Below are some of the “experimental” audiovisual pieces of The Static Organ project.

Brain Box

short taken from Brain Box

Brain Box was produced through recording brainwave frequencies whilst imagining the construction and deconstruction of landscapes.  Above is a short taken from the outcome of this experiment.

Brain box was developed from an interactive installation piece (screen based) . The geometry of the box’s shape and its complexity is created using equations devised by Ernst Chladni (from his study on Cymatics: the study of wave phenomena) for calculating the nodal pattern caused by vibration  due to the resonance of a frequency acting on a surface or within a volume of space (the effect produced by vibrating a surface at certain frequencies patters will emerge that are specific to both the shape of the surface and the frequency, for Brain Box calculations are of a cube).

The data from the brainwave frequency measurements is of the two hemispheres averaged (to give one reading of mean) and then filtered into high and low. The low frequency effects the shape and rotation of the cube, and the high frequency controls the lighting. The lower the average frequency the more basic the shape (less complicated and more square or blocky) and the higher the frequency the more complex the shape (and also more smooth). The lighting is affected by the high frequency, the higher the amount of activity in the high frequency, the more intense the glow shall be. The audio is linked to these two frequency bands and gives an impression of movement and stretching of a structure and high energy.

Sleeping Static

short taken from Sleeping Static

Sleeping Static was produced through recording brainwave frequencies whilst entering a sleeping state.  The intention of this was to gather information that would show the dominant frequency of the brainwaves eventually lowering.

The information was divided into four sections depending on its frequency range. This data was then used to control the movement of the four corresponding sections of the video.  Movement and audio would only be triggered once there was sufficient activity in order to eliminate background noise (meaning if there is very little activity in the frequency band then there would be no audio and no activity displayed). A glow effect is also controlled by the amount of information that is in the band. The aims of this video are to show how the major frequencies alter as the brain slowly moves into a relaxed state.