Category: LookingOutwards-12

Lan Wei-Looking Outwards-12

The project ‘Rotary tumble’ was created by Muharrem Yildirim and David Tinapple in 2012. The amazing part of the project is that both human action and physical principles are integrated into it. The blurring boundary of the physical world and the virtual world is also one idea that I want to achieve in my final project. In addition, the use of sound in the project also strengthens the visual effect. Thinking about how to improve the project, I feel it’s even better to make the screen touchable, meaning that people can move the shapes with their hands, and more sound effects can be added.

The second project is Dream Catcher created by Oggy (full name and date unknown). The amazing beauty of processing can be fully seen in this project. The common feature of this project with the first one and also what interests me the most is that they both imitate natural principles, which in this one is the flow of wind. What I feel missing in the project is sound. Compared to the first one, this one can be seen both as an interactive project and merely a visual project. But both of the projects are very inspiring to my final project.

Jisoo Geum – Looking Outwards 12

https://moodfuse.com/

Created by Chris Zieba – 2015

Spotify

Created by Daniel Ek – 2006

Moodfuse.com is a website that allows the user to discover music based on his/her current mood. In order to load the music, the user needs to choose a genre and adjust the slide bars according to his/her mood. The website is linked to both Youtube and Spotify so it is able to display music videos as well as the information about each song. I was first very impressed by the Moodfuse because of its simple and effective visualization that allows the user to choose the range of emotion.

Spotify (pretty self-explanatory) is an app that allows people to stream a wide variety of music. I wanted to mention this app mainly because of its browsing feature. Every time the user opens the app, the algorithm in Spotify selects songs and playlists that are most relevant to the user’s listening history. The selection process is a bit different from Moodfuse since the algorithm ‘guesses’ the user’s taste instead of letting the user describe his/her preference. Thus,  Moodfuse is more personalized and relevant to one’s temporary emotion.

 

Looking Outwards 12, John Legelis

The MiniMoog and the Casio VL-1 are two synthesizers from the 1970’s. The MiniMoog is an analog synthesizer while the Casio VL-1 is a digital synthesizer. They are both some of the first of their respective kinds. The MiniMoog was a instrument that became an instant success and was used by well known performers of every genre and defined the sound of an era. The VL-1 on the other hand was developed 9 years after the MiniMoog. By this time, synthesizers were less novel and were ready to enter the consumer market and Casio decided to develop a product to fill this market. The VL-1, unlike the MiniMoog, was digital and therefore was not competitive with the MiniMoog. Instead the VL-1 synthesizer took advantage of developments in computing with digital synthesis that allowed miniaturization and portability. Some argue that the Casio product is moreso a toy rather than a practical instrument.

The MiniMoog (left) and the Casio VL-1 (right)

For my final project I am aiming to emulate something of the nature of these instruments, I think it is likely that I will end up creating something closer to the toy-like  LV-1 rather than the professional revolutionary MiniMoog

Jonathan Liang – Looking Outwards – 12

Two projects that I have been inspired by for my final project are Shanshui DaDA and the IOS game Battle Cats by PONOS. Many of my projects thus far this semester have involved drawing stuff onto the canvas, and Shanshui DaDA is taking that concept and putting in on steroids. This AI program allows any ordinary civilian (no matter how talented they are at drawing) to draw lines on an iPad and then it transforms their creation into a beautiful Chinese landscape painting.

Battle cats inspires me because I always wanted to try making an animated game of some sorts. After project 10 and the walking man assignment, I’ve really been interested in trying to animate some characters I created into p5js.

http://battle-cats.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

https://www.creativeapplications.net/member-submissions/shanshui-dada-ai-assists-human-creator-in-drawing-chinese-ink-wash-landscape-painting/

 

 

Rachel Lee Looking Outwards 12 Section E

Living Library by Design I/O (2016).

Mü by Béatrice Lartigue (2009).

For my final project, I am interested in the idea of telling a story. As such, I selected two projects that are described as educational projects, used to facilitate teaching or stories amongst children. The two projects I have chosen are Mü by Béatrice Lartigue (educational installation) and Living Library by Design IO (interactive projected encyclopaedia).

I really admired how both projects were able to harness technology to create a story/ experience that went beyond the screen. For example, in Mü, interaction and creativity is encouraged through the educational application, but are used to guide class activities and discussions in the real world. Similarly, Living Library is housed in a museum, supplementing interaction with the surrounding Connected World exhibit, as well as interaction with others due to the interactive and dynamic nature of the project. Most importantly, both projects are able to delight and appeal to our senses regardless of age, which I hope to evoke in those who view my project. Something that was not considered in the two projects that I might try to address in my storyline for my final deliverable is how specific interactions might trigger divergent storyline paths for the viewer, or be a catalyst for the next section of the story, rather than having the interactions contained within one section of the narrative. This might help keep viewers more engaged, and feel a deeper connection with the piece.

