Abstract
The work in the present article is primarily motivated by a desire for intimate and expressive control over creative processes implemented in real-time performance software. We seek a manner of control that offers a “low entry fee with no ceiling on virtuosity”, allows expressive control of musical and visual control structures (Wessel and Wright 2001); and like many colleagues, we believe that the answer is in enriching the approach to mapping (see (Winkler 1995), (Rovan, Wanderley et al. 1997), (Arfib, Courturier et al. 2002), (Hunt, Wanderly et al. 2002)). Our notion of a dynamic independent visual mapping layer concerns any independent system with Time-Variable behavior that takes data-input from the user and produces output to drive audio/video synthesis. This modification can be a change of dimensionality as well as what is commonly considered “mapping”: changes in numerical ranges, interpretation of “triggers” for setting off events and mathematical analysis and modification of the input, be they one-to-one, convergent, or divergent (Rovan, Wanderley et al. 1997). This modification, however, can be more complex if the mapping system is dynamic, that is, it changes over time. Notably, the internal behavior of the system can produce output variation without variation in the user input. The system is visual because first, we choose mapping spaces that have clear graphical foundations. In the case of our two examples, mass-spring physical models and interpolations systems in perceptual spaces, both have clear visual interpretations that we believe are a significant strength of this approach.
Citation
Ali Momeni, Cyrille Henry. Dynamic Independent Mapping Layers. Computer Music Journal, 30:1. 2005.