EXPERIMENT LOG — Speech Recognition

Aim

Getting speech recognition to work, and writing into the sketch as text. 

Precedents / context

• Feedback from Andrew about using the voice to enact within the space, as a point of interaction, etc. Drawing from feminist art and the specific power of the female voice. 

• Worked off of The Coding Train tutorials. 

Process / methods

Reflection on action

• Getting speech recognition to work was super gratifying. The live aspect of the feedback and result is really fun to engage and play with, I think the energy and unpredictability is a significant part of the theatre experience that is appealing in the context of this project. 

• It was challenging, and I'm still not entirely sure how the code works/why it wasn't working at particular moments. I think there's also a lot more that I would like to be doing with it interactively/visually — having it write cumulatively, in separate lines, so that it is more readable. Even having it listen for specific words/commands — spells that play out with the typography. 

• I've also realised through the reading of bits of poetry, or making it up as I go, I have to actually decide what goes into this project. What the purpose is, of the theatre, to the audience, and what role they are invited to take. What is the story here, of the theatre space, across the different interactive experiments? And how is this constructed through text, image, and interaction? I really want to point to the constructed nature of identity, and how that's something for us to play with and own for ourselves. Also, code as a medium that is similarly performative, and pulling the curtain back on this to make the seams, and reality VISIBLE and "hackable", towards self-determination. 

Reflection for action

• Really really doing some research into cyberfeminism and the art/performance that came out of it. Gather ideas and solutions to things I am unsure about. 

• Again, do research on typefaces that are appropriate for this intersection. 

• I think you also need to some proper thinking about the journey of this experience, how it plays out, what specific purpose (and so, form) does the interaction take. Map it out, troubleshoot, user test. 

References