Code Control at Phoenix Leicester
Sun, 24 Mar 2013
This weekend saw the Code Control Max/MSP users' conference at Phoenix in Leicester. The well-attended event involved talks, workshops, demos and three newly commissioned digital artworks.
it was a pretty packed programme and while I wasn't able to catch it all, a number of things jumped out at me and I made sure I got to see them. The first was the talk on Saturday by Sam Tarakajian from Cycling'74 about a new Max technology called Mira. this provides a really elegant way of getting Max interfaces on to your iPad. Basically, it allows you to draw a box around a group of Max interface objects in your Max patch to instantly display them on a wirelessly connected iPad, or iPads. It also provided a toolset for reading data from the iPad's sensors. The technology looks deceptively simple, but the implications of this technology for installation artists and performers are huge. Max now understands your multiscreen world and can benefit from all of the subtleties of multitouch UIs.
Then on Sunday I attended Henrique Matthaus' talk on Javascript in Max. I had been aware that Max 6 had JavaScript support through the "js" object, but the true power of this only became apparent to me during Henrique's talk. i already use JavaScript to write iPhone and Android apps using Appcelerator Titanium, as well as using it to create interactive web interfaces, but with JavaScript in Max I now have a tool for writing code in one language that can be reused across all of the platforms I work with. Henrique also introduced node.js - a technology for communication between JavaScript installations using web sockets. By adding this to the mix I will be able to add create multi-device artworks that can exchange information seamlessly. I'll be investigating how I can use this to enhance works such as Dropsketch and ColourNet.
The three new digital artworks were also very good. In the cafe bar area Nick Rothwell showed his multiuser
In the cube Stavros Didakis showed a highly interactive audiovisual mixer with projected images and - apparently - EEG aka mind control. I didn't manage to get this going through! In Cinema 3 Gavin Morris showed a large installation in which 512 coloured cubes could be touched to create music sequences. The work could also be controlled by an iPad. In the cafe bar area Nick Rothwell showed is multiplayer game/artwork in which the users manipulated cubes in order to find their opponents and shoot them. It was a full on adrenaline rush, with spacial sound adding to the sense of immersion.
I was in involved in the "science fair" where I demoed the latest version of ColourNet - make in collaboration with Ernest Edmonds - as I get it ready for exhibition at CHI in Paris at the end of April.
I didn't get to attend any of the workshops, by reports are that these were very good too. You can find out more about the event (and future plans at some point) on the Code Control website. My pictures from the event are on my Flickr page.
