Author: Gabriel Chi

GitHub Link: https://gist.github.com/kcb403/43ff09f15f59c622571d287b8c1f22ee

Title
the abyss

Project Abstract
The abyss is a self contained audio visual performance rig. The project makes use of colored reflections from water to evoke feelings serenity and mystery. 

Project Description
For our project, the abyss, we wanted to create a performance piece that created  an immersive audio visual experience, only using the reflections of water. The concept was mainly inspired by Thomas Wilfred’s Lumia, which to all of our group members, reminded us of the rippling of water. Since water has a connotation of serenity and stillness, we wanted to play with these themes, but also subvert them in an interesting manner. 

Perspective and Context
Our project draws many different influences from visual  music and abstract art,  especially from Thomas Wilfred’s Lumia pieces.  For example, our decision to create a self contained rig, was completely inspired by Wilfred’s smaller scale work, such as the Lumia cabinet. Additionally, when watching the documentary and examples of his work, we all noted that the visuals were extremely similar to the reflections in water. This eventually led us to create a rig that used water, and the reflections it made in conjunction with colored light. 

Additionally, when brainstorming, we decided to incorporate monks as a sample. This was inspired somewhat by James Whitney’s work, especially Lapis and Arabesque. Both works, which are heavily inspired by the mystique of eastern influences, lead us down the path of mantras and spiritual readings of text. This eventually pointed us in the direction of sampling different rituals and mantras, which evokes feelings of spirituality, serenity and mystique. 

Development & Technical Implementation

When developing the piece, we all decided it would be best to create a rig that could easily be controlled throughout the performance. Throughout our ideation process, we iterated several designs of what our rig would look like:

Eventually, we settled on a layered box, with each stack dedicated to a different aspect of the performance. The top layer would act as a holding mechanism for our colored lights, which let in a certain amount of light to the second layer. The second layer, which contained the trays of water, would reflect the colored light, down onto the third and final layer. This last layer contained white sheets of paper, which allowed for the colored reflections to be easily seen. These reflections would then be captured on the webcam that was attached within the bottom layer. If the box was shook, the trays of water would move accordingly, making the reflections move as-well. This would create an interesting ripple effect which could be captured through the webcam.

For the patch, Kyle focused on gathering effects befitting for our visuals. These effects would try and evoke feelings of water, but would also still attempt to abstract the visuals. For the audio aspect, I mainly worked on the background audio which played throughout the performance. I used Ableton, a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), in order to map out the entire 5 minute track, applying different types of effects onto the samples. These included, delay, EQ-ing, reverb, panning of the tracks, and etc. 

 

Performance
Up until the actual performance, our group had already practiced a routine to follow. This involved shaking the box rig at certain intervals, and making use of the specific settings for the patch to make visuals that would fit our audio. I would be switching with Celine for controlling the visuals and physically automating the rig, while Kyle controlled the patch and audio. We were all confident that if we followed the routine, we would have a smooth performance.

However, when setting up to present, our entire patch crashed, resetting all of our previous settings and loops. This mishap threw off our entire group, which made us shift from our original routine. Although unexpected disruptions is somewhat of an aspect of live performances, I really would have liked to show our performance at its peak  level. 

Conclusion
Overall, this project proved to be a difficult yet rewarding task. Not only did all of us push ourselves to play with ideas from abstract film and audio, we even went as far as to creating a self contained reflection rig. I found that working with both my group mates helped especially within the ideation/ brainstorming phase, as everyone had their own input for how to execute the project. In the future, I would like to apply everything I’ve learned from both the first and midterm project to execute a more immersive and stimulating experience in my final. 

Graphic Score:

For our group’s graphic score, we based the design of several components of our project. The background references to the use of synths within our musical score, with piano notations and musical bars taking up the majority of the background. The different colors, gradations and patterns are all related to our use of water in the midterm, with the shapes evoking feelings of flowing liquid. The gradation from light to dark blue also represents the progression of our musical score, as it slowly crescendos, increasingly in intensity. The final purple line is after the crescendo, where the music reverts back to the beginning, a calm and placid sound, devoid of the noise which it follows. 

Title:  dyssonance

Github Link: https://gist.github.com/gabrielchi/50f61b31d296cd6e36cab9c041ab092b

Project Description
For my project, dyssonance, I took heavy inspiration from many different sci-fi/ dystopian films, such as Blade Runner, Akira and the Matrix. Films in this genre, both visually and audibly, have a very distinct style (eg. neon lights, heavy pulsing synths and bass, overly saturated colors). I wanted this project to be an exercise in creating art through a medium I have never tackled before, and I felt that the sci-fi/ dystopian genre would provide the foundation for a very distinct and striking style. 

Perspective and Context
I think that this project fits heavily with the topic we learned, Synesthesia. Although I am personally not someone who experiences life with synesthesia, I felt that the music that I used for inspiration and created translates well into the visuals. Synesthesia, being the fusing of multiple senses (such as sight and sound), allows for those who have it to experience daily life in many different ways. I specifically chose the saturated version of green, yellow and red to emulate a thermal camera, which evoked feelings of technology and future. I believe that combined with the heavy synths and drums, the visuals and movement of it could potentially be similar to what a synesthesiac with an interest in dystopian films might visualise. 

