I've tried to answer your mail a couple of times Amy but despite typing
a lot, there are some difficult questions you raise...
So last try I hope...
I guess as far as a performance is concerned, the idea is to focus on
what you're trying to do, and let the audience do the same. Because
they want to see what you're doing, so they can better choose how to
relate to the output.
So if special effects help illustrate your point, or help expose invoked
movement that is otherwise invisible, then that has to be good. Smoke
screens and other distractions are clearly not what we're aiming for
though.
The ASCII dancing man is a good example of an on-screen display that's
entertaining in its own right. However believe it or not, he is
generating music from his little dance. It's hard to tell because it's
pretty intense and repetitive, so I don't tend to run him on his own.
But when his dance changes, so does the music. When I'm playing with
him, I'm mostly thinking about the sound he's making. So he's not a
distraction for me. He's not really a distraction for the audience
either, because although they may not realise that he's making music,
they at least see that he's dancing in time to it, so the music still is
a focus. Perhaps I should make him make some encouraging remark such as
"Dance you *expletive deleted*"
So really I think that whatever happens, as long as the projection of
the interface is intrinsic to the performance - a genuine part of it
rather than a distraction or smoke screen, then it can do no harm.
I'm very much looking forward to seeing your livecode system too Amy!
alex
Received on Sat Jun 05 2004 - 10:49:49 BST