Cardboard Controllers - Week 5 (tri 2)
- Julia Toczyska
- Apr 9, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 21, 2024
Today, we were visited by Natalie Whitney who prepared for us a small workshop cantered around 'cardboard controllers'. Natalie Whitney is an artist who creates interactive environment art and sensory room exhibits for education centres. During her workshop, she taught us how to use motherboards connected to iPads with sound controls, and handmade controllers we built using materials like copper, cardboard, wires - anything that conducts electricity.
Koala - where does the sound come from?
During this lecture we got introduced to a app called Koala - a mobile app designed for music production and sampling on iOS and Android. It allows users to record, manipulate, and arrange audio samples. Using Koala we captured and recorded sounds which we later used in the workshop.
The World of Creative Controllers
Two of my favourite controllers created by Natalie included the hanging circles and a 'leg button'. Interestingly, the button was created only from copper, a couple of sponges, and a wooden case!
Similarly to the button, the hanging circles were also simply constructed with wooden pieces and strings! Each string was connected to a crocodile clip which passed the touch signal to the motherboard.
Our Controllers!
Here comes my favourite part of this workshop, getting to experiment! We experimented with a variety of materials, such as play dough, monster cans, office plants, and even hats! The process was simple - connect an object to the motherboard using a crocodile clip, connect the motherboard to the iPad, then record some silly noises using Koala. Below I have attached some fun videos I have recorded during the workshop - please excuse the abomination of sounds we couldn't stop ourselves...
Things to consider while making a controller is how I want my audience to interact with it
Whilst experimenting I came to the conclusion that I want my controllers to be fun. The joy of creating is making things that can be enjoyed and accessed by everyone, and with that in mind I want my project for this module to also follow this. From now on I want to put a higher emphasis on audiences - how I imagine them interacting with my product and how I can enhance their user experience.
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