Development & Technical Implementation

When tackling this project, I originally started looking back at previous patches in order to have a foundation to start with. Therefore, I went back  to the exercise related to synths, drum sequences and Beap to Vizzie. 

For the drums and synth, I looked up several soundtracks to different movies, from both dystopian films, but also from other soundtracks that had visual accompaniment. The main inspiration for both the audio sequencers were underground raves, in places such as Russia. The rave culture in Russia has a lot of coverage, with multiple documentaries following the lives of youth ravers. Their wardrobe and style of dancing all evoked a dystopian feeling, accompanied by the pulsing beat of the music. 

For the technical side of the music, I sampled a drum pack that I used for my other music projects,  using a cell to midi, loading a kick, snare, hi-hat and percussion into each. That was fed into different smoothers in order to make the visuals less jumpy when they were connected. For the piano roll sequencer, I simply based the synth off of the different exercises we did in class. The pattern on the piano sequencer is fed  into a midi to signal and  graphic ADSR, which is fed into Cloud, where I tweaked the wave form of the synth and the fatness of the synth.

For the visual aspect, I mainly used the different vizzie effects to extremely skew the visual accompaniment.  The DELAYR  and PIXL8R helped immensely with creating a retro and almost 8 bit feeling that I was looking for. I then applied 2TONR to bring out the specific colors within the screen, and increased saturation and brightness with HUSALR. From there on, I plugged them back into the PROJECTR for viewing.

Presentation
I felt that overall, the presentation process proceed quite smoothly in terms of not running into technical difficulties or program crashes. The majority of my focus was on the initial reactions and feedback that I received when showing the project. I found very interesting to see an immediate response to the project, as the saturated colors and sharp movements of the project seem to startle some of the classmates. Additionally, receiving both critique and feedback was really important to me as I would use them to apply for my future projects. 

Conclusion
When starting on this project, I was quite overwhelmed with the amount of tasks I had  to accomplish. However, through personal research  and assistance from other classmates, I was able to learn and improve in my skills using Max8. In terms of achievements, I think I succeeded at keeping a consistent aesthetic style, in both my music and visuals. Although I was happy with the outcome of the project, I would’ve liked to have a much stronger visual relationship between my music and my visuals. My soundtrack had a very distinct pattern, which I wish had translated over to my visuals; However, I now know how to apply such a method for future projects. I hope that in the future, I am able to apply everything I have learned and will learn in the near  future for my projects for the rest of the semester. By applying such skills, I would like to create an  installation that evokes emotion, and that actually resonates within audiences on a deeper level.

Write a two to three paragraph reflection on the life and work of Thomas Wilfred as you understand it from the documentary and the text. Reflect on the significance of his work, his conceptual framework(s), and his technical process.

Thomas Wilfred’s Lumia is an art piece like no other. Inspired by Louis-Bertrnad Castel’s clavecin oculaire, Wilfred was set on creating a piece of art that could become a medium to express the abstract concept of light. By using the clavecin as a foundation for his own machine, Wilfred’s Clavilux made use of modern technology in the form of light bulbs, translucent colored glass, and reflective surfaces. Along with his Clavilux, Wilfred’s later iterations, ranging from small refrigerator sized installations to large cinematic screens, were focused on “more emphatically defining Lumia in terms of light, which was not simply the “medium” of his art form”. 

When watching and reading about Wilfred, I began to understand his obsession over the medium of light as a form of expression. In the documentary at 45:55 and 1:18:07, I began to realise that Lumia is work of art that cannot be completely conveyed in words. Reminiscent of an Aurora, the movement and color expressed through light are unmatched to any other medium, such as painting or photography. It made me feel as if some aspect of nature had been contained within a single installation. I believe that visual art such as Wilfred’s is one that must be experienced in person, as simply watching it through a computer screen does not do the work justice. 

Write a two paragraph reflection on the motivation of the artist to make such a film and the actual process the artist used to create the it. Pay special attention to the presence or absence of any synesthetic relationships between the visuals and the sound.

Film: Oskar Fischinger “Allegretto”

http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/andydancer/clips/fischinger_allegretto/view

When watching Allegretto, and many other Fischinger films, it becomes quite apparent the meticulous nature of his work, especially in the relationship between music and visuals. In Allegretto, every instrument has a visual counterpart, each corresponding to their sound and movement. For example, the staccato brass section appear quickly and almost aggressively with large diamonds, while the longer trumpet holds snake and droop around the screen. Every shape, blip and circle has a corresponding sound or instrument.

While other the artists that were shown in class took similar approaches, or completely abstract styles, I found that Fischinger was the one who adhered the most to musical structure, sound and tempo. Although sometimes it becomes visually cluttered, everything makes sense in the context of the music being played. I believe Fischinger’s intention was mainly to marry the two mediums of visual and auditory art, using classical music and visual animation as his foundation to create a new art form.