Category Archives: 2010 Fall
By
Ryan
|
Published
October 1, 2010
Found this great drawing1 that John Cage did to describe his throughts about the rationality of the mind/concept and the irrationality of the form. Figured it was relevant for the thesis process I am going through right now.
1Bernstein, David W.. “John Cage and the “Aesthetic of Indifference”.” In The New York Schools of Music and the Visual Arts (Studies in Contemporary Music and Culture, V. 5.). 1 ed. New York: Routledge, 2001. 119.
By
Ryan
|
Published
October 1, 2010
That’s basically how it’s feeling right now. I’ve had success in finding inspiration, solid resources, and the start of an understanding of the communities my projects may reside in, but now I’ve got a big pot, and I need to simmer this down a bit to get to the core of my ideas.
After finishing the Technical Module, I had plenty of ideas but I was unsure where to go to next. By choosing conceptual, my goal was to render all of these different (and sometimes conflicting) ideas into a series focused statements and possible prototypes. On the right is a diagram I drew for myself to help me better understand my next steps.
I then did a sketch to help illustrate the different terms I was using to approach my main subject of Rhythm. During the Technical Module, most of my focus was on the physical aspect of rhythm and sound, so comparatively the conceptual has been much more of a cerebral exercise.
I found it interesting that I wrote “Process” twice. I guess that says something about where my mind is.
I also have come up with a project that I am both beyond exited about as well as completely terrified of. This image basically describes how I see QR code and how it can relate to rhythm, sound, and other music creation tools. This idea stems from my experience at Maker Faire, presentations from George Bixby and Julynn Benedetti, the back of Phillip Retuta’s MFA DT playing cards, as well as my readings of Oliver Sacks, Trespass, and Henri Lefebvre.
The general idea is to place a physical representation (aka “graffiti”) of a musical experience or rhythmic memory in a public urban space. Technically speaking, my idea is to use a mobile phone that reads physical codes with the camera and translate them into melodies, rhythmic patterns, and triggers for sample libraries within the mobile device. A person walking on the street could scan this “graffiti” and music would play for them at that specific location.
Here are some storyboard sketches to accompany this idea:
Instead of the code taking you somewhere else (like a website or some remote location), the idea would be to use the code to further your experience of that specific space. The here and the now.
Music is all about memory. It is our ability to remember what has just happened, experience what is playing at that time, and apply expectations for what may come next, based on cultural understandings of what is currently playing. That intersection of past, present, and future is very interesting to me and reinforces my belief that we constantly exist in an intersection of experiences (or rhythms).
I have already begun building this, starting with simple pattern recognition with the camera on my computer and openFrameworks. I’ll have a working version of that come Tuesday, so I’ll be doing a post about that early next week. Won’t be getting much sleep between now and then, but it will be sweet once it’s working.
By
Ryan
|
Published
October 1, 2010
I can sum up my latest visit to Bobst with this story. I just got done getting books in an unexpected area of the library (specifically, the engineering section with books on lasers at the top of the same shelf as books discussing digital sound synthesis), and I was on the 2nd floor looking through a shelf of books that dealt with seemingly disparate but at the same time similar subjects such as midi, techniques of tabla, and music for new media.
I had just pulled a book off the shelf titled “Interactive Music Systems” and a friend (who I thought was going to Columbia for classical music composition but was really going to NYU) walks in with a giant manuscript in hand and says, “What book is that?” and before I can respond he says, “Does that say Rowe? Is that written by Robert Rowe?” I respond “Yes”. Robert Rowe is his Thesis advisor.
I’m standing in a giant library, in front of a shelf of a few hundred books, and I grab a book just as my friend walks in that was written by his advisor. I should ask Umut what the probability of that is.
I did a little investigation, and Robert Rowe is involved in a great number of things I should be looking into for my thesis. Rowe is the artistic director for the Interactive Arts Performance Series happening at the end of this month at NYU. Rowe has also been involved with the Electronic Music Foundation, a New York-based not-for-profit arts organization, producing concerts, festivals, and other events in NYC.
Next step, ask my friend to make an introduction to Robert Rowe.
By
Ryan
|
Published
September 29, 2010
We made a few adjustments to the game board for this playtest by expanding the shooting area and applying a point system to see who would win the game. The decision to make these changes came out of feedback that we got from the second playtest we did in-class, which was to provide more opportunities for competition in the second round.
Previously, there was only the goal to knock the Slammies down, but with the addition of a point system, there was more meaningful choice for the players in the second portion of the gameplay. By being able to decide the points you could possibly earn (and the difficulty level), players could better alter the outcome of the game.
We also adjusted the rules so that the player with the least amount of Slammies would go first during the second part of the game.
Here is a video of the in-class critique we received from Josh DeBonis after he playtested the game. He enjoyed the game and had fun playing it, and his feedback about process and weaving a tighter connection between the two game modes was really helpful. Our decisions to incorporate position into the gameplay came out of our discussions after this critique.
Here is our final iteration of the rule set.
Also posted in Game Design 1
|
By
Ryan
|
Published
September 28, 2010
**Spoiler alert – I review how the game ends in this post, so If you plan on playing Braid (or have not finished it yet), you might want to wait until you finish before reading.**
According to Steam, I played Braid for a total of 8 hours. That was 8 crazy hours. I am currently in the process of doing sound design for Eric Chung, Joungyoun Lee, and Margaret Moser’s video game, and Braid was recommended to me as a great example for sound design in a game. So I spent some time experiencing a modern gaming classic, and it was well worth the effort.
