A Review of In the Mood for Frankie

Choreographer Trajal Harrell’s dance performance In the Mood for Frankie took place in EMPAC’s lobby during the 10YEARS at EMPAC festival.  The three dancers performed on three catwalks.  Lighting from above and music accompanied the dance.  Benches surrounded the catwalks on all sides for the audience to sit.  The first thing I noticed when I sat down before the show began was a bowl of live goldfish resting next to the catwalk.  Within minutes, someone came to pour the fish in a channel between the platforms.  Immediately, I wondered what roll goldfish could have in a dance performance.  In being so small, would they even be noticeable once the show began?  From the whispers in the audience, I knew I was not the only one with these thoughts.  Then abruptly, the questioning voices stopped as the first dancer made his way out of the crowd and into the light.

The first dancer emerged in gym shorts and a t-shirt.  A fringed wrap covered his face.  He moved slowly, his movements reminiscent of a wanderer in the desert.  As he moved across the catwalk, I found myself focusing on his bare feet.  They took each step with incredible care, the heels never touching the ground.  Then, the second dancer appeared, his dance just as graceful.  Shortly after the third dancer arrived, clad in lounge pants and a floral blouse, the music shifted from elegantly calming to lightly energizing.

What ensued is perhaps my favorite part of the performance.  The purpose of the catwalks as opposed to an ordinary stage became apparent to me in this moment.  The dancers strutted down the catwalks, modeling their clothes.  Their movements were fluid and sultry, feminine at times.  The most interesting part about this segment was how they appeared to be dancing in slow motion.  It was impressive to see someone move so slowly but yet maintain the expressive flow of the dance.  The overall effect made the trio seem like they were in a fun movie montage, which I found quite intriguing.

Constant change characterized the performance.  The dancers would periodically disappear behind the audience, each time displaying a different garment when they reappeared.  At one point, one of the dancers came back out with the other’s floral blouse tied around his waist.  It was like a fashion show, almost.  The garments were a conglomeration of street clothes varying in patterns and textures.  I did not particularly like the combinations of the clothes.  I found them to be a bit distracting at times.  However, I appreciated how each of them moved differently.  I feel as though if the clothes themselves were simpler, monochromatic perhaps, it would be easier to focus on their motions.

The music and the lighting further emphasized constant change, both adapting to match the emotion in each new dance.  Overall, the performance moved along an emotional arc, culminating in a much different place than where it began.  The show closed out with three solos, each expressing an increasing level of sadness.  The final solo featured a dancer in the very center, contorting under the now very dim light.  Silent screams escaped from his mouth to join the melancholy music.  This embodiment of pure anguish stood far from the joyous dancing under the bright lights of before.  When the dance was done, the lights came on and the crowd applauded.  My eyes drifted to a place they had not gone since the show began, and I had to wonder: what was up with the fish?

A review of What we left unfinished - Peiran Chen

As the event suggested, “what we left unfinished” is a work-in-progress documentary film directed and featured by Mariam Ghani, who is well known as the artist, writer, and filmmaker. She discovers and reconstructs hidden and parallel narratives of the experience of the Afghan film industry during the period of Afghan Communism (1978-1991) in this documentary film.

Mariam Ghani herself is quite fascinating. As the Afghanistan president’s daughter, she was unable to travel back to Afghanistan until 2002, when she was 24. Maybe it is one of the reasons she chose to work on this film. In this documentary, what we left unfinished, there are five films shot during that Afghan Communism that were never revealed onto the real screen. In the unfinished clips of the documentary, those actors and directors talked a lot about the Afghan Communism back in time.

Juwansher Haidary, one of those actors, said that he often thought he did not fit well in those hero roles he played in the film but directors said he did a great job. “If you said some very bad things towards the government, they will come for you”, Juwansher mentioned in the interview. As a matter of fact, at that time, the government gave a bunch of money and any other kind of support towards film industry, but what they really want was only the praise about the Afghan Communism. People did not have much freedom compared to nowadays, even the films did not have freedom back to that time. Those five films covered in the documentary all talked the truth of the government, not so glamorous of the Communism. Unfortunately for them, the excessive strict censorship of the Communists, those films cannot go to the screen and they were dead in the water.

If you worry about that this documentary would just the interview with remnants of these films, you will be wrong. For me, the most exciting part of this documentary is the background music which designed and composed by Qasim Naqvi. He is a drummer, a composer, and member of the group Dawn of Midi. Since the documentary is unfinished, so the whole process includes talking and watching. During the whole event, we watched one clip of the film and then the artists will discuss some relation between the stories and the music. I personally love the music in this film. It does not sound intensely depressed or extremely irritated during the interview and during those aborted films. It just like ordinary life being or just like the water, in such a way like those actors and directors. They knew everything about the government at that time; they chose to shoot anarchy films to against the Communism, although their work did not survive from the Communists, they still used a plain, a genuine way to talk their past. The music plays a great role in the documentary; it shows the anger and the sadness but it is just right there. Music helped viewers feel the history, get connected with those storytellers, and also put us in a position to think about the history.

As a work-in-progress documentary film, I think it is quite great. With no doubts that I would watch the whole version as it comes out. But at the very beginning of the film, the light effect makes me feel dizzy and the flashing light in the transition process also makes my eye discomfort as well. Mariam Ghani and Qasim Naqvi brought us a great journey with the old Afghanistan film industry. Perhaps Mariam just wants to reconstruct the hidden truth and the experience, or maybe she wants to show the Afghan Communism’s unfairness. But most of all, it was a great experience with excellent paired music and have a chance back to that time to see what people have been through.

The Isle Is Full of Noises, An Immersive Revision

By: Autumn Walters

“Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises” serves as both a quote by Caliban from Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest” and the main inspiration of Michael Century’s installation, “The Isle Is Full of Noises”. The experience begins as we enter a dark room with six spotlights in a corner, each shining on a spot that is either empty or populated by a chair or bean bag. Music fills the room, a compilation of voices and sounds coming together to create an otherworldly auditory experience that varies at different points in the room. In one corner is Michael Century, himself, next to a screen displaying the music editing software he is using as he manipulates and molds his ethereal song.

This avante garde installation is a recreation of the island described in “The Tempest”, a story which served as Shakespeare’s response to the knowledge of imperialist explorers in the Caribbean Islands. Characters Prospero and his daughter, Miranda, find themselves on an “isle of noises” and meet the monstrous being, Caliban, who introduces them to the island. Caliban can be seen as a representation of the indigenous Caribbean people and the island, the Caribbean islands. Century aims immerse us in the sensory glory that is the “isle of noises” through the use of Wave Field Synthesis speaker arrays to create a spatialized sound that travels around the room. The music includes the voices of actors, Kevin Craig West and Erica Tryon, as the characters Caliban and Miranda describing the sounds heard on the island as well as recordings of animals and birds.

Overall, the experience is calming and the movement of sounds in the space feels organic as if alive. I enjoyed the fact that you could experience different aspects of the audio from anywhere in the room, a result of the Wave Field Synthesis speaker arrays. The sounds themselves successfully reflect the foreign and mystical aspect of discovering a new place and capture the wonder of the island itself. The addition of the screen showing the musical software works to tie the audience into the context of the piece itself. Seeing music tracks labeled “Caliban”, “Miranda”, “Vowels”, “Animals” and “Birds” connects us back to the idea of the “isle of noises” and “The Tempest” and watching these tracks being manipulated by Century gives us some insight into his thought process.

Where I find this installation lacking the most is in its visuals or lack thereof. The audio works wonderfully to connect the audience to this vision of the island using sounds inspired by “The Tempest”, but visually there is nothing that connects back to the story besides the screen with the tracks which would still be considered auditory. There are chairs arranged and spotlighted, but what form of significance do the chairs, themselves, have? What does their inclusion do to amplify the immersive qualities of the installation besides providing a place to sit? The spotlights are there to highlight particular areas where the sound is most present, but I feel as though they could have been used for mood lighting to give more of a visual sense of this new space. This installation is currently only immersive auditory-wise, but by adding and tying in visual elements that relate to the concept, it can become a multi-sensory experience.

The other issue I found with the piece is the lack of a proper introduction to the context of the “Isle of Noises”. We have the option to read pamphlets offered with some background information on the origin of the quote “The Isle Is Full of Noises”, but that’s not a mandatory part of the experience. You are not required to read the pamphlet, but by not doing so you have no understanding of how this installation draws from its source material. There needs to be a mandatory alternative to the pamphlets that clues in the audience to the artist’s inspiration because without context, the “isle full of noises” is just a room of sounds.

Review - "The Computer as Time Machine"

