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RAUSCHEN is a generative media system exploring the probability space of a 1000x1000 image. At first, it produces orderly grids of pixels according to a range of RNG and noise algorithms. These regular textures supply a modular palette of shader programs that recursively feed their combined results into ever emergent patterns, flashing by in quick succession. Its parameters are constantly monitored and provide the option to be manually influenced, enabling an operator to affect RAUSCHEN's output and save the generated outcomes to disk. While current image generation models de-noise their input textures into something coherent using techniques under the broad term diffusion, RAUSCHEN uses procedural generation methods in order to achieve the opposite effect, infusing its fundamental noise textures into structures of exponential randomness. In the end, a human decides what to keep.
How can we find our way through all this noise?
RAUSCHEN is driven by a Processing 4.3.2 application running on macOS that creates a buffer of custom dimensions and fills it with randomly colored cells of pixels each frame, called Rauschen_processing.
The color of the cells is determined by a range of pseudo random number generators that determine their RGB values:
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individual random number for each value and each cell
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a leading color determined by a custom Noise class, with each cell having a slight offset from that leading color that is also calculated by a custom Noise class
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a leading color determined by a custom Noise class, with each cell having a slight offset from that leading color that is calculated by a random one of the Noise types from the FastNoiseLite lib
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the entire grid of cells determined by a random one of the Noise types from FastNoiseLite lib
The cells can range in dimensions from 1 up to the dimensions of the buffer, and can be either square or rectangular. The dimensions of the cells, called xStep and yStep, are determined by a custom Noise class. All cells always have the same dimensions in a single frame.
For many operations, a custom Noise class is used that can return either a Noise value from 0 to 1, a Boolean determined by Noise, a Noise range from a custom low and high value, a Noise range from a custom low value range and a custom high value range, or each of those with a custom bias. The Noise class uses Processing's built in Perlin Noise. The increment with which they are computed can be set on initialization.
Noises are added to a list of Noises so they can be send to the control application.
Occasionally, instead of displayed the grid of cells, RAUSCHEN will apply a random shader from a list of shaders to the buffer. The shaders take a texture called tempBuffer as an input that is either the last grid of cells OR the last shader output. Depending on which event has fired last, this can be either the same shader multiple consecutive frames in a row, or a random different shader each frame, effectively mixing their outputs together.
A random event happens every X seconds if Auto Mode (isAutoMode) is active. These include:
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setting up new dimensions for either the grid of cells or the buffer setNewGridWithNoise() / resizeBuffer()
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switch to applying shaders instead of displaying the grid of cells isApplyingShaders
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switch between the grid of cells' colors being determined by the options described in "colors" isNoiseColorRandomOffset / isNoiseColorRandomOffset / isFastNoiseColor / isFastNoiseColorFastNoiseOffset
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switch between using the same shader in consecutive frames or using a random different shader each frame isRandomShaderEachFrame
The time between two events can either be set manually, or be picked at random between each frame and a maximum interval.
Each frame, a thread-safe copy is made of the buffer. Using the digital signal processing in Wellen, a sound sample is created from the buffer's pixels. The sample consists of a either horizontal, vertical or diagonal line of pixels, whose average color channel values ((R + G + B) / 3) are mapped to a frequency range. The sample is then passed through a band pass filter, where frequency and bandwidth are determined by - you guessed it - the custom Noise class.
At a set interval, RAUSCHEN will create a new thread in order to save the display buffer as a screenshot, with a timestamp in its file name. If the screenshot folder ('temp') exceeds a set number of screenshot, the oldest one will be deleted.
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Although there is a separate application to control RAUSCHEN, there are some rudimentary controls available:
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'F' key: show rudimentary debug info
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'P' key: print debug info to console
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'A' key: toggle Auto Mode (enable/disable automatic events)
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'Y' key: toggle Auto Auto Mode (like Auto Mode, but with an event interval determined by Noise)
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'S' key: choose a random event now
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'N' key: toggle audio
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SPACE: halt the entire application (good for photos)
In order to map the application to a surface with a projector, the window's menu bar can be disabled by setting the displayMode to 1. The buffer can then be resized with the '+' and '-' keys, and moved around the screen with the arrow keys.
The 'C' key will enable corner pins that can be moved around with the mouse to transform the buffer's edges.
The 'X' key will reset the current corners to their default positions.
The corner pin positions, as well as the buffer's dimensions and position on the screen can be saved to a JSON using the 'K' key.
The last saved setup can be loaded via the 'L' key.
RAUSCHEN is controlled by another Processing 4.3.2 application running on macOS called RAUSCHEN_processing_controls.
RAUSCHEN_processing_controls scans the folder that RAUSCHEN saves screenshots to ('temp') in a set interval. It displays the latest 4 a row of screenshots. When clicked on, it will save the corresponding screenshot to a permanent folder ('saved').
RAUSCHEN_processing_controls receives a set of data from RAUSCHEN_processing via OSC messages:
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'/noises' contains the values of all the Noises from the list of Noises, in this case mapped from 0 to 1, and is displayed as differently colored graphs
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'/info' contains the variable names and their values, which are determined manually or by events, plus some debug information, and is displayed as a list of variable names and their values
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'/shaderNames' contains the names of the shaders added to the main application and is displayed as a list of available shaders
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'/shaderChoice' contains the value determining which shader is currently in use, shown by the corresponding shader being highlighted in the list of available shaders
The variables present in the '/info' message can be set by RAUSCHEN_processing_controls sending OSC messages containing the corresponding key and value pairs back to RAUSCHEN. These variables will be overridden by the events from Auto Mode if it is active.
The list of shaders displayed in RAUSCHEN_Processing_controls contains buttons to SOLO and MUTE them, similar to audio tracks in a DAW. This enables to mix and match shaders freely when isRandomShaderEachFrame is active, or determine which random shaders can be chosen for consecutive frames when it is not active.
RAUSCHEN_processing_controls uses the Intech Studio Grid PBF4 midi controller. Its buttons and potentiometers are assigned to MIDI channels with the Intech Studio Grid Editor 1.5.7. RAUSCHEN_processing_controls listens to the set up MIDI channels, assigns their values to the corresponding variables and sends those pairs back to RAUSCHEN_processing via OSC messages.
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Some logic, mainly for enabling short and long presses, as well as saving variable values across page changes, is applied and saved directly to the controller in the form of LUA scripts.
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RAUSCHEN can either run on a screen in AUTO MODE or a performance station can be set up to manually control events and parameters or monitor and save screenshots.
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RAUSCHEN_poster contains some SvelteKit components that produce a poster or sharepic for the opening or future exhibitions from either random or chosen sets of screenshots.
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It can also produce a PDF preparing a large set of screenshots in order to print them in batches. The screenshots will have their filename printed on the bottom right in order to provide a unique timestamp as an identifier.
_other contains some files from early tests, such as the initial p5.js version of RAUSCHEN.