Synesthetic design in virtual space
The motivation for many artists and designers to create connections between the various senses is not exclusively based on novel technological opportunities. Multisensory perception is the rule rather than the exception. You rarely perceive a situation only with one sense organ. On the contrary your brain creates a general impression from a vast number of different sensations. Sweetspots is a continuation of the exploration of interactive synesthetic musical applications I started with SYNCHRON. It is a collection of audiovisual interaction paradigms in virtual space.
Composition and improvisation
Besides the composition and the play back of individual voices Sweetspots also offers ways to improvise. For example if you tap a rhythm with the button of your mouse while the mouse pointer is positioned on one of the sides of a virtual cube then this tapped rhythm will be stored. As long as this side of the cube faces the user the rhythm will be played back repeatedly. This way you can define six of those rhythms on the cube to be played back any time you want.
Arrangement
The individual modules (Sweetspots) differ in the way and complexity of interactions. Several of these instruments are combined to groups, which are arranged on the XZ-plane of a three-dimensional virtual space. New groups of Sweetspots can be added like storeys of a building. The user can then orchestrate a collection of musical instruments. By changing her position in virtual space the Sweetspots can be played and combined in any arbitrary order.
Sketchbook
This application is an extensible field of experimentation and a pool of ideas from which further concepts like interactive installations and internet projects can be derived. It is a sketchbook as well as a test-area for spatial drafts which can be tested and developed in virtual space before they are transfered to the "real" world. The playful and entertaining character helps to find new ideas and concepts.
Images
