Jared Ficklin: New ways to see music (with color! and fire!)

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

翻译人员: Yuguo Zhang 校对人员: Li Li

My passions

我的激情

are music, technology and making things.

就是来自于音乐,科技,以及创造东西

And it's the combination of these things

是所有这些东西的合体

that has led me to the hobby of sound visualization,

使我形成了一个令声音图像化的习惯

and, on occasion, has led me to play with fire.

而且时不时地还带我与火共舞

This is a Rubens' tube. It's one of many I've made over the years,

这是一个鲁本管,这是近几些年来我做的所有东西的其中一个

and I have one here tonight.

今天晚上呢我也带来了一个

It's about an 8-foot-long tube of metal,

这玩意儿大约是由8尺长的金属做成

it's got a hundred or so holes on top,

在它的顶部又有差不多一百个小洞

on that side is the speaker, and here

另一边是个话筒,这块儿

is some lab tubing, and it's connected to this tank

是一些实验用的管子,而且是和这个装满丙烷

of propane.

的容器连接的

So, let's fire it up and see what it does.

好吧,我们现在就把它点燃看看它会做些什么

So let's play a 550-herz frequency

嗯...我们先试试550赫兹的频率吧

and watch what happens.

看看效果会怎么样

(Frequency)

(频率)

Thank you. (Applause)

谢谢. (观众鼓掌)

It's okay to applaud the laws of physics,

我能理解你们为这一物理定律的鼓掌喝彩，

but essentially what's happening here

但是实际发生的是

-- (Laughter) --

(笑声)

is the energy from the sound via the air and gas molecules

通过空气和气体分子产生的声音的能量

is influencing the combustion properties of propane,

在影响丙烷的燃烧性质

creating a visible waveform,

因而创造出一个可视的波段

and we can see the alternating regions of compression

而且我们可以看到不同地区的波段

and rarefaction that we call frequency,

以及空气稀薄的地方我们把它叫频率

and the height is showing us amplitude.

高度告诉我们的是振幅

So let's change the frequency of the sound,

好吧.那让我们改变一下声音的频率

and watch what happens to the fire.

然后再看看火会发生什么变化

(Higher frequency)

{更高的频率)

So every time we hit a resonant frequency we get a standing wave

每回我释放一个共振的频率我们就会有一个驻波

and that emergent sine curve of fire.

以及那个正玄函数图像般的火焰就会出现

So let's turn that off. We're indoors.

好吧我们还是把这关了.我们在室内呢

Thank you. (Applause)

谢谢. (观众鼓掌)

I also have with me a flame table.

我今天还带来了一个火焰桌

It's very similar to a Rubens' tube, and it's also used

它跟鲁本管挺像的,而且它还是用做

for visualizing the physical properties of sound,

将声音的物理性质图像化

such as eigenmodes, so let's fire it up

比如说本微膜,那我们把它点燃吧

and see what it does.

然后看看会发生什么

Ooh. (Laughter)

喔~(笑声)

Okay. Now, while the table comes up to pressure,

好吧.现在,当这个桌子受到到压力

let me note here that the sound is not traveling

我想提醒一下声音不是以完美的直线在运动

in perfect lines. It's actually traveling in all directions,

实际上是在向各个方向去运动

and the Rubens' tube's a little like bisecting those waves

鲁本管有点像通过一条线二分了这些波段

with a line, and the flame table's a little like

而这个火焰桌有点像

bisecting those waves with a plane,

通过一个面二分了这些波段

and it can show a little more subtle complexity, which is why

它可以显示一些微妙的复杂性,这就是为啥

I like to use it to watch Geoff Farina play guitar.

我喜欢用它去看Geoff Farina弹吉他

(Music)

(音乐)

All right, so it's a delicate dance.

