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Light saber

#linedance #lines #p5js #processing #new #animation #gif #java #coding #creative coding

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Line dance

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Pattern generation

I am interested in the generation of pattern. Both sound and visual. I was recording one of my songs yesterday and a lot of my songs include randomized components that essentially the computer generates values for randomly. But in me taking control and creating my own randomness, I found that my creativity and the pattern in which I was creating was quite similar to that of the computer. 

Are we algorithms of nature trying to recreate itself? How does trying to encapsulate and understand the underlying patterns within nature tell us more about ourselves? Something surreal about being ‘alive’. What is being alive? What do we mean when we say “it has a life of its own?” 

I also have been wanting to create something related to public structures (such as a public bench) that makes algorithmically generated sound when the environment becomes quite acting as a ‘site of respite’. I want to make the space feel ‘alive’ by securing its connection to quiteness and solitude, making it somewhat of a special place for people who go there not expecting anything or ‘anyone’ to listen to their presence. 

This further dwelves into ideas I am trying to learn from the book Rhythmanalysis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythmanalysis Its the idea that a space has rhythm to it (especially when it is senses through the 5 senses). “Lefebvre asserts that rhythms exist at the intersection of place, time and the expenditure of energy.”

I also like how on the page they talk about the commodification of the present as something that we just want to get done with rather than something to embrace. 

“The present consists of one’s sensory perceptions. Lefebvre frequently warns of “the trap of the present” wherein the present is always trying to pass itself off as presence, the rhythmanalytical truth of a situation. “The trap of the present” relies on false representation. Lefebvre argues that the present engages in a commodification of reality when it successfully passes itself off as presence.”

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Coding confusion

Making the website, weeks 10-11, 11/05-25/05/2020

These two weeks could be described in one word: confusion.

Firstly I began by looking for an API to scrape Instagram posts.  Sounds easy.  It should have been until I discovered that Instagram recently changed their privacy settings so it is not possible to scrape their site directly.  There are sites that run APIs though so my search narrowed to those, after looking at numerous sites -Apify, Octoparse and Scraper API to name a few- I found Phantom Buster which scrapes Instagram through hashtags into a messy JSON or CSV, pictured above.  Success.  Next I needed to find users’ location data, which I later found Phantom Buster could scrape too.  Double success.

Next I needed to find a platform to host/build my website.  I began looking at Squarespace, but you can’t easily edit the code.  Next, I looked at Go Daddy, bought a domain: thesilverlining.news, and tried to code on their hosting platform but again you can’t add code.  After calling the Go Daddy help desk I was directed to WordPress so gave that a go, but it also seemed to be too structured and you couldn’t edit the code fully in the way I wanted.  Karen Ann reccomended GitHub and then off I went.

Coding began slowly but surely!

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Photographs showing time, power and movement

Researching through the book ‘Photoviz: Visualising Information Through Photography’, by Nicholas Felton, week 13, 03/06/2020

Over the last few weeks I have been getting back into photography, so this week I started reading Nicholas Felton’s book and was inspired by many of the photographs.  Above is a selection of my favourites.

They include:

Time Slice Global by Richard Silver where he has collaged 36 photographs from before and after sunset to show the passage of time.  I feel this is a beautiful representation of the change in our lifestyles and use of spaces and buildings.  

Another interesting depiction of the passage of time is shown in Bobby Neel Adams’ work Family Tree.  Through this he shows a portrait of an individual which is stitched together from two photographs at different periods of time through a process he calls phot-surgery.  It is incredible how perfectly the two images have been stitched together.

Political power and leader similarity is show through Alejandro Almaraz’s work Portraits of Power where he overlays portraits of all of the leaders of a nation.  Some of these works are quite scary as they could almost be considered to be a single person.

The Writing on the Wall by Shimon Attie has a very sad undertone due to it depicting the former life of the Jewish quarter of Berlin by mapping pre-second world war photographs onto photographs taken in the same location in current times.

Finally the use of long exposure when photographing carnival rides allows Roger Vail to create a dystopian feel and capture movement through his work Carnival.

Seeing these works inspires me to want to go out and take beautiful data driven photographs too.

