First Impression (Obstruction 2)

Abstract: First Impression is an installation piece that involves a personified box and its reaction to meeting people for the first time. When a person approaches the box, it opens and takes the person’s photograph. Based upon the impression the person makes on the box, a unique octophonic sonic experience is heard with the closing of the box.

Obstruction Information: For this obstruction, I chose to put the projected colored light element of my project into a different medium. Instead of giving off light in an visual art manner, I chose to collect light and translate it using photography. Doing this changed my piece from being a fixed media performance piece to an interactive installation piece. Bringing the audience into a mystical or magical environment through sound utilizing a personified box has not changed.

Philosophy: Everyone leaves a unique first impression. In this installation, the box’s feelings and emotions of person (prevoked by meeting someone for the first time) are translated into sound and space. When the box opens, the camera inside it takes a picture, it nearly swallows the person by collecting the light that reflects off of them. In this way, the box captures all it knows about the person; it takes the person inside itself and closes it’s lid. With the closing of the lid, the person is now transported inside the box by having the box’s “feelings” (translated into sound) engulf them through the use of octophonic sound. If the box has a warm feeling about them, the sounds will sound warm and the room will seem as though it is warm sonically. If the box feels empty or neglected by the person, the sounds will sound hollow and very reverberant (as if in a very deep casm).

Technology: The installation will run off of Max/MSP/Jitter and Canon EOS Digital Solutions Software. The box will open when a person nears it with the use of an IR range sensor hooked up to an Arduino which is connected to Max. Max will then trigger the camera to take a picture using a setup similar to what was used in my actuator project. Once the camera takes the picture it will instantly download through a USB cable to the computer to any folder specified when running Canon EOS Digital Solutions Software. Once the picture is downloaded, it will be analyzed by Max to detect colors (I’m not yet sure how to execute this) and movement (a relatively slow shutter speed will be used, so if the person moves, the picture will be blurry – if the facial recognition software can recognize a face, it is not blurry, if it can’t, the picture will be considered blurry). Based upon the data collected , the prerecorded sound of the box closing will be run specific filters and multichannel patches corresponding with the data and heard through the octophonic setup. The length of each person’s realization (or “impression”) will vary depending upon the analysis of the picture from 5 to 30 seconds. [After presenting my project, it was suggested that the fact that the box was taking pictures of people was too hidden. It may be a more affective piece if the picture the box takes is imediately projected on a screen so participants can be more intuned with what the box saw during its first meeting with them.]

Other Possible Variables: The box can be given a greater depth of personification by putting conditions on its willingness to being open to meeting people. A microphone could be added for Max to measure the loudness of the room: if the room is too loud, the box may not open (everyone in the room housing the installation may have to be quiet to appease the box’s shyness). The loudness of the room could also reflect how loud the box “performs” its impression of a person.