好吧,这是个轻妙的舞蹈

If you watch closely — (Applause)

如果你看的近一点--(观众鼓掌)

If you watch closely, you may have seen

如果你看近一点,你可以看到

some of the eigenmodes, but also you may have seen

一些本徵模,不过你还可以看到

that jazz music is better with fire.

爵士乐跟火焰搭配更好

Actually, a lot of things are better with fire in my world,

实际上,在我的世界里,好多东西一跟火焰搭配就更好

but the fire's just a foundation.

不过火焰只不过是个开始

It shows very well that eyes can hear,

它很明确告诉我们眼睛也具有听觉功能，

and this is interesting to me because

我对这个很感兴趣因为

technology allows us to present sound to the eyes

科技允许我们去用眼睛来感受声音

in ways that accentuate the strength of the eyes

从而加强我们眼睛的感受力度

for seeing sound, such as the removal of time.

通过看声音,比如时间的转移

So here, I'm using a rendering algorithm to paint

那么这里呢,我在用一个描写性的算法去画出

the frequencies of the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

歌曲"Smell Like Teen Spirit"的频率

in a way that the eyes can take them in

以一种简单的视觉效应，

as a single visual impression, and the technique

进入我们的眼帘，而且这种技术还可以给我们

will also show the strengths of the visual cortex

显示出来视觉皮质在模式观察方面

for pattern recognition.

的优点

So if I show you another song off this album,

如果我给你这首专辑里面另外一首歌,

and another, your eyes will easily pick out

再另外一首,你的眼睛会很轻松地看出

the use of repetition by the band Nirvana,

乐队Nirvana对于重复的使用

and in the frequency distribution, the colors,

通过频率分布和颜色方面也可以看出来，

you can see the clean-dirty-clean sound

你可以看到这个又干净又脏的声音

that they are famous for,

是什么使得它们有名的

and here is the entire album as a single visual impression,

这儿是一个以单独的视觉效应来代表整个专辑

and I think this impression is pretty powerful.

我认为这个效应十分的强大

At least, it's powerful enough that

至少,强大到

if I show you these four songs,

如果我给你看四首歌

and I remind you that this is "Smells Like Teen Spirit,"

而且我提醒你这首是"Smells Like Teen Spirit"

you can probably correctly guess, without listening

你应该能准确地猜到,在不听的情况下,

to any music at all, that the song

这首歌

a die hard Nirvana fan would enjoy is this song,

一定会被疯狂的Nirvana歌迷所享受

"I'll Stick Around" by the Foo Fighters,

Foo Fighters的歌曲"I'll Stick Around"

whose lead singer is Dave Grohl,

他们的主唱是Dave Grohl

who was the drummer in Nirvana.

他是Nirvana的鼓手

The songs are a little similar, but mostly

这些歌曲有点相似,不过大多数来讲

I'm just interested in the idea that someday maybe

我只不过对于有一天我们买这首歌因为它好看

we'll buy a song because we like the way it looks.

这个想法而非常感兴趣

All right, now for some more sound data.

好吧,现在是到一些声音数据的时候了

This is data from a skate park,

这是一个从州立公园的数据

and this is Mabel Davis skate park

这个是Mabel Davis滑冰公园

in Austin, Texas. (Skateboard sounds)

在德克萨斯州的奥斯丁.(滑板的响声)

And the sounds you're hearing came from eight

你听到的声音是从八个

microphones attached to obstacles around the park,

在公园附近障碍上附上的话筒中传来的

and it sounds like chaos, but actually

听起来有点混乱,不过实际上

all the tricks start with a very distinct slap,

这所有的戏法从一个明显拍击开始

but successful tricks end with a pop,

不过成功的戏法以砰然声结束

whereas unsuccessful tricks

不成功的戏法

more of a scratch and a tumble,

以更像是擦伤和绊倒的声音结束

and tricks on the rail will ring out like a gong, and

这些在杆子上的戏法会像锣声一样结束,

voices occupy very unique frequencies in the skate park.