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Hearing and perception

Back to the topic of the tree falling and no one being there to hear it, I love music. I love the way it embraces you, scares you, excites you, or makes you feel things that you never though you could feel. Goosebumps that you cant explain for example are a strange phenomon and that usually occurs for me when I’m listening to music.

“ The answer to this question depends on the definition of sound. Since sound does not exist without our hearing of it, sound does not exist if we do not hear it. However, when a tree falls, the motion disturbs the air and sends off air waves. This physical phenomenon which can be measured by instruments other than our ears exists regardless of human perception (seeing or hearing ) of it. Putting together, although the tree falling on the island sends off air waves, it does not produce sound if no human is within the distance where the air waves are strong enough for a human to perceive them.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_a_tree_falls_in_a_forest#:~:text=The%20tree%20will%20make%20a,it%20could%20have%20been%20heard.&text=Since%20sound%20does%20not%20exist,and%20sends%20off%20air%20waves.

I want to play around with how sound enters our ears and our perception of it. There is so much going on but it is all so intuitive. It’s like reality is there for us to percieve it but when we dont percieve it, it’s just not there! So is it really there? Or are we the ones materializing it? 

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This is it

This is it. I suppose this moment. Right now. This is it. This is where this begins and ends. What is this? This feeling of temporality. Is it poetry? Not sure. A feeling of a vast awareness of the past, a feeling of the humungous void known as the future and in the middle is you and me and these words communicating some random symbols that we decided will sound a certain way so that we can agree upon what to do, when, how and why. 

Without further confusion, I present to you, nothing and everything at the same time. An experiment about something that could be, something that is and something that has been. 

We are born. But we are born again and again at every moment and I, when I feel comfortable, unflinchingly reflect on every moment of this rebirth trying to ask myself, what is this? What is this feeling of a story unfurling slowly and steadily with every given moment passing by? How am I to describe this story because there is so much in this story. So many other stories to talk about. Not just the human stories but the story some tiny ant in a jungle currently going about bumping into its friendly ant mates perhaps communicating where to find the next meal and how to deliver it to the queen in ‘words’ we will never understand. The story of the conrete footpath present below a tall, monolithic apartment and the different rhythms of footsteps it withstands, the different temperatures, the different materials, chemicals, shoe fabrics and vibrations from neighbouring cars whizzing by in a frenzy. All of this while the concrete stands still not knowing what to do and why its doing what it is doing, just like the rest of us. Except we think we know it better. However, these stories exist. Right now. At this very moment whether we care or not. Whether we are aware of it or not. If an ant bumps into its neighbouring mates and asks him where to find food does it really exist? If a concrete floor sits motionless while people walk over it indefinitely does it really exist? If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

According to my friend Wikipedia (he’s a sick guy), this question originated from 1710 Irish Empiricisist Philosopher  George Berkeley

I looked up what the heck empiricist meant and apparently it’s the “theory that states that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience.” The opposite of it is Rationalism. Been watching alot of that lately https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3gwyHNo7MI I love Adam Curtis. 

Senses vs solution. Surrender vs Control. A few things Ive been thinking about. 

In the book Steal like an Artist by Austin Kleon, he suggests all ‘art’ (in the general sense) is stolen. So you might as well steal it in an unique way the inspired the author itself or steal it and credit the author properly and just state that you’re stealing it whilst explaining how it inspires you (or you’re actually a thief and a piece of shit)

So there it is. This is it. 

1> Through the power of the internet and with the help of dinosaurs buried deep inside powering the internet modules that exist somewhere, helping me google every single thing (god bless the dinosaurs), I will be filtering the noise and finding what seems interesting to me. Finding the needle in the haystack that can stitch my curiosity. 

2> Being inspired by it and creating new things and posting it because lifes too short to not post weird things that no one will look at (if a reibang posts a tumblr and no one saw it did he really post it? the answer is YES he posted it cause its on the internet and everything thats posted on the internet stays on the internet no matter what so FUCK YOU the reader yes you. thats right. dont double cross me bitch)

Side note, this if a tree falls in a forest thing was inspired by Daniel Shiffman, the creator and youtube comedian/processing tutor who once made the nuuurdiest joke about this and I cant seem to find it but now I will always be on the look out for it.

