Cavan Fyans | Queen's University Belfast (original) (raw)
Papers by Cavan Fyans
A study is presented examining the participatory design of digital musical interactions. The stud... more A study is presented examining the participatory design of digital musical interactions. The study takes into consideration the entire ecology of digital musical interactions including the designer, performer and spectator. A new instrument is developed through iterative participatory design involving a group of performers. Across the study the evolution of creative practice and skill development in an emerging community of
2013 Humaine Association Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction, 2013
ABSTRACT GTrace is a program which allows users to create a 'trace' that specifie... more ABSTRACT GTrace is a program which allows users to create a 'trace' that specifies how they see emotion rising and falling over time. They respond by using a mouse to move a cursor in a 1-D window which appears beside the material to be rated. Users can select from a range of pre-specified scales, or form their own. This version of the program is compatible with the new standard for describing emotion on the web, embodied in EmotionML (http://www.w3.org/TR/emotionml/). It can be downloaded from http://go.qub.ac.uk/GTrace.
contexts
As NIME's focus has expanded beyond the design reports which were pervasive in the early days to ... more As NIME's focus has expanded beyond the design reports which were pervasive in the early days to include studies and experiments involving music control devices, we report on a particular area of activity that has been overlooked: designs of music devices in experimental contexts. We demonstrate this is distinct from designing for artistic performances, with a unique set of novel challenges. A survey of methodological approaches to experiments in NIME reveals a tendency to rely on existing instruments or evaluations of new devices designed for broader creative application. We present two examples from our own studies that reveal the merits of designing purpose-built devices for experimental contexts.
We present observations from two separate studies of spectators' perceptions of musical performan... more We present observations from two separate studies of spectators' perceptions of musical performances, one involving two acoustic instruments, the other two electronic instruments. Both studies followed the same qualitative method, using structured interviews to ascertain and compare spectators' experiences. In this paper, we focus on outcomes pertaining to perceptions of the performers' skill, relating to concepts of embodiment and communities of practice.
Proceedings of the 27th …, Jan 1, 2009
The development of computer-based devices for music control has created a need to study how spect... more The development of computer-based devices for music control has created a need to study how spectators understand new performance technologies and practices. As a part of a larger project examining how interactions with technology can be communicated to spectators, we present a model of a spectator's understanding of error by a performer. This model is broadly applicable throughout HCI, as interactions with technology are increasingly public and spectatorship is becoming more common.
Proc. NIME, Jan 1, 2010
Drawing on a model of spectator understanding of error in performance in the literature, we docum... more Drawing on a model of spectator understanding of error in performance in the literature, we document a qualitative experiment that explores the relationships between domain knowledge, mental models, intention and error recognition by spectators of performances with electronic instruments. Participants saw two performances with contrasting instruments, with controls on their mental model and understanding of intention. Based on data from a subsequent structured interview, we identify themes in participants' judgements and understanding of performance and explanations of their spectator experience. These reveal both elements of similarity and difference between the two performances, instruments and between domain knowledge groups. From these, we suggest and discuss implications for the design of novel performative interactions with technology.
Organised Sound, Jan 1, 2011
This article adopts an ecological view of digital musical interactions, first considering the rel... more This article adopts an ecological view of digital musical interactions, first considering the relationship between performers and digital systems, and then spectators' perception of these interactions. We provide evidence that the relationships between performers and digital music systems are not necessarily instrumental in the same was as they are with acoustic systems, and nor should they always strive to be. Furthermore, we report results of a study suggesting that spectators may not perceive such interactions in the same way as performances with musical instruments. We present implications for the design of digital musical interactions, suggesting that designers should embrace the reality that digital systems are malleable and dynamic, and may engage performers and spectators in different modalities, sometimes simultaneously.
Proc. Int. Conf. on Computer Games: …, Jan 1, 2008
This paper presents a novel approach for the creation of computer games where the user can actual... more This paper presents a novel approach for the creation of computer games where the user can actually feel and manipulate objects in the 3D environment. Haptics (the sense of touch), is commonly used in virtual reality simulations such as tele-operation (the control of remote systems), however to date, games have not typically been targeted for development. By taking two existing products; a game engine (Unity) and a commercial haptics device (a PHANTOM Omni), a plug-in has been developed to link these technologies together. The resulting system allows anyone, with even modest programming skills, to create a computer game which allows the user to feel 3D objects in the environment. The paper will discuss how Unity allows for the rapid prototyping of games, how this plug-in was developed, and finally how haptics can be used in future computer games.
Proc. of the Conf. on New …, Jan 1, 2009
The development of new interfaces for musical expression has created a need to study how spectato... more The development of new interfaces for musical expression has created a need to study how spectators comprehend new performance technologies and practices. As part of a larger project examining how interactions with technology can be communicated with the spectator, we relate our model of spectator understanding of error to the NIME discourse surrounding transparency, mapping, skill and success.
