What I did
1. arrive early before the start of the show to assist in checking and organising the sound equipment required for the show
2. Assist in setting up the surround sound system on site, installing and checking the sound system equipment
3. assist in testing the sound and volume components of the sound system
4. assist in measuring and accurately adjusting the actual step distance between the observer and the Arduino sensor
5. participate in external demonstration videos of connected equipment
6. Present the sound system structure to the audience during the demonstration and record answers to relevant questions
7. Prepare relevant professional questions and interview backstage observers in real time
8. Check and store the equipment after the performance and restore the scene
Challenges
In our installation, after testing and comparing, we chose to use a smooth iron plate as a prop in the observer’s hand to interact with the sensors. However, based on our observations, the transient response of this method was not as agile and fast as we would have liked during our testing. The reason for this could be due to the fact that the sensor response speed was delayed and accumulated throughout the display, thus causing our system settings to interfere with each other.
Secondly, some of the interactive trigger sounds were not immediately perceived by the observer throughout the presentation due to the grainy background sounds, which told me that I should have tested all the live sounds beforehand and adjusted their loudness and dynamics accurately so that all the sounds would blend into the installation sound system as much as possible, but still give the observer a sense of the trigger dynamics.
When doing the live space architecture, even after replacing multiple HDMI cables and connection inputs, the display would not play the display video until we replaced the computer.
Lessons
Despite the time we had anticipated, the number of problems that arose on site was a major factor that forced us to delay the preparation process. But when faced with these unexpected problems, calmly resolving them and having a back-up plan was the only way to help us get out of the situation. Behind the presentation of the project on this night was the entire design, refinement, debate and action of our team and the advice and help I received from my team members was the greatest asset I took away from the project.
