Nathalie- Looking Outwards # 2
One project that surprised you (why?),
A project I admire is called “The Creators.” (http://www.thecreators.tv/concept.html) By being in the same space as the installation the viewer is already inadvertently influencing the audio and visual effects of it, and then the viewer is also able to make physical contact with the installation to consciously alter the sounds and visuals via touch.
THE CREATORS || Audio-reactive touch application from Dorids on Vimeo.
I really enjoyed how self-aware of a project it seemed to be, even if I wasn’t overly impressed with the results. The fact that it’s an interactive project about interactivity as a concept is really cool to me.
I was really surprised by the “Understanding Shakespeare” project by Stephan Thiel (http://www.understanding-shakespeare.com/about.html), mainly because I often don’t ever think to associate Shakespeare and programming, or in fact digital anything. The project aims to introduce a new and innovative way of looking at Shakespeare’s works, so as to better understand them. As a massive Shakespeare nerd, I really appreciate projects like this existing, because it makes Shakespeare’s works more accessible to people who wouldn’t be as interested in them otherwise.
One project I think missed an opportunity is the “City Symphonies” project by Mark McKeague (http://markmckeague.com/work/city-symphonies/). It’s a really interesting concept, which uses the roads as musical staves and the cars as the notes moving on them to create music. While interesting as a concept, I can’t see any practical application of it, and also the video demonstration of it wasn’t particularly interesting to watch or listen to. Possibly it’s just the presentation thereof but I feel like the project missed the opportunity to make something really “symphonic,” whereas what actually happened sounded more like dial-up startup sounds to me.