Firewall, not only an Interactive Media Installation

01/02/2013. [VIDEO] de Aaron Sherwood
metalocus, PEDRO NAVARRO

Can the walls of our buildings, someday, be receptive to our feelings and create spaces, light and sound intensity according our mood? Firewall is an interactive installation created in collaboration with Mike Allison and developed for Mizaru. A stretched sheet of spandex acts as a membrane interface sensitive to depth that people can push into and create fire-like visuals and expressively play music.

Firewall. Photography © Yang Jiang.

An interactive media installation created in collaboration with Mike Allison. A stretched sheet of spandex acts as a membrane interface sensitive to depth that people can push into and create fire-like visuals and expressively play music. More information available at: aaron-sherwood.com/works/firewall Will be used in the performance piece Mizaru: purringt.com/mizaru

Firewall was made using Processing, Max/MSP, Arduino and a Kinect. The Kinect measures the average depth of the spandex from the frame it's mounted on. If the material is not being pressed against, nothing happens. When someone presses into it the visuals react around where the person presses, and the music is triggered. An algorithm created with Max allows the music to speed up and slow down and get louder and softer, based on the depth. This provides a very expressive musical playing experience, even for people who have never played music before. A switch is built into the frame which toggles between two modes. The second mode is a little more aggressive than the first.