User:Noberrie
Here is my 220c Wiki page!
I am working on a spatial-dispersed-narrative-woodworking project. It will consist of a bunch of handmade resonant wooden boxes with transducers inside, dispersed in space. I'm imagining voices coming resonating through these boxes, having looped, scripted conversations, and letting people wander through it at leisure. TBD.
Current Materials (04.08):
- x1 DTA-1 mini-amp
- x2 DAEX25FHE-4 transducer
- x4 DAEX25 transducer
- x2 HDN-8 transducer
- x1 DTA-120BT2 mini-amp
WEEK 2
~ issues ~
- wireless boxes? how to get amps/batteries/sound-source into boxes as small as 4" x 4" x 4".
~ goals ~
- preliminary sound design
- preliminary testing of resonances with current box model
WEEK 3
This week I got the wireless, bluetooth-connected, battery-powered transducer setup working. Now, the ensuing steps consist of:
(a) installing semi-permanently in closed boxes,
(b) scaling / figuring out a multi-channel bluetooth array, and
(c) sound design/composing.
My current, working setup consists of the following:
- AMP: DAMGOO Audio Amplifier Board with Bluetooth [1] ... $12.99
- TRANSDUCER: DAEX25FHE-4 [2] (x2) ... $11.29 each
- BATTERY: TalentCell Rechargeable 12V 3000mAh Lithium ion Battery Pack [3] ... $24.79
- BOX: Bought at Goodwill, approx. $10.00
- TOTAL $$: $70.36 (not including tax/shipping costs/etc.)
Clearly, this is more expensive than is optimal. With 8 boxes, the project quickly becomes very costly ($500 - $600).
For now, however, I want to get a single box working so I can begin drafting the idea. As I expand, however, I'll continue to look for better, cheaper solutions for wireless setups.
In terms of installation, there are already issues fixing the transducers in the box sturdily and non-permanently, so I can continue to adjust the positions and use different materials. The issues are mostly frustratingly simple – the bores are too small in the transducers for screws that are long enough to fully pass through the wall of the box, for example. Or the box is too small to fit a screwdriver into at the right angle. My next-door neighbor, a woodworker, made the holes in the transducer larger for longer screws. A hacky solution, but TBD.
Another solution would be using different amp/box combinations. I obtained several boxes from Goodwill of various sizes, from about the size of a shoebox to a miniature chest of drawers about 2' by 2'. I'm planning on testing the heavier transducers with the larger boxes, but each shape has different installation affordances and difficulties.
Ideally, I'd be able to take a sculptural approach to these objects, observing what shapes lend themselves to certain resonant properties, and making objects that correspond with the sound in some way. For this project, however, I'm more laying the groundwork and doing some of the creative research into how this system can work.
Regarding composition, there are two discrete projects I'd like to work on. Again, for this quarter, I need to cull my vision a little and focus on a single one. The first is the script idea. My vision is of a dispersed narrative, recorded voices emerging from objects that stand in for people. I'm imagining a slightly eerie effect, a collection of inanimate objects echoing of human presence. I'm imagining it being part spatial sound-art composition, part experimental storytelling. I would want the sonic quality of the installation to be essential. The scripts could be scored so that they converge, swell, and overlap in compositionally interesting way. They could be processed so that particular timbres and resonances were highlighted, (taking inspiration from Luc Ferrari's Presque Rien [4]).
In terms of box building... currently travleing, but iterations with different amps2
- add grand vision at the beginning so this all makes sense in context
