Sound: Advanced Topics I
I've taught versions of this class for several years now, and I'm going to try a slightly different approach this term. The problem is that Unity has some very powerful tools for buidling virtual environments, but it's also necessary to master the basic use of the editor to engage fully with these tools. Add to that the use of RTcmix -- a text-based sound synthesis and signal-processing language we developed here at Columbia -- and there is a lot of ground to cover. To be sure, it's almost an impossible task to do this in one semester. But you all are COLUMBIA students! Yay! You do IMPOSSIBLE things! Go Lions!
We'll be meeting each week Wednesday at 6:10 PM until 8:00 PM. I have some on-line materials about some of what we will be covering from the past pandemic year, and I'll be including links to these as part of the syllabus.
We won't be going as deep into Unity and uRTcmix as singular topics as I have in previous classes; instead I want to present several different little 'projects' that exemplify various ways of using Unity/uRTcmix. I tend to get too carried away with the fun of doing these things, but I hope we have time to discuss in more depth the poetics of the tools and the aesthetic possibilities uncovered.
We will also be doing a fair amount of coding, BUT don't be worried about it! Everything we do will be with a musical goal in mind, and I think you'll pick up what we're doing without too much trouble. If you are feeling totally befuddled, or even just a little befuddled, please get in touch with Jessie or me. We're here to help!
As said, in addition to the object-coding we'll be doing in Unity, we will be using the computer music language RTcmix for most of the audio work. It's a functional, procedural language with interactive capabilities. It runs as a standalone program (for free!) on Windows/OSX/Linux, or you can run it inside Max/MSP or pd (Pure Data) (pd is also free!). We will link all of the code, patches and projects to each class in the syllabus for you to download and use. I was planning to record our class sessions for you to review later, but it's not clear that Columbia policy will now allow this.
To work up our RTcmix scripts for use inside Unity, we will be using the [rtcmix~] object in Max/MSP. You can also use [rtcmix~] in pd if you'd rather not shell out the $$$ for Max/MSP. Or you can run RTcmix as a free "standalone" app on OSX, Windows and Linux computers. We can show you how to set that up. John Gibson at Indiana University has built a nice interface-app called RTcmixShell that runs on Windows and OSX, but it doesn't give you access to some of the interactivity we will be explorig for use in Unity.
One more thing: we'll also spend one session using the 3-D
modelling software package
Blender,
also nicely free. It's very useful for creating detailed objects
for use in Unity.
Collected here are links to software and resources that we will be using in class:
Do let us know if you are having problems getting the
software to work for you. This promises to be a more intense term
because of the range of material we will be discussing.
In general, if you are having difficulty
understanding the programming paradigms
we are using or the applications and information we are covering,
be sure to talk to us. We'll be happy to sit down and work through
any issues with you.
Like we said,
each week we do will become a link to information relating to that
class. We will place recordings of the Zoom meetings on these
class pages, too.
We'll try to keep up with linking in class patches, examples
and information, but we may fall behind. Yell at us when we do.
I say this every year, and generally people believe it (I think): by this point in your career the last thing you should be worrying about is a grade. The main thing is to find something that you'd really like to do and then do it. Please don't try to impress us with your consummate knowledge and skill, we are more impressed by people who do things. Honest!
Hope you enjoy the class!
