View source for Ritualistic Performance System Research


'''Goal:'''
To create a ritualistic performance system using spacialized audio signals and real-time video manipulation. Ritualistic performance system to consist of water-based video controller and gestural audio looper and controller. 


'''Background:'''

As part of continued research, I aim to pursue an audio/visual experience that combines spatialized field recordings, voice, sensors, video/light, and software. In its current iteration, water and conductive tape are incorporated to produce proximity sensing as a means to manipulate real-time changes to video content. The audio collection process includes listening, recording, and engaging with a series of natural and machine-made sounds. The piece will culminate in a performance, where I will direct audio signals and light using gesture and sensors. Sonic elements will be controlled using a performance mask, while manipulations of light will occur using an experimental water controller.    
    

[[File:water_controller.jpg|350px]]
water controller prototype 

[[File:Mask_full.jpg|350px]]
mask prototype

[[File:Mask_inside.jpg|350px]]
mask sensors



'''WK1 -- Brainstorming + Testing'''

 Water sensor to control visual content
 Mask to control aural content

 Performance Site -- Listening Room
 Okay to burn / use scents?
 Dry Ice?
 Max capacity in Listening Room?

[[File:Listening_room.jpg|350px]]


'''To do:'''
 Bare Conductive Touch Board + Water Sensor Testing in Max 
 Arduino code + upload to Touch Board
 Max MSP/Jitter + Touch Board testing
 Add water sensor input to video mixer patch
 Collect Field Recordings
    Fire / Machines / Energy Facility / Electrical Drone Sounds


'''WK2 -- Testing + Collection'''

Water Sensor Testing in Max MSP/Jitter
[https://www.bareconductive.com/make/the-touch-board-maxmsp/]

[[File:Bare_conductive.jpg|300px]]

I managed to get data into Max from the Bare Conductive microcontroller. After a few minutes, the microcontroller seems to get overloaded and freezes. If I reload the Arduino code onto the board data starts to work in Max temporarily. This issue seems relatively consistent. My laptop also seems to be having trouble processing video and receiving data at the same time. The latency of sensor data into Max is painfully slow while video is running. Sensor response is proficient with no video processing. 

I will need a new laptop. This is not a surprise.


'''Readings:'''

 <u>Keywords in Sound</u>, Chapter 15, ''Resonance'', by Veit Erlmann 

"...the concept of resonance, having been derived from core epistemological virtues such as intuition, observation, and experiment, names the natural mechanism governing the interaction of vibrating matter, such as strings, nerves, and air. As such, resonance is the "Other" of the self-constituting Cartesian ego as it discovers truth (of musical harmony, for instance) and reassures itself of its own existence as a thinking entity. On the other hand resonance names the very unity of body and mind that the cogitating ego must unthink before it uncovers truth."

(Erlmann, page 177)


 <u>Keywords in Sound</u>, Chapter 17, ''Space'', by Andrew J. Eisenberg 

"As a phenomenon that exists at once within and beyond perceiving subjects, sound cannot but reveal social space as an artifact of material practices complexly interwoven with semiotic processes and the 'imaginations, fears, emotions, psychologies, fantasies, and dreams' that human beings bring to everything (Harvey 2006: 279; see also Lefebvre 1991)."

(Eisenberg, pg 202)


 <u>The Soundscape: Our Sonic Environment & the Tuning of the World</u>, 
  R. Murray Schaffer, Chapter 12, Symbolism

"...water, the original life element, has the most splendid symbolism... a stream, a fountain, a river, a waterfall, the sea, each makes its unique sound but all share rich symbolism. They speak of cleansing, of purification, of refreshment, and renewal... It is symbolic of eternity... It is symbolic of change." 

(Schafer, page 170)


"Without its tactile pressure on the face or body we cannot even tell from what direction it blows. The wind is therefore not to be trusted."

(Schafer, page 170)



"Modern man has sought to escape both the wind and the sea by encapsulating himself in artificial environments... The sounds of machines took on happy symbolism approximately 200 years ago, when it was realized that they could release man from his immemorial bondage to earth... power and progress... noise and power go hand in hand."

