As I mentioned in my previous post I’m working on using a highly stylized ripple to visualize audio in my piece. The goal is that the physical panels in my installation only move when the user makes sound, thus “transforming” sound into physical motion and projection. I think a ripple is the most natural representation of this and with a fair amount of tweaking I’ve been able to create a solution that captures the style that I’ve been sketching throughout the planning phase.
The ripple is based on the research that Neil Wallis has done on water simulation. Depending on the volume of audio, various properties of the ripples are modulated to feel natural and connected to user input. In a later iteration of this project I intend to use properties of the audio spectrum to further enhance this visual. The ripples radiate out from the location where the user is standing while the user continues to make noise. The moment the sound stops, the ripples freeze in that state and become a permanent part of the visual of the piece.
I recorded a bit of my most recent testing session after I aligned the ripple locations on the left 1/2 of the installation piece: