Kinetic Magic
Freelance work, 2016 – 2017
For Kyle Ruddick at Kinetic Magic, I worked as the primary developer on a Kinect-based interactive installation in which users’ movements and the music or sounds of the environment create a playful visual experience that rewards full-body engagement.
Magic Dance Mirror
Magic Dance Mirror was the first project I developed for the client.
My main contributions were creating a robust framework in Unreal Engine to allow artists to freely map any of the input data streams (e.g. audio bands and volume, position/velocity/acceleration of all tracked body parts, hand gestures) to parameters in particle systems or fullscreen post-process materials, as well as creating a variety of effect sets for the final experience.
Magic Dance Mirror was shown at several live events, including Burning Man Festival 2016.
Magic Dance Mirror live at Burning Man 2016
Effects created for Magic Dance Mirror
Magic Paint Mirror
Magic Paint Mirror was an evolution of the Magic Dance Mirror, in which the focus was on creating an experience that encourages artistic expression. Users can use hand gestures to interact with the screen, and paint with a variety of brushes by moving their arms.
My work here was to create a robust and performant painting and canvas system to store (and erode over time) the users’ paint strokes; to create an interface that allows users to pick brushes and colors; and to build in backend functionality to capture a time-lapse of the canvas over a several days long event.
Magic Paint Mirror at Burning Man 2017, live shots and timelapse