Boards of Canada provided me with a folder of great samples from their wonderful music and around these I constructed eighteen interactive audio visuals.
The main challenges were to construct scenes that visually suited each set of samples and to keep the file sizes small enough to enable the site to load reasonably quickly over an average connection. This was largely achieved by generating the majority of the visuals in each scene dynamically at runtime.
The scenes come in three basic variations. Kaleidoscopes, island worlds, and reflected panoramas. The user controls are consistent throughout. Moving the mouse from left to right, up and down within the frame pans the camera in the direction of the mouse.
In the kaleidoscope scenes the user is surrounded in every direction by seamlessly morphing 360 degree kaleidoscopic visuals. The user can pan the camera around to view in any direction and this also effects the rate of change / rotation of the kaleidoscope. The user can also alter the resolution of the kaleidoscope from detailed photographic quality right down to just a few coloured, graphical squares.
In the reflected panorama scenes photographic landscapes are reflected and warped as the user pans the camera.
In the island scenes the clouds, the colouring and topology of the landscape are all generated at run-time using custom Perlin Noise functions. Upon entering an island scene, a unique island is generated, further unique islands can be reached by flying out to sea in any direction.
Sound loops from a particular Boards of Canada song are positioned at various point sources on each island. Each point source is marked by a large hexagonal pillar. The volume and pan of each sample is relative to it’s proximity and orientation in relation to the camera. As in the real world the further the user is away from the point source of the sound sample, either laterally or vertically, the lower the volume of the sound. Likewise the stereo pan of each sample changes as the user moves past the point source.
On some of the islands the user can fly right up through the clouds. While above the clouds the music emanating from the island is reduced to a distant rumble. The unique topology of each island means that the sound sources always occupy slightly different elevations relative to each other, this in turn provides considerable variation in the song mixes possible.
The user is able to fly around the islands by clicking the left mouse button to propel the camera forward, pressing p to increase altitude and pressing a to hold the camera at it’s current altitude. If neither key is pressed the camera falls with gravity and while in contact with the surface of the landscape momentum is subject to friction.
The site won a Prix Ars Electronica Distinction award in the category of Net Excellence 2003.
- Viewing Requirements
- Adobe Shockwave plugin
