#datanoise

We will explore various methods to detect and remove data noise from datasets, helping businesses make informed decisions based on reliable data.

After creating the instruments I needed to pick the data people would be reacting to. 

After having my tutorial I decided to go with an angle inspired by classical musical. My first thought was to mimic Vivaldi’s 4 seasons and pick the livestreams so there would be one for summer, spring etc but after I started to look at different livestreams available around the world I was only able to find a small amount that fit my criteria. They needed to be places that are busy, but not overwhelmingly so, have daylight at the time of the presentation and not be too zoomed out as we need to be able to see the people somewhat clearly. After find 5 or 6 that fit this criteria I selected 3 that all had something in common : Tourists.

From there the ‘Three Tourists’ was born. My next step was to watch the streams roughly at the same time of day the presentation would be at and note down key happenings, common behaviours, patterns of dress etc that I could use as trigger events. I then matched these behaviours to instruments and sounds. I tried to play with tempo and volume as well as different way of playing each instrument to make sure the end result would be textured and dynamic.

It was then time to design the instructions. As I was going with a classical music theme I added ‘concerto’ onto the end of the title as this is a piece of music that typically has 3 movements following a fast-slow-fast pattern. I wrote out instructions for the person conducting the project and decided 2 minutes per movement would be sufficient time for people to experience the project. Design wise I went with brown paper to match the DIY aesthetic of the instruments - some of which are wooden and a sans serif typeface as I copied the conventions of sheet music. I then used copper tape to bind the front and back page and create a sort of folder for the loose pieces of paper. The same copper tape is used on each instrument to create a visual link between all the elements.

Here are the completed musical instrument prototypes.

I decided to use found objects after going to B&Q and seeing how expensive raw materials were.

However in a way by using found objects the concept is more rounded as I am using things from the street to play music generated by people on the street.

Workshops 

On Thursday we had a workshop in which we started of my constructing vibration conductors out of coat hangers and string which produced a strange gong effect when held to your ears. I thought this was super cool and it got me thinking about vibrations made by sound,

This made me think of this video which demonstrates the Chladni effect using fine sand on a vibrating metal plate. The higher the frequency of the vibrations the more complex the pattern appears.

Visual artist Jeff Louviere became inspired to conduct their own experiments to see what sound could look like. Using the same technique but slightly different materials the resulting work became Resonantia, with one image for each of the the 12 musical notes.

http://louviereandvanessa.com/recent/photographs.php

I think its interesting to see how the same experiment can produce different such results just based on material choice.

We then went on record our own vibrations and sounds using both stereo and Piezo microphones - then took these noises out of context to reimagine them as other sounds. This was a fun experiment and reminded me of Cevdet Erek work Shore Scene Soundtrack an interactive project where viewers are invited to recreate the sound of the ocean by rubbing their hands on a piece of carpet.

My initial thoughts on the brief were on the question of silence, the lack of sound.

Where can we experience true silence? How loud does something need to be for us to hear it?

I did some research and found this interesting video about Anechonic (latin for no-echo) Chamber in Minneapolis which is an extremely sound proof room. They cover the inside of the room in foam wedges that absorb all soundwaves. Some people cannot stand to be in the room for very long and some have even experienced sound hallucinations as their brain tries to compensate for the noise that isn’t there. After being in the chamber for a while you can hear your own heart beat, the blood rushing in your brain and every tiny sound such as your mouth moving.

On the same topic I was reminded of   4′33″  by John Cage which he composed in 1952. The score tells the performers not to play their instruments for 4 minutes and 33 seconds. The piece consists of the sounds of the environment that the listeners hear while it is performed. This was the epitome of his idea that any sound can count as music.

After this I started to think about what the quietest place in london is? Where is there the expectation of silence? 

Places of worship, Libraries, Cemeteries come to mind as silent places - but you only have to think of the LCC library with it’s single glazing and position next to a massive roundabout to realise its far from silent - to the point where there is a separate glass cube “ultra silent section”.