“Being Odysseus” – sirens in software, cyclops in code
Mellow-dram-o-rama for one performer and interactive motion-tracking stage with reactive audio/video, ca. 60 minutes
Odysseus, archetypical browser of land and sea, the i-am-a-wanderer galore, on his deathbedrock, performing the proverbial journey through important memories of his life, captain mnemo’s technological multimediary. Circe, Polyphem, Hades and a peculiar german scholar join in on the cruise of bruises. A reinterpretation of events based on ideas of Homer and Dante.
The interactive stage was built using EyeCon, a frame-grabbing motion-tracking software and DEPART’s weapons of choice at that time, NI Reaktor and PureData. The performer was able to roam freely, activating and influencing parts and aspects of the video and soundtrack. Specific zones of action were propelling the story and also changing the stage setup automatically.
“Being Odysseus” was DEPART’s first endeavour into realtime motion-tracking, realized in collaboration with Senselabor.
Commissioned by Trans-Media-Akademie Hellerau, shown at CynetArt Festival 2004, Dresden, Germany
Performer: Georg Hobmeier
Video: Leonhard Lass
Sound: Gregor Ladenhauf