smontina@andrew.cmu.edu – 18-090, Fall 2019 https://courses.ideate.cmu.edu/18-090/f2019 Twisted Signals: Multimedia Processing for the Arts Mon, 09 Dec 2019 02:54:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.2.20 https://i1.wp.com/courses.ideate.cmu.edu/18-090/f2019/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/cropped-Screen-Shot-2016-03-29-at-3.48.29-PM-1.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 smontina@andrew.cmu.edu – 18-090, Fall 2019 https://courses.ideate.cmu.edu/18-090/f2019 32 32 115419400 Smontina – Project 2: Barbershop & Home Hair Cutting Kit https://courses.ideate.cmu.edu/18-090/f2019/2019/12/08/smontina-project-2-barbershop-home-hair-cutting-kit/ Mon, 09 Dec 2019 02:54:35 +0000 https://courses.ideate.cmu.edu/18-090/f2019/?p=3320 For Project 2, I originally wanted to create an interactive soft sculpture out of a durag and Max Patch that would replicate the experience of getting a haircut. However a lot of obstacles were encountered during the making process. The durag was not durable enough to embed 8 Adafruit speakers or the continuous handling necessary for exhibition so it was quickly replaced with a headset. The patch was made to have 2 modes: a manual setting, in which the user could choose the “clipper guard” and move the “hair clipper” around in ambisonic space over the audience’s head; and a automatic setting, in which presets of 7 hair styles (a normal Fade, High + Low Fade, Buzz Cut, Shape Up, Temple Fade with Sponge Twists, Frohawk, and High Top) could be automated and experienced. A reoccurring issue in both the automatic and manual version is having continuous sound when switching between the 8 different wavetables. The audio must be turned off and on again to reset the patch to play the new sound. In addition to that, on the automatic version, the audio for the most part is seemingly disabled. With each addition to the automatic patch (the Barbershop), more usability was lost, this may be due to the multiple presets that are theoretically needed for the project to function.

Home Hair Cutting Kit: Presentation Mode
The Barbershop: Editing Mode
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Smontina – Project 1 – Spatial Oscilloscope: Inside the Wave https://courses.ideate.cmu.edu/18-090/f2019/2019/11/03/smontina-project-1-spatial-oscilloscope-inside-the-wave/ Sun, 03 Nov 2019 23:04:45 +0000 https://courses.ideate.cmu.edu/18-090/f2019/?p=3178
Inside the Wave: Presentation Mode

“Spatial Oscilloscope: Inside the Wave” is ambisonic 8 channel oscilloscope waveform visualizer. A 127 key MIDI keyboard is used to trigger the oscilloscope, then the visualized waveform is fed through to a HOA.map which travels the signal through 8 speakers in its respective pattern. “Inside the Wave” allows the audience to be at the center of the sound space and feel the voyage of the signal around them.


EXAMPLES


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Smontina – The Barbershop: A Shape Up, Fade, and Please Don’t Touch My Hairline – Assignment 4 https://courses.ideate.cmu.edu/18-090/f2019/2019/10/15/smontina-the-barbershop-a-shape-up-fade-and-please-dont-touch-my-hairline-assignment-4/ Wed, 16 Oct 2019 03:21:44 +0000 https://courses.ideate.cmu.edu/18-090/f2019/?p=3115

“The Barbershop: A Shape Up, Fade, and Please Don’t Touch My Hairline” is an exploratory analog sound piece that takes a steady signal and creates a wavering shift with a pfft~ in Max. The hair clipper-esque sound is created using a combination of filters, delays, and trapezoidal waves. The wavering sound that occurs when triggering the pfft~ is reminiscent of the sound of a hair clipper being pressed against the skin (i.e. for fading black hair). The piece is best experienced with headphones.

Main Patch
PFFT Sub Patch
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Smontina – Assignment 3 – Convofluted https://courses.ideate.cmu.edu/18-090/f2019/2019/10/08/smontina-assignment-3-convofluted/ Tue, 08 Oct 2019 15:12:10 +0000 https://courses.ideate.cmu.edu/18-090/f2019/?p=3084
Original Compilation of 10 Rap Songs with Flute Samples

IR Recordings

Morewood Gardens Stairwell from the 4th Floor
Media Equipment Center Lending Room
Hair Clippers
Running Bathroom Sink Faucet

Convoluted Recordings

I wanted to convolute flute sounds, due to their distinctive tone and capability of creating smooth elegant melodies (also it made for an interesting assignment title). My art practice focuses on hip hop culture so I decided the most interesting way for me to go about this were to find and compile snippets of rap songs that used flutes as their main rhythm. The songs in their respective order are:

