Apr 1, 20193 min read

The Aresti catalog

In my research for this assignment I wanted to find my notation, I didn't want to make my own (although as a graphic designer it is very appealing to me), I wanted to borrow the aesthetic from one place and try to "play it" with my new set of tools (interactivity, tone.js panner+synths).

Every year, since I was 4 years old we used to go to the Israeli Independence Day Airshow. I hated the loud, vibrating sound of the airplanes crossing the city sky. Sound apparently is something that I react to better than any other input going inside my body, the common gesture of putting 2 fingers in my ears is something that I do almost 3 times a day. I can tolerate very experimental things as long as I choose to. I never chose to go to the air show. The sound surpassed the aesthetics of the show; form (formation) - composition, traces of engine fog - memory. Only when I started to notice these aspects I begin to appreciate the show.

Aerobatic manoeuvres are flight paths putting aircraft in unusual attitudes, in air shows, dogfights or competition aerobatics. Aerobatics can be performed by a single aircraft or in 'formation' with several others. Nearly all aircraft are capable of performing aerobatics manoeuvres of some kind, although it may not be legal or safe to do so in certain aircraft.

I came across The Aresti Catalog two years ago for other research that I was doing and I had it saved for a long time in my inspiration folder. it is the standards document enumerating the aerobatic manoeuvres permitted in aerobatic competition. Each figure in the catalog is represented by lines, arrows, geometric shapes and numbers representing the precise form of a manoeuvre to be flown.

I felt triggered immediately by these diagrams and shapes, i could hear the sound.

I thought it would be a great way to start and understand how to create a new sound to this stunts using the graphics as a score. My intuition was to go and record the music in Ableton which is something that I am familiar with and working for a long time with, but after recording some beautiful sounds I decided to stop and go to P5. this is a first for me.

I don't feel comfortable yet to code, not to mention doing music with code but somehow with tone.js documentation, I felt safer to start. and i felt like it is time to start and do it.

so.

I decided to have 3 components:

1 - Movement from point to point (that I can choose)

2- Traces of the movement

3- Sound related to my memory (engines and errors)

(going from commemoration to celebration)

4 - the opening sound of the show (like a game)

5 - the notation as an inspiration

Essentially it is a tool, and the score of this sound piece is the ten manoeuvres from The Aresti Catalog. I would like to try to mimic the manoeuvres in the interface or to be inspired by them. The sound that I created using the panner is making the movement seems like it is crossing spatially the canvas. creating some traces of the memory from these airshows. almost as if there is a sky above.

I feel like the best way to listen to this is using headphones. maybe it is my secret wish to go again to the first airshow that i saw and have the option to listen to it closely and maybe control the sound.

Furthermore, Just making this work is a huge achievement for me, I didn't ask from anyone help, I studied almost every synth/effect and event in tone.js. which made me open to a new world. I don't know yet to control it like I want to.

I feel like the concept is strong and the execution requires more work and iteration especially on the sound and the complexity of the visuals. Thinking about the visuals, that was something that I left out this time to spend more time with the code. (usually, the one thing that makes my works look stronger). The music isn't interesting and deep enough like I know to make using my own synths. but on the other it make me feel proud that i can accomplish my ideas using code.

Early Sketches: