I.M.TABLE PROJECT DETAILS

Who created the i.m.table and where did it happen?

The table was created by Front Pictures studio in Kyiv, Ukraine.

When was i.m.table created?

We started working on the table at the end of 2006. We first demonstrated it to the public on April 20, 2007 at the Nokia N95 presentation in PinchukArtCentre.

How many people were involved?

Vitaly Slyusarenko and Yuri Kostenko worked on the table during the first stage. Vitaly was responsible for the programming part and the technical ideology of the project, while Yuri supervised the production and general project management. Then, when it became clear that the standard components were not enough for us to reach the goals we set, Volodya Zibarov, joined the project to help us in design and production of electronic components of the table.
Many people contributed and helped us in the course of the production - musicians, technical experts and simply our friends.

Why is the table is called “i.m.table”?

i.m.table is short for interactive media table. By using this name, we wanted to stress the idea that our table is not just a musical instrument. In fact, it is a multi-purpose tangible interface for any multimedia components – sound, video, light. Having started with sound, we are constantly broadening the capabilities of i.m.table. At KVITNU fest, people who used the table manipulated not only sound, but also video, which was broadcast onto a screen. As far as we know, no one in the world has done this before us by means of a tangible interface.

So, what makes the table so cool?

• Our software uses our revolutionary image recognition software called ACV to analyze information from the table’s surface
• We created a unique software sound sampler able to switch between a huge number of sound streams on the go
• The table uses the most advanced electronic components available on the market

How did you come up with the idea for the table?

When we first saw the Reactable video on Youtube, we were so hypnotized by the instrument that we immediately wanted to own one for ourselves. But the problem was that Reactable was not mass-produced. There are only a handful of these tables in the world. Obviously, we only had one solution – to create our own instrument.

Did you borrow the idea from Reactable?! Where did you get the blueprints?!

Reactable is more of a research project than a commercial one. The instrument was created by Music Technology Group from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona. The project’s website http://mtg.upf.es/reactable lists the main principles of the table’s work, and lets you download the programming code which helps in the instrument’s creation. Essentially, we are dealing with a rather open project, whose creators themselves nudge the community towards creating similar devices.

Why did your markers look the same as those for Reactable?

At the initial stage our table (like Reactable) used reacTIVision – the open source software used for tracking the markers on the table. Which means that the symbols on our markers, which the program “understands”, were the same as on Reactable’s.
Now i.m.table completely works on our own software code and uses our markers, which look different.

Is your table different? Does it sound better?

First of all, we want to make one thing clear: i.m.table and reactable are similar only in appearance. We have no idea how exactly reactable was created and what components were used. This information is closed. We designed our table on our own using our own vision for it. If you compare the sound generation principles, you will notice that Reactable is essentially a modular sound synthesizer, while the i.m.table is a sampler. This means that in the Reactable the sound starts to be extracted from the sound generators (simple sinusoid waves) and then is modified using various modulators and effects. In i.m.table the sound begins with putting markers with sound samples (i.e. pre-recorded sounds) onto the surface, and then all the control elements give the musician an opportunity to manipulate those samples.
All this means that our table does sound different and targets different markets.

Reactable is more interesting for those musicians who want to experiment with a classic synthesizer "equipped" with a new interface. While i.m.table with its sampler ideology and “all-in-one stage equipment control” concept is perfect for live DJ and musical performances. i.m. table provides “more complete” sound and gives the performer the control over various stage equipment – video screens, lasers, light, fog machines etc.
Whether or not it sounds better is a matter of personal preference and taste. We can only say that our table uses Core Audio, MIDI, and OSC. These industry standards allow for easy integration of the broad spectrum of professional sound banks, effects and external devices like PowerCore. Consequently, we are able to provide studio quality sound output of the instrument.

Is it really a musical instrument? Does one need to learn how to play it – like a guitar or a piano?

i.m. table is one of the experimental musical instruments of the new generation, utilizing so-called tangible user interface (TUI). The rules for such instruments have not been cemented yet. At present the enthusiasts creating them come up with their own rules, constantly feeding new ideas into the community. We are still at the very beginning of the journey. It’s as it was with first computers assembled in garages.
One of the key characteristics of these instruments is their intuitive simplicity and ease of use. A guitar, a piano, other analog instruments are firmly bound to the technology of sound extraction and thus, demand training. Computers, on the other hand, with their mouse and keyboard, were not primarily made to create music; with the start of the computer era people tried again and again to create more comfortable interfaces for controlling “digital” sound. Today we have a huge number of intuitive control interfaces – MIDI controllers, mixers, keyboards, etc., which allow us to feel the process “at our fingertips”. And yet, the attempts continue to create even more intuitive controllers. With the appearance of Reactable in 2005 it became clear which way was the right way to go. The creators of this instrument managed to achieve a new level of intuitive control over “digital” sound. This is achieved through the interaction of a real physical object with the table’s virtual surface on which all the necessary information appears at once. The elements of control have become virtual – there is no longer a firm bound to where the controller must be positioned, how many of them there should be and how they are ordered. The software inside the table instantly switches the connections, changing the sound parameters “on the go”. All of this opens up new opportunities for experimenting.

Does the person playing the table need special training?

There is no need for special training. Playing this instrument is comparable to playing with blocks. At the same time the instrument is intriguing for both professionals and amateurs – everyone finds something for themselves.

How many instruments like this are there in the world?

There are up to ten instruments sharing “tangible user-interaction” principles. These are all experimental projects, created by enthusiasts as unique samples. As far as we know, our instrument is the only one of its kind for thousands of kilometers around, which is why it feels somewhat sad and lonely :)

Why is your table round? Is this a technological requirement? Can it be rectangular?

The table is created as a multi-user instrument – this is its key characteristic. This shape and size allow several people to collaborate, sharing the control over the instrument. The size is also dictated by ease of transportation. Technically speaking, there are no limitations – we can create tables of any shape and size; one could also use several tables connected to each other simultaneously.

Can I create original music on your table? Or can it only be composed from pre-recorded and pre-loaded sounds?

The original music is composed by people, and not by the instrument. The instrument is to provide sufficient possibilities for creative work, and i.m.table does it. Even in excess :) Musicians who work with our instrument include Louis Frank, Zhenya Filatov (The Maneken), Lesha Petrov and Artur Rad’ko – all of them create different music on it.