Whilst not true ‘surround sound’, the audio for Dusk will be presented through 4 speakers, placed around the installation. One of the goals of Dusk is to create a level of immersion for the viewer, to try and surround them with sound and vision. To build upon this alternate reality, I built a simple Max/MSP patch in Ableton Live which will pan audio between 4 different Return tracks. Each of these tracks output audio to a distinct channel (speaker), creating a controllable quadraphonic space.
I built this patch (now available for download on maxforlive.com) now using some of the elements from JuanSOLO’s ‘SEND Control’ device, but instead of taking information from a MIDI controller or similar, my patch receives OSC messages, passing x and y coordinates and mirroring this movement with panned sound. Sound design is going to be handled by Eli, while the panning coordinates will come from Lukasz‘ flocking fireflies, created in openFrameworks.
With the direction of our project – and therefore the coding development – on hold until we lock down the arrangement with projectors, I decided to start working on a scale model of Dusk today. This will make changing and communicating ideas much faster, as well as allowing us to explain the project to those people touring the Underbelly Arts Lab, before we’ve constructed anything meaningful in the warehouse space.
As I created the outline for the expected area of projection, it was immediately obvious just how much we’re in need of a second projector,…
Day 2: our first major hurdle(s)… Last night we tested the projector inside the warehouse space. At 5000 lumens, brightness was not a problem, but the limited throw certainly was. The model of projector we’re using needs a lot of distance (throw) between it and the surface to be projected on, to create a large enough image for us to work with.
Whilst there is a lot of space in the warehouse, we couldn’t figure out a way to give us enough of a distance for a top-down projection that would feel immersive. The best we managed was around 4m x 3m, and once the area includes physical objects, this doesn’t leave much room for people to move.
The corner of the warehouse, where Dusk will be constructed.
The Underbelly Arts‘ artist Lab kicked off today, with some site inductions and an opportunity to measure up the space in which Dusk will be constructed.
We’ll be living in an old warehouse space, at the south end of the strip of venues that make up Underbelly Arts. Alongside an inflatable artwork, Air City, we’ll make up an interactive installation space that will hopefully resemble something of a surreal dream.
An orthographic drawing. No perspective here. Image: GameTrailers.com
As part of our Underbelly Arts project, Dusk, I am working on a way to create the illusion of moving lighting on objects. In fact, the way I’m approaching the task is not so much about lighting, but instead generating false shadows on and around objects.
This ties in with the work I have been doing as part of my major university project piece this year, so the technology remains the same: Quartz Composer (QC) generates visuals and Max/MSP controls parameters within the QC patches.
Next week, a few of the members of angryPixel will embark on a 10 day artist residency to create an interactive installation project at the Underbelly Arts festival in Sydney. Aside from being a great opportunity to work on a piece that will be presented to the public, Underbelly Arts provides artists with the ability to present their work in progress, as public tours take place during the lab period: July 7th-15th.
Working alongside other talented artists will also expose us to new ideas and hopefully take our work in unexpected directions. Following the lab residency, the Underbelly Arts festival will take place on July 17th, with all completed work presented to the public.
The concept for the angryPixel installation – Dusk – is loose enough to give us some latitude in direction. I will post regular updates as the project and lab unfolds over the coming weeks.
Danger Shield components. Reminds me of pulling toys to pieces as a child.
Now that I’m on break from uni (at least in the sense of official classes), I’ve had a chance to sit down with my Ardunio, a new soldering iron and the unbuilt Danger Shield. Aside from some basic cable-fixing during a previous life as a roadie, my soldering knowledge is nil and I was definitely apprehensive about poking a hot bit of metal around electronics components.
With the help of Zach Hoeken’s walkthrough (the maker of the original Danger Shield. Note that this model is slightly different from the SparkFun version I have), it all went fairly smoothly – if a little slow. With the exception of putting grounding pins in the wrong position – and the painful process of de-soldering – everything worked as it should and I now have a bunch of sensors and inputs to take readings of all kinds.
Stop-motion setup of The Finders Keepers markets at CarriageWorks in May, 2010.
The first angryPixel production was released into the wild at The Finders Keepers‘ talk at Creative Sydney tonight. Let’s just say it didn’t go according to plan and we’ll chalk that one up to experience. The video above is how it should have appeared.
Video Capture: Lukasz Karluk
Post Production: Scott Brown
Music Composition: Eli Murray (Track: gentleforce – “Learning to Forgive”)
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