256a-fall-2023/hw2

Homework #2: Sound Peeking

Due Dates

• HW2 milestone 1: due Wednesday (10/11, in-class): HW2 webpage with progress report on learning/playing with ChuGL + three brainstorm ideas
• HW2 milestone 2: due Wednesday (10/18, 1pm Canvas; 3:30pm in-class): HW2 webpage updated with milestone video + in-class critique
• HW2 final deliverable: due Monday (10/23, 1pm Canvas; 3:30pm in-class) HW2 final webpage/video + in-class presentation

reminder: please also organize your weekly reading responses online at http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~YOURID/256a/rrXXX/) -- replace XXX with the number of of the reading response.

In this assignment, you are to visualize sound in real-time, using ChuGL for the graphics programming, real-time audio, and as a programmable sound source. Your program will visualize: 1) live microphone input and 2) a designed sound narrative written in ChucK and visualized in your visualizer. This is a fun project but there are many moving parts; start early.

Specification (milestone 1): Brainstorming + playing with ChuGL + reeading

• play with ChuGL; make something fun and useless!
  • check out all the resource on the ChuGL webpage, including sndpeek.ck
  • download and play with sndpeek for ideas
• related Artful Design chapter 3 reading response: due Sunday (10/15) 11:59pm

Specification (milestone 2): Design + Visualizing the Spectrum History

• using our starter code, design and prototype a basic visualization of time-domain waveform and magnitude spectrum
• test using the microphone input
• design and implement a waterfall plot (like sndpeek), a real-time scrolling spectrogram, or another way to display spectrums over time
  • feel free to experiment on how to represent the spectrum history visually
  • "make it read"!

Specification (final deliverables): An Audio-Visual Narrative

• create a sonic/musical narrative to run inside your visualizer
  • can use a combination of microphone (adc in ChucK) and sound synthesis
  • think about different "sections" or "movements", and how to transition between them
  • try to align the aesthetic of your visualizer and your ChucK program (give it personality)
  • (optional): can use keyboard input
• aesthetic goal:
  • polish not important!
  • technical fanciness not important!
  • making the viewer/listener feel something: important!!

Note

• have fun with it!!!
• comment your code!
• you are welcome to work together, but you must do/turn in your own work

Final Deliverables

• 0) reading responses (upload URL to Canvas, as per usual)
• 1) HW2 project webpage (should be viewable at http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~YOURID/256a/hw2/). It should include:
  • a name and description of your audio visualizer
  • a few screenshots that capture various parts of your visualizer in action
  • a polished high-resolution video (2-3 minutes, with audio, screen capture or with camera) of both your visualizer in action AND your narrative
  • hint: capture your video in full-screen (GG.fullscreen(); will fullscreen ChuGL program)
    • upload to YouTube or Vimeo (or CCRMA) and embed the video from your webpage
  • instructions for using your visualizers, including any keyboard/mouse control
  • the production build of your visualizer (please specify the platform e.g., MacOS, Windows, or Linux)
  • all your ChucK code
  • a final short text section that:
    • conveys your ideas/comments in constructing each program
    • describes any difficulties you encountered in the process
    • acknowledges help you received for this project
  • feel free to include (or not include) your previous HW2 milestones. If you do, these previous milestones should appear AT THE BOTTOM of your HW2 webpage.
• 2) submit to Canvas: URL to webpage and your Chunity code.