The age of cloud storage may give us a false confidence in the permanence of our data, our records and memories. But everything is susceptible to physical decay, and all storage media for information and knowledge are temporary. As director of the EMPAC (Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center) at RPI, Dr. Johannes Goebel is all too aware of the potential failure points of preserving the artworks and performances his building has overseen. With a witty, warm persona, Goebel presents the philosophy and principles of memory and preservation that inform his project to maintain the EMPAC’s records for posterity. In his first section, he lays out how we construct machines to measure and define quantities, devices like scales, clocks, and ultimately the computer. He uses further musings on the necessity of machines to interpret and make sense of recordings, and the extremely brief history of magnetic data storage to segue into the larger topic of the presentation. The staff have printed a book of photos and records of the events and artworks brought to EMPAC. They’ve designed digital archives to make the history of the place available on a computer screen. But these are temporary solutions that only leave behind a fraction of the total sensory input of the art pieces shown. Conscious of the shortcomings, for the past two years Goebel and his people have dedicated great effort into studying the problems of preservation. Years from now, whatever hard drives or magnetic discs that hold Goebel’s collected knowledge will be unlikely to be usable. The physical storage devices computers rely on are all too volatile, steadily eroded and damaged by the elements, from moisture to oxidation from air to the Sun’s UV radiation. Optimistically, in ideal conditions, printed CDs and DVDs may last for 100 years. Worse still is the rapid pace of innovation in the software and systems that interpret stored data. File formats are abandoned and forgotten, and operating systems change and renew. What was once a common language might disappear entirely. Even if we hold on to a computer that can properly handle the relevant data, the components of that might not last forever either. Goebel identifies the BIOS chip as a particularly concerning point of failure for many chipsets. With all these difficulties in mind, Goebel lays out his requirements for a ‘Digital Time Capsule.’ It must last 100 years, require little attention or protection, be accessible when discovered. His proposed successful solution lies in the discs produced by a company called M-DISC, which promises 1000 years of preservation. Unfortunately, while M-DISC appears to have potential, his attempted explanations of how a complementary computer system that could read the disc be preserved over a century failed to engender confidence. Despite his hopeful promises, I am not convinced that he can guarantee a terabyte of data to future generations for a mere $650.00, complete with a running computer ready to open the files onboard.

A Review of the Isle is Full of Noises - Grant Doney

The Isle is Full of Noises sets out to encapsulate the atmosphere and emotional impact of a tropical island, removed from familiar society and yet corrupted by humanity nonetheless. Composed by Michael Century, the sound art piece combines passages from William Shakespeare's The Tempest, pieces of human vocalizations, birds, animals, and pieces of music. Utilizing Wave Field Synthesis speakers to project an 8 channel track throughout the space, the piece also attempts to introduce movement and focal points, creating a feeling of noise washing over a listener. Other contributors include local actors Kevin Craig West as Caliban, Erica Tryon as Miranda, students Eric Miller and Matt Wellins who assisted in designing the audio merging software.

Walking into the art space, it initially appears empty, a large black void filled with mysterious and seemingly nonsensical sounds. Off to the side, however, are a set of chairs illuminated by spotlights. Audience members are free to wander throughout the space listening to the otherworldly chorus, but the chairs offer the strongest listening points, existing at the focal points of the Wave Field Synthesis speakers. The sound pulses through you at these points, creating a different feeling form other listening points. The sound itself takes some rather deep reflection to pinpoint each sound. The vocalizations become lost in the cacophony of tropical sounds merged together, forming an indistinct harmony of human and natural. Caliban recites a soliloquy, framed around the titular line "Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises", creating a path for the listener to follow. The passage highlights the intended effects of the piece, the different sounds melded together to form a cohesive environment. Miranda's response, woven throughout the soundscape, reflects on the European colonialism, marveling at the brave new world, one which isn't in fact new, especially not to those already living there, but actually just a world through a different lens. These guiding quotes and fluctuating atmosphere of sound work together to stimulate a state of deep thought, where a person becomes from reflective of the different sounds and their interactions. 

Personally, the piece takes a certain head space to become fully immersed. The overlaying sounds, while rather hypnotic at times, would often become annoying and disjointed. Contemplation on the actual soundscape led to internal thought, pulling my away from the immersive island and problems of modern life. While this kind of self reflective meditative state could be something to encourage, the messages behind the Tempest, colonial Europe, and the fusion of humanity and nature become lost. When the theming is lost the complexity of the sound overlays, the audience lacks the proper framework to interpret their emotions, the lens of the art is lost leaving only scattered feelings and thoughts. Again, I wasn't in the right head space to experience the art as intended, but perhaps that's the point. We can't become connected with a pseudo natural world when completely entranced in our modern one.     

"Descent" by Kinetic Light

Descent is based on a romantic love story of Greek mythical figures Venus and Andromeda. The two dancers, Alice Sheppard and Laurel Lawson perform most of the show in wheelchairs. The show includes lighting and projections such as custom optics to create lightning environment and shadows that tell stories. They perform on a very unique stage, which was built with several hills and curves. The center of the stage is the summit of the ramp, of which the dancers climb to and from. After doing some research, I discovered that the show’s ramp-like stage was specifically designed by Kinetic light as sort of a “choreographed object”. Kinetic Light is a collective of disabled artists interested in the intersection of disability, dance, technology, and identity. But, the ramp was originally developed in collaboration with Sara Henderson, Yevgeniya Zastavker, and the student team at Olin College. In the upper left corner of the stage, there is an extreme steep peak which provides resistance (by gravity) as the dancers roll upward. However, there are also some sections of the ramp which require strength from the dancers to hold themselves up.

