Theory and Application of Interactive Technologies in the Arts

David Birchfield

AME 598
Fall 2004, MW 10:40 - 11:55
Matthews Center, rm. 236

Office Hours: MW 1-2,
Brickyard 396

look here for resource links

look here for code examples from class

to reserve time on a computer go here

click here to see documentation of class projects

Overview:

Theory and Application of Interactive Technologies in Art explores the design and implementation of interactive, real time performance tools and techniques. The project-based coursework examines:

theories of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) in an artistic context
interactive technologies including hardware sensors and software
real time performance and installation works which use interactive technology
network-based installations and performance interfaces

Students acquire practical experience in the design and implementation of hyper, virtual, and extended instruments for real-time music, video, graphics, and physical performance systems and installations. Students develop skills and experience in the critical evaluation of these technologies and outcomes they produce.

Syllabus:

August	September	October	November	December

August 23 & 25 Overview and Examples	Computer Account authorization form Tour of the Matthews facility Overview of the class BoSSA Nova, interactive performance by Dan Truman PikaPika, Tomie Hahn and Curtis Bahn (description) Case study: the Violin Truman BoSSA: The Deconstructed Violin Reconstructed Nichols, The vBow: Development of a Virtual Violin Bow Haptic Human-Computer Interface Young Playability Evaluation of a Virtual Bowed String Instrument reading Schnell, Introducing Composed Instruments, Technical and Musicological Implications
August 30 & Sept. 1 Examples cont.. and Intro to Commercial Software/Hardware	Commercial hardware interfaces: Peavey PC-1600x, Wacom drawing tablet, keyboards MIDI Max/MSP, reading: Todd Winkler, Composing Interactive Music: Techniques and Ideas Using Max Processing
Sept. 6 (Labor day) & 8 Interactive Approaches	No class on Labor Day !! First project assignment presentations on the 8th Overview in music: reading Wessel Problems and Prospects for Intimate Musical Control of Computers Virtual Instruments: reading, Dobrian Aesthetic Considerations in the Use of 'Virtual' Music Instruments and Burtner, Composing for the (dis)Embodied Ensemble: Notational Systems in (dis)Appearances HyperInstruments: Tod Machover (http://web.media.mit.edu/~tod/Tod/research.html) reading, 'Tod Machover. HyperInstruments: A Composer's Approach to the Evolution of Intelligent Musical Instruments , pages 67--76. Miller Freeman, 1992. ' Conversational Model: reading, Stein, A Conversational Model of Multimodal Interaction Tangible Interfaces: Ishii, Tangible Bits: Towards Seamless Interfaces between People, Bits and Atoms and Vertegaal Tangible Bits and Malleable Atoms in the Design of a Computer Music Instrument installation by Ali Mazalek that utilizes a tangible interface for storytelling
Sept. 13 & 15 Interactive Approaches cont...	Curtis Bahn guest lecture on the 13th !! Web documentation of first project due on the 15th
Sept. 20 & 22 Video and Sound as Controller	Guest presentation on Video Analysis and Control Video sensing Voice and audio as a controller Toni Dove, Sally, interactive speech driven DVD Auracle, Webdrum
Sept. 27 & 29 HCI topics	HCI for musical instruments: Reading Orio, Input Devices for Musical Expression: Borrowing from HCI Working with children: reading Montemayor, Physical Programming: Designing Tools for Children to Create Physical Interactive Environments reading Vertegaal, Towards a Musician's Cockpit: Transducers, Feedback and Musical Function reading Ungvary, SensOrg: A Musical Cyberinstrument with a Cognitive Ergonomical Touch and Cognition and Physicality in Musical Cyberinstruments
Oct. 4 & 6 Custom Hardware Tools and Interfaces	the body as interface, Bahn et al., Physicality and Feedback: A Focus on the Body in the Performance of Electronic Music electric field sensing, Paradiso Musical Applications of Electric Field Sensing reading, Cook Principles for Designing Computer Music Controllers Twitch Box The Digital Rainstick EMG, Willier Juggling Gestures Analysis for Music Control, Tanaka Multimodal Interaction in Music Using the Electromyogram and Relative Position Sensing !! Midterm project presentations on October 6
Oct. 11 & 13 Custom Tools and Interfaces cont...	!!Web documentation of midterm projects due on Oct. 13 no class meeting on the 13th
Oct. 18 & 20 Interactive/Perceptual Spaces	Perceptual/Intelligent Spaces: reading, Wren et al. Combining Audio and Video in Perceptive Spaces and Sparacino Augmented Performance in Dance and Theater The Mapping Problem: reading, Hunt et al. The Importance of Parameter Mapping in Electronic Instrument Design Garth Paine's work MAP1
Oct. 25 & 27 AI and A-Life Approaches	generative models and intelligent agents Interactions uses neural networks Community Art uses a genetic algorithm
Nov. 1 & 3 Dance and marker-based motion capture	Motion-e Troika Ranch
Nov. 8 & 10 Workshop for Projects	Presentation and critique of final project proposals
Nov. 15 & 17 Collaborative Performance	reading, Dourish Developing a Reflective Model of Collaborative Systems Tangible Interfaces, reading Jorda, Sonigraphical Instruments: From FMOL to reacTable Reynolds, An Immersive, Multi-User Musical Stage Environment Lemma2 with VisualMusic collaborative team
Nov. 22 & 24 Collaborative Performance	Network installations Auracle an online collaborative performance environment
Nov. 29, Dec 1 & 6 Final Project Presentations	Guest presentation with Tomie Hahn and Curtis Bahn on Dec. 1 !! Final Project Presentations on Dec. 6
December 13 Final Project Documentation Due	Due by 2:10PM on Monday, Dec 13 !! Final Project web documentation is due - look here for guidelines and ideas

Grading:

Your grade is based on both your participation in class and your performance on the assigned projects.

My hope is that you will take great risks with your work, and that you will make spectacular failures as often as you make wonderful successes. This is vital to any learning experience, and evaluation in this course is designed to encourage this. Regardless of the artistic, technical, or conceptual 'success' of your work, I will base grades on your ability to articulate both the successes and failures of the work. I will also evaluate the extent to which you succeed in pushing yourself into new intellectual and creative territories. You will do well in this course provided you take great risks and learn from wonderful failures.

Given that each of you are coming from diverse backgrounds and experiences, performance is evaluated differently for each student. Given your background, your sense of what is a new territory will be different from everyone else. Fortunately the class size is small enough that we can work closely to develop appropriate projects and goals together.

Projects:

Two primary projects are assigned during the semester, a midterm and final project. In addition, a few smaller scale project assignments will be made. The format for each project is the same:

1) First, we will work together to negotiate an appropriate project and plan

2) You'll do the project

3) You'll present the project in a crit setting to the class

4) Based on your own evaluation, and integrating the feedback from the class, you will document the project and articulate its successes and failures. This documentation and evaluation must be in the form of a webpage, and must be completed within one week of the project presentation.

Your project grade will be based on this web documentation according criteria discussed in the Grading section above, and adherence to the basic documentation guidelines posted here