A study is presented examining the participatory design of digital musical interactions. The stud... more A study is presented examining the participatory design of digital musical interactions. The study takes into consideration the entire ecology of digital musical interactions including the designer, performer and spectator. A new instrument is developed through iterative participatory design involving a group of performers. Across the study the evolution of creative practice and skill development in an emerging community of
2013 Humaine Association Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction, 2013
ABSTRACT GTrace is a program which allows users to create a 'trace' that specifie... more ABSTRACT GTrace is a program which allows users to create a 'trace' that specifies how they see emotion rising and falling over time. They respond by using a mouse to move a cursor in a 1-D window which appears beside the material to be rated. Users can select from a range of pre-specified scales, or form their own. This version of the program is compatible with the new standard for describing emotion on the web, embodied in EmotionML (http://www.w3.org/TR/emotionml/). It can be downloaded from http://go.qub.ac.uk/GTrace.
contexts
As NIME's focus has expanded beyond the design reports which were pervasive in the early days to ... more As NIME's focus has expanded beyond the design reports which were pervasive in the early days to include studies and experiments involving music control devices, we report on a particular area of activity that has been overlooked: designs of music devices in experimental contexts. We demonstrate this is distinct from designing for artistic performances, with a unique set of novel challenges. A survey of methodological approaches to experiments in NIME reveals a tendency to rely on existing instruments or evaluations of new devices designed for broader creative application. We present two examples from our own studies that reveal the merits of designing purpose-built devices for experimental contexts.
We present observations from two separate studies of spectators' perceptions of musical performan... more We present observations from two separate studies of spectators' perceptions of musical performances, one involving two acoustic instruments, the other two electronic instruments. Both studies followed the same qualitative method, using structured interviews to ascertain and compare spectators' experiences. In this paper, we focus on outcomes pertaining to perceptions of the performers' skill, relating to concepts of embodiment and communities of practice.
Proceedings of the 27th …, Jan 1, 2009
The development of computer-based devices for music control has created a need to study how spect... more The development of computer-based devices for music control has created a need to study how spectators understand new performance technologies and practices. As a part of a larger project examining how interactions with technology can be communicated to spectators, we present a model of a spectator's understanding of error by a performer. This model is broadly applicable throughout HCI, as interactions with technology are increasingly public and spectatorship is becoming more common.
Proc. NIME, Jan 1, 2010
Drawing on a model of spectator understanding of error in performance in the literature, we docum... more Drawing on a model of spectator understanding of error in performance in the literature, we document a qualitative experiment that explores the relationships between domain knowledge, mental models, intention and error recognition by spectators of performances with electronic instruments. Participants saw two performances with contrasting instruments, with controls on their mental model and understanding of intention. Based on data from a subsequent structured interview, we identify themes in participants' judgements and understanding of performance and explanations of their spectator experience. These reveal both elements of similarity and difference between the two performances, instruments and between domain knowledge groups. From these, we suggest and discuss implications for the design of novel performative interactions with technology.
Organised Sound, Jan 1, 2011
This article adopts an ecological view of digital musical interactions, first considering the rel... more This article adopts an ecological view of digital musical interactions, first considering the relationship between performers and digital systems, and then spectators' perception of these interactions. We provide evidence that the relationships between performers and digital music systems are not necessarily instrumental in the same was as they are with acoustic systems, and nor should they always strive to be. Furthermore, we report results of a study suggesting that spectators may not perceive such interactions in the same way as performances with musical instruments. We present implications for the design of digital musical interactions, suggesting that designers should embrace the reality that digital systems are malleable and dynamic, and may engage performers and spectators in different modalities, sometimes simultaneously.
Proc. Int. Conf. on Computer Games: …, Jan 1, 2008
This paper presents a novel approach for the creation of computer games where the user can actual... more This paper presents a novel approach for the creation of computer games where the user can actually feel and manipulate objects in the 3D environment. Haptics (the sense of touch), is commonly used in virtual reality simulations such as tele-operation (the control of remote systems), however to date, games have not typically been targeted for development. By taking two existing products; a game engine (Unity) and a commercial haptics device (a PHANTOM Omni), a plug-in has been developed to link these technologies together. The resulting system allows anyone, with even modest programming skills, to create a computer game which allows the user to feel 3D objects in the environment. The paper will discuss how Unity allows for the rapid prototyping of games, how this plug-in was developed, and finally how haptics can be used in future computer games.
Proc. of the Conf. on New …, Jan 1, 2009
The development of new interfaces for musical expression has created a need to study how spectato... more The development of new interfaces for musical expression has created a need to study how spectators comprehend new performance technologies and practices. As part of a larger project examining how interactions with technology can be communicated with the spectator, we relate our model of spectator understanding of error to the NIME discourse surrounding transparency, mapping, skill and success.