Thursday, February 16, 2012

Visual Feedback

A feedback is when the output of the process become its input. When giving feedback to someone we expect him to use the feedback and change something according to it. In the following example of visual feedback, a camera is photographing a TV screen which broadcast what the camera photographs. This create an infinite closed loop with very strange results. Notice the colors, the patterns, the repetitions, the multiple clocks changing one after another. I even manage to create a galaxy shaped figure after zooming and tilting the camera. It felts like being a choreograph .
Another known example of the feedback effect is when a microphone is too close to the speaker creating an audio loop which ends in a very loud noise. this is the reason I left only the visual channel and removed the audio channel. But the amplification exists in the visual film as well, as the center of the photo get whiter and whiter.

If you are a teacher, you can repeat this little experiment in class. The kids will love it for sure.