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From: mayer@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM (Niels Mayer)
Newsgroups: comp.music
Subject: Re: dancing midi
Message-ID: <5129@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM>
Date: 12 Apr 90 00:39:14 GMT
References: <1542@amethyst.math.arizona.edu> <3154@astroatc.UUCP> <7710@hydra.gatech.EDU> <9003@chaph.usc.edu> <7947@inco.UUCP>
Reply-To: mayer@hplabs.hp.com (Niels Mayer)
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Labs, Software Technology Lab, Palo Alto, CA.
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Speaking of dancing music... I came across a neato system at the recent CHI
conference in Seattle. David Rokeby's "Very Nervous system" is a
video-to-midi system that has been used for turning dancer's movements into
sound. It was also used in the Supercussion sessions at Hypermidia in
(Vancouver, Canada 3/5+6/89) which permitted quadriplegic musicians to
perform live on stage...

I must have spent about 2 hours in the system galumphing and lurching
around. His system was really fun to "play" -- much more fun than playing a
keyboard itself. (Esp. because I'm mostly a bass player, not a keyboardist
-- I'm all-thumbs on a keyboard if I have to play in real-time).

Unlike the systems described in previous articles in this newsgroup,
Rokeby's system makes no contact with the person "playing" the music.
Instead, there's a video camera that captures images in real time and a box
that magically transforms the video into MIDI. A Macintosh then processes
the MIDI into "musical themes" and that is sent to a roland S-330 sampler
for output. Your body and hand movements infront of the video camera
controlled the musical themes being played.

I was impressed. I want one at home for parties. The Grateful Dead (flames
to /dev/null, please) should use this on stage during "space" -- have the
audience movements become space.

For more info, contact:
	David Rokeby
	349a Spadina Ave.
	Toronto, Ontario
	M5T 2G3

tel (416) 596-1428.


PS: I'll let someone less tired than I write up something about "The
Interactive Experience" show at CHI. It included a video about Rokeby's
supercussion exploits, various live performances, etc. Alas, I lost the
info sheet on who played. The only name I remember is Roger Dannenberg, who
did a piece for trumpet accompanied by
trumpet-->IVLPitchrider-->Midi-->Computer-->Synth+Video.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	    Niels Mayer -- hplabs!mayer -- mayer@hplabs.hp.com
		  Human-Computer Interaction Department
		       Hewlett-Packard Laboratories
			      Palo Alto, CA.
				   *