Feb 22, 2012
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Musical score for one of my pieces - an example.
Process is as follows:
Handwritten notation system/composing
Digital notation system
Record MIDI
MIDI into awesome quality
Contribution by Mike Laughead.
My Critique
I have been instructed by the doctors not to vocalize until I get better - the thing is, when I try to talk, I can't create any sounds since my vocal chords are severely affected by the whole virus (the more I force myself to talk, the more it hurts and the worse I get). It looks like I'm not getting better anytime soon and since I cannot afford to miss any more classes, I have decided to write down my entire presentation here.
I haven't progressed much since last week due to some incidents that really slowed me down. That's another story. I have read more pages from the book and collected more memories. Believe it or not, being sick has brought back so many (un)fortunate memories.
With all that said, time to start my presentation. After my last crit., I talked to Charlotte and shared concerns and comments that I got from you guys. We talked about the idea of food being such a universal theme and that I should think about working with memories that contain the same universal aspect (private vs. personal). The rest of the time we talked about the construction of the videos and that it's a good idea to create a pattern or a system of rules I could follow to break down and deliver all my memories.
That's when I came up with the grid. Charlotte was the first one to give my system a try. I wanted to include elements that could still exist and, at the same time, that were once part of life but are now gone (the idea of memory degrading). From this grid, I will pick the setting of the videos, the color scheme, pacing, music, everything. In a way, the grid is my script.
After the grid exercise, I put things on hold to steer my attention towards the music and presentation of these memories. I am teaching myself a new software, the trickiest of its kind, called Max/MSP. It's one of those things that stays backstage while the product shines. This software is capable of doing whatever you want it to, and that's why it's so fascinating. Remember that one line in my proposal where I mention that I want an interactive element to my piece? Well, this is it!
Just imagine the following - you walk into that dark space in the school gallery. No movie is being projected on the wall. No fancy lighting. No glittery things. Nothing. The second you position yourself inside the space, a video appears on screen and starts to play. Ooh, you get excited. You start to express the delight with your friend who is next to you. The second you make a sound, the video stops and the room is dark again. You then realize that the only way to watch the videos is to be completely silent.
Another scenario. You walk into that dark room again but this time there is dramatic lighting: a spotlight on a keyboard that's located in the center of the room. The keyboard looks very tempting and you just want to go and press a key. Just one. Well - you go and do it since no one is watching. The second you press that Sol, a video appears on screen. You press another key. Another video enters the scene. Another key, another video.
What I'm talking about here is the treatment of my presentation just like a memory. Here is how:
Memory is continuous.
There is always a trigger.
Memory is in random order.
Max/MSP is a program that works with sensors in order to create a product or a performance. It works with projectors, keyboards, microphones, weight scales, cameras, anything you can think of. Here are a few precedents. Give them a try to fully understand what I'd like to accomplish for the final piece.
Type things
Loud, low
Speak, sing, yell
The violin
Those examples will show you what can be achieved with sound recognition, movement recognition and one-on-one interaction such as pressing a key on the keyboard.
This is all I have to present. I wish I could say it all since I am really excited to work on this. Please take the time to leave your comments here or bring them up during class tomorrow. I will be taking questions but I have no idea if I will be able to answer them on the spot, thanks to my vocal chords. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Any questions/comments?
For my critique session.
Here are a few things to look at in order to recap what’s been happening in my educational life. October was dedicated to continuing research and gathering memories. November will be dedicated to continuation of research, selection of memories and the development of storyboards for each memory. Here goes:
Charlotte's comments after my first crit.
Fly to Madrid - just for fun.
What's your memory?
A very interesting contribution from Charlotte - what do you think?
You will also find a few links on my blog that will show what I aim to achieve with my videos. Research has been very heavy and intense, mostly musical, and I've been teaching myself a new software. The planning phase is almost over, I just need to make sure I have everything I need. Then I will (hopefully) fly. Using such a timeline has been a great learning experience and the time will come when all I will show will be video work. It's been difficult to balance things out lately but I'm trying my best to manage.
My vision is just like this - except videos would be played and not vector animations.