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5circles2012 5circles2012 is a radical, imaginative, and beautiful global project that aims to fundamentally transform the relationship between artist, performer and spectator in urban public art. Developed from principles established by the innovative and internationally recognised artists KMA, 5circles2012 builds on their successful public interactive light works in a new collaboration with Pilot Theatre. These works are renowned primarily for their unique exploration of the relationship between audience and performer. In Flock (Trafalgar Square 2005) KMA re-created Tchaikovskyʼs Swan Lake, a pedestrian ballet where passers by uniquely formed both the performers and the audience. 5circles2012 aims to push this exploration one simple, but very fundamental, step forward. 5circles2012 will remove KMA and Pilot Theatre as authors of the work by allowing individuals from around the globe to ʻcomposeʼ works online. These works will then be able to be ʻperformedʼ by citizens on the other side of the world. This creative element of 5circles2012 goes much further than visual design. It is music and choreography offered from culture to culture. A generous act of creative gift-giving. 3
An Example: Sarahʼs Story
5circles2012.com
Sarah, a twelve year old, lives in Melbourne. Through her school she’s just heard of 5circles2012, an outdoor, interactive, public sports and arts environment that is touring the world in the months leading up to the London 2012 Olympic Games. There are four mobile versions of 5circles2012 touring simultaneously across the globe, with another one, representing the host nation, touring across the UK. Sarah logs onto 5circles2012’s website. From there she can see clearly that this week the installations are in Shanghai, China; New Orleans, USA; Lagos, Nigeria; Sydney, Australia; and London, UK. She can also see videos and images from previous cities’ encounters with 5circles2012. YouTube and Flickr are full of beautiful and extraordinary images too. Sarah sees videos of people from vastly different cultures playing games, interacting, performing and having fun. All this is happening after dark in the heart of their city centres, using projected light beamed down onto the pavements. Although the ‘stage’ for these performances is only a pavement, the space around it is decorated with lights and banners, and there’s always a crowd of fascinated onlookers. However, being an onlooker or a performer is all just a matter of choice, and it isn’t long before most members of the audience try their luck in the ring... So Sarah can see the attraction. It’s a simple, democratic, exciting, visceral, collaborative, competitive, and socially unifying experience. She can see that clearly from the reactions of the performers and audiences. She also likes the video links between the five actively participating cities. These make the event in her own city feel more important, because she can share her experience directly with others across the globe. But there’s something else that has helped to make 5circles2012 both an internet phenomenon and a social, physical, visceral excitement and that has brought Sarah to her computer right now. In every city, on every night of 5circles2012’s tour there is a programme of events. Every five minutes, 5circles2012 will move from one item on its programme to another. An evening’s programme will be a rich mixture of competitive games, collaborative puzzles, interactive installations, and artworks. 4
However, each and every item on every programme will be the work of someone from 5circles2012’s broader global community. This morning it’s going to be Sarah. 5circles2012.com
Sarah sees from the website that this week’s programme for New Orleans has still got a few available slots. She chooses the 10.30pm slot for Sunday 22nd April. Sarah can then choose from a selection of basic categories; there’s a range of physical games (both competitive and collaborative), puzzles, and artistic installations. Sarah chooses one of the artistic 5
installations. It’s called The Cat’s Cradle and is designed to build social interactions between the performers in the space.
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Sarah can now see a virtual interpretation of how her choice will look when it is performed in New Orleans. At the same time she can now change some of the parameters of the piece. Sarah changes the colours and widths of the lines that join the participants. She also decides that the lines should change colour in time with the music. But she hasn’t chosen any music yet. So Sarah auditions music from the site, all of which has been written and submitted by individuals, schools and community groups from around the world. Sarah chooses a piece of dance music by some street dancers in Hackney, London, UK. She can now see and hear a preview of her piece and make further minor adjustments to it. When Sarah is ready she submits the piece together with her name and location. She can now see that the 10.30pm slot for Sunday 22nd April in New Orleans has been allocated to her composition. The street dance group in Hackney will also receive an email telling them that their music will be used. Sarah now waits. She was told when she scheduled the performance that 10.30pm on Sunday in New Orleans would be the same time as 1.30pm on Monday in Melbourne. So, at her school during lunchtime on Monday, Sarah and her friends gather to watch the live feed of her performance in New Orleans. Just before her performance there’s an amazing game of soccer played with balls of light that was chosen by a teenage boy from Zagreb; the audience and players loved it. Then there’s a brief pause whilst the ring clears, re-draws itself, and announces Sarah’s piece. The music starts before beautiful strands of light begin to glow and join all the performers in the space. They all start to move, the light follows them, creating a beautifully complex web of lines. Sarah and her friends are as entranced as the participants on the other side of the world. All too soon the performance is over, and the programme in New Orleans moves on. However, Sarah’s performance is now automatically tagged and uploaded to YouTube. She sends an email letting her grandparents in the UK know that it’s there. When they wake up they’ll be able to watch it.
