a reccy

On Friday three of us went for a reccy. We've found three spots for the three pieces.

The first is just inside the entrance and this is where the POV wheel will be setup.



The second, the SoundPosts, is next to the cafe. The photo shows how it will be seen from upstairs.



The third piece is in the theatre itself and will be situated along the side of the auditorium. Between bands the audience can engage in a little 'vogueing'. The piece will show a history of its own use.




Lastly Chris is giving an indication of how popular the works will be :)

Open source and open-ended

We are building three interactive artworks for Loop 2008, primarily using open source technologies. We use Arduino microcontrollers to link sensors to Macs and PCs doing lots of number crunching (for example, image processing). For image processing we are using Processing and Open Frameworks. For sound synthesis we are using SuperCollider.

Our approach to designing the work has been participatory and open-ended. A group of local artists and technologists who have developed the concepts for each piece. Blip has provided mentoring and training for the participants. Most importantly, the participants have learnt from each other and combined their artistic and technological skills, such as: writing code; designing and etching printed circuit boards; designing user interactions; and wiring up sensors.

Currently two of the three pieces are very near completion.

Shadow Wall captures the moving silhouettes of people as they walk in front of a white screen. These images are stored, digitally manipulated (colour, blur and transparency) and amalgamated into a single dynamic composition. This is projected on the screen when there are no users throwing shapes. The projection builds up over the day, older animations fading away over time, creating a dynamic history of the way people have interacted with the system.

Spinning Mirror consists of bicycle wheel and frame which are positioned on top of a plinth – the centre of the wheel is at average head height. A user faces the wheel and their image is captured by a webcam. If the user spins the wheel then their image is traced out by spinning LEDs. Due to POV (persistence of vision) the image stays relatively motionless although the LEDs are rotating. The system adapts to variations in the spinning speed to keep the image in the same position.

Sound Posts is an interactive sonic environment which is being actively developed using SuperCollider software that responds to the proximity of people (measured using ultrasonic sensors).

SuperCollider workshop

Thor Magnusson of Ixi gave a SuperCollider workshop which will be a key technology in building Sound Posts, an interactive sound work, which we are building for Loop 2008. We had a brain storm about the environment in which the piece will have to operate (noisy, transitory, people passing by), the type of interactive experience we were aiming for (intuitive, clear feedback on how behaviours affect the sounds generated) and the technologies/techniques we would be using (ultrasonic proximitiy sensors, granular synthesis, sampling sounds from the environment).