Milan update: people have been asking, so here is a technical explanation of the "liquid" digital floor display at the launch of Ross Lovegrove's new speakers for KEF.
The installation, held in a chapel at Milan's Science and Technology Museum, featured a pair of Lovegroves Muon speakers mounted on a floor containing a matrix of LEDs, which displayed a moving pattern that responded to the music.
YouTube has lots of movies of the floor in action, including this one.
The images and the explanation below come from Moving Brands, the company that produced the installation:
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KEF Muon launch Introduction
Moving Brands were commissioned by Ross Lovegrove to create a ‘liquid experience’ for the launch of Muon the world’s most innovative speakers for KEF. Our unique solution was to create a sound responsive visual engine expressing liquid topologies of 3D sonic forms in light.
A custom processing engine was coded to dynamically map liquid behaviours to a sound responsive expression engine.
Real time generative graphics will be displayed on a 5m x 10m floor mounted LED screen. The installation is a multi sensorial collaboration between technology and beauty producing an ‘altered state’ of liquid light and sound.
KEF Muon launch Responsive concept
Liquid topologies generate tonal forms in motion Dynamic behaviours are mapped to a generated 3D sonic form sliced into visual terrains of sound.
KEF Muon launch Custom software engine
• Built in processing, and made up of three parts
• Sound analysis, behaviour driven form generation and real time generative rendering
• This screen shot shows a prototype in the debug mode with sound analysis panel, speaker positioning and range sliders.
KEF Muon launches Screen simulation
• Light is used as a material to create depth and intensity over time.
• Controlling brightness and saturation will affect the environment and atmosphere of the space.
• Colour has been applied as an accent to radiate and map to sonic events, key builds and other ranges. Behaviour changes over time to provide richness in expressed form and an evolving response to multiple playlists
• The final visualisation will be displayed on a full colour 5m x 10m floor mounted Barco MiTrix system.