Dynamic Lighting for Tension in Games

Video and computer games are among the most complex forms of interactive media. Games simulate many elements of traditional media, such as plot, characters, sound and music, lighting and mise-en-scene. However, games are digital artifacts played through graphic interfaces and controllers. As interactive experiences, games are a host of player challenges ranging from more deliberate decision-making and problem solving strategies, to the immediate charge of reflex action. Games, thus, draw upon a unique mix of player resources, contributing to what Lindley refers to as the "game-play gestalt", "a particular way of thinking about the game state from the perspective of a player, together with a pattern of repetitive perceptual, cognitive, and motor operations" (Lindley, 2003)

DigitalBeing – Using the Environment as an Expressive Medium for Dance

Dancers express their feelings and moods through gestures and body movements. We seek to extend this mode of expression by dynamically and automatically adjusting music and lighting in the dance environment to reflect the dancer’s arousal state. Our intention is to offer a space that performance artists can use as a creative tool that extends the grammar of dance. To enable the dynamic manipulation of lighting and music, the performance space will be augmented with several sensors: physiological sensors worn by a dancer to measure her arousal state, as well as pressure sensors installed in a floor mat to track the dancers’ locations and movements. Data from these sensors will be passed to a three layered architecture. Layer 1 is composed of a sensor analysis system that analyzes and synthesizes physiological and pressure sensor signals. Layer 2 is composed of intelligent systems that adapt lighting and music to portray the dancer’s arousal state. The intelligent on-stage lighting system dynamically adjusts on-stage lighting direction and color. The intelligent virtual lighting system dynamically adapts virtual lighting in the projected imagery. The intelligent music system dynamically and unobtrusively adjusts the music. Layer 3 translates the high-level adjustments made by the intelligent systems in layer 2 to appropriate lighting board, image rendering, and audio box commands. In this paper, we will describe this architecture in detail as well as the equipment and control systems used

Listen to Nice

In describing Humphrey Jennings’ wartime documentary propaganda film, 'Listen to Britain' (1942), a film with an overtly poetic sensibility and dominantly musical soundtrack, John Corner asserts that ‘through listening to Britain, we are enabled to properly look at it'. This idea of sound leading our attention to the images has underpinned much of the collaborative work between composer and sound designer, Geoffrey Cox, and documentary filmmaker, Keith Marley. It is in this context that the article will analyse an extract of A Film About Nice (Marley and Cox 2010), a contemporary re-imagining of Jean Vigo’s silent documentary, 'A propos de Nice' (1930). Reference will be made throughout to the historical context, and the filmic and theoretical influences that have informed the way music and creative sound design have been used to place emphasis on hearing a place, as much as seeing it

Aesthetic potential of human-computer interaction in performing arts

Human-computer interaction (HCI) is a multidisciplinary area that studies the communication between users and computers. In this thesis, we want to examine if and how HCI when incorporated into staged performances can generate new possibilities for artistic expression on stage. We define and study four areas of technology-enhanced performance that were strongly influenced by HCI techniques: multimedia expression, body representation, body augmentation and interactive environments. We trace relevant artistic practices that contributed to the exploration of these topics and then present new forms of creative expression that emerged after the incorporation of HCI techniques. We present and discuss novel practices like: performer and the media as one responsive entity, real-time control of virtual characters, on-body projections, body augmentation through humanmachine systems and interactive stage design. The thesis concludes by showing some concrete examples of these novel practices implemented in performance pieces. We present and discuss technologyaugmented dance pieces developed during this master’s degree. We also present a software tool for aesthetic visualisation of movement data and discuss its application in video creation, staged performances and interactive installations

The application of traditional abstract painting in new media environments

This thesis presents an investigation into the process of new fonns of installation art; an exploration of the shifting of artistic activities from conventional studios and fine artist practices to installation art practices. A combined approach was taken whilst undertaking research by studying literature within the field, engaging with other practicing artists and conducting practical analysis. There is also a discussion of new technology in the field of abstract expressionist painting and a dialogue on the differences between traditional and digital abstract painting with regard to their processes. The reflective and issue finding processes undertaken by the researcher in this investigation are discussed in relation to the changes in his practice. The artist's experimentation with materials and processes and the implications of this as regards the relationship between the artwork and the viewer are also discussed. The thesis is divided into seven chapters of text and images with an accompanying DVD including the main abstract new media installation. The first chapter includes an introduction to the research with the methodology . applied. The second chapter involves using the computer to produce abstract painting. The third chapter then focuses on the differences between digital .and traditional abstract painting. Moving on from this the fourth chapter covers multimedia installation and its associated processes. The fifth chapter deals with the reflections on the practice element of this investigation. The sixth chapter engages with the evaluation of and feedback from the field trip and with notes from artists with regard to practical production. The final chapter draws conclusions from this research with suggestions for further studies. This thesis will make the following contributions to knowledge: developing the process of animation from 2D abstract painting to a 3D environment with the inclusion of animation; using new technology as a creative tool to enable artists to gain new insights into creative art practices which provide audiences with new experiences of new and multimedia installation; advancing the creative process of new and multimedia artworks taking account ofnew techniques relating to the manipulation of viewpoints, picture planes and pigment surface as related to traditional methods of image creation and recording and their new media counterparts.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo