Rough ideas I need to consider:
-verbal synaesthesia; user polling to get an average of what colors people associate with certain words
(I may either write an applet to gather data from users over the internet about this or manually poll--for the sake of prototyping I may go for the former simply to get a large-ish number of voters)
-color associations averaged, converted into RGB values and then into musical values
-grammar treated visually; Rhythm, repetition, variation; colors of words compared to the colors of their synonyms and antonyms; how will that corellate to timbre, pitch, etc.?
-observation of patterns of speech and conversational rhythm
-timbre; waveforms possibly generated from words(RGB values --->ADC values)?
-construction of grammar; linguistics research and analysis through programming(I have been working on a lyrics generator in my spare time, but haven't worked on it in a few weeks; I plan on continuing work right now in the hopes that the principles I accumulate from randomly generating grammatically-correct sentences will help in their analysis as well)
-for now, my choice of content will go out the window; I am focusing entirely upon language conversion into sound
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Okay.
After discussion with Rees, I have decided to modify my thesis once again.
Although I am still fond of the subject matter of differing visions of the future throughout the 20th century, my idea was about as conceptually unwieldy as my MIDI surveillance was financially cumbersome.
However, I do plan to incorporate the single idea that has been consistent throughout my revisions: The programmatic conversion of one form of nonmusical information into another form of audial information.
In this case, the thesis focus is almost solely on this idea. I plan on writing a program that will analyze the subject matter of up to 5 documents and convert them into MIDI information that will be sent to an analogue synthesizer to be played while an oscilloscope displays the resultant waveforms and frequencies. Like my previous efforts, this will be a projection installation piece.
I have a possible conceptual framework for the whole thing, but I'm not sure if I should use it or not.
Through the use of scientific theses processed through the analog synthesizer(one of the basic tools of the sort of popular scientific aesthetic that we experience every day) I would like to make a statement regarding the popular aesthetic trappings of science and how they, in their generalities and archetypes basically further mystify the profession to the general public. Is it designed to increase the importance of science? Is it actually helping or harming the profession?
Before elaborating any further, I am planning on presenting these ideas to the class today--a conceptual user testing session, if you will--so I can try to actually start something without having to make two weeks of progress and then having to revise my concept all over again.
Although I am still fond of the subject matter of differing visions of the future throughout the 20th century, my idea was about as conceptually unwieldy as my MIDI surveillance was financially cumbersome.
However, I do plan to incorporate the single idea that has been consistent throughout my revisions: The programmatic conversion of one form of nonmusical information into another form of audial information.
In this case, the thesis focus is almost solely on this idea. I plan on writing a program that will analyze the subject matter of up to 5 documents and convert them into MIDI information that will be sent to an analogue synthesizer to be played while an oscilloscope displays the resultant waveforms and frequencies. Like my previous efforts, this will be a projection installation piece.
I have a possible conceptual framework for the whole thing, but I'm not sure if I should use it or not.
Through the use of scientific theses processed through the analog synthesizer(one of the basic tools of the sort of popular scientific aesthetic that we experience every day) I would like to make a statement regarding the popular aesthetic trappings of science and how they, in their generalities and archetypes basically further mystify the profession to the general public. Is it designed to increase the importance of science? Is it actually helping or harming the profession?
Before elaborating any further, I am planning on presenting these ideas to the class today--a conceptual user testing session, if you will--so I can try to actually start something without having to make two weeks of progress and then having to revise my concept all over again.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
FAQ.
1.What is your thesis Elevator Pitch?
An analogue reinterpretation of string theory in the vein of Wendy Carlos' famous reworkings of Bach masterpieces.
2.What are your personas?
-Phillipe:A 32-year-old Web-designer from New York, he is an analogue synthesis enthusiast that also enjoys the early conceptual artworks of Vito Acconci and Nam June Paik. Although he doesn't find science particularly interesting, he goes to the gallery in the interest of seeing somebody else espouse their love of the synthesizer through multimedia art. As such, he finds the kitschy trappings, sounds and setup of the exhibit fascinating(in addition to its juxtaposition with the idea of string theory), but isn't particularly curious about why string theory is juxtaposed with said 70s analogue kitsch. Furthermore, as a graphic designer, his interest is first and foremost invested in the aesthetics and composition of the piece itself.