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Best of all, 5circles2012 is coming to Melbourne next month, so Sarah and her friends will be able to perform themselves. The programme for the event is already filling up, there are submissions from all over the globe. In a small way Sarah feels that she has contributed to an historical event, very much in the spirit of the Olympic ideal. She’s thought and learnt about people and places she scarcely knew existed, she’s had a creative input into their experience. She has a memento to keep and treasure. But above all she’s had fun as an individual and as a member of a global community.
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5Circles2012 will...
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• Be a 21st Century phenomenon, combining web-based technologies with live social performances • Promote physical, active, healthy and non-verbal communication • Create urban playgrounds on a grand scale • Allow remote users to express themselves on a global stage • Be easily understood between cultures and language-groups • Animate public spaces and encourage social play in a meaningful way • Join different geographic areas, giving people the chance to be part of a wider phenomenon • Break down social and cultural barriers • Encourage diverse audiences to unite in performance, free from race, class, and gender divisions • Fundamentally challenge the role of the artist, performer, and audience in public art • Be a world first - grab media attention 8
An Overview of the Project The lead artistic team will be KMA and Pilot Theatre – who will harness their experience and knowledge, together with their combined collective teams, to develop and deliver this large scale International Project – 5circles2012 5circles2012.com
5circles2012 is a highly ambitious project with a four-year growth plan. Starting in York in 2009, it culminates in a global rollout during the winter/spring of 2011/2012. 5circles2012 is an extraordinary social spectacle that, by making simple but effective use of internet technologies, offers many layers of participation. At its heart 5circles2012 is a large circular stage that can be created in any city centre in the world, after dusk. The stage is created by strong, projected light, beaming down onto a cityʼs central square, or similar pedestrianised area. The area around the ring will be theatrically dressed with additional lighting and banners to create a strong sense of event. The ring itself will house a series of fully-interactive games and public art installations. Intricate and spectacular images from a huge projector, suspended 30m above the ground, will react instantaneously to the movement of people within the space, drawing the public into an intriguing, playful and engaging interaction with both the light and their fellow participants. Sounds generated in real-time by their movements interact with the pulse of the soundtrack that accompanies the visuals, creating a completely immersive environment which will invite initial exploration and then encourage and reward continuous interaction and experimentation. Each eveningʼs performance will be divided into 3 minute cycles - sharing a common visual and auditory theme but also unique in atmosphere, pace and colour. There will be a range of physical games (both competitive and collaborative), puzzles, and artistic installations. This ever changing palette will maintain the participantsʼ engagement and interest in the piece, allowing them to explore all the possibilities that the artificially generated environment has to offer; and it becomes even more remarkable when it is revealed that the work they are experiencing is being designed by internet users from around the globe - and they themselves can take control.
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A purpose-built website allows internet users to access the ‘control panel’ of the installation, and devise their own three minute sequence. They can choose accompanying music from a vast bank of submitted tunes from across the globe. They can then schedule this sequence to appear at a particular time of the evening, allowing them to tune in to see the live stream from the event, tell their friends, or go down to the location of the installation themselves to experience their own work first-hand on a huge scale. The experience doesn’t end there, as video from the event taken from overhead, tagged with their details, will be automatically uploaded to YouTube so they can watch it again, share it with their friends online, and inspire others to log in to the main site to design their own sequence. Artists assuming control over public spaces is nothing new - however, allowing the wider global community to participate in the experience, both with their own physical presence and their creative input through the website takes the interaction and engagement to a new level. The event will leave the participants with a unique and inspirational collective memory: for the duration of the installation, they and their co-participants were in control of a spectacular stage. The framework of the installation on the ground is based upon works already created by KMA for their celebrated public artworks, using their unique combination of thermal imaging technology with live, generative visual programming to create other-worldly imagery that works with and adapts to - the actions of the visitors to the space. At times, the participants find themselves surrounded by pulsing, organic forms that dance and sweep around them; then the floor becomes a viscous, flowing surface that seems to turn the concrete into liquid. Next, there are balls of light that can be skillfully directed towards virtual goalmouths. No two moments in the space are the same, and with the additional programmatic input from the users of the website, there will always be something new to experience for the visitor.
