unnamed soundsculpture

embodiment of sound

2012

The body – perpetual and infinite – erupts in the space with its mere physicality, distinguishing itself from its environment. Only the movements of its frame reference the otherwise invisible space.

This moving sound sculpture is based on the recorded motion data of a real person. For the project we asked Laura Keil, a Berlin-based dancer, to interpret a musical piece – Kreukeltape by Machinefabriek – as closely as possible with the movement of her own body. She was recorded by three depth cameras (Kinect), in which the intersection of the images was later put together to a three-dimensional volume (3d point cloud). We were then able to use the collected data throughout the rest of the process.

The three-dimensional image allowed us a completely free-handling of the digital camera without limitations of perspective. The camera also reacts to sound and supports the physical imitation of the musical piece by the performer. She moves to a field of noise, where a simple modification of the random seed can consistently create new versions of the video, each offering a different composition of the recorded performance. The multi-dimensionality of the work is inherent in every movement of the dancer as the camera footage allows a variety of imaginable perspectives.

making of

Using 3 different Microsoft Kinect cameras, the movement of the dancer was recorded into 3d pointclouds that were synced and exported as one large data set. They were then loaded into 3d max for further rendering as Krakatoa particle files. A three-dimensional scene was created including the camera movement controlled by the audio. Through this process, the digital body, consisting of 22,000 points, comes to life.

credits

Collaboration with: Daniel Franke
Dance Improvisation: Laura Keil
Art Direction: Cedric Kiefer, Daniel Franke
Animation: Daniel Franke
Code: Cedric Kiefer
Music: Machinefabriek – Kreukeltape
Text: Sandra Moskova

awards

Prix Ars Electronica – Honorary Mention 2012
Video Music Award 2012

exhibitions

Nets: Weaving Webs in Art, Kunsthalle zu Kiel, 2014
Projection Series, Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, 2013
Ars Electronica, Linz 2012
Pace Digital Art Gallery, New York, 2012
Alpha-ville, Festival of Post-Digital Culture, London, 2012

screenings

Cinedans – Dance on Screen, Amsterdam, 2013
Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, 2012
Kasseler Dokfest, Kassel, 2012
Impulstanz – Vienna int. Dance Festival, Vienna, 2012