-Sylvia:A 25-year-old graduate student from MIT studying to become a quantum physicist. Tipped off to the exhibit by her friends at the Media Lab, she presents the opposite case of Phillipe's: a scientist more interested in its scientific content than its synthesis content. Although she finds the allusions to 70s science programs interesting and the idea of speech synthesizers superimposed over the voices of well-known physicists hilarious, she is nonplussed by the synthesizer language conversion of the theory treatise itself. She'd much rather listen to some Irish Traditional Music.
-Jean-Michel:A 59-year-old synthesizer musician from France known the world over. He was told about "Switched-on Everything" through his American manager during a visit to New York. He replies with a short, punctuated "Ha!" at the idea of it, and then plainly says that he hates the idea. He's lived through it already, and he'd much rather return to his green laser instruments and laptops.
3.What is your production schedule?
Because I really don't work very well with a very specific schedule, I plan to have three phases:
1.Spring 2007-mid-Summer 2007: Research and Conceptual Refinement
At this point, I will not only be refining the idea itself but also researching String Theory and the history of analog synthesis. I will be developing the synthesizer language itself based upon the aural aesthetics of 1970s electronic music while looking into methods of programming said converter(At the moment, I've settled on Processing and its proMIDI library). I'll most likely be beginning development of the program itself. I will also be following the organisational methods put forth by the Prototyping class.
2.Mid-Summer 2007-Fall 2007: Development
By Mid-summer, I plan to go full-speed in terms of creating the project itself. I will be compiling and editing interview footage, dubbing the interviewees with synthesized voices, finishing the conversion program and gathering materials for the final presentation.
3.Fall 2007-Spring 2008:Administration
By the end of Fall 2007, I plan on fine-tuning the developed project while also negotiating with the school regarding the use of television sets, speakers and space. I will also be preparing final explanatory documents.
4.What's the Point?
My "point" is two-fold:
1.In juxtaposing the ideas and aesthetics of analog electronics with the ideas of String Theory(particularly the ideas behind the First and Second Superstring Revolutions, in which String Theory was being interpreted as a possible "theory of everything"), I plan on juxtaposing two contrasting yet equally nebulous views of the future: The "certain", utopian future of modernism versus the "uncertain", dystopian future of postmodernism.
2.I would like to explore the sonic possibilities of language. How can I make a language as succinct as Morse code yet with a larger sonic vocabulary? How would a composition sound if there was verbal meaning controlling every single waveform in place of an arbitrary note?
5.First-Stage Prototype
My first stage prototype is basically going to be a sentence converted into my tentative analog synth language manually-constructed using Pro-Tools. I also plan on beginning to program MIDI using Processing.
An analogue reinterpretation of string theory in the vein of Wendy Carlos' famous reworkings of Bach masterpieces.
2.What are your personas?
-Phillipe:A 32-year-old Web-designer from New York, he is an analogue synthesis enthusiast that also enjoys the early conceptual artworks of Vito Acconci and Nam June Paik. Although he doesn't find science particularly interesting, he goes to the gallery in the interest of seeing somebody else espouse their love of the synthesizer through multimedia art. As such, he finds the kitschy trappings, sounds and setup of the exhibit fascinating(in addition to its juxtaposition with the idea of string theory), but isn't particularly curious about why string theory is juxtaposed with said 70s analogue kitsch. Furthermore, as a graphic designer, his interest is first and foremost invested in the aesthetics and composition of the piece itself.
-Sylvia:A 25-year-old graduate student from MIT studying to become a quantum physicist. Tipped off to the exhibit by her friends at the Media Lab, she presents the opposite case of Phillipe's: a scientist more interested in its scientific content than its synthesis content. Although she finds the allusions to 70s science programs interesting and the idea of speech synthesizers superimposed over the voices of well-known physicists hilarious, she is nonplussed by the synthesizer language conversion of the theory treatise itself. She'd much rather listen to some Irish Traditional Music.
-Jean-Michel:A 59-year-old synthesizer musician from France known the world over. He was told about "Switched-on Everything" through his American manager during a visit to New York. He replies with a short, punctuated "Ha!" at the idea of it, and then plainly says that he hates the idea. He's lived through it already, and he'd much rather return to his green laser instruments and laptops.
