MMD 3033Design Project 1

Digital Media

Muhamad Helmi Zuhdi Theresync

1061104207http://helmizuhdi.blogspot.com

Title

• Creating a simple musical instrument that uses a range sensor to trigger sound samples. Players can create musical sounds capes by moving in front of the range sensor, which maps pitch to distance. This project was created using an Arduino board with a PING ultrasonic/ Infrared sensor as receiver and transmitted the signal to and audio library, which is particularly the ideation at the moment is to connect with the Minim sound library convert using Reason/Soundforge/Soundwave in processing the midi output sound.

• The output from the midi sound will be processed and converted into a visual play using a suitable application.

Objective

Theresynt - Midi Theremin based project, imitation synthesizer role - Audio inter-action with motion

- Physical computing.

Proposal

Explore on how motion act in real space using ever-present technology around the community of end-user. Surrounding the action with some gimmick, users just need to pass-by in front of the sensor and strive the signal will detected the motion and transmitting the data to the component. The component will process the order and fabricate the midi sound. The more sound will be attached by detecting a motion/action from user.

Direction

Indirectly intend to create an active visualization art and combine it into an interactive way by enhanced the visual play with sensory value. So it will eventually creating a fun style to learn and play the art itself.

A research on device art and physcial computing will give some idea to develop the platform. Programming and basic electronic fundamental need to be learned.

Motivation

Proposal

Researh & AnalysisOriginality• The idea is based on the concept of creating digital musical instrument with the

combination of Theremin and synthesizer enhance with the visualization of photon wave and primitives set of object (eg. Papervision library)

• A subject regarding Devices art.

What is Devices Art?• A form of media art that integrates art and technology as well as design,

entertainment, and popular culture. Instead of regarding technology as a mere tool serving the art, as it is commonly seen, we propose a model in which technology is at the core of artworks.

Researh & Analysis

Theremin Concept• Invented in 1920 by Russian physicist introduce as one of the world's first

electronic digital instruments. It's the only instrument that is played without being touched and conducted using motion of the user. The proximity of the hands to the two antenna determines the pitch and volume of the sounds produced.

Idea• Theremin - a digital instrument and played using hand gesture.

Research & Analysis

Physical Computing• Physical computing can be defined as building an interactive system by the use of

hardware and software that facilitates conversation between the physical world and the virtual world. It’s a creative framework for understanding human being’s relationship to the digital world.

Platform• Physical computing needs • The microcontroller, the language and compiler which create codes for the

microcontroller, and a open source programming environment built in Java and etc.

• As many of the microcontroller board that can serve the purpose of physical computing, I prefer the use of Arduino board.

Research & Analysis

Precedence Studies• By browsing through and surfing much about devices art, I've found that it was

really interesting for developer to build cool gadget by implementing their own ideas of being creative. Devices art, is broad subject to discuss, it has been covered by many independent artist and designer by creating/designing not only an audio based but whole lots more. Most of them are purposely create to imitate the existing gadget to make it more interesting and playful to be learned, for the fact, some of them are too subjective and the message is too deep to understand. The experimental idea of arts has discovered and interpreted from political to humanities context, its explain how creative the designer can be when the fun is being tolerated between experimental-ism and ancient ideology.

• Eg. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix_Yu7bA4Qw - Wii theremin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLVXmsbVwUs - Laser Harp

Idea DevelopmentDevices Art

Device art is an interesting subject to the world of art, it is how you came out with something that are periodically rare and experimental but somehow is useful to the human environment or anything else that related to the world;subject. It is how you implement the world of art through physical computing, as for me, my project is literally based on the term of device art, creating a digital instrument

The Bitman project by Maywa Denki represents the quintessential Device Art object.

Resources: http://www.maywadenki.com/

Idea DevelopmentExperimental Installation

A typographic sequencer, an experimental performance by Ashley John Pigford. Absolute genuine idea, transforming an alphabet to audio. He only used an electric bass guitar and played them sequentially to create and original musical composition accordingly to the electronics themes and musical images. The idea is to translates text into audio melodies. An outstanding performance by combining electric bass guitar(device) sync with the rhythm of the melodies to create such an experimental arts.

