Assignment Title: Abstract Visual Story of a Song Team Project
Assignment Brief: In this creative coding team project, you will work in a team of up to four, to create an abstract visual story of a song. You will use Processing, Minim or the Processing Sound library to create audio responsive elements and Github to manage your project. You will create a program that responds to the audio of a chosen song and generates a visually compelling and abstract representation of the song's mood, tempo, and structure. The program should showcase your teamwork, creativity, technical skills, and ability to effectively communicate emotions and narrative through visual elements.
- Form a team of up to four students and submit your team details. You should meet in the lab on Wednesdays until the assignment is due, so if everybody can please be there to meet your team and discuss your project I would really appreciate it.
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Choose a song that you all agree on that inspires you and reflects your style and interests. You can use any genre, but try to select a song that has a clear structure, rhythm, and mood.
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Create a Github repository and use it to manage your project. Each team member should make commented commits to the repository to track their contributions. Here is a readme.md you can include to document your work.
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Use Processing, Minim, or the Processing Sound library to analyze the audio of the song and extract its main characteristics, such as frequency, and volume.
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Based on the audio analysis, create a set of visual elements that will react to the audio in real-time. The visual elements can be abstract and non-literal, and they should convey a sense of mood, tempo, and narrative.
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Consider how you can use colour, shape, motion, and composition to create a visually compelling and dynamic representation of the song. Think about how you can convey the song's emotions, themes, and structure through the interplay of visual elements.
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Divide the work among the team members and assign roles based on each member's strengths and interests. Ensure each team member's contributions are tracked in the Github repository.
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Document your process and showcase your final program in a youtube video highlights the key features and functionalities of your program. Provide a brief description of the song you chose, how you interpreted its mood and structure, and what inspired you to create the visual elements you designed. You will also have an opportunity to showcase your work in an end of year presentation with invited guests, snacks and soft drinks etc. You can bring gogo dancers or circus performers or a monkey. Its up to you.
Requirements:
- Use Processing library through VS Code and Java, Minim, or the Processing Sound library to create an audio-responsive program that generates an abstract visual story of a song.
- Use colour, shape, motion, and composition to create a visually compelling and dynamic representation of the song's mood, tempo, and structure.
- Work in a team of four and use Github to manage your project. Each team member must make commits to track their contributions.
You will be graded based on the following criteria:
- Creativity, originality and novelty in the visual elements and overall design: 35%
- Technical proficiency in using Processing, Minim, or the Processing Sound library to analyze the audio and generate responsive visuals: 35%
- Collaboration and teamwork in dividing tasks and managing the project using Github: 15%
- Quality and professionalism of the final program and video presentation: 15%
Check out playlists of previous assignments for inspiration.
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| First | The assignment is technically complex with lots of elements responding to or synchronised to sound. Lots of interactivity and things to see and do in the assignment. You have done lots of self directed learning and included advanced coding techniques that you have taught yourself. The assignment uses input devices to control your assignment such as the Kinect, Leap motion, microphone, webcam, a game controller or a custom controller. The visual is synchronised to the music perfectly. You will have used PVectors, transforms and classes to create autonomous elements in the assignment. Your code is organised into classes that use inheritance and polymorphism. The colours you have chosen are harmonious and beautiful. The assignment is well documented with detailed instructions and a youtube video. You made or programmed all the art assets to a high standard. You worked on the assignment making steady progress and have documented this. Your creation is an enjoyable experience that really suits the music you are using. |
| 2.1 | The assignment is fairly complex with some elements responding to sound in a straight-forward way such as colours changing or shapes changing size. There is a little interactivity. You have added a few features that you have had to learn some programming stuff for. You made or programmed all the art assets but maybe got some stuff online too. Your colours are good but could use some improvement to make them more beautiful. You have used classes, but maybe not inheritance & polymorphism. |
| 2.2 | The assignment isn't complex and is mostly based on modifying the examples we developed in the class. Your documentation is minimal and little evidence of good project management. Development on the project was rushed and you left everything until the week before the submission deadline. There are are incomplete features or things you planned to get working and couldn't. No youtube video or minimal documentation. |
| Pass | Something very basic that is just a small modification of the code we developed in the class. Missing documentation. Completed in the days before the submission deadline and minimal or missing documentation. |
| Fail | Project won't compile or major issues. |