Gestural interaction commonalities in body-based performance

Abstract

This article considers gestural and motion-based interaction within the context of body-based audio-visual performance. More specifically the article describes some general commonalities between different approaches to both large-area and small-area interaction. This is discussed in relation to my own work with motion-tracking technologies (The Gesture and Media System [GAMS]), as well as more recent experiments with the Leap Motion hand/gesture tracker. In addition, the article references other strategies for gestural interaction such as a formal ‘method for mapping embodied gesture, acquired with electromyography and motion sensing’ () and a more human-centred ‘expansive and augmented performance environment that facilitates full-body musical interactions’ (). The article posits that while precise gestural mapping approaches are not universally applicable, enough commonalities between gestural interaction strategies exist that some insights can be generally applied to gestural performance, regardless of the technology employed or the scale of the interaction space.