/*


110207

Log of changes after discussion with Yoni


- Graphical and compositional


  - I rearranged the layout:


    0                                   640

    +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ 720

    | Polyphonic typing (CharWindow)                                        |

    +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ 480

    | Table of impulse wave frequencies | Table of glitch frequencies       |

    +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ 240

    | Parsed messages (MsgWindow)                                           |

    +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ 0


  - I hid the public MsgWindow clock.

  - I got rid of table labels in FreqTablesWindow.

  - ConductorWindow now sends parsed messages to the public screen for display.

  - I got rid of time-perception-warping public messages (save for another piece).

  - I got rid of KeyboardWindow (save for another piece).

  - CharWindow takes KeyboardWindow's place.  It receives messages from Typers

    and each player's CodingWindow.

  - Player number (0 - 7) now appears in the prompt.

    Messages from the conductor are numberless.

  - The ConductorWindow now interprets malformed messages as messages for the group,

    which it sends immediately. (Display these publicly)?


- Technical


  - I fixed OSC messaging problems.  The basic model is this:


    - sender: use the NetAddr of the receiver.

    - receiver: set up an OSCResponderNode with the NetAddr of the sender.


110217


- Added display variables for easier projection setup.

- Fixed a bug that was preventing the public MsgWindow (lower part of the display)

  from displaying properly in projection mode.

- Changed CodingWindow color for better legibility.

  The cursor and highlight colors are set by OSX, not SuperCollider.

  You can set the highight color in "System Preferences/Appearance".

  As far as I can tell, there's no easy way to change the cursor color

  from black, so I changed the window's background color to green instead.

- Replaced "Scheduled a sound event" with more helpful messages.

  now the players will see whether they're turning their synth on or off, or

  changing the frequency.



110226: e-mail to Jeff


Hi Jeff,


Hope you're having a good trip.  I forget which conference you're at (brain space is scarce these days), but think you're presenting one of your instruments: how's it going?


So I came down to Princeton on Thursday for the PLOrk rehearsal.  I was excited to hear the piece in action!  I'd love to visit again, maybe close to the performances at the end of April.  I have many comments, most of which I communicated to the ensemble.  If you'd prefer to go over them on the phone instead of reading them, that's fine too. . . let me know.


1. Technicalities


a. Projection


The left margin isn't visible on the projection screen.  Try tweaking the display variables to accommodate this.  If your laptop screen and the projection screen are both 1280 pixels wide, try setting


thisScreenWidth: 1290,

projectionScreenWidth: 1270,


which will cheat the left margin of the projection 10 pixels to the right.  You can cheat more if necessary.


How big will the projection screen be in the performance?  I want people to be able to read the characters, so I may need to make them larger.  Alternately, you can lower the resolution of the projector, which will have the same effect.


b. Update redux


I'm attaching the updated version again; see the e-mail below for details on the interface tweaks.  All the players should now be using this version; an easy way to check is the color of the typing field.


c. Messaging


The network messaging seems to work fine once everyone renames their computer and joins the same network.  I think a student can even reboot their server and reopen their windows in the middle of a performance if something screws up, without interfering with the other players.


Once your (the conductor's) windows are up and running, you shouldn't need to close and reopen them, but if you do, hit command-K to reboot the server (otherwise the old OSC responders will still be lurking around, and when the players type, each character will show up twice).


On to the fun stuff!


2. Aesthetics


a. Context


The players have no idea where this piece is coming from.  I recommended that they listen to La Monte Young and Ryoji Ikeda, and I'll send along some mp3s for you to distribute to them.  You may also want to show them some of Ikeda's "Formula", which you have at Firestone library (N6494.M78 I34 2004).  They may also enjoy visiting the Dream House (275 Church St., NYC: check out http://melafoundation.org/main.htm)


b. Setup


For the performance, I would like to position the speakers (and players) around the audience: more space between the speakers creates more interesting beating patterns.  I know that you're rehearsing in a small room, but even there it might be nice to spread out the players (some people in the corners, some along the walls?).  Also, they should probably sit on the floor, so they can tweak their hemi volume controls more easily.


c. Speaker settings


The players should set the subwoofer to about 80% of the max and let it be.  Hemi volume should be lower, but still quite audible, like 20% - 30%.  The players can adjust the hemi volume to highlight beatings, but they shouldn't go nuts with it; the changes should always be subtle.


d. Sound density


My main criticism of their performance was that the sound density was too consistent.  Sometimes there should be large sound masses and coordinated events among all the players (like, everyone turns their synths on or off at the same time).  Sometimes only one or two of the players should be playing, and sometimes there should be silence (even in the middle of the piece).  In general, there should be more chamber playing.


I'm not convinced the players are listening to or considering the beating of the high frequencies in addition to the low-frequency artifacts.  By thinning out the texture sometimes, the beats will emerge more clearly.  I've attached two sound files to help them listen: first, two sine waves at 4412 and 4417 Hz, for which the 5 Hz beating is relatively easy to hear; second, two impulse waves at the same frequency, for which the beating is more veiled but still present.


e. Typing


I'm inclined not to add variables or to let the players subvert the interface (by using the mute button on their Mac, copying and pasting from another program, etc.)  The awkwardness of the interface is part of the piece!  I love the furious typing, the general frustration with the limitations of the interface, and the graffiti that it produces (comments about the Matrix, emoticons, complaints about being trapped inside the computer, curses hurled at Dan Trueman and the sounds themselves, etc.).  The more graffiti the better!



That's it!  I'll send the sound files sometime this weekend.  Let me know how the conference went, and I'll talk to you soon---


Thanks---

Alex



*/


/*

 * TODO

 *

 * - Write more compositional instructions

 * - Extend the simulation

 * - Update interfaceDocs, etc. to reflect the 110207 changes

 * 

 */