OVERVIEW
To create an instrument that is controlled by hands, arms, and feet, and contained within a marionette wooden structure of about 7feet tall. The objective of the piece is to look at how instruments are normally so limited in the ways we can play them, and that in this limited ability we are considered as puppets to the instruments, which dictate to us the way they are used, and the style they are played in.
This becomes apparent in such musical situations as classical orchestra, we don't walk in with a saxaphone and start a solo section because we've been taught that it doesn't sound 'right'. Also, where would be the harm in creating an instrument that uses a bodypart instead of or aswell as our hands.
We are puppets to the music industry, the connotations that artists try to portray as desiring freedon for multinational organisations will never come true if they dont free themselves from the stereotypes and binding arms of the instruments
Estimated Hours Spent Since Xmas: 125
10th February - Write-up
We had to write a 1500 word report on our projects, so here is mine. It's not too bad, I think it pretty much covers everything in one tidy document! In the words of a certain chef it's 'PUCKER'!
(p.s. don't blame me if its spelt wrong, it is after all NOT A REAL WORD AT ALL!)
9th February - The Final Deadline
I presented my project today, it went well, of course there are a few things that I would ammend if I were to redo the project, but in the time allocated, I am proud of the structure I developed. What I would have focussed on is to improve the rotating disc and how it connects to rotary pot, making it more sensitive and more reliable.
Here's a pair of videos of my presentation.
5th February - Pikapika
Although pikapika isn't to do with an instruments emotions, it does use a persons body to create the sounds in an extremely elegant way! In a way, it is a much more sophisticated technology used than I had envisioned for mine. It looks into the ways that Japanese animation and films have their sounds created, and that a persons movements merely affect the sounds produced, creating a form of 'Sonic Mask' around the character.
The reason I have included this in my write up is because whether it was intended or not, when I saw the project, it drew the connotations of being a human puppet which I had used for my project! The woman is entangled in all this technology, and here movements affect the sounds, but it will always be in the Japanese style, similar to the way that Sax plays in a blues style.
It in effect creates a soundtrack for the individual that dons the outfit, and the poses the user makes affect the sounds, this sounds as though it frees up the individual to make sounds. But in a report from Eric Cook at NIME'03, although he is very impressed by the project he goes on to say that 'The designers said that the control system did not necessarily require very complex gestures, but Hahn obviously knew the sounds and the behavior of the system extremely well, and that gave her a very visible responsiveness'. So who was more in control, the instrument had to be learnt to be played well, and was limited in the sounds it produced. Who was the real puppeteer?
2nd February - Meetin with Dan went very well and positive
Chatted with Dan today about what i've done and showed him the video, went really well, he gave me some feedback, but nothing to serious, or that I hadn't already considered.
1. Decrease the number of rhythms to 3
2. Alter rhythms to be different types of sound
3. Change spare rhythm button to a switch that increments a value from 1-6 and loops
4. Make the new variable gate to different aspects, so rotating pots alter different things rather than just global volume.
nb. May want it to increment if high, and decrease if low rather than setting a value (more fluent)
nb. Have first value '1' to be null, so doesn't affect anything.
5. Get speakers from Dan on Monday morning (10/11) from his office.
1st February - Beta version is done
Okay, I actually have a video recording of my project working, which is excellent, it releaves some of the stress I had! It needs tweaking at the moment to improve the output, but I will chat to my lecturer about that tomorrow!
Okay thats what I have so far, I have 3 days to make any last minute ammends (Monday Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning). Here's a list of things to do (in order of urgency):
1. Make rotating discs more sensitive, so user doesn't have to touch his/her toes to get volume down.
2. Change rhythms, keep one beat, but replace others with (Spoken Word, Rainforest Sounds, )
29th January - Lets get this done!
Okay, i'm about to enter THE final week! I want to have a working prototype by thursday, practical work in the day, and tidy up the programme at night! Can it be done, we'll have to wait and see wont we!!!
Only problem I have at current though is with color tracking, I can't work out how to get it to track white on a black background, should be easy, but it just confuses me. Here's an image of what I am trying to track!
11th January - My First Max Patch
Things have gotten a little bit brighter at the end of the tunnel today, I found out what a major problem was with my Miditron, and that was that one of my MIDI cables was broken, so now I have (although not properly I expect) several buttons connected to it.
