Samples of the Ghats is an interactive installation that invites its audience to re-create the ghats of Haridwar/India. Visitors re-compose its atmosphere by triggering locally collected audio and visual samples. This aims at exploring new forms of narrative.
Description
A 5 metres long structure framed with technology features a panorama of an ancient indian city. Intriguing, it acts like a magnet, an appeal to curiosity and exploration.
Cruising along the panel the visitor soon discover that he can play it. With the simple move of his hands he launches media sequences. They are audio and visual samples, pieces of Haridwar in India, collected and edited in a way to generate an atmospheric feel of the ghats.
In a collective experience, the panorama comes to life and the adventure can begin.
Research
Here, it is about exploring sensitive ways of delivering the information.
About the content:
The elements displayed are audio and visual samples of the Haridwar. They were selected and edited because of their particular role in the social aspects of the Ghats. No comments on them, they appear and produce their effect as you interact with the installation. The result is a sensorial virtual unreality journey into the Ghats.
About the narrative:
Interacting with the installation, the audience determine their journey. Therefore, narrative significantly bonds to interaction.
There are 2 levels of interaction. The first is individual, when each visitor launches audio and visual sequences. The second is collective, indeed you share what others have triggered, you also physically interact with them as the cruise along the panel with you.
About the message:
Rather than delivering a message through logic it operates on the level of emotion, thus being a sensorial gate to a city and its culture.
Tech
Reports/Clips:
Using a Nikon CoolPix 5M pixels camera for stills
Using a Canon MV500i for video
Content:
Layouts were designed in Photoshop
The clips were edited in premiere and imported in Flash
All flash files were converted into avi format and compressed to be exploitable in Max MSP Jitter.
Structure:
Alluminium structure
Rear projection screen
10 Infra-red detectors Interface-Z
2 analogics Interface-Z
2 Projectors
2 Sound Cards Hercule 16/12fw
2 Midi Sport 1×1 interface
10 set of creative speakers
Sketches
Team
The project was created and developed (filming, editing, programming, electronics, IR technology, installation design) by Philippe Chollet.
It involved contributions from Gauthaman Ravindran (editing, programming), Evi Cmarova (installation design) and André Chollet (installation design).
Also thanks to Rui Cepeda, Yvette Chollet, Sema Demir, Alex Garacotche, Ros Hanmer, Stephane Juguet, Chris Lane, Dimitra Markogiannaki, Martin Messias, Elena Moschini, David Mulugeta, Pat Power, Michaela Reiser, Angelo Santucci and Ian Waller.
Exhibitions
The installation was exhibited at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie during summer 2006, french title was BollyPlage. It was also was exhibited within the Mindplay Conference in January 2006. Sample of the Ghats is a Rhizome Artbase selection for 2006.
