Evaluation 1/3: Background, Concept and Idea
The whole premise of my idea is to take a piece of technology and use it for a different purpose than originally intended. The Woojer vest that I am using was designed primarily for virtual reality gaming. Because of this, I decided I would use the vest to create an experience that would allow me to show off the utility of the vest whilst also making it a unique experience that pays homage to the technologies original intended purpose.
Originally my intended project was a listening experience with an additional element of the vest. I had planned to utilise a 22.2 surround system in combination with the vest to create something that is spatialised but also localised to the vest. I started to create loops of audio and placing them in the surround system. Whilst also copying the loops and transposing them down into a range at which the vest would be able to provide some meaningful frequency additions.
Unfortunately, this idea had to be reworked after extensive testing. The melodic elements of typical music and loops were not as compatible with the vest as originally predicted. The lack of meaningful vibrations in relation to the music is the main reason this idea failed.
Fortunately, due to the need to rethink my idea, I tested out some more vibrational audio as opposed to rhythmic and melodic elements. The vibrations and spatialisation of the gong sounds that I used provided me with a solution. I settled on a simple sine wave at different frequencies to create interesting relationships between the head and the body.
This change to sine waves leads to the need for headphones instead of the full surround sound system. To enhance my sine wave frequency idea I decided to research binaural beats and how to create them and what they do.
Finally, I have prefaced this whole project under a game guise. I wanted to create a slice of a game that could be used to demonstrate the potential of this technology. I wanted people to feel like they are being targeted and warped by the frequencies that are being played through the headphones and vest.
Jordan Woods 