Presentation week 27/2

The presentation was definitely a survival week!!

Spending almost everyday the week before the presentation day in the lab just to come up with any possible program that will fulfill my concept of the "Funeral" piece. It was definitely a horrendous journey, hitting the wall many times. However, I was fortunate enough to have a few nice and helpful friends like Anthea, Melvin and Zong Hao. They patiently answered all my doubts and never refuse to help me. I really felt grateful to them! Truthfully.

On the presentation day itself, it was just hectic. Been in the lab since morning just to make sure that the pressure sensors and the photo sensors are working. I even tried copying Anthea's way of connecting the sensors but it just don't work. Frustration and Anxiety to the approaching presentation time was just nerve-wrecking!! Even the magic touch and last minute guidance from our tutor Dirk was futile. It was unfortunate and inevitable that my presentation will fail. Simply presenting my idea alone without any physical success of my program was just cliche! I believed that I screwed it up. At least, till the very last 10 minutes of the class, some miracle happened and the sensors were finally working. That definitely gave me a strong motivation to eventually clear all odds and complete my performance.

Watching the presentation of my fellow peers actually gave me new insights of what I can achieve after the course. Especially fascinated by Melvin project on venting out frustration using sensitive songs. It actually provide people with a channel to vent their emotions. The other one was the Korean girl's presentation. She incorporated her Korean culture into technology and presented in such an entertaining way. All these acted as a form of inspiration for me to utilize my knowledge gained from this course into something useful and meaningful to others.

I wouldn't say the experience of the course was bad. It was just very hectic. For someone who had no prior knowledge of the programs to come up a feasible performance is just endearing. I was unfortunate to have used up my S/U options. Oh well, all I can do now is pull up my socks, wipe off my tears and CHIONG AH!!!

Creating the impossible...

Finally decided on the concept of my project. I have decided to come up with a composition, a piece called "Funeral".

Funeral as it name perceives, means a moment when you pay respect and honor the dead. A ceremony that is solemn and heart drowning for many. However, in the Singapore context, especially to the chinese community, when the elder of the family past away at old age, the atmosphere at a funeral can be slightly different. A funeral can be a time where relatives gathered together, showing kinship and respect. There will cries and chatting sounds filling the area and a buffet dinner will be available. I'm not very sure why, but a curry chicken is always served. 
It actually portrays a form of vibrancy.

Hence in the piece "Funeral", I will like to interpret this contrasting atmosphere using my knowledge of of Max/MSP.

Firstly, a little knowledge on how the performance will be executed.

• A mahjong table will be used for the presentation of the piece.

• Light censors and pressure censors will be used to trigger the 'on' switch for the various sounds
   
• 4 light bulbs will be used to cue the respective day of the funeral and also symbolizes the 4 different winds during a mahjong game.

          - the sounds symbolizes the praying, chatting, crying.
            1st day: only praying
            2nd day: add chatting
            3rd day: add rain
            4th day: add cries
            5th day: fading off of the sounds and silence after that. (Only prayer and cries)
            (This is only taken as a reference for the performers playing the piece. Self interpretation.)

*the harder you press/more light on the pressure censors, louder the sounds.

My inspiration comes from Pauline Oliveros,  who is an American accordionist and composer who developed electronic art music. Her continuity of singing during a funeral actually contracted the ending  of someone's live journey. I also gotten my inspiration from funeral activities that occasionally occur at the void deck of my house. I am also a fan of mahjong and also the enlightenment from out tutor Dirk on the use of mahjong for my performance.

Video of a typical chinese funeral.

An inspiration video. Abit random, but yah..

Executing the performance

1) A mahjong table will be set up with mahjong tiles

2) Since photo sensors are used, I will lay a piece of cardboard on the table and have all the set up     done below the cardboard

3) Holes will be cut to expose the photo sensors

4) 4 photo sensors will be installed in the middle of the table, each representing one sound

5) Lights will be shined on the sensors

6) As the tiles are washed, the light sensors will be occasionally covered and exposed from the light source. This will create the difference in the intensity and changes the volume of the sound. For example prayers.

7) Each player will have a pressure sensor at their respective side. So 4 pressure sensors will be used. This will control one sound each. Namely: Chatting, crying, praying, etc.

8) As the tiles are formed in front of a player, the weight of the tiles will control the pressure exerted on the sensors which will in turn vary the volume of the sound produced.

The layout will probably be like that with the pressure sensors at the side and the photo resistors at the middle. 

9) 4 light bulbs will also be used to indicate each day of the funeral and also symbolizes the 4 different winds of a mahjong game. 

My program

I have created a program that will trigger the light bulbs to switch on after a certain counter number. One bulb will be switched on a time and will stay on till the performance is over. I used 'scale' to scale up the value of the sensors. This is to ensure the fluctuations on the sensors can be amplified to control the volume of the sounds. This fluctuating number will be connected to the audio to play the respective sounds.

Here is a short video clip of my program. The audio is not working. Tsk!!

I really hope that my performance can be engaging and interactive. Working towards the finishing line yo~~