MidtermProject

Title

MIDI Capture

Description

• Motivation

I have a strong interest in music and manipulating sound. I wanted to do a project that would spin off those interests and combine that with something interactive involving video capture methods in Processing.

• Interactive paradigm

This program uses the brightness tracking in the Video library of Processing to track the brightest pixel. Using a flashlight, the user controls the frequency and amplitude of piano synthesized MIDI notes. Simultaneously, a predetermined array of notes plays at random and creates random squares that appears on the screen. This creates an improvisational live "duet" between the participant and the program.

• Technical Description

The flashlight held by the user will be tracked by the brightness tracking method in Processing's video library. The top half of the screen is designated to the area where the user can control the MIDI notes. Left to right controls the amplitude, while Up and Down control the frequency. While the bottom half of the screen is designated to the random squares that create a sort of rhythmic dance on the screen while playing an improvised melody for the user to interact with. I used the Soundcipher library to control the MIDI sounds.

The flow in of information will go as follows: As the user moves the flashlight across the screen, it will change the MIDI note's parameters (amplitude and frequency) while the random squares play a melody on the bottom half of the screen. The ending result is an interactive MIDI sound dialogue between the user and the program.

Visualization

• Functional Diagrams

Flow Diagram

Sample Screenshots (What the user will see)