Abstract: Having to remove the computer from my project inclined me to redirect my original idea away from fixed media toward real-time performance. The philosophy of the initial project remains the same: the environment the audience finds themselves in will seem to be mystical or magical and the sounds and sights of the box will be magnified by this fictional environment. In Light Box LIVE, an electronic musician (or three) will be in total control of the entire performance instead of a computer running Max/MSP/Jitter.

Technology and logistics: The light-box’s opening and closing and RGB LED is to be controlled by using MIDI (a controller with buttons and sliders) through the Arduino by uploading code to the Arduino (information about code can be found here, information about hardware can be found here). In order to create visuals in real-time, a video camera will capture the face of the box in order that the live feed can be projected on a screen. The camera’s ability to focus in low-light situations is not important; the camera simply needs to zoom in enough to fill the screen with the box’s radiating colored light from the internal RGB LED. An overhead projector is also to be used in order to improvise with food color and water created visualizations. In this way, the performer can mix between the two projectors as a dj does between  turntables. A microphone placed in front of the box will pick up the sounds of it opening and closing. The musician can run the mic’s signal through various rack mounted effects units as well as sample the sound and manipulate it in real time on a sampler-keyboard or controller (such as a Kaoss pad). The sound can also be diffused through an octophonic speaker setup directly through the mixer (I cannot seem to find any hardware ambisonic panners). This project could even better immerse the audience into a “magical” environment by adding more projectors and more performers working on creating sounds by sampling the box. Performers must remain as invisible to the audience as possible in order to keep from taking away from the drama of the fictional environment being created.