MAS MSP: Generating 7 alternate pairs of audio+light installations

    Neyah
    Mar 02 2010 | 11:22 pm
    I'm doing a project that is a photographic installation that includes sound. The images of this installation are going to be shown in lightboxes and have one sound attached to each image. Each pair of image (light)+sound is going to be on for a while, then off, and so the next pair gets on.
    That said, I've been informed that MAX MSP is a get plataform to trigger every pair in the right time, connecting light and sound at the same time. But one thing that i'm not very sure is the kind of hardware that I will need to do such project. I mean, what hardware is it necessary to connect the project of MAX MSP to the installation, controlling both light and sound?
    Thanks for the replies in advance.
    • Szrp
      Mar 03 2010 | 2:07 am
      Having little experience with visual stuff I'm not sure of the light thing. One possibility would be normal lamps with a microcontroller (such as Arduino) turning the switch on and off (either via transistor, if you're dealing with low voltage such as battery power, or a relay, if you're dealing with high voltage). That's one of the easier things to do with a microcontroller, and shouldn't create too many problems.
      But I bet there are also lamps/led-arrays/whatever that can already be directly attached to the computer via USB, which might make the process even easier. The question is just how expensive those things get (whereas a microcontroller-based solution will require more DIY-work, but will usually be relatively unexpensive).
      As for the sound: The best solution might be an audio interface with enough outputs (as many as the lightboxes you have), each one going to a speaker (either active speakers, or passive ones with an amp).