Every time they glide on the ramps, the motion of their rolling evokes a wide spectrum of emotions and character. In particular, I was fascinated by how the loud, bass sound effects lined up very timely with the wheelchairs rolling. It demonstrated the integration of the visual aesthetics with the impactful audio. Additionally, “the live sounds of the dancers and chairs moving through space and on the ramp has been amplified into the soundscape of the room to enhance both the auditory and felt-sensory material of DESCENT”. This immersive and multi-sensory experience created for audience members seems to be a focus of all artists working at EMPAC. Speaking of this unparalleled atmosphere, the lighting scenes in the background were the most pivotal, undervalued parts of the entire show. I believe it was established to be outer space with scattered stars throughout. The two dancers would form a pose/position together with or without their wheelchairs. The symbol they made would then appear to match the shape of the constellation of stars in the background. This kind of elegant symmetry appeared to occur naturally, and blended in with Kinetic Light’s theme of the “intersection of disability, dance, technology, and identity” very well.  All four of those elements were vivid in the overall performance, but more specifically in these examples provided.

To be honest, I was not a big fan of the slow scenes under the bridge. At first it was cool and unique to see them move and rise up from the bridge with the wheelchairs. After a while though, it seemed very repetitive and a bit unnecessary. For example, in one of these scenes, Alice Sheppard would perform a slow dance above, below, and around the ramp. Not so long after, Laurel Lawson would perform a very similar set. I understand how they might be feeding off of each other’s emotions and patterns, but it still came off as tedious. I much more appreciated the conjoined scenes where Alice and Laurel danced together, with each other, as well as off of each other.

All in all, I enjoyed the event to a much greater extent than I thought I would. The emotional content and conceptual foundations of the show were matched by innovative technical design elements to “gesture toward a sense of perpetual motion”. I was engaged during each scene. I was fascinated by every unique move they made. I was enthralled by the lightning and technological effects. A show I will not forget!

What Was Frankie in the Mood For?

             Before the show even started, I was immediately entranced by the fish swimming around in the middle of the stage when I went to see In the Mood for Frankie. However clear the meaning of live fish during performance could be, I managed to derive exponentially less meaning from the dancers themselves. As the show began, I immediately noted how the lone dancer was able to continuously stay on his toes throughout the entirety of his routine. This theme consisted as the others gradually came on stage, switching off one by one in the beginning. As the show progressed, I began to search for a common theme or sort of storyline that could be derived from the actions of the dancers when they were on stage either together or alone, but only managed to scrape meaning out of a few scenes. I saw the tale of a marriage from its heartfelt beginning to its extremely messy, drunken rage and sadness-filled end, along with the continued strife of the dancers as a result. Throughout all of this, the performers remained on the tips of their toes, leaving the most significant moment of the entire performance (to me) to be the one point where one of the dancers visibly came down to the flats of his feet for several seconds. It had more of an impact on me than any other part of the performance, regardless of whether it was intended or not.

               There were also scenes with continued outfit changes that assisted with setting the scenes that I found interesting, although at times I did find myself silently hoping that the dancers would keep at least some of their clothes on. The outfits ranged from gowns to layers of shirts on top of each other, allowing the performers to better fit their various roles within each scene. Along with these outfit changes, I felt it was an extremely strong creative decision to utilize the small nature of the stage to make exits at various places all around it, instead of using only one or two points. It allowed for a versatility that I felt contributed to the flow between scenes, making it so that two performers could leave the stage in opposite directions while the third was able to enter it all at the same time. This steady flow prevented any one transition from feeling too abrupt or choppy like a poorly done music mix.

               While I was unable to identify the meaning of every scene and motion, I found that it was an extremely delightful performance enhanced by the prowess of all three dancers whose mastery of ballet was beyond evident. This was so much so, that just like abstract art, the undecipherable scenes were able to evoke variants of raw emotion from me as the viewer. This was beyond appreciated, as it is rare these days to find a show that manages to provoke a sort of emotion with almost no context whatsoever.

Descent

Descent, performed by Kinetic Light was a performance of the “story of Greek mythical figures Venus and Andromeda as an interracial love story with choreography that conjures the aesthetics of August Rodin’s sculpture Toilet of Venus and Andromeda.”   As captivating and heartfelt as this story was, that was not the aspect that I found most intriguing; the architecture and usage of the stage grappled with my attention.

The stage creation, led by Laurel Lawson (product architect) allowed the disabled to connect with the performance.  The gradual inclines of the stage signified the challenges that the disabled faced as it gave not only kinetic potential but a “challenge of the conventional relationship of slope and disabled movement.”  The stage itself was a work of art, crafted with articulate curves and bends that gave the stage dynamic.  This created a uniqueness to the performance as typically dancers will perform on a flat surface.  Although the slopes were necessary to the movement of the wheelchairs, the performers also used the bends to their advantage as the beginning of the piece began with one of the dancers grasping onto the corner of the stage and slowly descending down it. 

As the performers progressed to the use of the wheelchairs, all that I could think about was the intense repetition that it must have taken the performers to achieve the perfect angles.  There were moments where the audience held their breath as the dancers flew down the ramps and swirled around as they did.  The intense choreography called the dancers to evoke such strength as well as control of their movement, gracefully stopping and moving the complex aspect of their wheelchairs.   The other moments of strength came from the pure core balance that both performers needed in order to lift each other and to hold the chair at certain angles on the stage due to the slopes.

Blind and nonvisual audiences were also able to experience the architecture through sound.  One of the most notable aspects during the performance was the amplified sounds of the dancer’s feet and/or wheelchairs on the stage.   The choreography perfectly matched these amplifications to the music, timing their movement and sound to create overlap and thus a beautiful piece of sound art. Additionally, the performance was centered to accommodate the perspective of those in wheelchairs.  Kinetic Light’s attention to detail in this regard only added the beauty of the performance. 

I personally enjoyed the performance as I felt as though it built empathy with its choreography throughout the performance.  Both dancers amplified such a deeper emotion to the story than just a performance; the audience could visually feel the passion the dancers had to include every person, disabled or not.  The time and the effort put into the performance was apparent, as they laid their heart and soul into their movement.  Also, the performance for me highlighted the fact that a disabled person is not incapable or limited.  Beauty was captivated and strength was amplified through the dancer's use of wheelchairs.  

A Review of Descent, Kinetic Light

Descent, an immersive dance performance by the company, Kinetic Lights, is an eye-opening love story about overcoming disability. What makes the performance unique is its multisensory approach, its story, and its inclusivity of the disabled community.

Kinetic Lights is a company whose purpose is simply that. One of the members, Michael Maag, who is wheelchair-bound himself, is a light artist. In Descent, the stage was lit with spotlights that followed and accentuated the dancers. More spectacularly, Maag incorporated several projectors, projecting images on the background of the stage as well as the stage itself. In particular, the projectors showed images of constellations, minimalist scenery, and illustrations of the characters Venus and Andromeda from the sculpture The Toilette of Venus and Andromeda, by Auguste Rodin, upon which the story was based and reimagined. The other remarkable aspect of the performance was the physical set. The stage was custom-built, a multi-level, curved, ramp that the dancers used to tell their story of struggle and freedom. The ramp was designed especially for the dancers’ wheelchairs, which were a custom feat in their own right.

The story of the dance began with the two characters separate, each struggling to move about the terrain of the stage with little use of their legs. The dancers crawled, rolled, and slid across the grade of the stage. Soon, though, the characters find each other, and at the same time find the wheelchairs. The dancers explore the newfound freedom of the chairs and also begin to dance/wheel in sync, showing the development of their love. After intermission, the story shows the more intricate struggle between the characters and their wheelchairs, and each other. In the end, the characters re-learn to trust one another and embrace each other, as well as support each other and themselves in the balance of using their wheelchairs.

As a viewer who is not a wheelchair user, and who is overall rather uneducated in the plights of the disabled community, this was an incredibly eye-opening performance. The story told by the dancers was unlike what I had expected. Instead of a tale of struggle without a wheelchair, and then liberation with the wheelchair, the real tale that people live out every day is much more complex. While there is a certain reliance and affection for the wheelchair, and many other amenities used by disabled persons, there is still struggle. There is a struggle to trust the instrument and the struggle to learn to be at peace without it. In the end, a disabled person is more than the tools they use to help interact with the world. This is the important message I learned at this performance. The inclusivity of the performance did not end on stage, though. Part of the performance was the beta-testing of a program designed by Kinetic Lights member, Laurel Lawson (who was also one of the dancers) to enhance the experience of the performance for blind persons. One of the coolest things I saw was the excitement of at least two of the audience members who were wheelchair-bound. It helped me see the lives that this type of inclusivity touched, and why it is so important to share the stories of those with disabilities.

A Personal Take on Moved by the Motion

This is a review of Moved by the Motion by Wu Tsang and Boychild. A little backstory on this piece and the authors behind it, Moved by the Motion is a play that tells a story through the use of various multimedia. The play incorporates text, movement, film, theater, and music in order to tell this story while keeping a sense of improv to narrate the story.

                The piece starts out in silence in a dark room until this silence is broken by a video. The video was perhaps there to introduce the viewer or at least give a sense of what the story might be about. Keep in mind that throughout this piece the story is never given to you. In fact, the story is very ambiguous and by the end of the play, the viewer is left trying to piece together a meaning to it all. After this video music plays and the two main characters are introduced running from side to side in a very peculiar manner often falling to the ground and moving along the ground. Meanwhile, a prerecorded video of the same actors moving in strange manners seen from different perspectives is seen from the projectors. This gave a really interesting effect giving the actors a sense of superposition and demonstrated a form of live illusion. Soon after the third actor came to light and started to speak in riddles. She spoke as if she was trying to tell a story but said it in such a way that it was near impossible to comprehend without a full analysis of the spoken words. Soon after she collapses and the actors start to run up a ramp right in the center of the stage and jump off falling backward behind the ramp. This continues for a while until the actors move off the stage laying right in front of the audience. They start to roll around and share this form of intimacy with one another and this is where I’ll stop since soon after the play ends.