So yeah I supposed this is my 21st century, free-for-all-to-see-but-still-personal diary

Stories. I was never really good at telling one. But this is my attempt to do so. 

And with that being said, I want to post something thats been on my mind. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hYyCqj83aI

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About to record a video on processing using my lamp to create visuals well as control an audio visual patch that through Arduino, generates a melodic rythm and affects the video and lamp visuals being recorded.

This is the code I used to enables the webcam to work, Arduino to input light data, and generate sound as well as visuals.

Initially, I attempted to learn how to utilise motion to generate the sound however, it turned out to be more difficult than expected.

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import processing.video.*;

import processing.sound.*;

//int circleX = 50;

Arduino arduino; // create a variable arduino of the Arduino data type

SawOsc saw;

Env env;

import processing.serial.*; // reference the serial library

import cc.arduino.*; // reference the arduino library

int time = millis();

//SinOsc sine;

Capture video;

// Times and levels for the ASR envelope

float attackTime = 0.001;

float sustainTime = 0.004;

float sustainLevel = 0.3;

float releaseTime = 0.2;

// This is an octave in MIDI notes.

int[] midiSequence = { 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72 };

// Play a new note every 200ms

int duration = 200;

// This variable stores the point in time when the next note should be triggered

int trigger = millis();

// An index to count up the notes

int note = 0;

void setup() {

size(600, 400);

// Make a new instance of a PImage by loading an image file

video = new Capture(this,640,480,30);

video.start();

arduino = new Arduino(this, Arduino.list()[0], 57600);

saw = new SawOsc(this);

//saw.play();

// Create the envelope

env = new Env(this);

}

void captureEvent(Capture video){

}

void draw() {

float (arduino.analogRead(0));

float m = map(arduino.analogRead(0), 0, 500, 0, 1000);

//fill(255);

//ellipse(500, 500, m, m);

//background(0);

println(arduino.analogRead(0));

float amplitude = map(mouseY, 0, height, 1.0, 0.0);

saw.amp(amplitude);

// Map mouseX from 20Hz to 1000Hz for frequency

float frequency = map(arduino.analogRead(0), 0, 500, 20.0, 1000.0);

saw.freq(frequency);

// Map mouseX from -1.0 to 1.0 for panning the audio to the left or right

float panning = map(mouseX, 0, width, -1.0, 1.0);

saw.pan(panning);

image(video,0,0,640,480);

video.read();

int passedMillis = millis() - time; // calculates passed milliseconds

if(passedMillis >= m){

time = millis();

tint(0,0,m); // if more than 215 milliseconds passed set fill color to red

} else {

tint(255,0,0,100);

fill(time % 255);

}

// If the determined trigger moment in time matches up with the computer clock and

// the sequence of notes hasn't been finished yet, the next note gets played.

if ((millis() > trigger) && (note<midiSequence.length)) {

// midiToFreq transforms the MIDI value into a frequency in Hz which we use to

// control the triangle oscillator with an amplitute of 0.5

saw.play(midiToFreq(midiSequence[note]), 0.5);

// The envelope gets triggered with the oscillator as input and the times and

// levels we defined earlier

env.play(saw, attackTime, sustainTime, sustainLevel, releaseTime);

// Create the new trigger according to predefined duration

trigger = millis() +arduino.analogRead(0);

// Advance by one note in the midiSequence;

note++;

// Loop the sequence, notice the jitter

if (note == 12) {

note = 0;

}

}

}

// This helper function calculates the respective frequency of a MIDI note

float midiToFreq(int note) {

return (pow(2, ((note-69)/12.0))) * 440;

}

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Playing around with delay and video error in the code. Have been trying very hard to connect colour recognition and motion tracking to sound somehow. However, although I could not get past the skill block in those areas, I kept trying to explore other options in processing. Still trying to understand how pixels and PImage concepts can be applied to video and experimenting with connecting light input, video delay and sound.

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Early stages of colour detection experiments. Lots more work to be done to get to a finished piece.

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With the combination of this video  4.1: Variables - Processing Tutorial  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-ycSR3ntik&list=PLRqwX-V7Uu6aFNOgoIMSbSYOkKNTo89uf&index=1 and parts of the arduino+processing links from before, I have created this contraption. It is still quite basic and more complex things can be done with this however, I just wanted to see if a saw wave on processing, LDR conversation between arduino and processing and a simple circle variables/increase decrease could be stiched together (thus make way for more complex things to happen). 