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A Four Year Plan The goal of the 5circles2012 proposal is by Winter 2011 to have four mobile versions of 5circles2012 touring simultaneously across the globe, with another one, representing the host nation, touring across the UK. STEP 1 - Autumn 2009
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• The first step towards this goal will be taken with a launch performance in York in the Autumn of 2009. The launch performance will feature works composed by students from schools in York. Whilst these works will not be created using Internet based web tools, the methodology used in creating them will be designed to allow for all of the learning and research to feed into the development of web based tools for STEP 2 below.
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STEP 2 - Autumn 2009 - Autumn 2010 • Take the learning from year 1, add the first phase internet development, and roll out across five sites in Yorkshire during one week of the year in Autumn 2010. 5circles2012.com
STEP 3 - Autumn 2010 - Autumn 2011 • Take the learning from year 2, add final internet support. Build five mobile units, tour across selected major UK cities over four one week periods. Train production staff for full scale touring. Plan and resource world touring schedule. STEP 4 - Autumn 2011 - London Olympics, 2012. • World tour
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What we have already achieved, and what remains to be done Development work on the project began in January 2009. Since then we have; 1. Developed the first version of software for 5circles2012 as described below 5circles2012.com 2. Developed the brand for 5circles2012 as described below 3. Begun work on a short explanatory video for distribution on social networking sites 4. Liaised with potential school partners for the York launch The software to run 5circles2012 is now in a state that will allow end userʼs ʻcompositionsʼ to be seamlessly integrated into an eveningʼs schedule and replayed for performance. The next big step that needs to be taken is to create content for the launch event and, from the learning derived from that experience, specify the design for the web-based interface. Over the autumn of 2009 KMA and Pilot Theatre will be working very closely with Edward Lynch, the Dance Consultant for York City Council. Together we will work with students from all the schools in York to create content for the launch. Whilst this will form an invaluable contribution to the projectʼs development, it is important to note that we do not see 5Circles2012 as being exclusively a schoolsʼ project. Each group of pupils will be encouraged to work with a soundtrack of approximately five minutes in length. These soundtracks will be original works that the students have created, either digitally, conventionally or as a hybrid of the two. We will then encourage the students to think creatively about the mood and structure of their music and to imagine how pedestrians (possibly in very different cultures) might feel, respond and move when they hear it. We will then offer up a wide selection of pre-defined kinetic visual styles that the students can use to begin to ʻchoreographʼ their composition. It is very important that participants realise that they are not simply choosing visual patterns to accompany their music. They should be thinking choreographically and synaesthetically about the quality of movement and response that they hope to provoke in the remote performers and audience. Each style will be fully customisable and have simple parameters that control its size, colour and responsiveness to movement. In order to allow students to understand the work that they are creating we will build a scaled-down model of a 5circles2012 installation. The model will be taken into schools. It will be based on a hardboard base measuring approximately four feet 13
square upon which pupils can manipulate scale-models of pedestrians. A small projector will be used to generate a scaled down, but otherwise identical, version of their final work which will react to the movements of the models which pupils will be encouraged to manipulate. 3D computer models will be used in a similar way in the final web-based interface.
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At the end of the process each group of students from each school will have created a five minute piece of fully choreographed and illustrated music ready for performance in York city centre. All these performances will be played, with credits, one after the other and the entire cycle will repeat as necessary. Evaluation and Continued Development Once the York performance is over KMA and Pilot will fully evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. We will look closely at how the website needs to be developed to allow users the control over performances that they desire, whilst keeping the process simple and largely non-textual. We will also analyse the quality of the final performances and audience / performers始 reactions to them. Were they engaging, fun, thought-provoking? Did the audience understand who had made them? Were the pieces sufficiently different from one another? Armed with answers to these and other questions we then hope to begin work on Phase 2 of the project, the roll-out to five Yorkshire cities, with a first-version website being used as the tool for remote users to create the works.
