Second Sketch (2)

We decided to first have the code up and running before we started the “bodystroming” process, the reason for this is the limited time in general and the limited skill we have in programming, so it takes a lot of time for us to get familiar enough with the new codes and library. We want to make sure we have a working system first. We initially wanted to use Tone.js as our library, but we realized it was too hard for us, so we switched to the sound library of p5.js. The sound options in the latter are limited, but the library is much easier to work with compared to Tone.js. In this process I noticed how the library or the code could change our concept or idea inevitably, especially when you are not a master in programming. We have changed and tweaked our topic or the details several times just because we could not or did not know how to implement them. I wonder if this can be seen as a constraint or not.

We have a sketch, an idea that is about exploring the space around us, being inside an imaginary room, maybe even with a low ceiling height. This is something we imposed for ourselves to have more of a concrete design space in which we could explore the possible movements one would do to explore the space around. An add-on to the idea is that we could imagine the space is dark (no light), so we have to move around to explore it with less use of eyes, and we have sound as an interactive output to this space. The idea of the room being dark came to me after the “bodystroming” lecture, and how Jens suggested we blindfold ourselves to better feel the movements. Questions we need to ask ourselves: how do we actually explore the space around? what other parts of our body do we move other than our eyes and legs?

We do have another idea which derived from Taylorism and repetitive behaviors, we tried to go deeper into the topic and searched for studies that have been conducted about this matter on a more physiological, psychological and personal level, however, the content we were able to find were more about the social, ethical aspects of the matter. We, ourselves, tried to do a few repetitive movements for a relatively long amount of time, but unfortunately, all we could conclude from that was that we were tired and/or bored and no other feeling was evoked. Something this reminded me of was techno music and how some people love and enjoy something (mostly) repetitive like this and some might get headaches because of it. Related to music and sound, some people can get more focused with upbeat, electronic music (without lyrics). This repetitiveness can also be tied with a way of stress relief (chewing gum when stressed). I think it comes down to whether or not a person is choosing to do the behaviors or are they being forced to do them, like in the case of Taylorism. For the sake of this project, though, I think repetitive behavior, unless involving a gross movement, cannot be very interesting.

After our coaching session with Clint, we realized the topic of repetitive movements is too broad, and not all repetitive movements are bad and negative (like we wanted to portray them in our sketch based on Taylorism), e.g. when we swing our feet while seated, it actually feels good. We have to be more explicit and precise about what it is we want to express in our design. Another point is about ‘sound’ being the output/feedback and if it is clear and expressive enough. The coaching session made us re-evaluate our whole concept and output, which made us realize that choosing sound is actually a good strategy. Its vagueness helps with the ‘exploring the space around’ topic, encouraging the user to become more curious and try to explore the space even more, as opposed to having a visual feedback that is more straightforward. A visual feedback or output might be helpful as an instructor that tells the user to pose/move in a certain way, but not as an output.

In exploring the space around, we started with having a sine wave as our initial sound and mapped its frequency to the position of one of the legs. We, first, had the monitor open for us to measure where the limits of the camera are, i.e. where the “space” stated and ended, especially the width, and we put some signs on the ground. At first the space was very linear.

We, then, took away the monitor and experimented with the sound and the space, without necessarily facing the camera(laptop). We used sine wave in the beginning, but I was constantly thinking about the effect of the type of the sound (frequency, amplitude, beat) on the movements of the user. It definitely can have a major impact on the experience. But what type of sound is coupled with what type of emotion/experience? Is this a subjective matter? to what degree? If we were to use sounds that are generally used in different genres of music, would that have an impact? Would that evoke different emotions in different people based on their taste in music? In the context of this project, if we tell the person (who is most probably a teacher or a classmate, therefor, they are familiar with the concept) that they are supposed to “explore the space around”, they would move around the space, with the type of the sound influencing them less (not uninfluenced), compared to a scenario where we ask someone random, that has no idea of what is going on, to explore the space around. I think in the latter, the type of the sound or how close it is to a type of a music will have a much more of an impact on their feelings and their movements.

When are we actually exploring the space? Moving the whole body? or just some particular parts?