  • Tunnel Vision – Kodak Black
  • Lollipop – Snoop Dogg
  • Big Pimpinʼ – Jay Z
  • Preach – Lil Wayne
  • Broccoli – DRAM
  • Get Right Witcha – Migos
  • Big Amount – 2 Chainz ft. Drake
  • Portland – Drake ft. Quavo, Travis Scott
  • MFʼN Right – 2 Chainz
  • Mask Off – Future

Using an H4N Zoom Recorder, I recorded a balloon popping in the Morewood Gardens’ residence hall’s stairwell from the fourth floor (which is the middle level of the building); the College of Fine Arts’ Media Equipment Center Lending Room; working hair clippers in a bathroom; and the sound of a draining bathroom sink.

The Morewood Gardens’ recording resulted in lots of reverberation and echo, yet the Media Equipment Center suppressed a lot of reverb and developed a muted sound. This opposing dynamic was also apparent in the clippers and sink recordings. The clippers created a continuous drone, while the faucet made an intermittent gurgle. All of these recordings when used as IR, resulted in an atmospheric sound. Almost developing a hum in some places while creating a patterned submersion of sound in others.

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Smontina – Assignment 2 – Left Ear Right Ear https://courses.ideate.cmu.edu/18-090/f2019/2019/09/18/smontina-assignment-2-left-ear-right-ear/ Wed, 18 Sep 2019 12:49:14 +0000 https://courses.ideate.cmu.edu/18-090/f2019/?p=2940
Left Ear Right Ear Test 1
Left Ear Right Ear Test 2
Left Ear Right Ear Test 3

Stemming from my practice of making instrumentals with beat loops, I wanted to employ relatively easy techniques to develop analog loops. The patch I created separately shifts the pacing, pitch, and frequency of the signal out for the left and right channel; thus creating an either harmonic or rippling effect for the listener. Immersive 3D audio using multi-channeled systems is an area I intend to pursue and I thought this was a first step towards creating loops from scratch. In the grand scheme, I would like to add on to this patch and create a whole system that divides to more than 2 channels and affects each one differently.


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HFFpXGPOELfm0BED+yWghn.uanFX5EbgKTbbzRNikEM8eaPq+0QYwgSJIyTR
YHE.80RRYx9jLwKtdXLtWT+k8BFr.zJH402FNGF7uepRxYrKencpRuP+Ka3r
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FXSTn9uq5EzUchdm+zSpiHdcoweLo9SM33EEOJJqNX.vwL8wuOGR4iVBKkJ6
Rn0r41oOJa02p.uzzKVaZDWWBfAsiYmOGsM2T7PUKOTF2bjXLILifxz3upfa
QOLJwhmW7Wfibgu9
-----------end_max5_patcher-----------
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Smontina – Assignment 1: Wu-Tang is Forever https://courses.ideate.cmu.edu/18-090/f2019/2019/09/02/smontina-assignment-1-wu-tang-is-forever/ Mon, 02 Sep 2019 17:16:32 +0000 https://courses.ideate.cmu.edu/18-090/f2019/?p=2707

Assignment 1 plays off of the famed hip hop quote “Wu-Tang [Clan] is Forever,” a phrase claiming that the influence of the popular 90s Staten Island based rap group is an everlasting force in music and culture. “Wu-Tang is Forever” is a recursive project which uses the vocals of the group’s landmark figure Ol’ Dirty Bastard, an artist known for his unorthodox vocal inflections. These vocals are borrowed from his intro in the song “Goin’ Down” in which he crescendos from a childish guttural noise to an opera-esque bellow.

“Goin’ Down” by Ol’ Dirty Bastard from “Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version”

Hell
Remember when we was young
And we used to go
(ahhhhhhhhhh) *repeated*
Ah, Punch Call!
No no, remember when we used to say who could do this the longest
(ahhhhhhhhh) *repeated*
*breaks down*
Ahhhh!!!!!!!! ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!
All right, I’m about to put it
Goin down, down

Intro to ODB’s “Goin’ Down” (1995)

The minute long snippet was then echoed using Garage Band (the exact settings are pictured below). The echoed version of the intro was then echoed again using the same settings and repeated 20 times with each newly made product. Echos are symbolic of continuous repetition and make the sounds of Wu-Tang to appear to reflect forever until the reverberation leaves the audio as a futuristic hum.

Progressions of the Echoed Audio
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