FaceJam is an interactive tool for music performance which controls a sequencer with face tracking technology. It uses Kyle McDonald’s FaceOSC application to watch the position and orientation of a person’s face. The data is passed through a Processing sketch and controls a modified sequencer program created by Jacob Remin and Dennis Paul. The facial position determines which track of the sequencer is manipulated and the orientation changes the pattern for that track. The overall tempo of the sequencer is set by the vertical position of the face.

The idea came from an interest in the way jazz musicians improvise with each other, often sending small indicators to each other in order to stay on the same page. By exposing the interface of FaceOSC, a similar relationship is formed between the computer and the performer. The person can see how the program is tracking their face in real time and use that to adjust their position to control the soundtrack. This allows the freedom to change patterns within the sequencer tracks but keeps things within set boundaries of program to ensure it still sounds musical, even to those who aren’t trained musicians.

The course ended with an improvised performance, “Lost In The Dark,” with Varenya Raj and his Motionscape program.