This week the topic is Play and Forces. After the lesson, I have been thinking of forces that I was interested in. Then I think of playing with echo as an input force.

At first, I have tried to measure it in a physical format through vibration. It is related to some games that I have played, the tin can telephone and underground tunnel telephone in the playground when I was a child.

After doing research and consultation, I have decided to scale down the idea in an experimental and physical form of work. The design of the test is inspired by " Drawing Melody" (2016) which is designed by Manxue Wang. Players can use different external devices to input notes as designed. I have tried to sing the melody. Then I started to wonder if the output is reversed and transmitted as other sound effects or forms.

Manxue Wang. " Drawing Melody". 2016. https://experiments.withgoogle.com/drawing-melody

An echo is a form of vibration and collision within space. Literally, it is a form of a feedback of sound through repetition and amplification. Feedback of sounds has been used and recorded in many different projects and fields. It can be created from hitting or speaking. This gives me a direction to physically measure the feedback of sound for a weekly responses.

So I started by recording different feedback of sound and try to engage in its possibility through Ableton, and produce different soundtracks. The Ableton is connected to an external keyboard to jam different soundtracks.

I try to experiment with this force with Ableton.

Sound and music usually comes from musical instruments and mixing. Therefore, I try to experiment by making my own instruments to get different feedback of sound. Randomly, the sources are assigned to different keys in the keyboard each time.

Method:

Test 1 is to produce soundtracks while I was typing for assignments and daily work.

Soundtrack 1: use the feedback from the daily routine.

Soundtrack 2: use the feedback from different musical instruments.

Test 2.1: I will input the feedbacks from playing different instruments.

The output recorded while typing different random words/sentences:

"DOG, AS A DOG, TO EAT, EAT A DOG, EGG" etc

Records in : Play and Force

Response:

This week's project is not as good as expected. The variations of feedbacks from sound are not explored and developed deeply. However, the play of using the echo as a replacement of letters is an interesting idea that developed from test 2. A further interactive game could be developed through this idea. As we communicate, we often text or use voice messages. It then keeps me wondering if we can communicate with these concepts by using different feedbacks of sound. We can develop our own communication systems with our friends through different "morse codes" that we created with echoes.

The most difficult part is the design of the recording echo. It is hard to explore in the field as most works in the field are related to sound more than echo. T

The experiments are interesting as the output are unexpected each time. Similar to the play that I have played as a child, even though the objects or way of producing echo are controlled, the outputs are transformed and affected by other feedbacks from the environment. This is demonstrated through the test when output is recorded while specific sentences are typed through the keyboards. The concept could be developed further when the output is also an input source for the play. The interactions between echoes can generate new feedbacks as an interactive play among the echoes. The input in the keyboard acts as a catalyst to trigger different combinations between the feedbacks.

Sound Similar work has been engaged by Norbert Schnell in his work "Shaker" (2016). It also explores the idea of generating new output through sampling the feedbacks automatically. Peter Kirn's work "Feedboxes" (2016) also studies the forces from echo. The feedback loops and is converted within the chamber differently each time. The sounds are recreated and amplified in the champers.

References:

Routing and I/O — Ableton Reference Manual Version 11 | Ableton

https://www.ableton.com/en/trial/

Building a Drum Rack in Ableton LiveAbleton Live 10 for Beginners - How to Create a Drum Beat - YouTube

FEEDBOXES are autonomous sound toys that play along with you - CDM Create Digital Music

1. General:

2D animation that explores the issues that emerged from conflicts between morality and survival of human beings.

2. The Background:

People are living in a world where they came from eggs and eat their eggs laid by humans.

In this imagined world, human is no longer viviparous, they are oviparous which lay and hatch eggs.

The world is controlled and ruled by a small portion of wealthy and authorised people in a higher social state, the “Mother”. When civilisation develops faster and better, overpopulation has resulted in serious problems like global warming, species extinction and resources shortage. People are competing and killing for resources.

In 2047, scientists have huge progress in solving the global food shortage crisis with the investing techniques that can trigger an instant growth of womans’ unfertilised eggs without sperms playing a role in the production. The unfertilised eggs can be eatable by adding different DNA of ingredient and nutrition. To maintain the sustainability of human and nature, this technology has sharply be adapted and massively processed in the world by building factories and farms.

To survive, people have agreed to lay fertilised eggs for mankind sustainability and unfertilised eggs for making food. Children who are being considered immature and fragile will never know the “ecosystem” of the community until they are 18 years old. Then they will be brainwashed to follow the rules and system for the good of the community and nature.  

However, the secret that the “Mother” is keeping away from the community is that this technology has never been invested. To protect their wealth and powers, the “Mother” lies to the people about using eggs with foetus to make food. The truth is that there are no unfertilised eggs, fertilised eggs with foetuses inside will also be treated as food for human beings.

Main factory: people (women) laying eggs. Then eggs are being transferred to the food factory or farm on the conveyor belts.

Food factory: Some eggs are being processed into cans of food here.

Farms: Some eggs are being hatched here. Then they will be sent to different families. They grow up and becomes adults.

3. The Characters:

• The “Mother”:

The government of the country. It gathers committee from the high social state of the country only.

• Adam:

A 12-year-old boy accidentally discovers the truth about people processing their eggs into food. He believes the eggs are his siblings and should have the rights to survive. He decided to save the eggs in the factory. He loves adventure and wants to be a doctor to save other people in the future.

• Jess:

An 11-year-old girl who is a friend of Adam. She is short but brave. She loves excitement and violence. She decided to save the eggs with Adam.

• Owen:

A 14-year-old boy who is a friend of Adam. He is timid and muscular. He loves exercise and believes that everyone in the world is kind and harmless. He decided to save the eggs with Adam.

• The security:

He is working in the factory to secure the eggs and make sure the production line does not get disturbed.

4. Challenges:

The “Mother” and the system is being challenged by the three children who try to save the eggs inside the factory. Their morality and reasons behind their judgement and actions have been questions by the young adventurers.

The children are trying to break the rules set by the “Mother”. They believe that it is immoral to eat the eggs and hiding the truth. Eggs have the right to survive. They are trying to fight authority and the adults for justice of the eggs. The children almost get caught when they are trying to sneak into the factory. They are discovered and chased by the security.

5. Actions:

The three children plan and sneak into the factory. The security discovers them and starts chasing after them.

6. Resolution:

The children hide inside some empty eggshells.

The security finds those and put them under a lamp to check if anything is inside. He sees the shadow of the kids but he believes that they are just being laid and accidentally falling from the conveyor belt. He put them back on the conveyor belt which is heading to the food factory. The kids have then been processed into food.