Output details

PORTFOLIO: Music Composition as an Act of Cognition

Article: Music Composition as an Act of Cognition ENACTIV – Interactive Multimodal Composing System (journal article)

Software: ENACTIV v2.0, Interactive Multimodal Composition System (2011) published under the GPL license by Cycling 74’, http://cycling74.com/toolbox/spasov-enactiv/

ENACTIV is a MaxMSP/Jitter application published under the GNU–GPL license by Cycling74. It addresses the issue of converting expressive sonic and kinetic gestures into continuous variables for driving sound synthesis and processing in real-time interactive composition, offering possible solutions. The physical gestures are captured by a camcorder directly facing the user. The system tracks the position of the torso, limbs and head against predefined zones, and variables are generated each time a hand, head or an object with a specified colour and luminosity appears or disappears in a zone or moves within it. Further, the direction, momentary position, angular displacement, velocity, acceleration and locus (angle and magnitude) of the tracked part’s movement are calculated and scaled for further use. Parameter mapping is organised into pathways representing the user’s choice, each with its own expressive level (mapping sensitivity) and a controllable degree of randomness. These pathways allow for cross-mapping between the video and audio data, and define how the incoming values will be evaluated and executed. The system’s outputs can be controlled by combining voice fluctuations and hand movements. For example, when whispering that gradually evolves into vowel-rich speech or singing is accompanied by a simple fast-paced hands-up gesture, an evolving contrapuntal texture is generated and ‘coloured’ by different spectral variations depending on the direction of the hands’ movement. Also, fast changes between high- and low-pitched vocal sounds as well as between whispering and singing generate sharper contrast at the system’s output: as a general rule, louder sound and angular fast physical gestures create more complex and varied sonic output. A detailed description of ENACTIVE is provided in the article.