For the first Collab Studio I took we focused on Speculative Design. We were put into groups and each group was given a different type of media, and asked “what would future archaeologists make of this data if they found it?” I was in a group with Alex Horton and Maria Bowman. The data that my group was given was a long song that had no words, and only electronic music. Using this song we came up with multiple ideas as to what it could mean, and ultimately landed on using it to create a topographic map. We used the story that the archeologists thought the song depicted what Columbus would have looked like, and used different parts of the song to create some potential buildings based on the different sounds we heard.
Process
During the beginning of the course we were given the song file. From there we tried different methods to try and analyze the file we were given. We listened to the song a few times to begin analyzing it and Maria started to take notes of the different types of sounds we were hearing within the song. Mekayla started gathering different deliverable ideas from Pinterest. At this point we were considering different deliverables such as 3D topographic maps, creating a pin art installation, creating a 3D wall art structure, and holograms. During this stage Alex put the song into Adobe Audition to create a Spectrogram and Mekayla put the song into AnthemScore to create a heat map of the song using the different notes. We decided that the outcomes looked like 3D maps, and that we should continue with the idea of creating a 3D topographic map.
Once we decided on our concept we started to take the notes of the different sounds that Maria found in the song and used them as prompts to put into an AI image generator to get ideas of different potential building concepts. Alex then used Touch Designer to create a 3D map using the EQ levels of the song while also using the noise to create and analyze different shapes. During this stage Mekayla created a hologram box that would later be used to display the 3D models of the buildings. Maria started the process of creating the buildings, and when Alex was finished with the 3D model of the song he helped create more of the buildings and put them all into one video with clips of the song that the buildings were inspired by. This is what we called our “Organic Filter” because the buildings were designed using human imaginations and conceptual connections. Maria used a laser cutter to cut out the different layers of the 3D model of the song in Chipboard. Once cut out, all group members worked together to glue the layers together. For the presentation we wrote a script and had the 3D model in front of us while the hologram was playing in the model.
Project Ideas Gathered
Maria’s Breakdown of the Sounds
AI Generated Images
3D Map that Alex created in TouchDesigner.
Group Member Roles:
Alex: Research, Ideation, creation of Spectrogram, creation/ 3D modeling of buildings, creation of video with sound clips/ buildings for the hologram, creating the 3D map in TouchDesigner and preparing the file to be laser cut, assembly of the 3D map, writing of the script, contributed to creating all presentations.
Maria: Research, ideation, took notes of different sounds within the song, sketches of buildings, laser cutting the 3D map model, writing of the script, assembly of the 3D map, contributed to creating all presentations.
Mekayla: Research, Ideation, creation of Heatmap, Ai generated images, building the hologram box, assembly of the 3D map, writing of the script, contributed to creating all presentations.
Final Deliverables
For the exhibition of our data, we created two physical outcomes and a performance. From the equalizer levels of the data we created a four layer chipboard topographic display, meant to represent the terrain of the ancient city. We used the sounds of the audio, their texture, pitch, and quality, and put them through organic filters- the human mind- to imagine possible buildings and features. These were then 3D modeled, animated and projected into our handmade holographic box. We presented these things in a small performance, as if we were archeologists opening a brand new exhibition.
Outcome Summary: Topographic display, hologram box, animation with audio bites and buildings, script and presentation performance.
Concept: Long ago, a city went through a digital crisis where almost all files were corrupted and only sound files survived. Now in the present day, archeologists attempt to understand the ruins of the city. Using only the sound file, we must piece together the topographical and architectural cues we believe to be hidden in the file in order to recreate small pieces of the city.