work
Companies:
IBM
In the summer of 2010, I worked for IBM on an Extreme Blue team on an end-to-end solution to enhance Emerging Internet Technology’s “BigSheets“. I spent most of my time developing a JavaScript application for geographical “big-data” visualization.
Synthetic Cinema International
I have worked for SCI for a few years, wearing many hats. The majority of my time has been spent editing and producing sound and video, although I have worked as an audio engineer and boom operator on many occasions.
Pyro/FX Entertainment Group
Pyro/FX is a pyrotechnics/fireworks entertainment company based out of Hamden, CT. I have worked with Pyro/FX on configuring and implementing an automated firing system, I designed a customized fireworks/explosives inventory system for them, and have operated the computer firing system on multiple large-scale entertainment events.
Projects:
KnacK
KnacK is a framework that I started this past quarter during my time in Music 220a1.
The basic idea of the framework is to provide some conventions for making compositional code modular and reusable. There are some other features that I am interested in developing further as well such as a MVC-like interaction between raw “aesthetic data” and the instruments/performers in a musical piece.
tulpasynth
“tulpasynth” is a real-time collaborative music creation system that I created this past quarter during Music 256A1.
It is a collaborative web-based application for creating music with others in an intuitive way.
Continuing Studies at Stanford’s CCRMA
In September I will officially be joining Stanford’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics to pursue a Master’s Degree in Music, Science and Technology.
Bingo!
Every New Year’s Day, many of my family and friends gather to play bingo, eat and drink (like the good italians we are). In recent years there have been too many people in the house to hear what numbers have been called so I decided to take this opportunity to learn some new web technologies.
Some CSS3 Animations
I recently developed a piece of software for loud italians to use as they play Bingo. I used CSS3 animations in a few different ways and would like to share my findings.
Algorithmic Composition with the Fibonacci Sequence
I find the significance of the Fibonacci number sequence in nature, art, and mathematics very interesting. For some time I have been thinking about how this pattern can be applied to music and have been developing my own musical composition that is algorithmically based on the Fibonacci sequence.
Concert Development
This semester I did a decent amount of work on the framework for the Concert project: https://github.com/joshelser/Concert. Once this robust framework is complete, adding features should be a breeze thanks to the modular nature of our code. I have begun to work with the Backbone.js framework, which is turning out to be quite wonderful. For more details, see the Fall 2010 Final Presentation blog post on the Concert development blog: http://blog.concertsoundorganizer.com/post/2169460543/fall-2010-final-rcos-presentation.
Algorithmic Jams
While working on my Fibonacci piece (mentioned here), some interesting results pop up now and then. These riffs were algorithmically generated, written in JavaScript and Max/MSP, and are based on the Fibonacci numbers in multiple ways.
Fibbass 2011
Last year I developed a short composition based on the Fibonacci numbers in which various accompaniments were generated algorithmically, you can listen to it here.
This semester, I am working with Prof. Curtis Bahn in a much greater capacity, and will be hopefully be developing this idea into the composition that I have always wanted it to be.
The Extreme Blue Experience
As I mentioned a while back, this summer I worked at IBM writing JavaScript for an internship program called “Extreme Blue“. For those who are not familiar, here is a bit of background on the program:
Fibbass 2010
Here is the result of this semester’s work on my Fibonacci composition:
If you are interested in my process, please feel free to read my final report below, or email me.
Kenyon Finally Launches!
My Symfony project is finally complete. I cannot take credit for the design, but I am quite proud of how the backend came out. Of course, all of the coolness is stuff the general public cannot see. Symfony worked out quite well, I would certainly use it again if I had to do a PHP project in the future.
IBM: Extreme Blue Internship
This summer I will be interning at IBM in Austin, TX. I will be part of the Extreme Blue team of interns, working for IBM’s Emerging Technologies division on a project called Big Sheets. I will be doing mostly JavaScript interface work, and am looking forward to the experience. Over the summer I’ll write as much as I am legally able to about my time at IBM.
Concert
Concert is an online collaborative organizational tool for sounds. I am developing Concert as part of Software Design and Documentation class here at RPI. See our wiki for more information.
Fibonacci Composition
This semester, for “Interactive Arts Programming” class, I will be making an interactive composition based on the Fibonacci sequence. The piece will involve me playing the bass line of my composition, while a computer takes my performance as input and generates algorithmically determined accompaniments.
CMS in Symfony
I was recently hired by Synthetic Cinema to develop a content management system for kenyonappliances.com. I developed the entire backend using the Symfony PHP framework, and implemented some Javascript functionality on the frontend.
Times Square New Years 2010 Pyrotechnics
This past new years, I worked for Pyro/FX at Times Square, programming and operating the digital firing system to fire all of the pyrotechnics underneath the ball. It was an exciting and nerve-wracking experience, but like all shows I’ve done, very rewarding in the end.
Bass Distortion with ChucK
This semester I have been pursuing an independent study in DSP Programming for Music/Audio Applications. For my final project, I will be designing an Overdrive/Distortion effect that is customized for the sound of my bass.
RPInventory
RPInventory is a web-based inventory system designed for use by clubs at RPI. I have been working on the RPInventory team for the past year, doing mostly Ajax/Javascript interface work.
Choice Merchant Solutions – CMS
The content management system that I designed for Choice Merchant Solutions allows administrators to control which pages users have access to, effectively modifying the “navigation” section of the website for each user independently.
PyroInventory
“PyroInventory” is a complete inventory system for fireworks and explosives, customized for a Pyrotechnics Entertainment company called “Pyro/FX”. Written in PHP/MySQL, it is a dynamic, database-driven web application.