I do however still have two big hurdles to leap in the next few days, the first being to get Analog inputs working in my max patch, and the second being to find somewhere I can store my structure whilst I work on it.
My First Max Patch (.jpg)
My Second Max Patch - Analog doesn't work (.jpg)
2nd January - Structure Made
My Dad and I have just finished 2weeks worth of work on making the basic structure I need for my project, the image is on the left. It allows the user (Me) to stand in the middle, and as they pull on two ropes, it spins 2 potentiometers, this will change the global volume of the rhythm and tune. There is also a platform on the top for the camera to go for colour tracking, and a hook near the directors chair, for hanging the miditron box near the laptop.
29th December - Miditron Box Created, but is Miditron broken?
Just finished making a rather sexy little box to hold the miditron, with phono sockets coming out to transfer power out, and to receive an input on the centre pin. Velcro supports on the inside, the only issue with the design is that the box needs to be opened to turn on the miditron.
One quite major problem though with the Miditron, it doesn't seem to work at the moment, no inputs are working at all. This means one of two things, either I don't know how to use the Miditron, or I have accidentally fried the board, as even when I removed the Miditron, and plugged the wires in directly, it still didn't work. So am going to have to Speak to Dan Livingstone or Chris O'Shea about fixing it A.S.A.P.
12th December - Presentation Could Have Been Better
Okay, so far this has been both the most enjoyable and most stressful project I have done to date! Last night before I had to present chunks of circuit board came off, which meant that several circuits were incomplete. I managed to bodge it together using excessive solder and tape though. Feel I should have got at least 50% of the marks, although would still be dissapointed to get less than 60.
This went along with all the umming and erring that you get when you are panicking that things wont work. But by the end of the presentation, I realised something that may make my final project so much better. I am in possession of a miditron, this would allow me to directly connect in both analogue and digital sensors directly using plugs, rather than having to solder to a ropey circuit board.
11th December - Almost Prepared With Manual
I have a version of the manual.pdf for this stage in my project to print and take tomorrow. I have just to prepare my talk for tomorrow now, so that I can present my project so far. Hopefully I have enough, i've spent enough time on it all!
Although my project doesn't sound amazingly exciting at the moment, it does work, and once the many parts have been put together, hopefully in February time I should have a vaguely complete prototype for the piece!
8th December - Disaster
My left hand piece has just been completed, and I am now a very happy chappy, and will now focus on perfecting the patches for the two hands ready for the presentation!
Had a second piece of good news today aswell, my main encompassing structure, I have found someone that is willing to assist in its construction over the christmas period, my Dad has looked at the design requirements, and sent back a quick sketch which I have put below!
It is a collapsable wood and rope structure, with the spinning discs at the top! Its stability should be fine, and should take the required weights, whilst still being moveable between locations!
2nd December - Disaster
Oh dear, that circuit board from my PS2 controller I had spent so long doing, yeah, I fried it today! Just over a week before I have to present it, how excellent is that! Restarted it today and got a couple of buttons working, am very concerned that it may not get done in time, but have picked up a soldering iron cheap to do some work on the weekends, so fingers crossed and i'll get there soon.
14th November - MAX/MSP Underway
Hell yeah, I got a hell of a lot done on the patch front now, got values coming from the controller, got it changing volumes, and altering other parameters. Just learning how to impliment the appropriate tracks now into my piece.
9th November - Main Project
My main sound project is now totally underway, and is going at a reasonable pace, one major milestone is on the horizon, with the electronics side of it. Then I can focus on the main structure which is diagrammed very badly here as a .gif
The basic idea for my piece is to use the entire human body as the instrument, creating a kind of marionette style to the way the music is portrayed. There will be two gloves, the left controls rhythm, the right controls tune. There will be cords attached to each hand, which when lowered or risen will spin a cam, and alter the volume of the piece. And there will also be a right food slider, which will alter tempo.
PROJECT 1 - Metromix
Create a Soundtrack to a Clip of Video taken from 'Metropolis' - the Anime Version.
After toying with the software, and thinking about the video I finally came up with this final piece. The reason it sounds a bit less structured than the first is because our task was to use collected tunes, and not to use a backing rhythm throughout the piece.
A few of the sounds were:
- Washing Machine
- Pouring Water
- Metal Shelf
- Me Blowing
- William Gibson Interview
- Hitting Saucepan
- Reason
- Scratching Pan