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Software Development Overview: Our current chosen development platform is Max/MSP and Jitter1 (referred to as 驶Max始 for the purposes of this document). We have decided to use this software for the following reasons: Speed of development: being a modular, visual, patch-based development environment, Max allows for very rapid exploration of ideas. Architectural, visual and communication elements can be added, combined and edited quickly without the need for a pre-determined development roadmap. In a project such as this one, which relies heavily on iteration of ideas and input from numerous parties, it is impossible to put in place a solid development plan at this early stage without restricting the possibilities of ongoing development. The visual, patch-based metaphor of Max suits a collaborative, experimental development process. High-level development metaphor: Whilst the performance of low-level languages will produce better ultimate performance, the freedom from having to deal with complex memory management issues and the availability of many useful abstractions makes development in Max comparatively simple and more in-line with the creative development process. Extensibility: Max has numerous possibilities for extending its scope. Code can be written in the form of 驶externals始 for Max using programming languages such as Java, C++, GLSL and Lua. Max can tie these elements together in one package, meaning that as particular goals are identified during the project, they can be tackled using the most appropriate tools without having to consider a one-size-fits-all language in which to wrap the whole project. The ability to incorporate these other languages also opens up the possibility of working with additional programmers specialising in a variety of areas, which could assist in prototyping of ideas and refinement of these prototypes into more specialised and optimised code. Community support: Max is one of the most popular environments for artists working with technology today. The extensive community, most visible online, provides a source of support, code, examples and other resources that could prove invaluable to the development of this project over the coming years. Other development environments also have large user-bases, but there are very few that have the same focus on artists and creative project as that which surrounds Max. Proven project suitability: The track-record of Max as a development environment for creative/arts-related projects is strong: it has its origins at IRCAM in Paris, and has been extensively used by many pioneers and leading names in new media art 2.
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http://www.cycling74.com/products/max5
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max/msp#Notable_artists
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Software development milestones: Stage 1: - Increase performance of motion tracking code by offloading keystone correction and scale transformations to GPU. 5circles2012.com
This task has been successfully achieved. One of the most crucial elements of an interactive public installation of this nature is the calibration: people must feel that the relationship between their movements and the projected imagery is as fluid as possible, and for this to happen, the alignment of the camera and projected image must be as close to perfect as possible. A perfect alignment could, in theory, be created by an ideal alignment of camera and projector combined with a matching of optics between these two elements. In reality, this is impossible to achieve, and so some correction (or compensation) for the difference between the area covered by the camera and the area used for projection must be implemented. This is a intensive task for any processor: the camera images are being captured as a resolution of 720 x 576 pixels at a rate of around 50Hz (frames per second / fps). The correction to this image needs to be implemented before any motion tracking can take place, and therefore before any corresponding imagery can be processed by the system. In previous installations, this has proven to be a processing bottleneck, and our intention with this milestone was to find a faster alternative to the existing Max/MSP code that tackles this process. Our solution was to offload this task to the graphical processing unit (GPU) on the graphics card. Current pressure from the gaming and scientific industries has pushed the development of these types of processors ahead much faster than the development of CPUs, with many referring to the development of GPUs using ʻMooreʼs Law Squaredʼ every two years or thereabouts, the processing capabilities of these units increases by a factor of approximately four. By creating custom GLSL shaders that run on the GPU to handle this process of image correction, we have seen a dramatic increase in the speed at which this process runs, resulting in almost a 50% increase in the performance of a typical Max patch. - Translation of basics of game physics model from Adobe Director to Max/MSP & Jitter. Whilst we have been developing using Max for several years now, the core model behind the games-based installations ʻ5 Courtsʼ and ʻFatballʼ was built using Macromedia (now Adobe) Director. There is a strong possibility that we will include elements of this type of interaction within the Olympic project, so there was a need to translate the code written for the physics engine of these projects into a format that we could use within a Max development environment. So far, we have used Java to create ʻexternalsʼ (plug-ins) for Max that handle the Newtonian physics required by these gaming interactions. There is more development work to be done here - the simple model has been created and works well, but there is room for optimisation. Specifically, the way in which the motion tracking processes works needs to be extended to provide more information about the movement of people in the space and the consequent interactions with this modelled physical world. These further developments will be reflected in future development goals.