Resources : http://ashleyjohnpigford.com/

Idea Development

Microcontroller PlatformAs for my project I prefer to use Arduino as my physical interface platform for micro-controller.

“Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments. “

Resources : http://arduino.cc/

Idea DevelopmentSynthesizer

The one that catch my attention on devices art project/gadget or tools is a "midi synthesizer", Since I'm doing a project on Theremin concept and I feel somehow it was connected to my idea of creating a digital instrument. Well of course the process of development is going to be hard and hectic for me to understand every single coding on processing stages, but at least I've been through my solid concept and sure what my project's purposes is.

Resources : http://vimeo.com/4680157 http://vimeo.com/4121212

Contextual studiesHistorical context• Theremin, a digital instrument that has been created by Leon Theremin on 1920, a Russian

physicist. The existing of this instrument already reached 80 years and can be considered as ancient by many.

Cultural context• Has been used by many musician/composer as one of their main instrument to produce music.• Can be consider as a cultural instrument to plays a music concert, for example one of the band's legend, Led

Zeppelin, has used Theremin as one of the main instrument in their live concert.• Theremin also have a role on creating a movie soundtrack, for example to create a horror and spooky sound

for horror movie.

Critical and theoretical context• Many of young designer intend to create a similar project of digital instrument by implementing the

Theremin itself.• Theremin has project and idea to create a do-it-yourself musical instrument and has been influenced many

of independent and experimental developer to produce a low cost instrument by imitating an existing musical instrument.

Content development

My gantt chart through out the Design Project 1

More details can be view here : http://www.tomsplanner.com/public/helmifyp1/

Content development

Flowchart of my project

General Flowchart Detail Flowchart

Details can be view here : http://helmizuhdi.blogspot.com/2010/08/flowchart.html

Content developmentProject Visualization

Top view

Content developmentVisualization (Cont)

Perspective view Perspective view 2

Side view

Content developmentAudio Visualization

As far as I'm concern, My project is a sound based project togetherness with audio visualization. I'm doing my part by start researching about the midi sound, arduino and its environment, and the plug in i need to make the projects work. Also, the software that needs to be integrated with arduino and its environment, which is processing value. There's a few programs that offered a function to keep up with arduino and such. As been advised to me, vvvv and max/msp is the best ways to visualize the data that I'll collect from the arduino board.

Taken from : http://helmizuhdi.blogspot.com/2010/08/justification-and-content-development.html

Content developmentPlanned Visualization

Photon wave Primitive sphere object

Audio wave graph

Content developmentFollow up Tutorials

Rgb LED coloewheel SuperCollider Testing

Arduino Single pot syntesizer

Taken from : http://helmizuhdi.blogspot.com/

Final SynopsisTheremidsynt© is a projects of crafting a musical digital instrument with

audio visualization based on the functionality of Theremin instrument, by using MIDI sound as the platform and attached together with the plays of visualization, it happens to let user experience the system by controlling the output and develop the artistic inside them. This involves an experimentalism and idealism together in a play of musical and visual expression.

By using the mood of synthesizer devices, users are able to manage the output sound by dialing the potentiometer knob and modify the tempo, rhythm, melody and the beat of the system. Theremidsynth© imitating its concept which is Theremin by letting an IR sensor to read the gesture motion and sync with the melody. The IR sensor will be placed besides the potentiometer. As the result, the visualization will projected and synchronize with the modified output sound according to the user’s control.

The installation of the project is anticipated to generate the intersection of computers and music by letting the human interaction through physical computing as the main actor in the plays. The objective is to achieve an experimentalism of art by combining audio as the metaphor of slave technology, and being controlled to manufacture a digital art towards the human perceptions.

Teaser Poster & Video

Poster

Teaser Poster & Video

Teaser Video