Senior Project ROLLING!
Ah, so maybe I do work best under pressure...
ANYway, I finally have a solid idea for senior project and I'm launching into action today! (Also because of my upcoming review in about 2 weeks, I sort of have to get moving haha.) So, to start, my revised pitch in a few sentences. Then maybe a paragraph synopsis that's longer?
Pitch: My project is a series of objects that symbolize the things that I miss out on due to being hard of hearing. These unassuming objects tell a silent story, and when physically interacted with, participants can find that they can hear sounds through means other than their ears- their bones. This project is an exploration of audio, through vibrations, through bone conduction, through feeling.
Synopsis: For my senior project, I'd like to create an interactive audio experience that participants can immerse themselves in through physical contact. Being a person who has been hard of hearing all her life, there's a lot in life that I feel distanced from, things I cannot help, and things I purposely distance myself from. I want to be able to share these things with others and also show that people can experience and enjoy sound with means other than their ears. And so, I've been looking into playing sound with vibrations and bone conduction. It's basically playing the sound against your bones, usually the skull when an ear doctor tests you with a tuning fork.
And so, I would like to have a series of objects made with a material that, when the objects are untouched, they seem to be silent. And when someone picks them up, presses them in their fingers, against their heads, their chins, wherever they want to try, they can hear something from the object that otherwise would go unnoticed. These objects and sounds will be inspired by some of the things I feel like I miss out on sometimes due to my hearing impairment. As for what these objects and sounds will be, I have to make a list first and see what may be do-able. So with every object, a story.
To accomplish this, I will need the right materials to trap sound but will allow for the audio to be "felt" with vibration, the right audio commands in Processing to set these objects off once they are picked up, and any other electronic materials such as sensors so that I can use my Arduino board to communicate with Processing. Right now I am in the process of discussing the materials with my audio professor, my programming professor and trying to organize a manageable schedule for myself hopefully with my Pre-production professor once they all return my emails. I've already gotten advice from my programming prof. to look in piezo buzzers or try an analog speaker and see what kind of effect I get.
So now I have to experiment. And when I build one object that gives me what I want, I can make many. Although my hearing loss is mild enough that I can mostly get by without hearing aids and some people will never notice that I'm hearing impaired, there are others that can hear less than me, or not at all, and yet, they can enjoy or create things like music thanks to bone conduction. I want people to experience that, and to not take the sounds around them for granted.
ANYway, I finally have a solid idea for senior project and I'm launching into action today! (Also because of my upcoming review in about 2 weeks, I sort of have to get moving haha.) So, to start, my revised pitch in a few sentences. Then maybe a paragraph synopsis that's longer?
Pitch: My project is a series of objects that symbolize the things that I miss out on due to being hard of hearing. These unassuming objects tell a silent story, and when physically interacted with, participants can find that they can hear sounds through means other than their ears- their bones. This project is an exploration of audio, through vibrations, through bone conduction, through feeling.
Synopsis: For my senior project, I'd like to create an interactive audio experience that participants can immerse themselves in through physical contact. Being a person who has been hard of hearing all her life, there's a lot in life that I feel distanced from, things I cannot help, and things I purposely distance myself from. I want to be able to share these things with others and also show that people can experience and enjoy sound with means other than their ears. And so, I've been looking into playing sound with vibrations and bone conduction. It's basically playing the sound against your bones, usually the skull when an ear doctor tests you with a tuning fork.
And so, I would like to have a series of objects made with a material that, when the objects are untouched, they seem to be silent. And when someone picks them up, presses them in their fingers, against their heads, their chins, wherever they want to try, they can hear something from the object that otherwise would go unnoticed. These objects and sounds will be inspired by some of the things I feel like I miss out on sometimes due to my hearing impairment. As for what these objects and sounds will be, I have to make a list first and see what may be do-able. So with every object, a story.
To accomplish this, I will need the right materials to trap sound but will allow for the audio to be "felt" with vibration, the right audio commands in Processing to set these objects off once they are picked up, and any other electronic materials such as sensors so that I can use my Arduino board to communicate with Processing. Right now I am in the process of discussing the materials with my audio professor, my programming professor and trying to organize a manageable schedule for myself hopefully with my Pre-production professor once they all return my emails. I've already gotten advice from my programming prof. to look in piezo buzzers or try an analog speaker and see what kind of effect I get.
So now I have to experiment. And when I build one object that gives me what I want, I can make many. Although my hearing loss is mild enough that I can mostly get by without hearing aids and some people will never notice that I'm hearing impaired, there are others that can hear less than me, or not at all, and yet, they can enjoy or create things like music thanks to bone conduction. I want people to experience that, and to not take the sounds around them for granted.