Thoughts on “Technologically Mediated Artisanal Production”
This was an interesting read. The writer was aware of some of the issues that stems from the “maker” movement. It’s a strange thing to digest as it still depends heavily on the exports of 3rd world countries to succeed. As $19 cups of coffee take over Brooklyn, what does the end of maker cities look like?
Looking forward to the class discussion.
Homework #2 – Pen tool in Illustrator
Part of our homework was to practice using the pen tool in Illustrator.
Manifesto
I see music as history. It is a old message to be received by someone who doesn’t exist yet. In the future I would like the music I create to have hands in the realm of analog and digital music. I want to incorporate my background and personal experiences into the songs I create.
In the future I see music as less and less constrained to a particular medium. To get the full performance to the user, the music should be packaged with other sensory media that play concurrently.
I want to have my own brand or genre that I am easily associated with. My music should be chaotic in a controlled format. I want words in my songs, because ironically wordless songs get repetitive to me. I think it’s important to collaborate. So I would like to record with other like minded musicians as well.
I don’t see my music as being mainstream, at least that is not my goal. I do want to reach a lot of people. But I want them to influence me as much as I influence them.
Piecing It Together – Assignment #1
This is a picture of the object I used for our first exercise.
Winter Show 2016
I did a Hail Mary play and a complete gamble by ordering some uber IR sensors on Friday, having same day delivery for $30 with no idea if these will work how it needed to. The gamble paid off, and while I am poorer for it, we were able to have a better functioning sensor array for the show.
Though that was just one of many hurdles we faced before and during the Winter Show including Melissa building up a chassis we consulted with Chester on. Melissa and I had an awesome time even though we were a bit stressed with all the tinkering we needed to do to ‘right’ the ship.We were approached by some interested people who will pay us half a billion dollars to make it for their bathrooms!!
Videos soon.
Final Project Pre-Show Update
The third prototype:
For our final physical computing class, we really wanted to get four sensors working. Unfortunately the delays that we used to send and receive ultrasonic pings clogged up the entire system. The current state of our code only allows for two sensors. However, we made progress in terms of getting one sensor to play multiple notes, as seen in this video:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh-9GeeujMs&w=560&h=315]
We’re still not sure the best way to “zhush” it up, other than by adding painting the pvc pipe? We still need to figure out the kind of enclosure we want to use for our circuit, and bring some dignity to the sad plastic basin. We also need to get a working system without using four different arduinos. But the prototype works!
Final Project Update
STATUS UPDATE:
Melissa and I ran some more tests with lasers and water streams at school and individually at home. Unfortunately we are still fine tuning our alternative light and sensor interface that will trigger the MIDI notes.
This is our first attempt at a MIDI output circuit.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9DfrA_zg9s]
This is us using the stock MIDI code from Arduino’s site. We are running the Arduino through a MIDI jack to a MIDI/USB converter and then into a soft synth.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_N5kUX2LUY]
This is one of our laser tests. I think it’s a cool effect but if we do use it, it will be more for aesthetic purposes.
We met again yesterday to test out our pump and PVC pipes for the fabrication part of the project. I think we are in a good place but we still have to catch up on the deliverables. Luckily I took off next week to focus on getting this completed.
DELIVERABLES (in progress):
Concept & Brainstorming (DRAFT)
Melissa and I decided to work together for the final project. We are working on creating a water instrument. The main interface will be a water fall or water sheet.
I am thinking about the pros and cons or it being a midi controller versus a function generator.
+Post Final Project Concept discussion (11/12/16):
We had a very productive demonstration of our water synth project. Here is a video of how we simulated our concept.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwhLLJ6mam0]
We received a lot of great feedback from our classmates and of course our Instructor Benedetta. After the testing we knew we had a good idea to proceed with and were confident that it would be something we could pursue.
After the demo we met to test our idea. We wanted to have several lasers travel through a waterfall. Unfortunately that is not easy to do and the results were not promising. We were able to get the laser to travel along a stream but it became increasingly difficult to get a projection the higher we went.
DELIVERABLES (WIP)
Proposals for Final Project
I enjoy listening to and playing synthesizers. These days most synthesizers are digital. That’s great because it allows them to be cheaper and reach a greater amount of people while offering a greater flexibility with sound. However there’s a limit to the resolution of digital synthesizers. We also lose a lot from circuits that simulate or model an analog synth. Analog synths are expensive, they’re messy, heavy etc.
1- One idea for a final is to bring analog qualities back into sampled and function generated wave forms. Usually water and synthesizers don’t mix. But if I can run a MIDI controller through a circuit that uses a water height sensor, I think I would be able to add back analog elements into the sounds being played. Also maybe the water can be the expression interface for the instrument itself. I can use other physical qualities of water to manipulate sound and modulation.
2- A second idea I had was to detect position along a RGB plane and have that affect color output among other things. There are already MIDI controllers that allow sound modulation along track pad axis. However this could be an interesting project if there is a unique application for it.