I’ve had a fantastic first Cybersonica day. Apart from some experimental and mathematical music we’ve had this afternoon, i must admit that i didn’t totally grasp the beauty of it.

Golan Levin gave a passionate talk (i wrote down most of it and will blog it later) and showed the Manual Input Sessions he developed with Zachary Lieberman.

The system is meant to be much simpler than Messa di Voce and the most spectacular version plays with hand shadows. The projection of analog overhead projectors and digital computer video projectors overlap which produces an unusual hybridized, dynamic light. A computer vision system analyses the sihouettes of the hands as they scribble on transparencies, and move across the glass tops of the overhead projectors. The hand gestures and transparency drawings are analysed by a custom software which in turn generates graphics and sounds coupled to the forms and movements of the hands. The responses are co-projected with the organic, analog shadows, resulting in an almost magical form of augmented-reality shadow play.

Check the website, the awesome pictures will give you a meagre idea of what we’ve seen today.