Project 5: Circuit Bending

This week we are going to hack a simple sound making device to create unique and original sounds to be performed in a group on Friday. This will not be our only equipment as we also will create our own piezo mics that can convert any contact with the disk into voltage and then sound. This gives us great opportunity to find everyday objects and use them for our presentation. What will be challenging is working together as a team to not overwhelm the other members sounds when playing at the same time. We will have to communicate by sound to each other so we can know when to fade in and out appropriate sounds. From what has been discussed with us I think that we are being tasked upon finding out if we can perform pieces of music through the communication of sound and create a collaborative piece without it sounding too out of place.

The inside of my sound toy

I have seen in a lot of production videos for games and movies that show how creative they can get when trying to produce sounds that are too difficult to produce naturally. It would seem that sounds are possible of imitation and deception that creates an imagery for us to explore, the piezo mics I think can open up what it means to create sound by giving an 'only  touch' base to its creation.   

The sound chip hacked using a potentiometer

I think that there are a lot of sounds that have been hacked before but we have not recognised that they are sound hacks. A lot of boy racers like to modify there exhaust to get a gruntier noise to make it sound as if their engine is more powerful. A club DJ I would also consider a hacker, mixing different songs together as well as repeating verses to intrigue and entertain the audience. They all have their different areas of use but overall I get that they are mainly being hacked to stimulate and indulge humans. This shows that the hacks are more for entertainment purposes and is more about what the creator is trying to express. I could go as far as saying that they are producing a means of art.