Noisemaker

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Noisemaker is a collaboration between Matthew Lau and I for our PCOMP class' final project. It is a physical auditory and visual object that invites up to four participants to engage with one another in collaborative noise making. Each participant searches for a position on the board that would activate both a sound and a light arrangement. Each spot also has a corresponding “modifier” spot somewhere else on the board — that will change the arrangements. It is up to the participants to decide how to go about the experience: they may collaborate in creation of a rhythm; affect each others’ sounds; or even use the forces at hand to repel others’ pieces off the board. The project encourages collective play and personal bonding through the intertwining of movement around the board.

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The eight chess-like pieces have magnets inside of them. There are also eight hall-effect sensors (that detect magnetic fields) scattered around the down-facing side of the board that are activated individually once the magnetic pieces are positioned correctly. Each of these trigger either a specific tone or a “modifier” to one of the tones. They also trigger a light ring that is located underneath each “correct” position, as well as additional lighting arrangements located at a lower level. A speaker that is positioned inside the box plays all the tones that are currently active.

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