Digital performance includes some elements of computer technologies to make the performance piece, work to its full potential. I believe that our work demonstrates digital performance because we used sensory installations to make the Hansel and Gretel story come to life. If we had not used these sensors then the piece wouldn’t have felt as magical and real and it also wouldn’t have been classed as a digital performance. Our performance included many other aspects making the Hansel and Gretel story feel real however it solely was the four sensors we used that made our piece digital. All four of our sensors, which were made up of cardboard, foil and neoprene were wired each to a computer via a MaKey MaKey. MaKey MaKey is “an invention kit for the 21st century which turn everyday objects into touchpads and combine them with the Internet” (MaKey MaKey, 2012-2014). Without the MaKey MaKey’s our performance would have been unsuccessful because the MaKey MaKey’s are what make the sensors work. Once the sensors and MaKey MaKey’s were wired up we then had to run the rest of the performance through the computer software named Isadora. Isadora is the “real-time media manipulation software to create stunningly interactive visuals, sounds, and environments” (Troikatronix, 2014). We downloaded the projection images of the woods and inside of the gingerbread house and then set up Isadora so that the sensors triggered these images when the two pieces of foil were pressed together. We also used two sound effects, one song for inside of the house and one tweeting bird sound for the walking through the forest, and these were also programmed into Isadora so that they were played at the correct time of the journey again by the stepping on of a sensor. Once both of the images and both of the sound effects were uploaded to Isadora and programmed in to come on with the press of the sensors we then had to work on our using of the Kinect. We used the Kinect again via a MaKey MaKey for one part of our story to trigger a projection image, which the audience would be able to see themselves moving through the forest. We thought this would be a good idea as it was another aspect that made the performance come to life and it also showed our skills of using two types of digital performance within our work. Using MaKey MaKey’s for a digital performance is very risky because the sensors can be temperamental meaning that if they don’t work then the whole performance is ruined. In order to make sure we felt confident with out sensors we made sure we had tried them a lot of times and everytime something went wrong with them we ensured that it was fixed and therefore wouldn’t happen again.
MaKey MaKey (2012-2014) An Invention Kit for Everyone. [online] Available from http://www.makeymakey.com [Accessed 6 May 2014].
Troikatronix (2014) Isadora. [online] Availble from http://troikatronix.com [Accessed 7 May 2014].
