Something about Media Arts

A blog about my studies at the University of Art and Design Linz

[eccoart]

The Myo Wristband and DJing

Hey, last time i told you about the myo wristband. Here I have a link for a quick catch-up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOEcsNmTk7g&ab_channel=BloombergQuicktake.

What I want to talk about today is a little brainstorm i did. As we know, the myo wristband has 6 different gestures it can recognise. This means we have the option for 6 extra control for a live performance. Btw, I took this example because I am already preparing a possible live performance for summer. Of course, the simplest method is to use two or more turntables and a mixer, but I have to be flexible when i have to mix in live instruments. Therefore this could give one a better control about the live set.

Loading songs and acting as turntables

The easiest thought is to load songs into the queue with a simple gesture. It saves a little bit of time as you don't need to scroll through your playlist. And it doesn't distract you, you can focus on the mixing instead. The next idea is the imitation of turntables. But i don't know if the gestures work like a mouse-click or like having a key pressed. In other words if they initiate a one-time operation or if they can initate an operative loop. The latter would mean the use as turntable is possible.

Holding the gesture #2 means scrollig forward and holding gesture #3 means scrolling backwards. Probably you already guessed it: another problem is the scroll speed which you can't adjust this way which means you still need your turntable for fine adjustments.

Effects and setting cue-points

My next idea is to activate precostumised effects with different gestures. Of course there is again a lack of adjustments. We could activate an effect but not control how much we want of it. But that's not negative - we still have our mixer and also a laptop (We need it for the myo usage as far as i can presume). But we can use our own efffects which could be controlled adjusted with a midi controller.

Also pads would be an option as we could save our hot cues as gestures on the myo. The important thing would just to get a fixated structure of what gestures do you use for what pad. And the work of a DJ or live performer isn't only to mix music but also the role of an entertainer. Imagine doing crazy stuff with your arm - or arms with two myos at the same time haha - and initating beat jumps or loops and making a buildup with it.

Conclusion - whats my opinion

I think it's a really cool idea and also a nice way to get in touch with new tech. But it's up for debate if it could be a real assistance or a time saver. Simple things could give you a better focus towards mixing, but making it complex could end in a too complex situation for you. Sounds a bit weird, I know, but you have your dj deck, you have to look at the crowd and also have to think about what you're mixing. And then you have certain controls with your arm that disconnect you from your previous attention center. Therefore my opinion is that it needs a lot of time and training to use it for more complex situations but i would totally try it.

[eccoart]

How to make sound wearable

Hey, connecting to my last post i will tell you really interesting enhancing wearables. But this time it's about sound, and I am not talking about headphones. Our current age is like living already in the future, especially after i read about making deaf people feel music through haptic sensors at a concert.

I am talking about the project M:NI (Music:Not Impossible). It functions with two wirstbands, two ankle bands and a harness which all send electric impulses to ones body. They react to the soundsystem and let one feel the shift of intensity and amplitude.

They refer it like the translation of music through djs, but from sound to so-called vibrotactile feelings. Here you can read more about it:

New wearable tech lets users listen to live music through their skin

It's inspired by deaf fans of live concerts to help them "feel" the music.

This leads us directly to another wearable which translates sound to haptic impulses. It's not only a harness but a stylish jacket with various sensors. It's called "Sound Shirt" and you can take an insight here:

‘Feel Music’ on Skin with This High-Tech Jacket with Sound Shirt

Sound Shirt: You must have heard people saying that there is a feeling in music, which touches your mind.But what about those who cannot hea

Last but not least i want to leave the topic of haptic wearables but talk about something really neat. The Myo wirstband is a wristband with 6 different sensors which recognise your muscle movement and contraction. This means you have control with different gestures of your hand and with your lower arm. But you can use it for all kind of stuff and link it with drones, your pc and so on.

I have a passion for music and thought about a live performance and how to make a step further than just using a dj deck. As example, i could load the next song just with one gesture, that would save some precious time while mixing. Just think of all the possibilities and situations where you would need that assistance. The company sells it as a tool that will shape the everyday-life of the future, and i think that could be true if it gets developed further.

Now you have a little overview on how to convey sound to your body in alternative ways. Those projects could get really big in the future, but why waiting when you can experience those unique fellings already. For me it's clear that i will dig deeper into this topic, so stay tuned for more posts about it. See you!

[eccoart]

3D Models and -Printing for School

In our last class, we had to find different projects regarding 3d-modelling and printing. I personally find projects about wearables and prosthetics/body enhancements the most interesting. That's because I'm a big fan of the cyberpunk genre, including the visual and also auditive aesthetics of it. I know it's not quite the usual stuff to teach in schools but I'll give you some reasons it could be also interesting for students.

For example, check out the Spider Dress made by Anouk Wipprecht:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA9Du5l7qV0&ab_channel=TomScott. It's an interactive wearable project which reacts to proxemics, meaning distance-related signals from your surroundings. There are also wearables like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPjfFzrAuos&ab_channel=DiscoveryCanada, a printed garment which reacts to ones biological features.

Those types of projects can lead to a crossover for another important aspect for education: sustainability. What's about the degree of biodegradation, does 3d-printing create waste or can it reduce waste. Think about the possibilities of 3d-priting with the right fabrics. You don't have to rely on textile chains and companies who are known for bad working conditions and/or payments and also child labour. Most of them are also creating a lot of waste thriven through consumerism. An enlightened view of 3d-printing could give students a different view of this topic while teaching them the basics about working with 3d-software and printers.