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Stage 2: - Develop easily reproducible alignment application and procedure with complete instructions. As mentioned in the section above that tackled the improvement to the alignment and camera correction code, a good alignment is crucial for any of the possible interactions that people may make within the installation. As well as optimising the code that handles the data processing tasks, it is important that an operator can also manipulate the parameters of this image correction easily and quickly. With any installation of this nature, where a projected image is used, after dark, in a public space, it is difficult to find much time for calibration and adjustment: this needs to be done quickly and accurately as soon as the environment is dark enough to see a projected image. With this in mind, we have developed the part of the interface that the operator uses to adjust the alignment so that it is straightforward and quick to use. To do this, we have created a fourpoint alignment process. To create an accurate alignment, a test-pattern is projected into the space with each corner of the space identified by a number. A volunteer, communicating with the operator, will move to the corner identified by the numeral 1. The operator then uses the alignment program to watch the thermal image of the volunteer, and uses their mouse/tablet to position an icon also identified by a numeral ʻ1ʼ over the volunteerʼs image on screen. This process is repeated for corners identified by ʻ2ʼ, ʻ3ʼ and ʻ4ʼ. When this process in completed, the alignment will be accurate for all points within the performance space. Adjustments to this alignment to compensate for any physical interference with any of the installation elements can be made manually during performances using the same system but without the projected alignment grid. - Investigate possibility of Open Sound Control (OSC) messaging over WiFi to enable single user to perform alignment operations during setup and adjustments to camera sensitivity while away from control position. As discussed previously in this document, the alignment and calibration process is a crucial task and one which must often be taken in a short time frame. One of the biggest challenges facing the operator during this process is getting a good view of what is happening in the performance space whilst maintaining control of the parameters which need to be adjusted: it is difficult to be sat at the computer/control position whilst getting a clear and accurate picture of what is happening on the ground. 17
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The inclusion of a low-light monitor camera, alongside the thermal imaging camera, aids this process, but there are some situations where being in the performance space whilst making adjustments would be desirable. As well as the obvious case of alignment, details such as sound balance, colour balance, projector focussing and projector alignment would all benefit from the ability to be able to control aspects of the installation whilst standing away from the computer. To this end, we have been investigating the use of a mobile device (currently an iPhone or iPod Touch) with a touch screen and custom software as a 驶remote control始 for the installation. The touch-screen interface of such a device makes a natural control surface, especially when trying to adjust multiple parameters simultaneously (take, for example, the horizontal and vertical offsets of a corner of the tracked image). In order to achieve this remote control functionality, we have been investigating the use of Open Sound Control (OSC)3 , an open-source protocol designed specifically to work with audio-visual software. Max has the ability to listen to OSC messages, and there are a number of applications written for the iPhone OS which have the ability to send these messages. As OSC is designed to work using the UDP protocol, messages can easily be transmitted over a Wireless connection (WiFi, Airport) and this combination of features suggests that the iPhone/Max/OSC control mechanism might well be suitable for this purpose. We have built a prototype version of this control system which has been tested and proven to work well, although there is more work to be done to ensure reliability, and at present the system is uni-directional (messages can be sent from the iPhone to Max but not the other way round). For the iPhone interface we are using 4, and we are using the Max native udpreceive object to listen to the messages being sent. The potential shown by these prototypes, and the potential uses of such a remote control system warrant further investigation and this will be reflected in future development plans. Stage 3: - Investigate possibility and performance implications of full interaction of non-uniform shapes with virtual physics model. Most of the content of our interactive installations has relied on one of two approaches to video tracking. The first approach is to treat the captured thermal image of the performance space as a two-dimensional matrix, where brightness of the image corresponds to some value that determines the behaviour of the application. For example, in a recent work, the brightness of a particular part of the image was translated into the density of a dye in a fluid simulation: as people moved through the performance space, their image was translated to density values and the projected fluid simulation reacted in a seemingly natural way to the presence of a disturbance. In this system, no information is gathered about number of people in the space, their shape, direction of travel or duration of interaction: it is an instantaneous and computationally simple type of interaction. The next level of interaction is more advanced. The image from the thermal camera is analysed using computer vision techniques: areas of brightness are interpreted as distinct 驶blobs始, which, given certain tolerances, can be translated into information about the people in the space. Using these techniques, we can tell, with a reasonable degree of accuracy, how many people are in the space, how long they have been there, which direction they are moving in, how large they are, and how fast they are moving.
