Improvisation, Indeterminacy and Game-Mediated Participation in Network Music Performance

This chapter focuses on the relationship between improvisation and indeterminacy. We discuss the two practices by referring to play theory and game studies and situate it in recent network music performance. We will develop a parallel with game theory in which indeterminacy is seen as a way of articulating situations where structural decisions are left to the discernment of the performers and discuss improvisation as a method of play. The improvisation-indeterminacy relationship is discussed in the context of network music performance, which employs digital networks in the exchange of data between performers and hence relies on topological structures with varying degrees of openness and flexibility. Artists such as Max Neuhaus and The League of Automatic Music Composers initiated the development of a multitude of practices and technologies exploring the network as an environment for music making. Even though the technologies behind “the network” have shifted dramatically since Neuhaus’ use of radio in the 1960’s, a preoccupation with distribution and sharing of artistic agency has remained at the centre of networked practices. Gollo Föllmer, after undertaking an extensive review of network music initiatives, produced a typology that comprises categories as diverse as remix lists, sound toys, real/virtual space installations and network performances. For Föllmer, “the term ‘Net music’ comprises all formal and stylistic kinds of music upon which the specifics of electronic networks leave considerable traces, whereby the electronic networks strongly influence the process of musical production, the musical aesthetic, or the way music is received” (2005: 185).

Rotating Brains / Beating Heart:International collaborative performance with Stelarc, the virtual reality ensemble Avatar Orchestra Metaverse, Pauline Oliveros, Martin Parker and saxophonist Franziska Schroeder.

The work ROTATING BRAINS / BEATING HEART was specifically developed for the opening performance of the 2010 DRHA conference. The conference’s theme ‘Sensual Technologies: Collaborative Practices of Interdisciplinarity explored collaborative relationships between the body and sensual/sensing technologies across various disciplines, looking to new approaches offered by various emerging fields and practices that incorporate new and existing technologies. The conference had a specific focus on SecondLife with roundtable events and discussions, led by performance artist Stelarc, as well as international participation via SecondLife.
The collaboration between Stelarc, the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse (AOM) and myself as the DRHA2010 conference program chair was a unique occurrence for this conference.

Vision and Virtuality:The Construction of Narrative Space in Film and Computer Games

This paper seeks to explore the construction of narrative space in 3D PC computer games. With reference to Stephen Heath’s theory of filmic narrative space, the paper will examine how computer games, based on the rendition of a continuous 3D, real-time interactive environment, construct a distinct mode of narrativisation. The dynamic imbrication of the manipulation of 3D objects in a virtual world and the (re)presentation of this virtual mise-en-scene constitute an interaction that affects the concept of narrative in computer games. This leads to several questions that the paper seeks to investigate: How does the construction of space in PC games contribute to the meaning-making process or the gamer’s experience of narrative? How then is this experience of narrative game-space different from that of film?

Living in The Matrix: Virtual Reality Systems and Hyperspatial Representation in Architecture

In the digital age, the hyperspace of virtual reality systems stands out as a new spatial concept creating a parallel realm to "real" space. Virtual reality influences one’s experience of and interaction with architectural space. This "otherworld" brings up the criticism of the existing conception of space, time and body. Hyperspaces are relatively new to designers but not to filmmakers. Their cinematic representations help the comprehension of the outcomes of these new spaces. Visualisation of futuristic ideas on the big screen turns film into a medium for spatial experimentation. Creating a possible future, The Matrix (Andy and Larry Wachowski, 1999) takes the concept of hyperspace to a level not-yet-realised but imagined. With a critical gaze at the existing norms of architecture, the film creates new horizons in terms of space. In this context, this study introduces science fiction cinema as a discussion medium to understand the potentials of virtual reality systems for the architecture of the twenty first century. As a "role model" cinema helps to better understand technological and spatial shifts. It acts as a vehicle for going beyond the spatial theories and designs of the twentieth century, and defining the conception of space in contemporary architecture.

MSC-clustering and forward stepwise regression for virtual metrology in highly correlated input spaces

Increasingly semiconductor manufacturers are exploring opportunities for virtual metrology (VM) enabled process monitoring and control as a means of reducing non-value added metrology and achieving ever more demanding wafer fabrication tolerances. However, developing robust, reliable and interpretable VM models can be very challenging due to the highly correlated input space often associated with the underpinning data sets. A particularly pertinent example is etch rate prediction of plasma etch processes from multichannel optical emission spectroscopy data. This paper proposes a novel input-clustering based forward stepwise regression methodology for VM model building in such highly correlated input spaces. Max Separation Clustering (MSC) is employed as a pre-processing step to identify a reduced srt of well-conditioned, representative variables that can then be used as inputs to state-of-the-art model building techniques such as Forward Selection Regression (FSR), Ridge regression, LASSO and Forward Selection Ridge Regression (FCRR). The methodology is validated on a benchmark semiconductor plasma etch dataset and the results obtained are compared with those achieved when the state-of-art approaches are applied directly to the data without the MSC pre-processing step. Significant performance improvements are observed when MSC is combined with FSR (13%) and FSRR (8.5%), but not with Ridge Regression (-1%) or LASSO (-32%). The optimal VM results are obtained using the MSC-FSR and MSC-FSRR generated models. © 2012 IEEE.