Boxing clever: Audience becomes part of music performance

Newcastle – Audiences might soon be able to influence what music they hear on a night out.

Instead of the traditional dj booth, two performers climb into the Humanaquarium, an interactive box with a large perspex window, created by musicians Robyn Taylor and Guy Schofield with human-computer interaction specialist John Shearer.

Members of the audience can then move their hands across the window to influence the sounds produced and share control of the performance’s musical, vocal and visual effects. The lower they touch the window, for example, the more prominent the base becomes. Frustrated Total Internal Reflection (FTIR) technology is used to detect the position of audience members’ hands.

This collaboration between performer and audience is an example of the ways brands can interact with consumers, as explored in our Brandtocracies trend report.