Manifesto

Working with Data

—interactive audiovisual narratives

In this course, students will build up an understanding of data and develop skills to work with data in an interactive audiovisual context with the software TouchDesigner.

https://derivative.ca/

During this 8 weeks period, we will learn the ontology of data. How to collect them, and how to work with existing data in an interactive audiovisual context with TouchDesigner.

The structure of this lesson will be a combination of both lectures and practical hands-on workshops.

Week 1: introduction

During the Frist 1st and 2nd weak students will able to understand data and build up knowledge of how to collect, store, sort, and inquire data in TouchDesigner. In the meantime also building up a critical approach to evaluate if the existing data set is ethical by asking 4 important questions:

Where did the data set collected?

Who collected the data?

And is the purpose of the collected data?

Is informed consent given when the data set was collected from people?

Week 2: basic visual network in touch designer and how to work with exiting data

Week 4: advance visual networks in TouchDesigner and how to work with API

We will mainly focus on practical workshops, building visual networks that interact with both existing data and real-time data using free API.

Week 5: Tutorials and individual support.

Example of works

1. in the heat of the moment-thermal image artworks

https://www.adamsebire.info/the-works/in-the-heat-of-the-moment

2. World Wildlife Foundation’s Endangered Species Pixelated Art

https://petapixel.com/2019/10/01/photos-of-endangered-species-where-every-pixel-represents-one-animal/

data source: https://apiv3.iucnredlist.org/api/v3/docs

3. 3D Weather Sculptures and Music-Nathalie Miebach

https://nathaliemiebach.com/

https://www.ted.com/talks/nathalie_miebach_art_made_of_storms

{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbhNaj88uL4&ab_channel=TED}}

4. data visualization: information is beautiful

https://informationisbeautiful.net/

What is data

JSON, tabular data(csv), XML? What is an API?

Looking for specific kind of data, google stuff

But data could come in a variety of formats.

And here is a list of data format you might encounter:

CSV XML JSON TEXT PDF

Or on the web page

API?

CSV file

A CSV file typically stores tabular data (numbers and text) in plain text. CSV stands for Comma-separated values.

Basic visual networks in TouchDesigner

TouchDesigner is a node-based visual programming language for real-time interactive multimedia content. It's been used by artists, programmers, creative coders, and performers to create performances, installations, and fixed media works.

https://derivative.ca/

Interface and operators overview

1.The network, operators, and timeline

2.viewing options

3.viewer active tag

4.display tag

Operators!-- the basic building blocks:

1. TOP - Texture Operators handle all 2D image operations.

2. CHOP - Channel Operators are used for motion, audio, animation, and control signals.

3. SOP - Surface Operators are the native 3D objects of TouchDesigner responsible for 3D points, polygons, and other 3D "primitives"

4. MAT - Materials are used for applying materials and shaders to the 3D rendering pipeline.

5. DAT - Data Operators are for ASCII text as plain text, scripts, XML, and tables.

6. COMP - Components represent 3D objects, panel components, and other various operators. These components can house entire networks of other operators.

Simple networks

Starting with TOPs imagine they are raw materials and recipes for your visual networks. later we can link them together and experiment.

let’s first put down the TOPs below into the blank space.

1. ramp, Noise, movie file in, circle, text, video device in.

2. lookup, composite

3. transform, edge, displace

As you can see some of the TOPs give us a red error, let’s because they need at least one input. don’t worry we will deal with it later:-)

simple script:

absTime.seconds

absTime.seconds*0.2

absTime.seconds*2

Export Movie

1. TOP: moviefileout

2. file→Export Movie

Performance Mode Full Screen

Work with Tabular data in TouchDesigner

how to read data and safe data in TD.

basic visual network.

how to link data into your visual network.

DAT table operator

Work with APIs in TouchDesigner

Register developer account to get API keys or generated tokens

A list of open APIs: