i already gave you an overview of temporal interference (ti), so let me share with you how i engage with interface works, and a little of my experience playing with the ti installation.
mapping: i always begin my mapping out the interface, transcriptions (how an input is re-written to a new output) and the choreographic / conceptual ideas. this usually requires asking lots if different people questions, especially if multiple choreographers and programmers are working on a single project. i make notes at the end of the day for reference using yed, with the generic java version (on my usb stick) so i’m fully cross platform (windows, osx, unix / linux) which is useful given that range of operating systems i’m exposed to. once i have the map worked out, i commit it to memory.
texturising: once i have the map, i texturise it in my body and mind, the textures have patterns which reveal the connections to other locations. essentially it is a textured and colored perceptual score so objects that are blue might all draw on data from a specfic sensor (e.g. the pitch antenna). i visualize the map as a room, similar in structure to the installation and a costume for me which is vastly different form what i will actually be wearing. in the performance i shift between the map, and the real physical context. as most installations are not truly interactive, interpret specific system outputs (on a performance by performance basis) as tuning score calls (play, pause, reverse, shift, replace, open-close, reduce, mirror, speed up-slow down, end). so a particular visual event (green flashing) might cause me to repeat the last 5 secs of material.
with ti, i was able to deduce the basic mapping of the system drawing on my prior experience of similar works. the transcriptions are quite simple and seemed to be basic max-msp patches, but i kind of liked that. the simplicity made it much simpler to map and texture. what i found slightly frustrating (as i noted before) is that the sensitivity and replicability of action in the interface were very limited. when watching the performance there were moments when the dancers seemed to be equally frustrated in their attempts to trigger the interface. the performance work itself was highly choreographed, which is not a problem except that i didn’t feel the choreographer or dancers really understood what they were working with.
i think its when artists don’t understand the performance systems they used that the old conflict between technology and humans issue arises. humans are at one with tools and technology, our development and evolution over time has been dependent on tools, and exploited tools. technologies are integral to human life, be the low-tech (fire) or high tech (silicon chips).
doug posted to say he will interview the creative team behind ti, i’d also like to hear from one of the dancers, then he would have a girl to interview!
if you want a basic explanation of ti try ti 4 n00bs.
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