                So as stated above the story incorporates various methods of multimedia taking a very Avant-Garde approach to storytelling. But with so much going on and the authors clearly trying to keep the story as ambiguous as possible what does the viewer make of it all. Given the form this story takes it would not be a surprise if my take on the piece is entirely different from someone else’s but perhaps this is what the Author wanted. What I saw was the cycle of life. The video was a brief historical wrap up of life up until now and the deranged dancing was a representation of the struggle of navigating life. The actors climbing up the ramp and falling could be a representation of death and how it can’t be avoided. The narrator’s ambiguous story might represent the story of life and how it’s not always so simple. And towards the end perhaps the meaning of life lies within the relationships we build with one another. Overall this play was different and the story was not linear but by the end of the play I would be lying if I said I left without thinking.

Sonification Review

I went into Chris Chafte’s lecture on Sonification expecting a primarily experimental music focus without much use for the concept in practice.  What I experienced though was quite the opposite.  Chris started his talk with the start of his own career at the CCRMA, or “Karma” as it’s commonly referred to, at Stanford.  This was a great pick for the start of his lecture because it allowed us to understand the concepts of Sonification with less complicated examples at first.  He explained that Sonification is the process of taking some data, it could be something as simple as a person’s steps to get to work, and assigning different variables different sounds.  Then the magic comes when these sounds are combined to create the final dataset. 

The first example he showed us was created by one of his colleagues at CCRMA where they took a game of “Towers of Hanoi” and used a percussive beat to signify each move.  As the game progressed the beats increased in tempo and then eventually died off as the game came to an end.  Even though the lecture started with a small foray into the world of Sonification, it wasn’t till now that I was able to understand and appreciate the idea.  I enjoyed knowing what I was listening to, and having some background information before I heard the data.

My main question of Sonification’s use in data analyzing came when Chris talked about how it is used in medical science.  Currently there are people working with Sonification in hospitals to diagnose and treat people with seizures in much faster time period than a standard EKG and operate.  Chris explained that a standard EKG can take up to 30 minutes to process and return results to help doctors properly treat the patient, at which time it could be too late.  Now though there is a system where the doctor can use a sensor array around the patient’s head to, in real time, hear the person’s heart rate and neurons firing.  Another example of an application where Sonification has had a major impact on the scientists’ ability to read data is actually in the Arctic circles.  Researchers are extracting long cores of ice from the polar ice caps to analyze the air bubbles trapped within them.  This data is then changed into a form that the scientists can hear to analyze the atmospheric aspects of the air bubble.  This second example was more confusing for me, I didn’t quite see the use of Sonification here. 

The coolest application, in my opinion, was how some researchers were able to digitally create the sound from the Hagia Sofia.  They went to the famous concert hall and popped a balloon to record how the sound traveled through the space.  Then they took that data and were, in real time, able to digitally recreate the correct the echo in a studio.  This is amazing to me, because I’ve always preferred seeing live concerts because the sound is much fuller, and this could be the answer to this. 

I left the lecture quite interested in Sonification as a whole, but mainly this last point.  I’m curious if, in the future, we will see some recording studios using this technology to make records that sound live but aren’t to get that distinct difference in sound.

- Zachary Schaller

November 1, 2018

Sonification

Sonification - EMPAC 11-01-2018

Chris Chafe's lecture on Sonification took on a new aspect of art, combining technology, science, and music together to express data.  Chafe coined the term sonification while working at the Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA). 

Chafe’s began his lecture discussing an entertainment piece centered around the data of carbon dioxide levels of ripening tomatoes.  Chafe used computer-generated algorithms to create a mapping strategy of the amount of carbon dioxide produced by the tomatoes and the amount of light (that ran through the gallery) on the tomatoes over time.  Fifteen channels were to interpret data, creating a sci-fi like soundtrack that encompassed listeners from all angles, causing the listener to feel immersed within the music.  This computer-generated music is unlike anything I have ever heard, consisting of pulsing beats with reverbing sounds.  At the end of the large build-up of increasing tones and pulsing of beats, the music dies off, representing the fully ripened tomato.  Ironically, the tomatoes are used to make tomato sauce for a full multimedia approach.

