machina
A proposal for an audience-powered spatial-audio installation. Collective movement, tracked by camera, drives a 360° loudspeaker array — the audience literally powers the machine. Without engagement, it falters; with it, it thrives.
01visuals
06design artifacts
An interactive audio-visual installation, pitched as a site-specific work, where the audience powers "the machine." Drawing on the aesthetics of industrial techno and minimalist visual design, MACHINA transforms collective movement into sonic and visual energy. Without the audience, the machine falters; with engagement, it thrives.
concept
The central metaphor positions the audience as fuel for a mechanistic, pulse-driven environment. Stillness idles the machine — slowed tempo, filtered audio. Dancing and continuous movement energize it — full tempo, unfiltered textures. The work critiques automation while celebrating the human body as the driver of rhythm and intensity, with a stark monochrome palette influenced by NONOTAK's audiovisual minimalism.
The installation is conceived as site-specific, adapting to the history and architecture of the Atlanta Underground — mechanized labor and industrial space reinterpreted as a collective performative experience.
system
- Input — cameras capture audience movement and location.
- Processing — motion features are extracted in Max/MSP and routed via OSC. Audience center-of-mass controls panning across a 360° loudspeaker array; transients follow tracked individuals.
- Audio — Ableton Live, mixed as immersive point-source spatialization across the array.
- Visual — TouchDesigner renders particle systems, rotating gears, and high-contrast grids from the same motion data.
credits
- Devon Green · Matias Cevallos · Kyle Smith
- Status: pitch / proposal — pitch document and deck.
- Context: Spatial Audio, Georgia Tech, Fall 2025.
- Tools: Max/MSP, Ableton Live, TouchDesigner, OSC, 360° loudspeaker array.
- Influence: NONOTAK.