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DAN GORELICK

Developer | Technologist | Engineer

SFPC Showcase

A finale for an amazing 10 weeks

SFPC was an incredible experience. The final show for featured finished projects and works-in-progress created over the course of the 10 weeks.

These are works I presented at the show:

Counterpoint Instrument

Counterpoint is an instrument which transforms drawn lines into musical note patterns. The melodies are visualized on a projection where colored circles represent the patterns drawn, following the sequence in a sinusoidal path. Players can draw lines on an iPad which rests on a music stand in front of the projection, or can add additional voices on their mobile devices.

Counterpoint

Drawn lines are transformed into musical patterns.

The piece celebrates collaboration between players to create more complex melodies comprised of multiple, concurrent note sequences.

The player views and the visualization are web applications, and a Node.js server connects all of the pieces using websockets. The sounds are generated by SuperCollider, which interfaces with the server using Open Sound Control (OSC).

demo of the work

ATC Soundscape

ATC Soundscape

Visitors hear live air traffic chatter from JFK or LAX

An austere table has two pairs of vintage headphones on a stand. Above it are two incandescent bulbs, and two clocks with red airport codes beneath– each clock with the respective time from the airport. Playing through the headphones– is an immersive soundscape of sounds blended with live radio feeds from air traffic control towers. A switch in front of the table toggles between the feeds from different airports. 

ATC Soundscape2

The sounds are procedurally generated using SuperCollider, while the ATC radio is accessed via internet streams. A microcontroller changes the stations, and lights the bulb above the clock of the active channel’s airport.

The piece creates a space for the listener to reflect– while being acutely aware of the present. The instructions for the visitors are to “stop reading this, relax, and listen.”

Venmo Strips

Comic strip example

Three-panel comic strips are created by combining Venmo transactions with Cyanide and Happiness frames.

Generates randomized three-panel comic strips using the most-recent Venmo transaction messages. Visitors can select to choose to re-randomize all or a specific panel. Created comic strips can be saved by printing it onto a receipt to take away.

The interface is a web application, and the Venmo transactions are accessed by tweaking query paramters on the Venmo’s public API. A Raspberry Pi interfaces with a receipt printer to print the finished comic strips.

The goal of the project is to create new (sometimes comical) narratives.

Comic strip example

An example comic strip created by a guest at the show.

fin