The majority of the “soundtrack” was composed independently from the game by a set of different artists and was licensed from magnatune.com. It was amazing to read that Jonathan Blow had selected that music, and in the comments section of his blog post, he wrote:
I did it this way because I knew that (a) I could find music of the mood and texture that I wanted [though it was very difficult!], and (b) the music was made by artists who really cared about the music they were doing, a lot; and that feeling makes its way into the final game.
I didn’t want to try and commission game musicians to make songs, especially with a very low audio budget — the result is just not the same emotionally, even if it’s a high quality song, because they aren’t invested in the same way. And even just a high-quality song is hard to get, because there are a lot of not-so-hot game musicians out there.
I was surprised to read this because the music feels so integral to the entire narrative and game mechanic (rewinding time).
In relation to speculation that the game is about the atomic bomb, I feel that it has much more to do with memory and delusion. Even if Blow was referencing the regret that the contributors to one of the world’s most deadly weapons may feel, upon finishing the game I feel the protagonist chose delusion over reality and sunk further into the deep recesses of his mind.
Reminiscent of Haruki Murakami’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World, the Calcutec narrator’s mind had already slipped. He spends one last moment with the lovely Librarian before he slips into the End of the World forever. The mixed feeling of triumph, standing atop the cloud at the child-playroom styled finish line felt like a nod to delusion. Let the anti-hero, upon finding out he is a non-threatening villain chasing a woman who doesn’t want him, return to the beginning of the game to practice speed runs or wander the boards for fun.
By
Ryan
|
Published
September 22, 2010
For Game Design 1, we were asked to write-up the rules to a simple game we played as a kid, and I chose “I Spy Something”. As a child, I can remember taking road trips with my parents to visit family and sitting in the back seat of the car playing this game with my brother.
Here are the rules as I remember them:
Purpose: The goal for this game is to pick an object and provide accurate but minimal information so that your opponents cannot guess the object you selected.
Ages: 4 years old and up
Number of players: 2 or more (but you shouldn’t try to play with more than 6)
Location: Anywhere (preferably while you are in something moving with windows, like a train or car)
Equipment: None
1. First player looks around their immediate and not so immediate surroundings and chooses something as their object of choice.
2. First player gives the other player(s) a single, visual clue (typically a color or texture) that can identify their object of choice by saying “I spy something [visual clue].” (ex. player one chooses the trees lining the roads and states “I spy something green”).
3. The other player(s) is able to make guesses as to what the object is in the form of a question (ex. “is it the grass?”).
4. First player is able to respond with yes or no answers.
5. Each round ends when either the other player guesses the object or runs out of options to guess.
6. The next round begins with the next player selecting their object of choice for the other player(s) to guess, and so on.
There was no clear way of determining a “winner”, but typically my brother and I picked the winner by who it felt had done a better job of stumping the other player with their choices, as opposed to being a good guesser.
By
Ryan
|
Published
September 21, 2010
This is the first full prototype of the semester in the ongoing exploration of Rhythm. Inspired by a book describing the sleeping patterns of animals and circadian rhythms in general, I put this prototype together to describe the differences between my sleeping patterns and the cycle of the rising and setting sun.
I created two sound waves: one is describing the sun’s cycle (each end of the wave describe the rising and setting of the sun), the other is describing my own rising and setting patters during the same time period. At the outset of the piece, you become aware of the even cycle of the sun’s pattern. As the piece progresses, I introduce my sleeping patters, and it is alarming to hear how erratic my own pattern is contrasted against the cycle of the sun.
The main goal for this prototype was to introduce the concept that sound can be used to describe the relationships we have within ourselves, each other, and the environment that surrounds us. This was a successful initial prototype in revealing these latent characteristics.
This was done in Max MSP. Special thanks to Rob Ramirez for the suggestions on how to handle this project in Max MSP.
By
Ryan
|
Published
September 21, 2010
For our third assignment, we were asked to use arrays in an interesting way, so I made a random beat and proximity sensitive drum machine. The available beats are scattered about the page in a random assortment, and when the user clicks, the closer the pointer is to an instrument, the louder the sound.
I need to refine how the proximity works, but this is a good first prototype. Here is a video example:
Here is a link to my code.
By
Ryan
|
Published
September 21, 2010
For my Code for Art class, we were asked to prepare a brief report about a project that we read about on a blog or saw in our travels that uses code in some way. I picked Usman Haque’s “Primal Source” as my project to discuss and describe.
“Primal Source” was commissioned by the City of Santa Monica, California, for Glow 08, and it was an all-night performance/installation brought to life through the active participation of festival-goers (estimated at approx. 200,000 over the course of the night).
Responding to sounds emanating from the crowd, the system’s modes changed every few minutes depending on how active the crowd participation was (more quickly when there was more noise). Each mode responded in a slightly different way to the individual voices and sounds picked up by 8 microphones distributed towards the front.
Here are a few photos from a video posted on Haque’s website describing the project. The set-up involved microphones that handled the user input, projectors to for the visuals as well as a water “fountain” constructed on the beach.
I have been completely floored by many of Haque’s projects (ex. Sky Ear), and when I see the dates of these projects, I know I have a lot of work ahead of me to be able to pull off extensive installations like this. The interaction is simple, but after doing a number of projects involving crowd participation, I understand how difficult it is to provide simple interaction.
I was lucky enough to have seen Haque speak at Parsons last year. I know I would have eventually found his work, but it was great to kick off the program seeing such an inspiring artist.
The nature of the project necessitated code-based systems. If there were no interactive elements, projetions alone would have sufficed, but because the crowd noise was a key component to driving the visuals, code (in this case, Processing and Pure Data) based-systems were necessary.
Here is video documentation of the “Primal Source” project:
Back to top
