The innovators at Balance Studios are animators,
designers, and leaders in interactive technology. But when The Field Museum
needed the perfect partner to recreate musical instruments from 1893 for their 120th anniversary celebration, it was the group's musical talents, in both performing and teaching, that really resonated.
In 1893, The Field Museum opened its doors and Chicago hosted The World Fair. To celebrate the anniversaries of both big events in the city's history, the museum created an exhibition called Opening the Vaults, Wonders of the 1893 World Fair. In the exhibit, original artifacts that were at the fair, such as a Javanese Gamelan, were featured.
The Javanese
Gamelan, an instrument played as an ensemble, contains approximately 20
instruments. As the originals are far too frail to play, the museum
wanted to complement the artifact on display by recreating the instruments in a way that
guests could interact with the Gamelan. The right sound quality that could simulate the true beauty of the instrument was paramount,
as was the importance of showing how the Gamelan was designed to have
multiple musicians playing at the same time.
The Balance Studios team worked together to define and design a
unique interactive application so guests could learn about, hear, and
play the unique instrument ensemble. The team recreated seven of the
1893-era instruments using photo-real, 3D animation that visitors could
explore on a multi-gestural table.
By customizing
and integrating multi-gestural functionality–swipe, touch/select,
pinch, and zoom–up to six visitors can interact with the exhibit at the
same time through two options: individual or group play. As an
individual player, the table is separated into
six zones. A user selects a zone and drags any instrument in and out of
the zone where they can play, hear, and learn about the various
instruments at his or her own pace.
For group play, guests are guided together to play a traditional Gamelan song. After
activating the center red button, the table transitions and everyone is
engaged with the others at the experience. The Balance team designed
and developed an experience similar to the Rock Band video game for each
instrument–which is like having seven
Rock Band-like games all on one multi-gestural table–playing music
from the 1800s. Using a follow-the-bouncing-ball concept, visitors are
instructed to play when the instrument and note sequence highlights with
a specific color. The scrolling musical note colors match with the corresponding areas highlighted on the instrument.
To
further customize the exhibit, the team designed and facilitated the
fabrication of a custom sound bar and sound application to enhance the
experience. The sound bar features speakers
for each zone, allowing patrons to hear only the sounds from their
specific zone. When wanting a group play experience, a master speaker
activates from under the table, allowing all patrons to hear the
fully-orchestrated melodies.