Qemorpho

The project is an immersive experience design that basses itself in classical futurism. The piece transports the participant into an alchemist’s lab situated in a gothic structure, where they are invited to play with a workstation full of magical apparatus and futuristic technologies while performing alchemy to create a potion.

2022

Physical Computing // Creation & Computation

Sunidhi Naik

Victoria Gottardi

Wentian Zhu

Creative Coding
Physical Interactions

Networks

TouchDesigner

TouchOSC

LeapMotion

01 / Research Question

How can we alter networked technologies and interactive interfaces to build a real-time story world?

02 / What does Qemorpho draw from History?

Alchemy practitioners used to be experimenters and theorists who studied matter and it’s many states. Their understanding of matter was different from modern day chemistry as it did not have its rigid framework and was principally shaped by spiritual practices & elementalism. The project focuses on the primary idea that matter can be morphed into a desired shape or form by following a certain process that is rooted in magic.

06 / Some questions we asked

How can we create an interactive piece wherein the person is submerged in the experience completely?
How can we make leapmotion, touch osc, touch designer and projection talk to each other?
What defines a ‘change’ and ‘feedback’ in an interaction?
What are the design constraints?
Where can we use instructions to guide the participant and what comes intuitively? How do we declare limits?
How can the digital space become an extension to the physical? Can technology be brought into the experience and not have it as separate entities?
Can clothing, non-interactive objects and music strengthen the storytelling and make it immersive?

Music:

To create ambient track, we used a tool called SonicPi - a code-based music creation and performance tool, that allows you to create sounds/music using various musical instruments and live coding synth. It was made in adherence to the theme of classical futurism and alchemy.

Lighting:

Darkness was maintained by drawing blinds, switching off lights and using temporary screens to cut off reflected light from the exhibition space to ensure the quality of light projection was not compromised.

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Costume and Table Setup:

The participant was made to wear a golden printed shawl as they entered the space making them the alchemist. The table was laid with curious objects used in alchemy and the occult making the physical table an extension of the digital alchemist’s lab space. These objects could be picked up and interacted with adding a layer of realism to the experience.

08 / Network and Devices

The User interacts with the Leapmotion through gestures and the Touch OSC Interface on the iPad using touch. The former is used in controlling the scale and rotation of the object on screen and the later is used for controlling more specific parameters like shape, size and distortion of the same object. Touch OSC is also used to switch between models that appear on the screen. The data touch OSC is sent to the Touch designer file on computer 1 andf the data from leapmotion is sent to the Touch designer file on computer 2. The data is then processed by computer 1 and send to computer 2. All the data is then collected and processed by computer 2 to create a responsive visual that is projected on the screen.

09 / Technical Details

Touch OSC:

The interface of touch OSC was customized to accommodate sliders and buttons. The sliders were connected to the parameters of the operators that enabling morphing of the geometry and the buttons were connected to the switch operator to switch between different (geometrical) ingredients.

Leap Motion:

TouchDesigner features built-in Leap Motion support with position, motion, and gesture data. The built-in Leap Motion CHOP reads hand, finger, tool and gesture data from the Leap Motion controller and outputs as data in TouchDesigner. The distance between two hands was used to change the size of the objects, and used the XYZ position of One Hand to control the rotation of the objects.

Touch in/Touch out CHOP:

By connecting to the same hotspot, we were able to send data between two TouchDesigner files on different computers. One TouchDesigner file receives data from OSC and sends the data out by using Touch Out CHOP and TouchDesigner receives the data by using Touch In CHOP.

File one: Receive data from OSC and send the date out by using Touch Out CHOP

07 / Design Considerations

Virtual 3D Space:

The Virtual space was custom designed in 3D using the software Sketchup 3D and rendered in Twinmotion. The export was in the format of a movie file that was imported and looped in TouchDesigner

File Two: Use Touch In CHOP to receive data from the other TouchDesigner file

03 / Where is the line between tech and magic?

While alchemy belongs to the ancient times and works with physical materials and transforms physical matter, technologies today enable us to interact with digital materials and help us modify digital matter. This is an inherent quality shared by both that forms a fantastical connection between these two worlds. Qemorpho is built on this primary idea.

04 / How does it’s socio-cultural presence make a difference to the project?

As alchemy was a practice often shrouded in secrecy and scepticism it has been widely explored in visual arts, literature, music, entertainment, comics and games over the ages. Due to this although it has taken different forms and undergone different interpretations it still remains fresh and relevant in pop culture. Since the aesthetics of alchemy are commonly recognised it helps the project to spend minimal time in introducing the world to its participants and most of interaction-time is dedicated to the interaction itself. This familiarity that the participants have with alchemy, additionally enriches the impact the physical and digital production have on its participants.

05 / From ideation to Alchemy

In the beginning of the ideation process we had a sense of what elements would drive the project. These coupled with technologies brought the parts together to make a whole.

We began by looking at textures of planets and played a group improv session that helped us in brainstorming the final idea.