3.What is your production schedule?
Because I really don't work very well with a very specific schedule, I plan to have three phases:
1.Spring 2007-mid-Summer 2007: Research and Conceptual Refinement
At this point, I will not only be refining the idea itself but also researching String Theory and the history of analog synthesis. I will be developing the synthesizer language itself based upon the aural aesthetics of 1970s electronic music while looking into methods of programming said converter(At the moment, I've settled on Processing and its proMIDI library). I'll most likely be beginning development of the program itself. I will also be following the organisational methods put forth by the Prototyping class.
2.Mid-Summer 2007-Fall 2007: Development
By Mid-summer, I plan to go full-speed in terms of creating the project itself. I will be compiling and editing interview footage, dubbing the interviewees with synthesized voices, finishing the conversion program and gathering materials for the final presentation.
3.Fall 2007-Spring 2008:Administration
By the end of Fall 2007, I plan on fine-tuning the developed project while also negotiating with the school regarding the use of television sets, speakers and space. I will also be preparing final explanatory documents.
4.What's the Point?
My "point" is two-fold:
1.In juxtaposing the ideas and aesthetics of analog electronics with the ideas of String Theory(particularly the ideas behind the First and Second Superstring Revolutions, in which String Theory was being interpreted as a possible "theory of everything"), I plan on juxtaposing two contrasting yet equally nebulous views of the future: The "certain", utopian future of modernism versus the "uncertain", dystopian future of postmodernism.
2.I would like to explore the sonic possibilities of language. How can I make a language as succinct as Morse code yet with a larger sonic vocabulary? How would a composition sound if there was verbal meaning controlling every single waveform in place of an arbitrary note?
5.First-Stage Prototype
My first stage prototype is basically going to be a sentence converted into my tentative analog synth language manually-constructed using Pro-Tools. I also plan on beginning to program MIDI using Processing.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Focusing my idea.
After continuing to play around with the idea of Switched-on Everything, I've found that the two aspects of the project that I continue to return to are the Switching-on of Concepts and interviews. I find the idea of making an analogue synthesizer "reinterpretation" of scientific and philosophical concepts fascinating in a slightly absurd sort of way. So, in keeping with the idea of "Switched-on Everything", I would like to focus my efforts towards switching-on String Theory.
In the vein of Wendy Carlos' album, I wouldn't want to make a subjective reinterpretation so much as an objective transposition of the concepts into synthesizer sounds of subjectively-generated timbre. As such, I would like to explore possibly developing a morse-code-like language out of synthesizer noises and using a computer program to transpose a written thesis on String theory into either MIDI or CV(Control Voltage, an old method of transmitting note data to analog devices) to send to an analog synthesizer. Additionally, I would like to do something similar to spoken interviews on the subject through possibly processing the voices through a vocoder or replacing their voices with synthesized speech(the latter of which sounds kinda fun).
Interestingly enough, this project has become much more of an evolution of my MIDI surveillance project than I originally expected--a more conceptually-cohesive evolution that, while still somewhat situated in the realm of information mapping, I feel like I can manage and stay interested in for a long period of time.
The gallery presentation will be very similar to that of the sketch in the previous entry with the addition of an analogue synthesizer and the exception of two television monitors.
In terms of my audience, I plan to attract people with a similar attraction towards 70s kitsch, theoretical physics and analog sounds. I shall post a more detailed user profile later in the week.
In the vein of Wendy Carlos' album, I wouldn't want to make a subjective reinterpretation so much as an objective transposition of the concepts into synthesizer sounds of subjectively-generated timbre. As such, I would like to explore possibly developing a morse-code-like language out of synthesizer noises and using a computer program to transpose a written thesis on String theory into either MIDI or CV(Control Voltage, an old method of transmitting note data to analog devices) to send to an analog synthesizer. Additionally, I would like to do something similar to spoken interviews on the subject through possibly processing the voices through a vocoder or replacing their voices with synthesized speech(the latter of which sounds kinda fun).
Interestingly enough, this project has become much more of an evolution of my MIDI surveillance project than I originally expected--a more conceptually-cohesive evolution that, while still somewhat situated in the realm of information mapping, I feel like I can manage and stay interested in for a long period of time.
