Creative Media and Performance 2

'In virtual reality (VR) applications, the contents are usually generated by creating a 360° Video panorama' (Lee et al, 2017). The participant is in a fixed position and can pivot in space to see action on all sides. 'Virtual reality is an ensemble of visuals, sounds and other sensations, that replicate a real environment, or create an imaginary one. A person using Virtual Reality equipment like a VR headset is able to 'look around' the virtual world and sometimes interact with it' (Tricart, 2017) Tricart argues that 360 and VR are also not the same thing, defining that 'we use the term 'VR' when the content is watched in a VR headset, and '360 video' when its watched on a flat screen using a VR player' (2017). This means that something can be both 360 and VR, but it is dependent on the software and platforms used to watch it. It is argued that VR requires the participant to take on a more active role, and they are more wholly immers...

360 cinematic vs volumetric VR Close up to build intimacy (audience cant move away in 360)- highlights notions of agency performers gaze= relationship to participant Live interactions and engagement in material space- disrupt sensory environment, engage participants bodily awareness Practicalities: - Needs even & a lot of lighting (light source also has to be hidden as it can be seen) -Space/ location aesthetic on all sides -Do not perform over stitch lines (unless its an artistic choice) -Framing→will the audience move with the action, or do they make their own decisions where to look? -Perspectives→ camera positioned ow= audience feel small/ action feels giant, camera positioned high= audience feel as if watching over (fly on the wall), action appears small, direct engagement? -Storytelling works differently- non-linear/ visual narratives -Sound within video or in performance space? Binaural sound? if using live performers as well, they also need to hear and be in ti...

MIDI controlled- 'Musical Instrument Digital  Interface' ↓ Ways of interfering with the digital world ↓ All about the creative throughput into action Generative Visuals Other programs Resolume, VDMX, GoGe, Modul8, Arkaos Grand VJ Marco Tempest: The electronic rise and fall of Nikola Tesla Beeple- free videos Isadora concepts: play- control- output Movie player projector File- Import media drag video into space To see the video- output- force stage preview --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Right click- Actor control split→ can connect this to MIDI (to bring editor up) Stage preview button slider Click on Number in editing area & drag it into main area ↓ button to visible (on movie player)→ (on/ off) dial to speed (on movie player) fader to intensity (on projector) right click→ disable edit mode/ enable edit mode (if it goes black then turning it back on, manually do it in the main are...

Escape room parameters - sonic clues (louder the closer you get to key) -health Adaptability & Versatility Make music with stems (everything stripped out) Have a creative idea first & use the technology & coding to implement it OSC data input from isadora & collaborate it with FMOD to motion track the proximity Curve on Volume recognises something is growing rather than a linear ramp Algorithmical coding Problems- cant change tempo without changing key X data domain / Y data/ dynamic movement domain Add modulation→random modulation right click on volume button→add modulation → random ↓ → modulates music to be random ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To make rules- i.e. when its 0-50 it doesn't play -click on loop region -add condition -choose parameter it applies to -set the number Setting probability of something happening -click on music you want -click white arrow in cor...

AI- essentially a set of coding that learns from the possibilities set AI works to a set of parameters in order to generate output with verying degrees of automation AI used in industry= spotify daily mix playlist & suggestions Algorithms lie within AI Alterbiography is the ongoing narrative generated during the interaction AI helps the world adapt to user input, output & experience 'Director AI'= high level= unseen AI that looks at the entire world, not just one element (NPC, environments) Neural Networks- decision making systems within AI Pull narrative- Help in performance making: -Diverts from the linearity of traditional performances -Gives participants abilities in a digital space beyond their own body -Allows for mutiple different experiences Creates a 'thinking' world of experience, rather than a static world that does not interact/ react ↓ the environment itself can alter Expansion of Isadora ↓ →feedback loops= human interac...

-Open source physical computing platform based on a simple input/output, cl/ oj board and a development environment -Can be used to develop standalone interactive objects or can be connected to software on your computer (such as flash, processing or max/msp) Allows you to get input to create output Before them it was hard to control external things using computers Using the body as a source of input A good way to explore the creation of experiences between humans and tech Prototypes of ever increasing fidelity Brain/ heart is a micro-controller ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDE= Integrated Development Environment Digital parts= on/off -binary logic- 2 signals Analogue- range of possibilities/ values Ultrasonic Sensor Arduino: Measures the distance Ultrasound is sent out & signal is sent back as it bounces off object Analogue out pins (3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11) Store info using variables- allocation of memory of ...

An arduino is a microcontroller and software suite ‘you can program to process inputs and outputs between the device and the external components’ (McRoberts, 2011). It combines hardware (microcontroller boards) and software (code), to program things to happen. ‘‘Hardware hacking’ means modifying a piece of existing electronics to use it in a way that it was not necessarily intended’ (Taylor, 2013). Essentially as a mini computer, an arduino has the capacity to modify and ‘hack’ almost any device. This is more often than not used for functionality, e.g. building a weather display system, a finger print scanner or parking sensor, however performances have also been made. It is more common for a performance of this nature to work as an instillation, as it responds to environment and interaction, rather than being used as a collaborator. Using an arduino in performance is a difficult thing for audiences to come to terms with, as it means going beyond the conventional theatre...

