In this project, which was created for my final project in Max MSP Class in grad school, a viewer uses a remote to change the colors of the LEDs being used to light a dollhouse. The LED colors are interpreted by a teachable machine model, which then triggers different relaxing and mesmerizing videos, while trance-like music or relaxing soundscapes play. The goal is that an in-person viewer could sit and observe the dollhouse in a meditative manner, either choosing to focus on the smaller details or sit back and watch the colors of the light interplay with that of the video.
I imagine this as a larger installation in a museum, with soft benches for sitting in a dark room. (And perhaps with larger or more complex dollhouses as the projection surfaces)
The Set Up
The dollhouse is still in-progress, and on my kitchen table, which I have turned into a work space for painting & glueing. I have the webcam on the chair my laptop is resting on, and a PICO projector on a tripod next to me. The projector is kept charged via a portable charger resting on the lid of my trash can.
For recording, all of my building materials were in the bin on the floor or hidden behind the dollhouse, out of view.
System Diagram
A single toggle triggers the entire project. The music is set to loop automatically and without input from the user. The script runs and interpolates the data from the teachable machine, which can be run in-max or in an external browser. The camera in TM must be turned on by the user once the script is running.
When TM sees a color that is over 80-90% present, it triggers the corresponding video to play, and switches a gate so that max is not reading the TM color data while the video plays. When the video ends, a black screen is triggered on the video, and after a 5 second pause, the gate reopens, allowing max to begin receiving TM data again. This is to prevent the video colors from effecting the data max is receiving without restarting the TM, which would require someone to turn the camera back on.
The video player is using maxmapper, so there is grid control available for projection mapping.
The max patch & corresponding files can all be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/cngl3jvuyafx3kd/AACTE1QpY9yv7VdC_sPD1J6Ga?dl=0
Future
As I mentioned above, I envision this as a larger installation within an art exhibit; a space for quiet observation and meditation.
More immediately, I intend to do an independent project this summer in which I wire a (new) dollhouse with color-changing LED tape, and attempt to allow for max control. This could be paired with this project, in which max controls the colors of the LEDs via a user interface, and those colors could be run through the teachable machine, or simply trigger video via the max patch directly, removing the need for an outside browser.
References & Credits:
The initial project idea grew out of a conversation with Ryan Holsopple that led to the mini-project A Day in the Life.
Using teachable machine in Max Class, and Ryan's sample patches, were instrumental in getting this project to work.
I also looked at the McCoy's miniature and shadowbox work.
Videos used in this patch are all by Vidveo.net:
Coloured Smoke on Black 11
Ocean Waves Slow Motion
Coloured Smoke on Black 08
Coloured Smoke on Black 06
Coloured Smoke on Black 15
Coloured Smoke on Black 04
Sound:
Zen Ocean Waves,Ocean Waves Ambience.mp3 by innorecords
