playing on the access grid:what’s of interest to a

composer?Demonstrator Workshop

HRI 17 January 2007

advantages

• life-size view (‘just like being there’)– simulate live performance– view of body and instrument– sense of the room

• multiple sites– reach larger, distributed audience

kinds of use• workshops and consultations

– solo performer or ensemble - composer/s at different locations

(transcending distance: new possibilities for collaboration, low carbon output)

• festivals and composer visits– shared across multiple sites (extended audience, added value)

• creative stimulus– geometries of virtual space– new location for performance – suggest/evolve new kinds of performance

technical questions• sound quality??• what kind of control can be achieved

over audio and visual parameters?• consistency between sites?• communication in real time between

live musicians:– acoustic communication (tuning, balance)– body language (lines of sight, non-visual

cues)

aesthetic questions

• distance/relative distance?• where is the centre/front?• how does the access grid break

down/reconstitute hierarchical structures?

• how can spaces be overlaid to simulate virtual presence?

conceiving the geometry of the access grid

Jorge Luis Borges: The Library of Babel (an infinite sphere composed of hexagons)• how would it look?• how infinite?• where is its centre?• mirrors• what are the paths through it?• possible permutations/arrangements

creative propositions

• playing with distance in virtual space– performing ‘distance’ canon where each

successive voice is more distant than the last - simulates infinity

– two ensembles at different sites (e.g. UK/NZ) in an antiphonal relationship across space and time zones

– close-up duet between like instruments, playing face to face (mirror)

creative propositions

• ‘importing’ a performer by video from another space– e.g. an underground tunnel

• mixing sonic and visual media/dance– e.g. ‘GPS for a known place’

• mixing live and prerecorded media to create illusions

• going with the features and limitations, e.g. latency = non-synchronisation; ‘Babel’ - multiple voices creating ‘chaotic’ effect

conclusion• the access grid affords a fascinating opportunity

to investigate space and evolve new modes of musical performance

• in order for it to be useful control of audio and visual parameters needs to be established to a satisfactory level of quality

• the malleability of the space is limited by fixed cameras and microphones

• marriage with performance spaces/outdoor spaces, etc. would greatly increase its creative potential and usefulness to artists