Overview：
The implementation of the Place project has been a novel and rewarding experience for me. Overall, the significance of the project is its ability to combine cutting edge technology with cultural significance to create an immersive and engaging experience that allows for a new interpretation and appreciation of the culture of the place. The staircase, as a physical element of the installation, is able to connect with the contextual culture contained within the site of our project, adding depth and resonance to the overall experience for audiences. The integration of sound and vision, along with the use of Arduino, Max, Kinect and 3D scanning technology, creates an innovative dynamic and responsive installation. The interactive and immersive nature of the installation allows for a new interpretation and appreciation of the cultural significance of the site, creating an innovative and engaging experience for visitors.
From a sound perspective, the use of a 7.1 surround sound system in the installation and the audibility of the sound creates a dynamic and immersive experience for the audience. The integration of distance sensors with the sound triggering system allows for real-time interaction with the sound, making the audience an active participant in the overall experience. And the use of Max as the primary control interface for the sound system enables flexibility and precision in sound design, thus enhancing the overall sensory experience for the observer.
From a visual perspective, the use of the Kinect sensor and 3D scanning creates a visual element that is both dynamic and responsive to the viewer’s movements. The integration of the distance sensor with the visuals allows for real-time interaction, which makes the viewer an active participant in the overall experience. the use of TouchDesigner allows for flexibility and precision in visual design, which enhances the overall sensory experience.
My tasks:
For Place, a project involving an interactive immersive installation, my main responsibility was mainly to architect a sound triggering system about Arduino and based on Max.
The following links provide a detailed description of the various parts of my workflow:
Opportunities and challenges:
Initially all the MAX and Arduino parts of building the interactive triggered sound system were like new territory for me, I had a lot of misdirection and misjudgement in the process of figuring it out, but I learned step by step with David’s help about the Arduino connections, about the creative control functions of MAX in the sound system architecture, and I I learnt that musicality is sometimes not the only option in a performance, I learnt that the granularity of sound makes for a unique and infectious presentation, and I overcame many new problems in this learning process with the help of the team.
As far as the whole sound creation process is concerned, I learnt to be inspired by interactive triggering of sound creation during the preliminary field recording. In the sonification section, I learnt about the possibilities and techniques of data sonification, and I realised that every part of the sound system is important, detailed and essential. David’s extensive experience with MAX has helped to guide and inspire me in every part of the project. Allison was always on hand to answer questions about both the arduino connection and its working code, and Chenyu was always on hand to provide her unique and helpful advice on the whole structure of my work. Thanks to Molly, Daniela, Yijun, YG and Yuxuan, we were able to work on the architecture and details as we tried to improve the performance of the whole device step by step to achieve the final presentation.