The gallery presentation will be very similar to that of the sketch in the previous entry with the addition of an analogue synthesizer and the exception of two television monitors.
In terms of my audience, I plan to attract people with a similar attraction towards 70s kitsch, theoretical physics and analog sounds. I shall post a more detailed user profile later in the week.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
User Scenarios.
Scenario 1:
Upon entering the gallery, the user encounters a row of four wood-panelled television sets on pedestals in the middle of a blank room. Hung onto the front of each pedestal is a pair of headphones connected to the television sets. on the televisions one can see various pieces of footage(in grainy VHS resolution) synced to its corresponding analogue synth reinterpretation. Each television is divided into a single category based upon one of the four "Switched-On" categories(the four being Sounds, Concepts, Interviews and Music) loaded into its VCR.
Scenario 2:
The buyer of an official edition of one of the volumes(in vinyl) can play the record(color-coded according to category) while reading the accompanying booklet, which includes stills from the video itself laid out on half-pages, with onamatopoetic captions of the synthesized sounds themselves.
The content itself will be digitized and fully downloadable for free.
Upon entering the gallery, the user encounters a row of four wood-panelled television sets on pedestals in the middle of a blank room. Hung onto the front of each pedestal is a pair of headphones connected to the television sets. on the televisions one can see various pieces of footage(in grainy VHS resolution) synced to its corresponding analogue synth reinterpretation. Each television is divided into a single category based upon one of the four "Switched-On" categories(the four being Sounds, Concepts, Interviews and Music) loaded into its VCR.
Scenario 2:
The buyer of an official edition of one of the volumes(in vinyl) can play the record(color-coded according to category) while reading the accompanying booklet, which includes stills from the video itself laid out on half-pages, with onamatopoetic captions of the synthesized sounds themselves.
The content itself will be digitized and fully downloadable for free.
Precedents/Inspiration.
The Moog Cookbook- Blackhole Sun
Made up of Brian Reitzell and Roger Joseph Manning Jr., these two synthesizer afficionados(who bought tons of analog equipment when they became really unpopular in the early 90s) made two albums of "Switched-On" covers of 90s rock music based upon the Switched-On Bach template. Within the band photos and album cover designs one can find heaps of 1960s and 70s retro-futurism. In fact, it was my very first album of electronic music(bought in 6th Grade)!
Discovering Electronic Music, Part 1
This documentary from 1983 conveys the precise aesthetic that I want to achieve with this project. It also perpetuates the idea of the synthesizer being able to replicate any sound that is put in front of the programmer.
Another documentary of this nature is the BBC Radiophonic Workshop documentary Alchemists of Sound.
Momus - Little Red Songbook
In this album, Momus plays up the sheer incongruity between the sounds and the subject matter of synthesized classical reinterpretations into an entire style- Analog Baroque.
Finally, here are some examples of the music of Wendy Carlos herself:
Wendy Carlos/J.S. Bach-Brandenburg Concerto #3 in G Major, 1st movt.
Wendy Carlos/J.S. Bach-Sinfonia To Canata #29
Wendy Carlos/J.S. Bach-Two-Part Invention in B-Flat Major
This list will continue to grow in the coming weeks.
Monday, February 12, 2007
"The past is the present, the future is mine."
Originally, my thesis was as follows: through MIDI, a building would be converted into a musical instrument of sorts in which voluntarily-RFID-tagged denizens would travel through its floors, triggering MIDI notes mapped over the building that would be recorded into a MOD file with each instrument being the respective volunteer's vocal waveform.
The resultant file would be distributed throughout the internet, and its listeners would be encouraged to modify the file as they saw fit, posting the modifications on their own websites. This entire process was originally a metaphor for the current state of personal information--heavily volatile, easily stolen, voluntarily available. At the same time it tried to highlight the positive aspects of such a state; our "personal information" can also include our "personally generated information"--information that can be used in ways that we would have never fathomed, whether that be through something as high-concept as a mashup or as low-brow as a silly picture of a cat with a silly caption.
However, I found a variety of difficulties with the project: the concept seemed too tacked-on, the project itself too expensive and the scale way too ambitious for my abilities at this point(I still need to work through my smaller ideas first and become more accustomed to my hardware to the point that I'm not completely overwhelmed).
