Water, image, gesture and sound: composing and performing an interactive audiovisual work

ABSTRACT

Performing and composing for interactive audiovisual system presents many challenges to the performer. Working with visual, sonic and gestural components requires new skills and new ways of thinking about performance. However, there are few studies that focus on performer experience with interactive systems. We present the work Blue Space for oboe and interactive audiovisual system, highlighting the evolving process of the collaborative development of the work. We consider how musical and technical demands interact in this process, and outline the challenges of performing with interactive systems. Using the development of Blue Space as a self-reflective case study, we examine the role of gestures in interactive audiovisual works and identify new modes of performance.

KEYWORDS:

• Audiovisual
• interactive system
• gesture
• visual music
• sound and image

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Linda Walsh is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Newcastle, Australia where she teaches oboe, improvisation and video skills. After postgraduate oboe study in Switzerland and France, Linda has appeared at contemporary music festivals in Berlin, Rome, Paris and Milan. In 2012 she was a guest artist at the Sonic Arts Research Centre in Belfast. Current interests include exploring new modes of expression for the oboe using computer sound processing and visuals in performance, which is the area of her PhD studies at the Creativity and Cognition Studios, University of Technology Sydney.

Andrew Bluff is a digital artist, software engineer and researcher at the University of Technology Sydney. Following his recent PhD studies combining immersive technology, interactive art and live performance, he is currently investigating new methods for mixed reality storytelling as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the UTS Animal Logic Academy. In addition to his collaborative performance works including Dot and the Kangaroo, Creature: Interactions and The Hour, Andrew has created music apps including DrumStudio and Mobile Phone Orchestra.

Andrew Johnston is a researcher, interaction/software designer and musician based in Sydney, Australia. His work focuses on the design of systems that support experimental, exploratory approaches to live performance, and the experiences and creative practices of the artists who use them. Andrew is co-director of the Creativity and Cognition Studios, an interdisciplinary research group working at the intersection of creativity and technology. He currently holds the position of Associate Professor in the School of Software, Faculty of Engineering and IT at the University of Technology Sydney.

ORCID

Linda Walsh http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2600-2958

Notes

1 http://www.chdh.net/.

2 Encoded: https://vimeo.com/55150853.

3 http://www.memo.tv/ofxmsafluid/.

4 Sound Stream: https://vimeo.com/78448726.

5 Airflow: https://vimeo.com/81951501.