这些声音在这个州立公园都有着独特的频率

So if we were to render these sounds visually,

不过我们要是想把这些声音视觉化的话,

we might end up with something like this.

我们应该得得到这样的东西

This is all 40 minutes of the recording,

这是40分钟的记录

and right away the algorithm tells us

算法立即就告诉我们

a lot more tricks are missed than are made,

失败的戏法要比成功的戏法要多

and also a trick on the rails is a lot more likely

而且在这些栏杆上的戏法更有可能去

to produce a cheer, and if you look really closely,

产生一些欢呼声,如果你非常仔细地看的话,

we can tease out traffic patterns.

我们可以发现关于交通的图案

You see the skaters often trick in this direction. The obstacles are easier.

你可以看到滑板者通常朝这个方向,这些障碍比较简单

And in the middle of the recording, the mics pick this up,

然后在这个记录的中间, 麦克风把这个记录了下来

but later in the recording, this kid shows up,

但是在这记录的后部分,这个家伙出现了,

and he starts using a line at the top of the park

他开始在公园顶部使用一条新的路线

to do some very advanced tricks on something

来表演一些高级的戏法

called the tall rail.

就在这些高摇杆上。

And it's fascinating. At this moment in time,

这非常的有意思.在这个时候,

all the rest of the skaters turn their lines 90 degrees

所有的滑板者都把他们的路线转了90度

to stay out of his way.

从而给他让开了路

You see, there's a subtle etiquette in the skate park,

你可以看到,在这个公园里有个约定俗成的礼仪

and it's led by key influencers,

是由颇具影响力的人带来的，

and they tend to be the kids who can do the best tricks,

他们能够做一些最好的戏法

or wear red pants, and on this day the mics picked that up.

或者穿红裤子,这边麦克风就记录了下来

All right, from skate physics to theoretical physics.

好吧,从滑板物理到理论物理,

I'm a big fan of Stephen Hawking,

我是霍金的大粉丝,

and I wanted to use all eight hours

我想用他在剑桥的八个小时的

of his Cambridge lecture series to create an homage.

讲座来表示我对他的敬意

Now, in this series he's speaking with the aid of a computer,

现在呢,在这段讲座里面,他的演讲是通过电脑助手完成的，

which actually makes identifying the ends of sentences

这样使得辨认句子末尾变得非常简单.

fairly easy. So I wrote a steering algorithm.

因此我写了个操作算法

It listens to the lecture, and then it uses

它一边听讲座,然后它利用

the amplitude of each word to move a point on the x-axis,

每个词的振幅去在X轴上来回移动

and it uses the inflection of sentences

它还利用句子之前的变调

to move a same point up and down on the y-axis.

从而在Y轴上上下移动

And these trend lines, you can see, there's more questions

然后这些指明趋势的线,你可以看到在物理世界中

than answers in the laws of physics,

问题显然比答案要多得多

and when we reach the end of a sentence,

当我们到达一个句子的末尾时,

we place a star at that location.

我们就在那个地方放一颗星星

So there's a lot of sentences, so a lot of stars,

所以呢有很多句子就会有很多星星

and after rendering all of the audio, this is what we get.

之后在放完所有的可听片段后,我们得到了这个

This is Stephen Hawking's universe.

这就是霍金的宇宙

(Applause)

(观众鼓掌)

It's all eight hours of the Cambridge lecture series

全部是在剑桥的八个小时的讲座

taken in as a single visual impression,

由一个单独的视觉效应来表达

and I really like this image,

我非常喜欢这个图片

but a lot of people think it's fake.

不过很多人认为它是假的

So I made a more interactive version,

因此呢我做了个有互动部分的版本

and the way I did that is I used their position in time

我是通过在演讲过程中适当的时间中，

in the lecture to place these stars into 3D space,

将这些星星放置在3D空间里，

and with some custom software and a Kinect,

伴随着一些个性化的软件和一个动作察觉器

I can walk right into the lecture.

