Workshop 5 - Spatializing Light: Building Wireless LED Systems

Workshop 5 – Spatializing Light: Building Wireless LED Systems

Re-purposing Internet of Things hardware, media artist and engineer Michael Lang will demonstrate how to build and control wireless LED lighting systems for spatialized light compositions, performances, and interventions. Low-cost, battery-powered, and highly mobile, these light systems can be integrated with Ableton Live, VJ software, or controlled by code.

In this workshop you will learn:
▸ Introduction to wearables and DIY portable battery-powered wireless devices
▸ Basic understanding of hardware/software used for IoT and how to re-purpose it
▸ DMX lighting for live performance
▸ Opportunities / challenges of using WiFi for live performance
▸ Using Arduino (ESP8266 and ESPixelStick) to create wireless lighting systems
▸ Combining sound and light using Ableton Live
▸ Using Processing to control wireless lights
▸ Introduction to Q Light Controller+ (cross-platform lighting software)

Level :
▸ Beginners, but some experience with MIDI software output recommended
▸ Advanced users welcome (DMX control via MadMapper, TouchDesigner etc)

Requirements:
▸ Laptop with the following software installed: Q Lighting Controller+ (QLC+), Ableton Live (trail version sufficient)
▸ If possible: MIDI controller with knobs or faders (we need 1 per group)
▸ USB powerbank (battery) with micro USB cable (to power one of the lights, preferably 3000mAh or more)

Host :
Michael Ang (CA)

Michael Ang (CA/DE) is an artist and engineer who creates light objects, interactive installations, and technological tools that expand the possibilities of human expression and connection. Applying a hacker’s aesthetic, he often repurposes existing technology to create human-centered experiences in public space and the open field. Countering the trend for technology to dissociate us from ourselves and surroundings, Michael’s works connect us to each other and the experience of the present moment. He is the co-inventor of the Infl3ctor, the projection system for Digital Calligraffiti.

Michael’s work has been shown internationally at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art (MMOMA), ISEA, Media Architecture Biennale, transmediale, White Wall Beirut, Gray Area Foundation For The Arts, Art Hack Day, NASA Ames Research Center, SPEKTRUM Berlin, Urban Media Art Academy, Calligrafreaks, Citilab Cornellà, World Maker Faire, and many others. He holds a Master’s Degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at New York University, USA and a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo, Canada. He currently lives and works in Berlin.

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The workshop program was produced in collaboration with CreativeApplications.Net