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A televirtual event By Maurice Benayoun, Musical Creation by
Martin Matalon
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A televirtual world première September 19 to 24, 1995
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| The Tunnel Under the
Atlantic (Le Tunnel sous l'Atlantique) is an experimental
work using televirtuality that allows users situated on each side
of the Atlantic Ocean, in Paris and in Montreal, to meet and interact
in a virtual space they have created together. |
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A person enters on each
side of the virtual tunnel that links the Museum of Comtemporary
Art in Montreal with the Georges Pompidou's Center in Paris. As
the two progressively advance toward one another, the surface of
the passageway they are in the process of forging, reveals the equivalent
of geological strata which are transformed in this context into
iconographic strata. These discoveries enhance the dialogue between
the two protagonists. Each participant shares a complementary part
of the same musical composition. Finally, on both sides of the ocean,
a group of spectators can watch the progression of these two explorers
and their verbal exchanges are projected on a giant screen. |
| Freedom of exploration
is one of the major characteristic of The Tunnel Under the Atlantic.
The tunnels created are likely to evolve in many different directions:
they may go up or down, turn right or left, regardless of the angle
of rotation. Users will thus be able to seek out fragments of images
of which they have only seen certain details. It becomes obvious
that this project presents an interactive relationship, that clearly
surpasses the level of mere arborescence. |
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The Tunnel Under the
Atlantic attains a higher degree of interactivity, due to a
«supervisor» program that monitors users' more or less chaotic behavior,
as they develop their exploration and interests. Toward this end,
the system must administer three different types of data transmitted
in both directions between Paris and Montreal: spatial coordinates
and the orientation of each explorer, the sound of the dialogue
and commentaries of both participants, and finally a picture of
the face of each protagonist at the moment they meet (approximately
5 low-resolution images per second). |
| On both sides of the Atlantic,
the Tunnel uses an ONYX SGI station, two Indy WorkStations, an SGI
digital camera, a Sharp projector, a ISDN line and a quadraphonic
sound system. |
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The Tunnel Under the Atlantic
Director: Maurice Benayoun
Computer development: David Nahon & Tristan Lorach (Z-A Production)
Musical creation: Martin Matalon
Musical assistants : Xavier Chabot, Frederic Voisin, Xavier Bordelais
( IRCAM )
Producer: Stéphane Singier / Karen Benarrouch (Z-A Production)
A Public Command of the Délégation aux Arts Plastiques, French
Ministry of Culture
A coproduction of Z-A Production / IRCAM / Mission Recherche
et Technologies du Ministère de la Culture / Centre Georges Pompidou.
A common project with ISEA 95, Montreal. With the help of
SGI and Canon France. |
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