And coming back to my favourite genre, here is a cool project on instructables: https://www.instructables.com/Wearable-Cyberpunk-Gesture-Pad/. It's about creating a gesture pad which can be used for ones own projects and ideas and is based on 3d-printed objects and also looks neat ;)

[eccoart]

AR-Filter with Sparks AR Studio

Augmented Reality is an interesting topic, not only for grown ups but especially for teenagers and young adults. They are on a daily base in touch with the virtual reality influences and therefore with AR. And one example for AR are snapchat/instagram filter and such. They enhance our analog reality with digital creations.

A really easy way to dive into AR filters is AR Spark Studio from Facbook, or should i call them Meta now, which is a free tool to create filters for instagram and facebook. I am not genuinely a fan of facebook but i tried it out and think it's a nice tool for media education purposes and also if students are personally interested in creating those filters they perhaps play the one and other day with.

In the software itself, you have different meshes like a facemesh. I included a head occluder for my following project. There are also different templates that make the creation process faster and also easier as the act as guidance. With a online libraries of 3d assets like free3d.com it's easy to find finished 3d models to import to Spark AR Studio. When the 3d model is fitted onto the mesh, you can try it out with the app Spark AR Player or import them to facebook and instagram.

What's better than a birthday while being in quarantine? Having an AR partyhat to brighten up your mood. Cool, isn't it?

[eccoart]

Arduino Synthesizer

As we worked with the arduino platform, we had to choose a project for the following weeks. My interest to music and sound led me to the choice of a synthesizer and I found a scheme for an interesting one online.

But when finalizing the project, I had to face a severe problem: either the code or the eletronic scheme had an error. At first I thought it's just an error I made myself because it's my first arduino project, but a friend analyised it and said I should make a new one from scratch.

I can provide you the link if you want to check it out. Let me know if it works for you! https://www.instructables.com/The-Arduino-Synthesizer/

With his guidance, I made a few oscillators with the arduino and played around. Most interesting was the use of a condensator to make a low-pass filter in order to get a sinus wave. We just built the audio ouput on the protoboard and used the condensator as described in one of the schemes he got on his pc.

The main code creates a square wave which frequency is modulatable with a potentionemter.

[eccoart]

Brainstorming with Post-its

We got to know a method for creating unique ideas for media gadgets or installations and such stuff. It's basically about combining different technologies, interactions, media outputs and users. Those 4 categories were put on post-its and we had to choose one of each for ourselves and had to give one of each to the other colleagues - which means i had 12 post-its in total as we are 3.

(Tech, interactions, media output, users)

My post-its have some crazy words on it and it got even crazier when i combined it - it was really difficult to think of something normal and useful with those words. But i came up with two different ideas.

As you can see, the one on the top is an armband for truck drivers, especially for those that have to drive long distances during the night. A camera with eye-tracking software analyses the eye movement of the driver and detects their fatigue.

If the system recognises that the eyes are closed or off the street, it sends out a signal to the armband. The armband starts to vibrate and gives small electric impulses so that the driver wakes up and/or he gets alarmed.

My second idea is on one hand for factories or bigger workplaces that require knowledge about the individual locations. New workers can be informed about them through interactive camera sytems that are able to be controlled with gestures on a touch screen.

On the other hand, the camera systems can be used for schools and for education. An example: several cameras could be placed in different cities/landscapes and the students can explore the different "worlds" interactive through cameras, which makes it a lot more interesting. A software to blur faces would be required in terms of privacy though.

What do you think of my ideas? Do you have other alternatives based on my post-its? Let me know! :)

[eccoart]

Manipulation of RAW Files

Last week's topic was the manipulation of raw files - the transformation of image data to audio data and then the modulation of those audio files via programs like Audacity. I want to show you in the following post what i mean with this and if you are already aware of this process, you can still get some inspiration of the following pictures i made.

The following image is the original version which i photographed in Athens. I went in Photoshop and saved it as a Photoshop RAW File or as a Bit Map. Good to know: If the picture has a high resolution, the audio file will get way longer/bigger cause of a lot more data to transform

The next step is to import that raw file/bit map into an audio-editor like Audacity and you get a waveform out of the image's data. You will probably hear white noise and high-frequency whirring. Now you can select sections of the waveform and manipulate it. You can get really creative and analyse how certain modulations affect the image when transformed back again. And as I just said, the last step is to export the waveform as raw file again. It's necessary to select the same encoding as when imported earlier.

The picture below has a manipulated waveform in the middle section, I reversed that part of the audio. You can also see the effects of echo and compression above the reversed part.

I further compressed the waveform with a lower threshold and added distortion.

To show you an example what can happen if you use the false encoding, I present you the next image. Although I made an error when transforming it back to visual data, I think it got its own esthetic.

The following picture was also taken in Athens and i played around with several effects as echo, distortion, compression and reverb. You can see that you can create unique pieces of art this way and I definitely want to dig deeper into that topic! I hope you enjoyed reading this entry and maybe you learnt something new or you got inspired. Cy

[eccoart]

Hello universe! I am a 21 yo student from austria who just started studying media arts. I started to get interested in media/design a few years ago and it still feels like i am surrounded by an endless universe of inspiration and creativity, possible through the digital network.

I will share ideas, concepts and other random stuff that i learn and experience in this blog. Hopefully i can become a metaphorical star for you as well.