Client: Roundhead Brewing Company

Overview

Translating musical gesture into 3D digital webs, Melody Figments are created by tracking movement as music is performed. Each web represents a moment in time, where sound, gesture, energy, and emotion come together and are expressed visually. The webs are generative, building upon each linear expression and sonic moment.

For this presentation of the work, we transformed the community room of Roundhead Brewing Company, into a concert hall and projection canvas. The musical gesture was translated to visuals through motion capture technology, and mapped specifically to the brewery’s 30 ft walls. Observers were able to see, hear, and feel the performance.

The ephemeral activation was then preserved, as each observer was gifted a digital asset – Melody Figment No. 002 – as a representation of the performance installation.

Goals

As a newly opened brewery, started by the Espinoza and Panzer families, the community room at Roundhead Brewing Company has been experimenting with art, music, yoga, and small business activations to support community collaboration and amplification. MF Dynamics connected with Roundhead, Departure Arts (the brewery's arts presenting partner) and Illuminus Boston, to light up the architecture with Melody Figments to illuminate the potential of this Boston-local gem.

Process

This experience was created in partnership with Illuminus Boston, providing projectors and mapping skills, and Departure Arts, the location's cultural partner. With a shared interest in activating the space, we each contributed our skills and networks to produce the highly technical activation seamlessly.

Melody Figments are created by tracking the motion of the performer using a camera, then translated to visuals via code written in Unreal Engine. Once the human body is detected, the code adds echo, wind, movement, and color based on pre-determined attributes and sound reactive properties. The unique Unreal Blueprint was made in collaboration with MAD Labs Studios in Dania Beach, Florida.

Additional Information

Integrating this body of work into a community accessible space was integral to the growth of the body of work. We will be building off of this practice to create additional temporary, as well as permanent, installations in which bespoke Melody Figments are generated, designed, and installed in various locations.