SEARCHING

Audio Installation | Devin Ronneberg | BFA 4 Music Technology

March 2nd to March 9th in the WaveCave [B303]

Searching has been accepted as a featured installation for the spring 2015 WaveCave
exhibition calendar. This is the first opportunity that current CalArts students have
been offered to present current works in the brand new installation gallery. This
installation will be open to the institute from March 2nd - March 9th in room B303
and is an opportunity for the entire CalArts community to benefit from seeing and
interacting with a multi-sensory media experience designed by a current student.
Inspired by the ways in which we interact with data and information on a daily basis,
Searching draws physical parallels between our bodies, sound, light, and the
aesthetics of information in the age of connectivity.

Project Synopsis
Spatialized speaker drivers will be hung from the ceiling grid 56 off of the
ground, at equidistant points around a circle, taking up most of the room. Each
speaker driver will be encased in a black foam ball, and fitted with a high quality
proximity sensor and single l.e.d. Each speaker-sensor object will initially face
inward toward the center of the room, but may sway or change direction in time. Audio
changes with proximity of users to sound sources.
Description
A multi-sensory media experience that utilizes proximity-sensitive spatialized audio
transducers, darkness, noise, space, and original compositions to draw physical
parallels between the exploration of an environment and our interaction with
information in the digital age highlighting our ability to find relevant signal in an
ever increasing amount of noise.
As users enter the space they are confronted with noise playing from several unseen
sources in darkness. As the user navigates the space searching for the source(s) of
sound and approaches a single sound source, the output will crossfade (based on
proximity) between a noise generator output and a signal source. With a single user
in the room, only a single signal, of four total per composition, can be heard at any
time against a backdrop of noise. To hear the all four tracks, four bodies must be
sensed in the room.
Audio and sensor data will be processed in the programming language ChucK and sent to
the array of speakers. Sensor data will be received in ChucK and converted from
serial to midi, and used as a dynamic control parameter to effect the audio.

Links to pertinent works:

Paper analyzing the evolution of advanced procedures for the analysis of information
in ever increasing amounts:
https:/www.scribd.com/doc/248824401/Evolving-Better-Filters
Other works:

https://www.soundcloud.com/aerialmusic

Bio:
Devin Ronneberg is a multi-metier artist who incorporates sound, light, space, and
programming into his practice in order to explore the depth and intricacies of human
perception, uncovering unique differences in perception which truly define
individuality.
Collaborator:
Dexter Shepherd | BFA4 Music Technology | Systems Designer