Doing a site-specific piece using only the laptop as a
medium is similar to eating finger food. It simplifies the meal, makes it more
accessible, and even though it may at times be messy it creates a distinct bond
between the consumer and the consumed. This relationship between the screen and
viewer was something we didn’t want to lose yet we did desire to push the boundary
of it just a little. Thus, we established our viewing distance for our piece and
some parameters for media that might fit into it. Digging further it should be
acknowledged that the laptop is an object that is constant in what it provides;
entertainment, assistance, connections, and freedom. Within this frame we were
set free to work with it, fight it, or do our best and forget about it.
Conceptually our project is no revolutionary, we break no
major rules, nor did we intend to. Yet, our beat still speaks to many areas. In
essence it speaks to the speed at which life is lived today. It also addresses
the area of entertainment, yet that was only a side thought that we had as more
importantly we were working with an idea themed by explaining or toying with
the many connections a computer can give you. Our idea spawned of Henry’s light
and sound symphony pitch, but after discussing within the three of us we
thought we could develop what he had come up with more to make a piece in which
the tools within a laptop exploited a little more. We wanted the viewer to be
closer, as almost to put them on a line during which sometimes it feels like
they are playing the drum set, and other times just viewing it. We understood that
in this decision we might lose an interaction quality of our piece but thought
that we wanted to explore a connection them between multiple laptops, instead
of multiple people.
Structurally, we built our digital drum set (or light and
beats project) in a series of steps. First, we filmed each instrument—snare,
tom, high hat, crash, bass drum, guitar, and clapping hands—multiple times to
find one loud and separate hit of it being played. Next, we split up these
clips in Final Cut Pro and built a beat by repeating them at different
intervals. This, what we liked to call stop action took the largest part of our
preparation. Then, we developed a script on the computer that would run a video
player program at a certain time due to the local time on the laptop as shown
by the clock. This was maybe the most troublesome part that we would encounter,
as none of the laptops we used were exactly in sync and it was difficult to get
there precisely equal. Then,
we separated the movie into 6 separate videos, and
shared them to 6 computers. We set up our computers in the cave, and just
waited for the time to count down.