This is the code I used 

int circleX = 50;

import processing.serial.*; // reference the serial library import cc.arduino.*; // reference the arduino library import processing.sound.*;

Arduino arduino;  // create a variable arduino of the Arduino data type SawOsc saw;

void setup() {  fullScreen();

 arduino = new Arduino(this, Arduino.list()[0], 57600);  saw = new SawOsc(this);  saw.play(); }

void draw() {  background(50);

  float (arduino.analogRead(0));  float m = map(arduino.analogRead(0), 0, 500, 0, 1000);

 fill(255);  ellipse(500, 500, m, m);  println(arduino.analogRead(0));   float amplitude = map(mouseY, 0, height, 1.0, 0.0);  saw.amp(amplitude);

 // Map mouseX from 20Hz to 1000Hz for frequency  float frequency = map(arduino.analogRead(0), 0, 500, 20.0, 1000.0);  saw.freq(frequency);

 // Map mouseX from -1.0 to 1.0 for panning the audio to the left or right  float panning = map(mouseX, 0, width, -1.0, 1.0);  saw.pan(panning); }

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Data art project overview

My data art project at the moment is interested in analysing or observing movements in daily life. More specifically in my context, when I look outside my window, there are trees moving, people walking, birds flying and clouds moving. I want to somehow take this 2D data of motion and convert it into a continuous, generative musical score that never seems to follow any specific pattern (just like the people walking around, the trees moving or the clouds flying by)

So originally was thinking of using a PIR sensor or a ultrasonic sensor to detect motion and convert it to sound for my final Data art project. However, I have found some helpful links that could help me understand how to utilize processing and possibly my laptop webcam itself to capture some sort of data (colours/body tracking/blob detection etc) and convert it into sound in some way. 

11.1: Capture and Live Video - Processing Tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH31daSj4nc&list=PLRqwX-V7Uu6bw0bVn4M63p8TMJf3OhGy8&t=0s

11.6: Computer Vision: Motion Detection - Processing Tutorial  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLHMtE5XsMs

11.5: Computer Vision: Color Tracking - Processing Tutorial  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCVZHROb_dE

17.6: Sound Synthesis - p5.js Sound Tutorial   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk8rLzzSink

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Just got my Arduino talking to processing. The pressure sensors detects the pressure and changes the size of the circle depending on the pressure data. A button also enables me to change the background colour.

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This week, I have decided to dwelve further into learning and practicing with processing. In my industrial design course, there is a processing class called Digital prototyping and one of the first assignments for that class was to make a 'sketchbook' where you can draw and select colours, stroke sizes etc to make a digital sketchbook sketch.

I have not done this before, therefore will start by breaking down my problem into tiny bits and looking at different example codes.

Just had a look at the example 'button' on processing. A little bit complicated but I am noticing how they utilize boolean functions. They make a boolean variable on the go and then define it later (in my case the defining of overCircle as a way to tell then the mouse was on the circle was interesting as they used primitive data function boolean to define the actual overCircle later on)

I still have to get how they precisely did the math to place the components on screen but I think it will be wise to start from the basic components of the sketchbook and create possibly just one single screen with the option to select black or white colours.

With Arduino, I have been experimenting with PIR sensors, ultrasonic sensor and pressure sensitive resistors. I have managed to successfuly connect LDR's to ableton as well as max but in my more recent attempts to connect the other sensors to ableton and max have failed.

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This is going to be me weekly updates on my progress with data art and other discourses, speculative, experimental and fun. This week, I went through the processing workshop by my lovely teacher Karen Ann and have learnt the basics again (I have tried to learn processing before but keep having to switch between learning arduino and/or max msp) (lord help me).

I also seem to have a haphazard way or learning coding so I am still feeling it out. I usually do a bit of technical/theortical learning and then try to do more of, 'copying other people' as that way I can visualize and get excited about what I am about to learn rather than forcing myself to read all the theory there is (which is infinite and never ending). Lets see how it goes!

Now, I have made a cute little GIF for fun :)