TENTACLES
Tentacles participate in an accelerated life cycle. Born with the click of a button, they glide through a fluid environment, eating, occasionally entangling with other creatures by accident or design. With another click of a button, they expire and explode into hundreds of tiny particles, ready-made food for those around them.
Technical Setup
Installation
Tentacles is an application made up of two parts, an animated projection built in Processing, and a controller app for iPhone and Android devices:
Projection
The basic Tentacles set-up is easy. To install Tentacles in a gallery or an outdoor space, simply load the projector file onto a laptop or workstation, plug in a data projector and launch the application. Tentacles can be projected onto one screen or across multiple screens.
Controller
Tentacles is a free download from the iPhone App Store or Google Play.
Basic Hardware
- a laptop or workstation
- wired Internet connection
- one to three projectors depending on the size of the installation space
- sound system powerful enough to fill the installation space
- public access to a WiFi and/or 3G network
Spacial Requirements
Tentacles is flexible and scalable. It can be installed indoors in a museum context for an exhibition or as an event/installation played outdoors projected onto a building in the evening. It can also be treated as a performance and installed at indoor events, a club, or as part of opening night festivities.
Maintenance
Tentacles is easy to maintain and only requires reliable access to the Internet. The interactive animation is a self-running application built in Processing. Players are connected automatically once they launch the app on their mobile device. Currently, Tentacles is available for Apple and Android operating systems. If installed for an exhibition in a museum context, Tentacles would require a dedicated room with the ability to play continuous sound. We also recommend handheld devices be available in the space for viewers who do not have access to a mobile device.
Technical Support
We recommend a member of the Tentacles development team assist with installation and be present for the launch at an event. However, if this is not possible and adequate technical expertise is available on site, we can negotiate local installation and provide limited technical support on-line.