the black box would be ideal environment.
We thought that the documentation part of this project would be key. The reactions of people would be very interesting and would add to the end results. A second camera could be installed next to the motion capture one. Thus the individuals interacting with the piece would not realize that their facial expressions are also being recorded.
Here is the link to our video inspiration:
http://www.nfb.ca/film/pas_de_deux_en
<catherine.maai@hotmail.com>
Themes & inspiration
- Time
- Space
- Relationship between objects, actions and people
- Performance
- Database of information
- Daily gestures
Marie-Joelle and I would like to make an experiment video that focuses on certain movements done by specific body parts (such as hand, head, eyes) throughout time. This project would enhance these daily gestures by capturing the moments on camera in a very intimate point of view.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Based on Thrift’s discussion on infrastructure, I wanted to create an abstact representation of the relationship between misanthropy, love, hatred and friendship.
A still life canvas (either projected or painted) would represent by its colours and shape misanthropy and hatred, using dark colours and broken patterns.
A sensor would then capture movement and project onto the canvas some bright colours and swirly patterns to represent the passage of kindness throughout society.
(I was however greatly interested in Nina and Tina’s project. I spoke with Tina and she would be happy to let me join them into this vast project!)
As for the pictures of the faubourg place (attached to this email), I found the building aspects to be various. There seemed to be many styles confined into the same space, which didnt always make much sense. What struck me most however was the waste of space. There were a lot of empty corners that could have been filled in many different ways. The building has potential to be redesigned while not changing so much to its actual structure because of all its open and unused space. It would to me only be a question of uniting the elements together into a coherent way, without it being necessarily matching perfectly.
Sorry for the delay, I couldnt find the usb cord to transfer the pics onto the computer :(
Catherine
• performance
• embodiment -> in relation to Foucault and Deleuze
• time & space
• non-representational theory focuses upon practices – how human and nonhuman formations are enacted or performed – not simply on what is produced (all of the project themes chosen above tie into this main ideology from the class lectures)
This experiment plays on the idea of alternatively hearing your drawing gestures while leaving their marks behind. The idea is to use digital sounds output based on the movement of the performer drawing on a surface. The sounds would be affected by the speed and direction of the user’s drawing tool. The equipment behind the amplification of these sounds would naturally be a contact mic. The surface that will be used to perform on, will be a composition of several materials including plastics, metals, wood, and polystyrene. The stylus will be double-ended to allow for two types of tips without changing instrument. It is still uncertain whether we want the performative sounds coming through the contact mic to be real-time or delayed. If time permits, it would be interesting as well to have projections of the drawings and visuals of the movements created on the surfaces.
Examples & Inspirations:
• TML (black box) project with contact mic table and tools to interact
- performing a set of noisy actions consciously and unconsciously
• This project is more based on the musical aspect rather than our drawing aesthetic. It shows the diversity that a contact mic has by simply using your hand and surfaces to make music.
http://www.gizmag.com/mogees-any-surface-instrument/21010/
“Mogees is great news for all the air guitarists out there. This tiny device, built by Bruno Zamborlin for his Arts and Computational Technologies PhD project*, offers a whole new way of expressing yourself musically, even if you don't have the slightest idea how to play an instrument. Mogees, or a "Mosaicing Gestural Surface," is based on a simple contact microphone that turns any hard surface into a musical interface for triggering audio samples. What sets Mogees apart from other interfaces of this kind is that different types of touch stimuli generate different output. Simple gestures like scratching, rubbing or tapping can produce a surprising array of sounds worthy of a serious experimental music set up.
As you interact with the rigid surface, the contact microphone attached to it picks up the resultant vibrations, which are then either converted directly into audible sound or used as input for selecting a matching audio sample from a database. The selected sample is of course instantly played, so the aspiring musician is treated to a real time experience.”
<mariejoaile@gmail.com>
I have great interest in the movement of masses, how people move through a space. Most importantly I like to watch people stop and look at some random object. For my project I would like to create some small object that would react to their surrounding. I would place the object in public places and capture the reaction of people. I do not want the object to have any obvious effect, not loud noise or bright light.
David and Brent
Things needed: Power Outlet
Size: 5 feet wide by 5 feet long by 7 feet high
Around 1 hour to set up
Notes - March 28th:
Marie-Joelle Gingras: needs a room with no windows.
Brent / David: 30 min to setup. Speakers in the project would be better.
Tina / Nina: Floating projection. 1-2 meters high. Space needs no wind.
Katherine / Joseph / Ben: Plain screen. Images pile on to each other with past peoples.
Dario / Sophie : 2 Contact mics instead of one. Building stand alone table. Sheet of plexi glass + wood.
Chris: Will try to borrow screen from OBX. I just need to reserve it and make sure it doesn’t overlap with the days they need it. Backup plan would be to do it on an iPad.