Tim Bartlett shared with us a tech demo of the Gloves Project interactive controllers that he and five other participants in ITP Camp built this past summer. These seem super handy….
To get an idea of how it can be used with video in a live setting, take a look at this test clip, where I use hand movement to wirelessly control video playback and effects. Here, sensor values on the glove are sent via Bluetooth to a decoder patch written in Max, and then out as MIDI controller data to VDMX, VJ software. It works!
Gloves have been used as controllers in live performance for some time — see Laetita Sonami’s Lady’s Glove for example. Our particular design is based on one created for Imogen Heap to use as an Ableton Live controller, so she can get out from behind a computer or keyboard and closer to the audience. She gives a great explanation and demonstration at this Wired Talk (musical performance starts at 13:30).
Heap and The Gloves Project team are into sharing the artistic possibilities of this device with others, as well as increasing the transparency of the musical process which can be obscured inside a computer. This is an attitude I’ve believed in since attending MakerFaire and Blip Festival in 2009, where I saw a range of homemade controllers and instruments. I was much more engaged with the artists who made the causal process visible. It doesn’t have to be all spelled-out, but in certain cases it helps to see the components: the performer is making the things happen. This is obvious with a guitar player, but not so much with electronic music. Also, you get a different creative result by moving your arms than pressing a button — a violin is different from a piano….
