Francisco Zamorano

#TONES

#Tones - By Incredible Machines from Incredible Machines on Vimeo.

Overview

#Tones is an interactive musical installation developed by Incredible Machines. It was born as a natural progression from Simpletones, my Master’s Degree Thesis Project.

#Tones allows players to collaborate in a unique form of music-making by controlling virtual instruments with their bodies. Participants can also add lyrics to the song by tweeting phrases to a designated hashtag.

Players visually transform their surroundings as they interact with the audio-responsive projections on the floor. The actual musical controls are intuitive enough for anyone to master; they merely require participants to let loose and engage in fun, physical play with the people around.

Technology

The installation uses eight infrared lights, three short-throw projectors, and a wide-angle infrared camera. This setup allows to create large trackable areas in very tight spaces. The core application uses OpenCV and openFrameworks to locate players and transform their movements into sound and animations that can be skinned in different visual styles. It pairs with Ableton Live to allow an infinite variety of sonic environments.

#Tones was featured at the 2013 Dumbo Arts Festival and premiered in partnership with Twitter at SXSW 2013. It was also installed it at a variety of high-profile music festivals during the year.