Additionally, when scrapping the concept in favor of straight experimental composition, I couldn't help but shake the fact that I'm working on technology for the sake of working on technology; there was nothing holding it up outside of a shaky elevator pitch and a "gee-whiz" factor.
Finally, I simply wasn't passionate enough. I confused "passion" for "too easy" and threw it out alongside my tacked-on concept.
As such, I decided to scrap this thesis until future notice. I might start it up again in the future when I have better technical abilities, conceptual backing and monetary funding.
What will be my next thesis idea, you ask?
My new thesis idea is heavily inspired by the work of Wendy Carlos, particularly her 1968 album Switched On Bach, in which she reworks a collection of Bach compositions for the Moog modular synthesizer. In the album every single instrument used in Bach's original recordings is reinterpreted by Wendy Carlos with the filters, noise generators and oscillators of a synthesizer, usually with interestingly incongruous results. This album, which spawned a collection of spin-offs and copycats(including, interestingly enough, Switched On Bacharach), somehow ended up staying in the American top 40 for more than a year and placed the synthesizer into the consciousness of the public for years to come.
I intend to create a Switched-On series of my own, entitled Switched-On Everything, in which I attempt to reinterpret most everything using a collection of synthesis methods available only in the 1970s. These synthesized sounds will then be juxtaposed with their real-life visual counterparts in a multi-channel video installation.
The albums will be divided into four different categories:Sounds, Concepts, Interviews and Music.
Sounds will be just that: in the vein of sound effect record collections, I will reinterpret a variety of real-life sound effects into the language of the synthesizer in such categories as "Transportation", "Commerce", "Explosions" and "Nature".
Concepts is similarly self-explanatory, yet also very nebulous. The ideas that I plan to "Switch On" include such controversial topics as Evolution, The End of History, The Clash of Civilizations and String Theory.
Interviews will be a series of famous interviews either processed through a vocoder or spoken by an old speech synthesizer(most likely by a variety of Speak-n'-Spells).
Music will be the most faithful to the original switched-on concept, in which I create over-the-top analogue covers of previously acoustic music. However, the choices of music will be more unconventional, with such candidates being Alvin Lucier's I Am Sitting In A Room and John Cage's 4'33"(that will not involve silence in any way).
Why Switched-On Everything? I am forever fascinated by the trend in the 1960s and 70s of squeezing classical and pop standards from the past into the context and audial vocabulary of the analog synthesizer. Doing so created something very new yet very formulaic--something inherently sensible yet inherently absurd.
Additionally, the Switched-On series(both the sounds and the concept itself) espoused a certain futuristic sensibility that was so much more embellished and by futurists of the time and so much more technicolor than the bleak, grey future presented to us in the 21st Century. The very idea of the synthesizer--a culturally-neutral machine that could supposedly approximate the sound of literally anything--sounds very much in line with the convenient, magical, international future presented to society in the 50s and 60s. In this piece I want to explore the progression between this "perfect" future vision and our own dismal future vision by comedically exposing the absurdity of the former(accentuated by the juxtaposition of the reinterpretations with their visual analogues).
Finally, I love the analog synthesizer. Its sounds never fail to enthrall me, and I can spend hours simply fiddling around with one. Guitars pale in comparison to anything it can produce in my book.
The resultant file would be distributed throughout the internet, and its listeners would be encouraged to modify the file as they saw fit, posting the modifications on their own websites. This entire process was originally a metaphor for the current state of personal information--heavily volatile, easily stolen, voluntarily available. At the same time it tried to highlight the positive aspects of such a state; our "personal information" can also include our "personally generated information"--information that can be used in ways that we would have never fathomed, whether that be through something as high-concept as a mashup or as low-brow as a silly picture of a cat with a silly caption.
However, I found a variety of difficulties with the project: the concept seemed too tacked-on, the project itself too expensive and the scale way too ambitious for my abilities at this point(I still need to work through my smaller ideas first and become more accustomed to my hardware to the point that I'm not completely overwhelmed).
Additionally, when scrapping the concept in favor of straight experimental composition, I couldn't help but shake the fact that I'm working on technology for the sake of working on technology; there was nothing holding it up outside of a shaky elevator pitch and a "gee-whiz" factor.
