Machine Project

May 13, 20, 27 (three meetings)
Sundays 2-6pm
Instructed by Jonathan Zalben

$250 for 12 contact hours
Enrollment limited to 10 people.

What is Max/MSP?

With Max/MSP, you can make your computer do just about anything. It’s an erector set for digital media. It’s a musical instrument. It’s a real-time video mixer. It’s the brain behind an interactive installation. It’s a tool. It’s a tool to make tools. It could balance your checkbook. It’s whatever you need. It’s a Thneed.

Max is a graphical programming environment — an application that allows you to create your own software, using a toolkit of readymade user interface objects and basic processing objects that take care of timing, decision-making, reading and writing files, and the like. MSP adds to Max the ability to capture, synthesize, and manipulate audio. Through the use of additional hardware, like sensors and actuators, Max can be made to interact with the physical world.

Who should take this class?
This class is for anyone interested in using Max/MSP to create multimedia programs for sculpture, installation, performance, sound art, data visualization, etc. This is an intro class, and no prior experience with Max or computer programming is required, though existing computer and digital media production skills are highly recommended.

Objectives
• Learn to make basic patches (programs) in Max. This class will focus on Max programming concepts, user interface design, and interfacing Max with the real world. Audio (MSP) processing will be introduced, but not treated in detail.
• Gain a broad understanding of the capabilities of the Max environment, and its potential for extension. Emphasis on combining technologies.
• Learn how to continue learning Max after the workshop is over.

Structure
Presented as lectures interjected with experiments. Lots of time for debugging and questions.

Topics (time permitting)
• Basic techniques: standard input/output, math, data types, making decisions
• Using max with MIDI
• Data management: giving your program a memory
• Network communication: getting two or more computers to work together
• Using external controllers: gamepads and the like
• Capturing, generating, processing, and analyzing live and previously recorded video
• Building: making your own standalone applications
• Introduction to sensors and actuators: technologies and techniques for interfacing Max

What you’ll need
• computer (laptops are nice)
• Max/MSP (30 day demo available from http://cycling74.com)

What you might also want to bring (optional)
• Headphones
• Firewire video camera
• USB game pad

Cost/Registration
This workshop is limited to 10 people and we expect it to fill quickly. To avoid disappointment and general despair pre-register now.