scoreLight: a laser-based synesthetic experience

”scoreLight ” is a playful musical instrument capable of generat-ing sound from the lines of doodles as well as edges of three-dimensional objects nearby (hands, dancer’s silhouette, architec-tural details, etc- Fig.1). There is no camera nor projector: a laser spot explores the shape as a pick-up head would search for sound over the surface of a vinyl record- with the significant difference that the groove is generated by the contours of the drawing itself. The light beam follows these countours in the very same way a blind person uses a white cane to stick to a guidance route on the street. Sound is produced and modulated according to the curva-ture of the lines, their inclination as well as their color and texture. This means that ”scoreLight ” implements gesture, shape and color-to-sound artificial synesthesia [2,5]; abrupt changes in the direction of the lines trigger discrete sounds (percussion, glitches), thus cre-ating a rhythmic base (the length of a closed path determining the overall tempo). In turn, the sound being generated affects both the kinematics and shape of the light spot, therefore forming an inter-esting audio-visual feedback. The result of all this is a spot of light that dances on the surface of the drawing, while singing its secret score. Figure 1: Contour guides the laser beam