take place within a studio environment with computer manipulation
and digital effects processing. So the audio elements of a piece developed for
the Bodycoder System are structurally defined with all the sounds and the
processing elements ear-marked, but the final realisation is produced in real-time
by the performer, who becomes the joint composer of the work. Whenever
somebody says ‘sampler’ one immediately supposes that they are talking about the
triggering of pre-composed samples on-and-off. Indeed this is what much of the
early explorations into ‘interactivity’ comprised of. However, working with an
Emu4x is like sitting down in a studio with an extremely powerful real-time
digital processor. By using the information sent by the body sensors the dancer
can affect such parameters as frequency and amplitude modulation – depths
and rates, pitch – either quantised or totally variable, various forms of filter
modulation, filter morphing, sample start time, volume, pan, envelope rates and so
on.
Audio manipulation is achieved by controlling the sampler directly from the PC1600
on 14 midi channels. One finger switch is always dedicated to send a signal back to the
PC1600 – to enable a patch change so that a multitude of patches can be recalled by the
performer during a performance.
The visual information (stills and movies) are held in X<Pose>, again a so called
visual sampling software package which ‘uniquely’ allows up to 7 controllers at any one
time to effect a single visual, be it a pict or a movie. Again visual manipulation is
achieved by controlling X<Pose> directly from the PC1600 on a dedicated midi
channel.
Presets containing palettes of visual information can be selected by the performer in
the same way that he/she selects audio patches, and like the audio material, the visuals
may also be controlled and effected in real-time.
4. Working with the Bodycoder System
By physically closing the gap between technology and dancer, by placing sensors on the
body, a number of the problems arising from the stage placed sensors were resolved.
On-the-body sensors instantly produced an intimate coexistent relationship between
dancer and technology. Moreover, the sensors responded to the natural movements of the
dancer, so in theory they did not change the physical abilities of the dancer. Because
sensors can be placed anywhere on the body, the total expressive power of the
system could interface with either a small range of movements such as the
fingers and wrist of one hand, or can be arranged across the whole geometry
of the body. Because the sensors are not fixed to particular locations on the
body, the system does not promote a limited choreographic vocabulary, but
rather proposes a number of choreographic challenges according to the specific
piece being developed and the discreet placing of the sensors for that particular
piece.
Artistically the system is also very open ended and can be used very simplistically or
can be used as an instrument of great audio and visual complexity. Used very
simplistically, the system is a versatile tool which translates and interprets the
largest or smallest and most delicate of body movements into audio and visual
landscapes, with impressive clarity. At it’s most complex the performer is able to
navigate through multiple layers of audio and visual imagery, orchestrating and