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Sometimes commercially available instruments and equipment aren't enough to make the music or sound you hear in your head. Maybe you are looking for a novel way to engage people in music-making or immersive experiences with music and sound.
Sometimes commercially available instruments and equipment aren't enough to make the music or sound you hear in your head. Maybe you are looking for a novel way to engage people in music-making or immersive experiences with music and sound.
Compulsive Creatives design and build unique instruments that function as standalone art to compelling interactive kiosks for event and exhibit installations.
Compulsive Creatives design and build unique instruments that function as standalone art to compelling interactive kiosks for event and exhibit installations.
Explore some of our past creations and consider what we could create for you!
Explore some of our past creations and consider what we could create for you!
Music to Motion
Turns the idea of dance accompaniment on its head! Instead of dancing to set live or pre-recorded music, Motion-To-Music senses the movement, position and speed of dancers, then 'composes' music based on the dancer's actions. Motion-To-Music will soon be installed in a Colorado musem. More information to follow!
An up close demonstration of one motion sensor used in Motion-To-Music. This particular unit was set up for close-up interactions with hands instead of full-body movement. An ultrasonic sensor connected to a custom microprossor board detects movement, measures position and speed of an object in front, and then uses the information to trigger various algorithms to generate a 'playable score' that is realized by a dedicated sound module. These units can be configured to sense movement over larger distances (like a stage) and play customizable musical scores and sounds.
Virtual Conducting Experience
This is a newer generation of an immersive experience we originally created back in the 1990's, first with a wired conductor's baton. This new version is contact-free and uses computer vision with new AI models to recognize body, arm and wrist motion and convert expressive gestures into information to control a dynamic orchestral performance in real-time. Participants will see an orchestra react to their gestures on a large screen along with shapes mirroring their conducting and feel the intensity of sound vibrations through their feet with acoustic actuators mounted in the podium. For many, this will be the closest experience to conducting a real orchestra they will find! The Virtual Conducting Experience will also be installed in a Colorado musem early 2027. More details to follow!
Unitar
Less of an immersive experience and more a piece of art, the Unitar is a sonic sculpture that invites touch and meditative listening. Inspired by Alvin Lucier's Music On A Long Thin Wire, otherworldly sounds can be conjoured by manipulating the controls on this single stringed instrument. It can be produced in multiple string formats of different sizes and configurations for different settings.
Here is a short demonstration of the first-generation Unitar. The full instrument resembles a bow 4-feet across and can be mounted on a wall or pedistal. A new version includes three bows of different sizes with the sounds from each eminating from different amplifier-speaker systems placed around a large space. The settings on each can be controlled centrally from a single app with memory settings for specific sounds or random generation to seed new soundscapes.
Voice Orchestrator
Voice is generally regarded as the first musical instrument. Whether participants sing or just talk, they can convert their voice or speech into lush soundscapes with the Voice Orchestrator interactive kiosk. Anyone can use the panel-mounted microphone and explore sound possibilities by turning eight orange knobs.
This installation relies on single board computer installed with custom audio processing and video graphics generation software. The eight knobs on the console control various features of the output sound including input level, the mix between processed and unprocessed sound, the amount of complexity and randomness introduced into the output mix. Video generation software reacts to the loudness and activity level of the processed sound. It generates moving video images in real time that respond to the audio visitors hear. This too will be part of a live installation soon. A demo video and more information will follow!
Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder
There is no audio involved in this project, it was a spur-of-the moment reaction to discussions about aesthetics and a way of saying that art 'becomes' in the mind of every observer. Synchronized algorithm-generated images between a framed display and user-worn goggles.
It's Not The Eyes That See
It's Not The Eyes That See - Live video processed through real-time filters created in Processing with live music improvisation incorporating controlled audio feedback and analogue processors and sound generators.
"But There's More..." (Todd Rundgren)
Stay tuned for updates and additional installation and demo posts!
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