我可以走进这个讲座

I'm going to wave through the Kinect here

我现在准备向这个察觉器挥手

and take control, and now I'm going to reach out

然后控制它,然后我们伸手去

and I'm going to touch a star, and when I do,

抓一颗星星,当我这样做的时候

it will play the sentence

它会放出这句话

that generated that star.

就从那个星星里面

Stephen Hawking: There is one, and only one, arrangement

霍金:这有一个,并且只有一个排列

in which the pieces make a complete picture.

在这个排列中,这些片段组成一个全体的图形

Jared Ficklin: Thank you. (Applause)

Jared Ficklin:谢谢 (观众鼓掌)

There are 1,400 stars.

这里面一共有1400颗星星

It's a really fun way to explore the lecture,

这是个很有意思的方式去探索这个讲座

and, I hope, a fitting homage.

并且我希望是一种合适的敬意

All right. Let me close with a work in progress.

好吧.让我用仍进程中的工作来结束这个演讲吧。

I think, after 30 years, the opportunity exists

我认为,30年后,我们有可能

to create an enhanced version of closed captioning.

去创造出字幕的一种改善版本

Now, we've all seen a lot of TEDTalks online,

我们现在在网上可以看到好多TED演讲

so let's watch one now with the sound turned off

因此呢让我们就不带声音去看一个吧

and the closed captioning turned on.

当然我们把字幕打开

There's no closed captioning for the TED theme song,

对于TED主题歌是没有字幕

and we're missing it, but if you've watched enough of these,

因此我们就错过了,不过你已经看得够多的了

you hear it in your mind's ear,

你可以在你心里面听到,

and then applause starts.

然后呢你就会鼓掌

It usually begins here, and it grows and then it falls.

通常是从这开始,然后成长,最后失败

Sometimes you get a little star applause,

有时候你会得到一个小星星的鼓掌

and then I think even Bill Gates takes a nervous breath,

然后我认为即使比尔盖茨也紧张地深吸一口气

and the talk begins.

然后开始讲话

All right, so let's watch this clip again.

好吧,那么就让我们在看一次这个

This time, I'm not going to talk at all.

这次,我不准备说话了

There's still going to be no audio,

依然是没有声音

but what I am going to do is I'm going to render the sound

不过这回我要做的是我准备去使得这个声音

visually in real time at the bottom of the screen.

变得图像化,就在屏幕的最底下

So watch closely and see what your eyes can hear.

因此呢,看仔细了然后看看你的眼睛能听到什么

This is fairly amazing to me.

这个对我来说非常神奇

Even on the first view, your eyes will successfully

即使看第一次,你的眼睛也会成功地

pick out patterns, but on repeated views,

看出一些图案,不过在重复看之后,

your brain actually gets better

你的脑子会对于把图案转化为信息

at turning these patterns into information.

的能力运用地越来越好

You can get the tone and the timbre

你可以感觉到说话人的语气和音色

and the pace of the speech,

以及演讲的速度

things that you can't get out of closed captioning.

一些你从字幕中得不到的东西

That famous scene in horror movies

在恐怖电影中的经典镜头,

where someone is walking up from behind

当有人从后面走来时

is something you can see,

变成了你可以看到的东西

and I believe this information would be something

因此我相信这个东西会成为

that is useful at times when the audio is turned off

一个有用的工具当声音被关掉的时候

or not heard at all, and I speculate that deaf audiences

或者根本无法听到的时候,我还猜测耳聋的观众

might actually even be better

会更擅长看声音

at seeing sound than hearing audiences.

而不是去听观众

I don't know. It's a theory right now.

我也不太清楚.目前为止只是个理论

Actually, it's all just an idea.

实际上,这只不过是个想法

And let me end by saying that sound moves in all directions,

因此在我结束前我说这样一句话吧:声音会向所有的方向移动

and so do ideas.

想法也会。

Thank you. (Applause)

谢谢 (观众鼓掌)