            There was an extremely eye-opening moment when Chafe discussed the ice drilling in Antarctica that detects climate change.  Using bubbles inside ice cores, one could look at different indicators of climate change.  The Eemian period was a period of time before the last ice age that was about 5 to 10 degrees warmer than current day.  This high temperature, an effect of global warming, caused the Earth to plunge into a deep Ice Age, giving scientists an analog of what the future looks like and the oncoming ice age.  Chafe took the bubble data, showing the rising and falling of the Earth’s CO2 and created a multitoned piece.  The right ear gave sound to changes in carbon dioxide concentrations and the left ear gave sound to temperature.  The higher the pitch, the higher the concentration/temperature.  One was able to appreciate the changing time periods, as the onset of the 1900’s cause for a rapid increase of pitch and tempo in both ears, a terrifying realization of our polluted world.

            My personal favorite demonstration of data presented used data from the DNA sequencing of a plasmid, pairing different tones with different nucleotide identities.  The piece had a voice-over on top of the soundtrack, identifying what part of the plasmid correlated to which sounds.  For a background, a plasmid is a piece of circular DNA in which it contains a promoter, a set of genes, and a terminator.   As one goes around the DNA, the data identifies which nucleotide (ATCG) is present.  During the piece, one could hear the sound travel around the room in a circle, just as the DNA sequence of a plasmid did.  The sound created was very plunky and decisive as one could hear each individual nucleotide.  After a couple of minutes, the data moved from nucleotides to codons, as one could here three specific codons that could code for a protein sequence.  I just found this extremely interesting as it combined music and biology, two fields one does not usually correlate. 

            Overall, I enjoyed the lecture series/presentation of sonification and would like to explore more into the idea of using sound to express an idea.  

"If it Bleeds" by Isabelle Pauwels Review

               If it Bleeds, a satire by Isabelle Pauwels is a commentary on the current state of the MMA world and subsequent industry that it has become. While fighting has always been a spectator sport, the UFC, at least in founding stood far apart from contemporaries such as wrestling and boxing by way of higher skill requirements and less spectacle, a true pure modern gladiator fight. Not every part of the movie made complete sense to me, as there were many references I did not notice, there were plenty of things I did understand and find humorous. One such example was the Connor McGregor impersonation serving as a foil for one of the examples of overblown ego in the current UFC and how it has become a custom in the UFC for people to have massive personalities. While people love to watch fights, unfortunately, a clash of personas is able to draw in more hype around an event, which is able to subsequently earn more revenue. In other cases, the fighters simply act as buffoons in order continue their careers. This was seen in the case of the “fighter” who was being interrogated by the commission. To all his questions, all he said was “fifth amendment,” making an infamous spectacle out of the process. I later went back and found the actual questioning and discovered that Pauwels essentially did not change a single part of the dialogue, and by placing it into the setting of the movie, was able to highlight just how ridiculous it was.

               As for the actual way the movie was put together, the jump cuts to me seemed to be extremely jarring, which was possibly the point. And the overlaid deep voicing that was used frequently made me think that the movie was trying to be serious in its message. This caused me to put up a slight mental guard while watching it, as no matter what, MMA is an industry just like anything else, and money must be made. I did not realize the lighthearted nature of the film until the credits, where the voice of Pauwels came through directly. Along with this, I did not understand the opening imagery of the pile of bricks that was shown. If I’m being honest, a lot of my dislike of the film came from the abstract elements or references I was unable to understand, and the references that I did know were enjoyable. So a good bit of the reason I did not enjoy the film as much as I could have lies with me. However, I also feel that the abstract nature of the film plays to its benefit as the subtle jokes and word play allowed me to think about them and the nature of the movie, increasing the amount of interaction and investment I had in the film. It kept me engaged and intrigued even though I did not outright enjoy the film. The fact that Pauwels refused to hold our hands throughout the movie by spoon-feeding us obvious punch lines and set ups is a credit to her mastery in film. If it Bleeds was a spectacularly brainy take on a brawny subject matter that allowed us to view MMA through a lens other than ESPN and pay-per-view specials.

If It Bleeds Review

“If It Bleeds” Review      

Phoebe Brackett

              “If It Bleeds” is likely a reference to the phrase, “If it bleeds, it leads” [1]. This phrase refers to the idea that “if a story involves a brutal death or injury of some kind (or the likelihood of it), it is likely to get higher ratings” [1]. Such a concept could be extended to other types of negative news, such as scandals and gossip. In this way, the aforementioned film encompasses both literal bleeding (that which occurs in the MMA fight itself) and figurative bleeding (that which is caused by scandal). The peanut gallery’s habit of gnawing away at a celebrity’s image is, indeed, a form of bloodlust. After all, the public loves the brutality and grit of a bloody fight—yet a bleeding reputation is so much sweeter. 