VJing, or 'Video Jockeying', is a realtime visual performance that manipulates and creates imagery through technological mediation for an audience in synchronization to music (D-Fuse, 2006). It is often used at large scale events such as night clubs and concerts, and in the same way DJing is the manipulation of audio, VJing is the manipulation of video visuals. Projection mapping augments the physical environment with projected images, that are shaped and warped to fit onto real objects (Raskar, Welch & Fuchs, 1998). Some theorists have also referred to it as Spatially Augmented Reality. This technique is often used in much smaller scale settings, commonly for artists and advertisers, who can add extra dimensions, optical illusions, and notions of movement onto previously static objects.

Autonomous Drawing Robot Created by Matthias Dörfelt, Mechanical Parts is a series of graphic connectors created by Robo Faber, an autonomous drawing robot determined to reproduce. The robot continuously creates drawings generated using a preset system Matthias developed for Weird Faces and the I Follow flip books. The system works around the idea of thinking how the drawings are created by hand and the same logic designed into the algorithm. Each connector, or “mechanical part” is entirely random and unique, based on the presets Matthias programmed. In this way the robot can draft an infinite amount of connectors while looking like it is sketching and thinking about a mechanism to reproduce. Petting Zoo – Artificial creatures designed to learn and explore Created by London based experimental architecture and design studio Minimaforms, this project is speculative life-like robotic environment that raises questions of how future environments could actively enable new forms of...

AI Art Dance Machine- A 'living Archive' Developed in collaboration with Google Arts and Culture, Studio Wayne McGregor has produced an AI choreography tool, which captures movement data through a webcam, and generates brand new options for the most likely choreographic sequence to follow. The choreography produced directly reflects the personal style of a dancer of McGregor's company, after they input 100s of hours of movement content from his 25 years of work.  This can be used in choreography itself, but McGregor also demonstrated its use in live performance, premiering a piece on stage in LA with his more sophisticated version, which has the ability to record longer, and therefore more complex movement phrases. I had the pleasure of experimenting with this tool October 2019, and it was fascinating as both a dancer and a technologist to see how this software could be used, adapted and developed. AI portraits NVIDIA researchers have used a generative...

'The design of interactive dance is a challenging endeavor because both dance and computing are in themselves full of complexity' (Cherry, Gonzalez & Latulipe, 2012) Rubidge (2001) discusses the ever-changing experimentation between performer and technology, with particular focus on dance practice.  She explains that 'digitally mediated artworks are developed in a system which is intrinsically non-linear' Rubidge (2001), and audiences can often have problems with this diverting from the traditional performance structure. The notion of action-reaction is an interesting concept in performance making; the idea that something in a piece (lighting, audio, the physical body, video etc.) can affect the direct reaction of another component within the piece (again, lighting, audio, the physical body, video etc.). It creates an inter-connectivity within a piece, making it more sophisticated, rather than having components separately, not collaborating with each other. ...

PIPS:lab- Anyways This performance is a 360 VR experience for 6 participants at a time. Each audience member is immersed in a conversation with 5 other eccentric characters sitting in a train cabin. The experience used binaural sound, as well as enabling the participant to hear the inner voice of their own character. I experienced this performance first hand at Utrecht Spring festival. It was an interesting concept, as it used a realistic situation recognizable to any audience member; trying to keep up with 6 conversations at once in a social situation. There were 2 live cast members, who used touch to engage your bodily awareness, and make you feel as if the body being touched in the experience was actually your own body. Similarly to my own idea, this performance also challenged what could be considered as a performance, as the experience took place in a glass box out in public. This then gained public audience members, who were watching the participants from outside the box. It is...

I have previous experience managing VR in my position working at the Van Gogh Immersive experience. Here, I am responsible for ensuring all 15 headsets run smoothly throughout the day, so I have had to learn how to fully control them, as well as fix any problems if necessary, for example, rebooting them through the whole system. While at university I am more accustomed to using the Oculus Go model, but the model we use here is only slightly different (Oculus Rift), so I was able to learn how to use it extremely quickly. I am responsible for directing the public while they use the technology and I have become a standby member of staff to call, should anything go wrong. VR Server   I have always been interested in how dance can work alongside VR to create a modern take on traditional dance performances, and update how they are viewed by audiences. The traditional structure of dance is gradually becoming outdated, and often is performed in end on and proscenium arch thea...

Van Gogh Immersive experience I currently work with Immersive Hub at the Van Gogh experience, Leicester so I am often surrounded by projection mapping. The companies main attraction maps a 35 minute long video projection on the walls of All Saints Church, fitting the video to the arches and beams of the building, as it displays a collection of Goghs moving paintings. This is truly a spectacle to watch, yet somehow creates an almost zen-like state, seeming hypnotic as it plays. I would love to recreate this feeling in my own prototype, letting the audience walk through the Alice in wonderland themed building, with each scene mapped to fit a different wall or section of a building. There is also a smaller exhibit within the instillation called 'The Vases', which takes the audience through the variety of flower paintings the artist did, including the famous sunflowers and irises. The main element for me is the vase itself, which stays constant throughout, only changi...