Shirley Chen-LookingOutwards-12

For my project, I want to integrate music or beat making into it. I have several apps for beat and music making that I really like. As precedents for my final project, I did research for two of them.
The first one is Incredibox  . It is a music app and website that the player can create different songs or beats by adding or removing people from a band. Each person represents an instrument or sound effect, including percussion, voices, guitar, piano, etc. By managing this band the player can create very cool mixtures. It really attracts me because it allows the players to create an A cappella from instruments and sound effects, creating amazing and unexpected mixture of layers of sounds.

 

The other precedent I really like is a beat making app called iMASCHINE 2. It is  a hardware/software digital audio workstation developed by Native Instruments. Users assign drum kits, instruments and sounds from the included library, to each of the controller’s 16 pads, and can manipulate sounds further by applying effects and plugins. The software also includes tools to capture and manipulate audio samples in real time.

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/maschine/maschine-for-ios/imaschine-2/

 

Carley Johnson PP

Currently, the idea for my project is a platform-based game. To create a comparison, it would be something like the IOS game Doodle Jump. There are things this game MUST have and things that, if time permits me, I’d LIKE it to have. For me the game must have randomly generating platforms, a vertically scrolling screen, keypad controls for an icon, good bounce physics for the icon, and the ability to detect when the player falls off the screen to restart the game. What I might like to add to the game eventually is some sort of extra obstacle- an enemy to avoid that flies in the air, or an object that can be collected. I might I also like to add a “you lose” type screen that displays the number of platforms jumped on, and the ability to start a new game when the keyboard is pressed. The second drawing (the “or”) is the possibility, if I find this too difficult, to instead do a vertical scrolling game wherein you must roll an icon down the screen and avoid being squished. A goal of mine for this project is also for the game to just be aesthetically pleasing. I’m not a designer, but I want this game to LOOK very sweet because I think design is really important when it comes to art, or specifically interactive art. Obviously, a prior project to look at is the original game Doodle Jump, as well as many, many knock off games (fast follows). There is another indie point-and-click story based game, however, whose aesthetic is more that of the game I want to create. Night in the Woods is quirky and beautiful, with great, great color palettes, and also very nice physics when it comes to characters running and jumping. This is the look I’m going for.

Emily Zhou – Looking Outwards – 12

Two projects that I find interesting and are coincidentally somewhat related in subject matter are Step Up To It by Red Paper Heart and Cotton Candy Theremin by StewardessLollipop.

Step Up To it is an installation piece made of sugar cubes. Hundreds of sugar cubes were glued to spell the words “STEP UP TO IT”. When the viewer smiles, a projection causes the sugar cubes to light up in bright colours.


Step Up To It video explanation.

Cotton Candy Theremin is a cotton candy spinning performance. It uses the process of making cotton candy as an interface of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. The audience can trigger sounds and visuals by spinning a cotton candy cone over wisps of candy floss.


Cotton Candy Theremin documentation and interviews.

Both projects use physical materials (both sweets) combined with technology and computing to create an interactive and immersive experience. I admire the fact that both projects require viewer/audience efforts to come to life. I want to incorporate a similar level of fun and engagement in my final project.

Carley Johnson Looking Outwards 11

The group I came across, iii, is “an artist-run platform supporting radical interdisciplinary practices engaging with image, sound, space and the body.” They do residencies, and support artists, but the specific project I’ll be looking at is a totally immersive installation called “The Intimate Earthquake Archive”. The art piece uses almost every sense through vests and compositions derived from seismic recordings, interactive radio broadcasts, and sandstone earth core samples and wooden scaffolding set up around the people inside.

In this photo you can see the scaffolding and the vests worn by participants.

This project is really interesting because it plays with sound in so many ways. There are radio broadcasts as well as recordings of an Earthquake in Groningen, but the vest are the most interesting. Based on movement and position in the space, they omit sounds and rumbles that affect different parts of the body. I like how their website describes these tactile vests: “allows the wearer to explore the subtle rumbles of the earthquakes on the body.”

The truth about sound is we love it- we love music- and there is no doubt that what we listen to affects the state of our body. But often, this is not an idea explored in relation to art or so firmly attached to what we feel. I would love to wear one of these vests. Feeling and hearing the soft rumble of an earthquake in my stomach as well as all around me sounds at once terrifying and calming.

I have to suppose that the algorithms used employ motion capture graphics, so as to track the wearers progress through the Earthquake, and possibly some complex math in the transducer speakers inside the vest to know when and wear to trigger a rumble.