              Two instances of public scandal in the film are drug use and defeat. For instance, the film shows people on their phones, reacting to the news that one of the fighters was caught using drugs. One of them calls him a bad guy; they seem to be holding back a laugh. Further, a man the fighter that everyone hates him, and urges the people on their phones to take part in the hatred. In a later scene, the fighter apologizes. Yet nearby commenters mock him and tell him that he sounds fake. This mockery sharply contrasts with the fighter’s apparent emotional pain. It is almost surreal to witness the juxtaposition between one person’s turmoil and the spectators who see that turmoil as an entertaining joke. Another fighter, who has the reputation of being ‘tough,’ loses a fight. This begs the question: which is worse for the fighter, the defeat itself or the resulting humiliation? In response to her defeat, a woman tells the fighter to explain herself and apologize. She complies, but begins to cry. It is as if her ‘tough’ image is crumbling. It is her downfall—a downfall which the spectators gobble up ravenously. Nearby spectators (including the woman) watch her and make snide comments, seemingly amused. Once again, there is a contrast between the fighter and the spectators. If those same people saw someone crying in real life, they would likely comfort them. However, the crying fighter is in the public eye. Thus, she is not seen as a person ‘in real life;’ all of the fighters in this film are treated as pieces of media which emit ‘entertainment.’ In this way, the audience is perhaps urged to reflect on their own opinions of those in the public eye.

              The film itself feels unreal, as if it takes place in nightmarish funhouse. The shots seem fast and blunt. This is fitting, as it matches up with the seemingly shallow, one-dimensional judgements carried out by the public and the media. Further, the ‘trippy,’ awkward dialogue alludes to a duplicitous reality. For example, a woman removes her wig and instructs the fighters to cry and throw shoes—thus alluding to the phrase “if it bleeds, it leads.” Ultimately, “If It Bleeds” is a film which uses simple (yet clownish) props and haunting personalities to illustrate the theatrical performance created by MMA fighting. 

Sources:

1. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IfItBleedsItLeads

Sagittarius A, An Introspection of a Star’s Lifespan

The scene is set as the audience pours into the EMPAC Concert Hall on a Friday night. Strips of cloth hang from the ceiling and converge in the center of the stage as the lights begin to dim. From the cloth pile emerges a woman named Ana (Jennifer Payan) who begins to dance as the narrator begins to recount the story of the goddess Sagittarius A. The story follows that Sagittarius A was consumed by a wolf who was jealous of her power and that pieces of her body collected together and formed our galaxy. The on stage performance is interrupted by a lecturer, Dr. Amalia (Catherine Correa), entering from the back of the hall to give us a presentation about the lifespan and death of a star and the resulting birth of a galaxy. There are many parallels between the description of a star, the story of Sagittarius A and Ana and the feminist undertones are clear. Close up shots of Ana’s body and an instance of Ana being catcalled during the film drive home the message that the star is a woman and her death is caused by her objectification.

The techniques “Sagittarius A.” uses to communicate the story are avant garde in nature. Certain instances of the performance included live video projected on the front screen of events occurring behind us. Throughout the performance, our (the audience) focus is brought to different areas of the concert hall: the ceiling showing a projection of Ana’s hair as it whips back and forth emulating a black hole, the front stage as we observe Ana dance and Dr. Amalia inform, and the back of the room as we watch Ana dart through the seats of the upper row. The entire concert hall is the stage and medium of this performance and adds to the overall immersive aspect of this multimedia experience. Characters interact with the audience and in one instance, we are called upon to turn on our flashlights to simulate the creation of the galaxy, allowing for us as viewers to become part of the act itself. The performance incorporates strobe lights and harnesses connected to sheets of cloth to emphasize the majesty and power of the character, Sagittarius A, as she runs to the front of the stage causing the cloth to blow forward as if pushed by a giant gust of wind. The music varies as it switches from a resounding otherworldly sound composed of instruments like the piano, violin, and saxophone to a folk like tune with acoustic guitar and vocals during lighter moments to the grungy riffs of an electric guitar present in the “wolf” scenes. I was personally shocked when I realized that there was a live band playing throughout the performance and even during the pre-recorded video.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed “Sagittarius A.” to the point where I can say it is my favorite EMPAC experience to date. I loved the risks that it took and how immersive it was, a sensory overload where I was stimulated in the visual (imagery and actions displaced all around the room), auditory (the intensity of the violin and saxophone which continuously drew me in), and to a degree touch (feeling the rush of cool air from the billowing sheets as Sagittarius A moved) realms of the senses. My only issue with “Sagittarius A.” is that I think it could have been even more immersive. During the production, I struggled to locate where the next part of the performance would occur and found myself craning my head in all different directions to view what was going on. A possible solution for this is to allow the audience to move around (especially during the parts that incorporated the upper level seats in the back) as opposed to being restricted to their seats as events occur around them. There could also be some visual or auditory cues to help the viewer find the right area to look at. It would also be interesting to incorporate other senses like smell (maybe the scent of pine or wood for the video scenes in the forest) into the performance to bring the audience deeper into the experience.