Project Title: One-Way Transmission

An interactive composition for smartphone and electronics

Project Description:

Instructions

"One-Way Transmission" is a participatory composition with graphical expression generated from landscapes. The abstract notation functions as a single journey with a prepared path. The participant who opens the gyroscope webpage is the connected performer. Performers are free to respond to the unpredictable effects with their mobile devices in the evolving soundscape until reaching the end of the route. The system retrieves the information through the Internet's connectivity and responds to the incoming messages with audible feedback. It allows the audience to establish relationships with the interconnecting network by simply opening a webpage. The interaction process with remoteness and randomness has the effect of opening our mind to the world around.

• Each performer can freely interpret the graphical score with its path and texture. Shake your smartphone to trigger the electronic sound.

• The piece is roughly 5 minutes with pre-programmed recording as the background. There are granular sounds generated by the system as an improvisation on the same path shared with performers

• The interactive effects respond to the dynamic of shaking. You can switch the triggered sound by shaking your phone harder.

Graphical Notation

The abstract landscape was generated by RunwayML software with GIS images of Taipei.

Left: Front Layer (Designer: Jung-Hsi Hung)

Right: Back Layer

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/6892695e-9c2d-4283-ae2e-331abeeddc34/30secDemo.mov

30 second Demo Video

Setup and Rules

Scan Me

• Open this page on your smartphone.
• Grant access for the system to retrieve orientation data.
• Follow the steps display on the smartphone's screen.
• Adjust your camera to show your smartphone.
• Before starting, please read through the instructions.
• Shake your phone while listening to others and the electronics.
• Be aware of how you affect the image and composition.
• Starting gently and slowly, growing louder

• Please don't shake the phone casually. Play when you think it fits.

How It Works

The performer's smartphone transmits the gyroscope data via WebSocket to the local computer. I use Node in Max to import the data from the server to the Max patch. The incoming gyroscope data generates various audio effects by mapping axis and acceleration numbers to sound parameters. I shared the background music, triggered sounds, and generative electronics as the whole composition to all the participants directly with Zoom's built-in function.

User interface on webpage and the data transmitting console.

Max Patch Editing Mode screenshot

Max Patch Presentation Mode