Design

   The objective was to create an installation that connects spaces. I created a system in MAX/MSP that uses a camera as a sensor. Every time it senses a person entering the room, it will randomly select and play an audio clip from the file library. An experience cycle is 6 minutes and 30 seconds long. After the current session, it will reset itself and start a second cycle from the very beginning. It is a relatively long cycle, especially when people are listening to ambient noise. People are expected to get bored and leave, and this is one of the designated purposes of the work–only the people that are patient enough and are genuinely enjoying the experience can hear the transformation between spaces.

 

    To make this an immersive experience, the audio had to be in a surround sound format. I used ambient sounds I recorded as the base and added some sound design details into the audio. For example, I mixed random conversations into one of the coffee shop clips, as well as some traffic sounds into outdoor clips.  After finishing the mixing of the audio clips, I decided to create a second layer of space transformation. During the session, the sound transits from one space to the other. Between the sound transition, there are designed sound effects that connect the spaces, which also hints at the changing of time and space. It can be an airplane flying over, a train passing by or even a police car siren sounding.

 

    Since this project is about an auditorial experience, the space in which people will have the experience is a vital element. Initially, when I described the project as a movie without the picture, I naturally thought about movie theaters. But after infusing John Cage's concepts, I decided that the audience needed to be able to move around the space freely. By creating an empty dark room, I could remove all the things which might be distractions. I wanted the room to be made of concrete walls and a wooden floor (not for acoustic reasons, but to engender a feeling of cold and warm materials combined). Cold concrete walls give users an unsafe sense, but at the same time, the wooden floor they walk on will give them enough comfort to stay.

 

    Another important trait for the room is that I wanted it to be very dark, so the user’s sense of alert will be activated. I think most people have had this experience. You’re late for a movie, and you rush into the theater from the super bright hallway. It suddenly becomes super dark, and the movie has already started. You slow down your pace trying to get used to the darkness; in the meantime, you hear the sound of the movie and you know exactly what is happening on the screen because your brain started to generating the pictures for you, even though you haven’t seen it yet.

 

    In this setup, the audience will go through a few psychological steps. First, they will feel unsafe when they first step into this very dark room. Second, they will feel confused when they get used to the darkness, then they will try to understand the situation. Third, they will notice what is being played when they realize that it is sound from some unknown places.  At this stage, they will start to walk around and listen to the details. Fourth, people will find the details and think they understand what these details are. Lastly, people will be surprised when they experience the transformation of spaces.