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http://opensoundcontrol.org/
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http://poly.share.dj/projects/#mrmr
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Given the environmentally noisy situation and the variety of ways in which a person might be picked up by the thermal camera (due to differences in clothing, for example), this technique has to be used with the knowledge that the data it returns will not be completely accurate, but if this is taken into consideration, the information can still be very useful. This technique, for example, forms the basis of the interaction for the football games: we need to know where the players are, which way they are moving, how fast, and so-on. What we have been exploring whilst working towards this milestone is how to combine the first technique: pixel-based information, with the second technique: person recognition. If we can do this successfully, we should be able to create far more intricate - and potentially satisfying - interactions between people in the performance space and the projected world. For example, the current football games allow players to hit the ball with only a general sense of direction and control - the resulting game play is more akin to the 驶air hockey始 game than to real football. The position and movement of individual limbs, for example, is not reflected accurately in the way that the balls move when hit, so ball control is limited and can appear crude. This strand of investigation is proving challenging but we are making progress. Using computer vision techniques to perform a rough estimate of interaction, then refining using pixel-level analysis is highly processor intensive, but by offloading some of this work to the GPU (as in the image alignment correction discussed earlier) real-time analysis that provides a more sophisticated interaction experience should be possible. More work will need to be done in this area once we have established more detail on the type of content to be included in the installation. - Investigate possible advantages and disadvantages of separating motion tracking code from main output code / hosting on separate machine As discussed previously in this document, the core of the programme that enables interaction between the audience and the projections is handled by the motion-tracking code. The move to the GPU for this intensive analysis has had a great effect on the overall speed of the application, but it may be possible to make further improvements by using a separate computer to perform the visual analysis before sending the resultant data to the machine that is generating the audio-visual output. Bottlenecks in processing can occur where large amounts of data are moved back and forwards from the CPU to the GPU, and if the motion-tracking code is putting a heavy load on this bottleneck then the rest of the application could be affected. Our tests in this area have had mixed results, and these come down to the different forms of motion analysis discussed earlier in this document. If we are using complicated computer vision techniques to turn the captured video data into information about individual people, their direction, speed, duration and so-on, then we have seen a significant speed advantage in moving this load to a separate, dedicated machine. On the other hand, if we are using per-pixel data from the captured image to detailed data that is reflected in the projections, the transfer of this large amount of data from one machine to another creates a potentially disruptive bottleneck in the system. The results of our investigation suggest that different techniques will work well for different circumstances, and that there may not be an all-encompassing solution that will serve different types of interaction with equal efficiency. One model worth further investigation is of having the video data captured from the camera fed to both a dedicated computer vision machine as well as the machine generating the audio-visual content. This way, a constant stream of computer vision data can be arriving at the main machine which can be used or ignored without a performance implication, whilst the raw image data is still available immediately to this machine. 19
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Another model relies on keeping all the processing on one machine and requires further development of multi-threaded processing techniques, something which we have, at present, limited experience. How this fits into the model of GPU-based processing, and how it might affect the overall efficiency of the application, is yet to be determined. Ultimately, a decision on a way forward for this process of optimisation will have to take into consideration other factors: cost of multiple machines, reliability of inter-machine connections, simplicity of setup, and the abilities of CPUs and GPUs as they come onto the market. Further analysis will be undertaken in this area as the project moves forwards. - Establish example model for remote control of application from online source (not including user interface) and test. TO COMPLETE - Obtain test data for reliability and latency on mobile network connection options (3G, GPRS, Satellite) At this stage of development, we are certain that every location used for the installation will require access to the internet in some form or another. The exact nature of what will be required in terms of connection performance is still to be determined, but an initial investigation of mobile data technologies has been undertaken to assess potential issues that may influence production decisions. A very brief summary of available mobile internet technologies follows: GPRS: A 2G data transfer technology, as found in the majority of UK mobile phone handsets. Data rates achieved with this technology are, by current standards, quite low (around 112kbps for a static receiver). The primary advantage of this technology is its availability: coverage extends to 99% of the UK population. Data throughput is sufficient for simple messages, but packet round-trip-time (RTT) is slow - especially noticable with TCP packets where this time can change between 0.5 and more than 1 second 5 3G: Third generation of mobile data standards, providing faster data transmission capabilities (up to 14.4Mbps). Availability of reliability information for 3G is very limited. Coverage is less ubiquitous than with GPRS, and depends on network provider. For example, Vodafone claim an 80% UK population coverage. Suggested expected latency times are up to 600ms 6 - faster than GPRS but still considerably slower than a typical home internet connection (~150ms). Mobile Satellite: e.g. isatlan ʻflyawayʼ 7 provides download speed of up to 4Mbps and upload speeds up to 1Mbps. Satellite links suffer from latency - typically around 250ms, although UDP traffic (such as we might be using for real-time game play) is less affected by this than TCP traffic.
5
Halonen et al. “GSM, GPRS and EDGE performance”, pub. Wiley & Sons 2003 p. 296
6
Holma & Toskala, “WCDMA for UMTS”, pub. Wiley & Sons 2007 p. 24
7
http://www.isatlan.com/flyawayinternetaccess.html
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Notably missing from the above summary is Wireless (WLAN or WiFi) connections. For the purposes of this investigation, I am considering WiFi to be a short-range method of extending an internet connection from a fixed-line source, and therefore discounting it as being a true 驶mobile始 internet solution. To summarise: 5circles2012.com Technology
Advantages
Disadvantages
GPRS
Availability, cost
Slow data transmission, high latency
3G
Potential transmission speeds, cost
Availability dependent on location and network, medium latency
Satellite
Transmission speeds, reliability, available anywhere
Cost, latency, added production complications
The primary, fundamentally important requirement for this project in terms of internet connectivity is the ability for the installation to pull down scheduling and content data from a central server. This is not something that has to be done just-intime, and latency therefore is not an issue. Depending on the content type that will be pulled down from the server, bandwidth may be an issue. For example, if users are allowed to upload imagery and/or audio content to enhance their programmed section of the installation, this could require a typical broadband-speed connection (512kbs - 8Mbps). Other potential uses of the internet connection could include: a) uploading of still and video imagery from the event to feed back to the online community b) real-time webcam of event in progress c) connections to online community sites: updating feeds on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc manually or automatically. This variety of uses each introduces new requirements for the internet connection, and it would be impossible at this stage in the development of the project to accurately predict what these requirements will be. The conclusion from this initial investigation points to the 3G option as a likely base-level from which to begin developing. The potential to download large amounts of data at high speeds and the low cost of connection suggest the vital requirements of the installation could be met in most circumstances. If further use of the internet connection is required, it may be feasible to investigate the use of existing infrastructure in neighbouring buildings/facilities as an alternative method of connection, and the satellite approach can be seen as a last-resort backup for situations where no alternatives exist.
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As development of the project continues, it will be necessary to constantly keep the data transmission requirements in mind and to adopt suitable technologies depending on planned venues and the content of the installation. Future developments in mobile data technologies as the project progresses will also have to be considered against the criteria that will become more tangible as the detail of the project emerges. 5circles2012.com
Branding The brief for the 5Circles2012 brand was to create a strong logo that could be globally understood. We wanted it to have a simple, humanitarian quality that expressed the creative power of the individual. We chose the final logo because we believed that it fulfilled these criteria admirably. It始s simple, and can be used with or without the web-address, and in multiple colours.
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Logistics 5circles2012.com
As of Summer 2009 a single installation of 5Circles2012 requires the following; Hardware: at venue 1 Mac Pro 8-Core 8GB RAM, Radeon X1900, 3*10k RPM HDD (Raptor) in RAID 0 configuration LCD Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse Dazzle DVD Creator USB2 Video capture device USB > RS232 adapter Gefen VGA RS232 Extender * 2 Cable Loom on Drum: 50m length, 2 * BNC Video, 2 * Cat5e 2 * 2m Cat5e patch cables 2 * 2m BNC Video patch cables 50m 32A power cable 50m 16A power cable Flir Thermacam A20V thermal imaging camera with 9mm (45 degree) lens Weatherproof camera housing for A20V Barco FLM HD18 or Christie Roadster S+20k Projector Barco High Brightness TLD 1.6-2.0 Lens or Christie equivalent 2KW (min) stereo PA with Subwoofers Genie S120 Telescopic Boom Lift or Genie Z135 Articulated Boom Lift (large platform) front-silvered mirror on custom-built mounting Weatherproof sheeting / boarding for projector Long-wheelbase 驶transit始 type van for control position Power requirements 1 * 32A single phase 240V for Projector 1 * 16A single phase 240V for camera 1 * 16A single phase 240V for control position
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Software: Cycling 74 Max/MSP 4.6 and Jitter 1.6 (runtime only required for performance) Custom built binaries, libraries and classes for above Apple Logic Studio Drivers for USB>RS232 adapter EchoFX Videoglide Location Requirements: Performance area is 20m x 20m. Must be fairly level and even surface, with no immovable obstructions. Boom lift is raised to a height of approx 30m - area above performance area should be free from obstructions such as trees/ overhead cables. Telescopic boom lift is situated to one side of the performance area. 6m x 6m approx area. Telescopic boom lift weighs 20.1 tonnes. A low level of ambient light is required for the performance. Any street lights/flood lights that cover the area will need to be dimmed, disabled or physically screened for duration of performance
Biographies PILOT THEATRE Pilot Theatre is a national touring theatre company with over 25 years experience of delivering high quality theatre work to a target audience of young people. The work aims to be inspirational in terms of its presentation and production values, and is supported by an education programme that encourages aspiration in young people. Based at York Theatre Royal, Pilot Theatre is a regularly funded organisation of Arts Council England and Arts Council Yorkshire, and is also funded by York City Council. The award-winning Lord of the Flies has completed a ten year anniversary tour to great critical acclaim: “terrifying and exhilarating” (The Guardian). Other recent work includes a national tour of Looking for JJ adapted from Anne Cassidyʼs novel by Marcus Romer, which won the Best Show for Children and Young People in the 2008 TMA Theatre Awards. In partnership with KMA they created the opening sequence to the IIFA Bollywood Awards at Sheffield Arena in 2007. Pilot Theatre have been pioneering Technology and Arts thinking in their work both on and offline with their leadership and development of the Shift Happens conferences.