(Schafer, page 178-179)


'''To do:''' 
 Research options for new laptop (2015 Macbook Pro) + Stanford support
 Mask controller into Max MSP/Jitter
     Build simple looper w/ adc
     Test Teensy + MIDI
 Edit field recordings 


'''WK3 -- More Testing + Collecting'''

'''Simple Audio Looper Interface for Testing | Max MSP/Jitter + MIDI Controller:'''

I built a simple looper patch in Max in order to start manipulating and listening to field recordings from my recent sound hunts. Lately, I've been interested in machine sounds that have similar qualities as sounds from nature... similar to how cars sound similar to the ocean, or specific electrical resonances sound like cicadas and crickets. 

[[File:Audio_interface.jpg|600px]]

[[File:Midi_controller.jpg|600px]]

[[File:audio_interface_guts.jpg|600px]]

  audio test -- [http://ssherriff.com/media/ritual_test.mp3]


'''Readings:'''

"...the wind began to funnel down from the high southern pass, gaining more forces with each passing moment... The effect wasn't a chord exactly, but rather a combination of tones, sighs, and midrange groans that played off each other, sometimes setting strange beats into resonance as they nearly matched one another in pitch... strangely dissonant. While never unpleasant, the acoustic experience was disorienting."

(Kraus, pg 37)

 <u>The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World's Wild Places</u>, Bernie Kraus


'''To do:''' 
 Purchase 2015 Macbook Pro
 Mask controller into Max MSP/Jitter
     Test Teensy + MIDI
 SLAC audio recordings
 Visit Listening Room
 Create composition map / score
 Research/Source dry ice
 Contact Ge -- 250A performance footage
 Schedule Audium visit 


'''WK4 --''' 

'''Dry Ice Safety + Costs + Storage:'''

[[File:Dry_ice3.jpg|600px]]

[[File:Dry ice2.jpg|600px]]

[http://dryiceinfo.com/safe.htm safety]


[[File:Dry ice5.jpg|550px]]

[https://www.howmuchisit.org/how-much-does-dry-ice-cost/ costs]


[[File:Dry_ice.jpg|600px]]

[[File:Dry ice4.jpg|600px]]

[http://www.eatbydate.com/other/dry-ice/ storage+]




'''Searchworks Audio Finds:'''

Over the past week or so, I've been reading <u>Art of Immersive Soundscapes</u> which has revitalized my interest in musique concrète. Today I spent some time digging around [http://searchworks.stanford.edu/ Searchworks] for online audio files/compilations/albums. In my hunt so far, I have found several resources that rely heavily on field recordings from nature to form audio compositions.    

Here are a few:

 [https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Crecorded_cd%7C72954 ''Gateway Summer Sound: Abstracted Animal and Other Sounds''] Ann McMillan, 1979 

 [http://www.dramonline.org/albums/scott-smallwood-desert-winds-six-windblown-sound-pieces-and-other-works/player ''Desert Winds: Six Windblown Sound Pieces and Other Works,''] Scott Smallwood, 2007

 [https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Crecorded_cd%7C72140 ''Highlights of Vortex''], 1959, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings [2003]


'''SLAC Site Visit:'''

[[File:slac.jpg|500px]]

The tour of SLAC was a bit of a disappointment, but only because I didn't fully comprehend the context of the tour. I didn't realize our MFA tour was part of a larger public tour. Unfortunately, it was nearly impossible to record an audio sample without tour-talk and human ruckus. We only visited two small areas of the facilities, which didn't really give an impression of the scale of the accelerometer. There were, however, some exciting/uncomfortable oscillations coming from machinery that I would like to revisit under a more sound-oriented tour of SLAC. Outside of my sound hunt, it was astounding to hear about the some of the research taking place.


'''Audium:'''

In class, I mentioned an interest in utilizing darkness as part of my performance. Visiting Audium in San Francisco was suggested, and I've been meaning to check it out for far too long, so I looked into [https://www.cityboxoffice.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=1760 tickets]. I plan to go to a showing in a few weeks (May 4th or 5th) and will inquire with the group about attending as well.