Finally, I simply wasn't passionate enough. I confused "passion" for "too easy" and threw it out alongside my tacked-on concept.
As such, I decided to scrap this thesis until future notice. I might start it up again in the future when I have better technical abilities, conceptual backing and monetary funding.
What will be my next thesis idea, you ask?
My new thesis idea is heavily inspired by the work of Wendy Carlos, particularly her 1968 album Switched On Bach, in which she reworks a collection of Bach compositions for the Moog modular synthesizer. In the album every single instrument used in Bach's original recordings is reinterpreted by Wendy Carlos with the filters, noise generators and oscillators of a synthesizer, usually with interestingly incongruous results. This album, which spawned a collection of spin-offs and copycats(including, interestingly enough, Switched On Bacharach), somehow ended up staying in the American top 40 for more than a year and placed the synthesizer into the consciousness of the public for years to come.
I intend to create a Switched-On series of my own, entitled Switched-On Everything, in which I attempt to reinterpret most everything using a collection of synthesis methods available only in the 1970s. These synthesized sounds will then be juxtaposed with their real-life visual counterparts in a multi-channel video installation.
The albums will be divided into four different categories:Sounds, Concepts, Interviews and Music.
Sounds will be just that: in the vein of sound effect record collections, I will reinterpret a variety of real-life sound effects into the language of the synthesizer in such categories as "Transportation", "Commerce", "Explosions" and "Nature".
Concepts is similarly self-explanatory, yet also very nebulous. The ideas that I plan to "Switch On" include such controversial topics as Evolution, The End of History, The Clash of Civilizations and String Theory.
Interviews will be a series of famous interviews either processed through a vocoder or spoken by an old speech synthesizer(most likely by a variety of Speak-n'-Spells).
Music will be the most faithful to the original switched-on concept, in which I create over-the-top analogue covers of previously acoustic music. However, the choices of music will be more unconventional, with such candidates being Alvin Lucier's I Am Sitting In A Room and John Cage's 4'33"(that will not involve silence in any way).
Why Switched-On Everything? I am forever fascinated by the trend in the 1960s and 70s of squeezing classical and pop standards from the past into the context and audial vocabulary of the analog synthesizer. Doing so created something very new yet very formulaic--something inherently sensible yet inherently absurd.
Additionally, the Switched-On series(both the sounds and the concept itself) espoused a certain futuristic sensibility that was so much more embellished and by futurists of the time and so much more technicolor than the bleak, grey future presented to us in the 21st Century. The very idea of the synthesizer--a culturally-neutral machine that could supposedly approximate the sound of literally anything--sounds very much in line with the convenient, magical, international future presented to society in the 50s and 60s. In this piece I want to explore the progression between this "perfect" future vision and our own dismal future vision by comedically exposing the absurdity of the former(accentuated by the juxtaposition of the reinterpretations with their visual analogues).
Finally, I love the analog synthesizer. Its sounds never fail to enthrall me, and I can spend hours simply fiddling around with one. Guitars pale in comparison to anything it can produce in my book.
Hello.
Welcome to my(D.V. Caputo(Dominic Vincent Indelicato Caputo)'s) blog detailing the progress of my final thesis for the Parsons BFA Design & Technology program. I am currently a Junior(although some have confused me for a sophomore) in his second semester, and my interests range from VHS video, CV and analogue synthesis to Digital Video, MIDI and Digital Signal Processing.
I also love all things Japanese, most things French, a sizeable portion of things German, some things English and not very many things American. I am relatively notorious for my cardboard stomach(I can't eat cake without getting queasy and I would have started this earlier if I wasn't nauseous all day) and my plastic ears(I'm openly obsessed with electronic music of various kinds).
Anyway, I hope you become properly informed by this journal,
-D.V.
I also love all things Japanese, most things French, a sizeable portion of things German, some things English and not very many things American. I am relatively notorious for my cardboard stomach(I can't eat cake without getting queasy and I would have started this earlier if I wasn't nauseous all day) and my plastic ears(I'm openly obsessed with electronic music of various kinds).
Anyway, I hope you become properly informed by this journal,
-D.V.
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