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KMA KMA is a collaboration between UK media artists Kit Monkman and Tom Wexler. Their work is primarily focussed on illuminating, encouraging, and developing, interactions between people in public spaces using projected light. Uniquely in the history of creative urban lighting, KMA choose to prioritise the illumination of people and their relationships over the lighting of buildings and edifices. Rejecting the historical notion of the citizen as a passive spectator, KMAʼs work celebrates the dynamics of human movement rather than the facets of historic buildings. Kit and Tom have also collaborated with other prominent artists on a wide range of projects in theatre, tv, film and academia. KMAʼs work creates large, immersive, sometimes networked, ʻdigital playgroundsʼ, in which distinctions between audiences and performers disappear. The resulting social engagements reaffirm the urban community through embodied, rather than verbal, discourse. These massive engagements in social play generate diverse audiences, free from social barriers. The participants take ownership of the work and the environment in which it is staged, creating a sense of event that in itself informs and illuminates the public space. Whilst KMAʼs work has dramatically transformed famous iconic spaces, such as Londonʼs Trafalgar Square, it has proved equally successful in more intimate environments, for example the Rennaissance Courtyard of the Palazzo Spada in Terni, Umbria. Through a diverse range of commissions, including those from the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Royal Opera House, and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, KMAʼs work has consistently received extensive national and international press attention. As a direct result of KMAʼs unique experience within the public-performance realm, Kit and Tom have also collaborated with other prominent artists on a wide range of projects in theatre, film and academia. Recent work includes video art for DV8ʼs To Be Straight with You (currently touring), the opening sequence for The 2007 Bollywood Oscars, video design for Darshan Singh Bhullerʼs Find Me Amongst the Black and his ground-breaking Eng-er-land, and ongoing performance research projects with the University of Leeds. KMAʼs work has consistently received positive media attention including live coverage of the launch of Flock on BBC Radio 4ʼs PM Programme, extensive national and regional TV and radio coverage and interviews, feature articles in The Times and The Guardian, and reviews in all the national broadsheets.
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“Flock… offered a whole new realm for ‘live’ artistic experience”. From How Soon is Now: 60 Years of the Institute of Contemporary Arts by Ekow Eshun and Pamela Jahn.
“Digital media experts KMA work wonders” The Times
5circles2012.com
“KMA’s brilliant visual tricks. Staggeringly inventive” The Telegraph
“a devastating bit of theatrical magic” New York Village Voice
“Staged with vivid imagination, daring and technological skill” The Australian
“‘Flock’ is a daring and exciting dance project… the concept of ‘Flock’ is something that certainly deserves further exploration for the artistic future of dance.” Ballet Magazine
“There were even people cycling across the stage – not a common sight in Swan Lake… everyone had such fun.” londondance.com
“Don’t ask how it works - it just does, courtesy of video artists Kit Monkman and Tom Wexler” StageNoise
“Last night’s moonlit production of a “virtual” Swan Lake, in which the audience became the dancers to Tchaikovsky’s music, showed that Trafalgar Square has become one of the capital’s stages.The scope that it offers for innovative events such as this ballet adds something new to London life… the support from the Mayor and the archtect Lord Foster for the transformation has now been vindicated.” London Evening Standard, Editorial
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Pilot Theatre Press Reviews William Golding meets Quentin Tarantino - Financial Times
Brilliantly evoked...see it and weep - Time Out
Terrifying and exhilarating production...heart stopping - The Guardian
Visceral production...thrillingly choreographed - The Independent
Ten years on and Pilot Theatre's ground breaking stage version of Lord of the Flies is as powerful as ever‌.Pilot Theatre's popularity with students is legendary - The Stage
Stunning production...superb ensemble...skilful direction, if you see nothing else, see this. - Manchester Evening News
An intense production that draws on all the senses: it is visual, visceral, engrossing and highly recommended. - Times Reviews
This is an extraordinarily powerful piece of theatre. - British Theatre Guide
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