The ' Kinect : You :
Music ' was a success and the process
I took to get there was simple. Discovering the minim library, xbox kinect and
there integration possibilities, I was able to effectively augment space visually
and phonically. Although it had some syncing troubles it was still provided an
intersting interactive product.
I experimented with the effects, looping and Audioplayer
properties of the minim library. I discovered that the bandpass filter was the
most appropriate effect for the project. I also realised that the best way to
loop the audio was to find where the end was and reload and replay them again.
This resolved all the syncing issues with looping and helped the program run
smoother.
Then I got an xbox kinect and experimented with the way it
tracks movement and found that the scene function was the most effective for
the project. It initialised the current scene and recorded it all as black.
Then anything that moved between the sensor and the background became coloured.
The change in colour was what could be measure and was the key to providing
interaction in the project.
Once the audio run smoothly and the xbox was able to measure
the density of people in the spaces, I then worked on a little visual display
and the audio tracks. The Visual display was three rectangles with the
frequency wave of the individual track in the middle of each rectangle. On site
the rectangles where changed to fit the metal panels on the wall and the wave
forms were moved to align with the groves of the panels. These visualisations
where essential to springing the trap of interaction, once the rectangles would
flash on the walls people would realise that they were in an interactive
musical zone where they could not only: control the rectangles, but also the
music that augmented the space they are in.
The strengths of this project are: the music firstly had a
dramatic effect on the vibrancies of the space, the massive light display was a
lure to the project, the program was straight forward easy to manipulate and
debug, and lastly it stimulates both visual and audio senses.
The weaknesses of the project are: It has a slight sync
issue and needs to run on fast computers, as the audio tracks are small and
become repetitive, I only programmed three zones and instruments, the scale of
the effects were not drawn out enough feeling like the effect was either on or
off rather than gradually switching.
I learnt a great deal about minim and using the xbox kinect.
The two most important things I discovered in this whole process was; music is
an amazing tool for livening space, and interaction has to be sprung like a
trap to be effective. This realisation only dawn upon me whist watching people
walk through the project. Sometimes people would stop in surprise look then
keep walking, but more often then not people would start interacting with the
design as if their purpose was always to play with the project.
Overall I learnt a lot about going through the whole process
of concept - program - hardware - present - display. Arguable too much fun to
be an assignment or perhaps an example
of a well delivered teaching method with hands on learning. This project was a
good stepping stone for interesting possibilities in future Digital Design
courses.
