Matt Gough Blog [closed]: Details
Sunday, Apr 25 2004, 02:43
before i post the machine readable dance notation file i will explain some aspects of the file format, the xdsn file format uses xml and svg:
xml [eXtensible Markup Language] is used to define the score and written content
svg [Scalable Vector Graphics] is used to describe drawings and scribbles
if you only want to use the hand written notation stop reading now, if you are interested in the machine readable format or my decisions for using these technologies read on.
xml has been designed to describe data. using this format the xdsn files will be searchable, hardware / software independent and be able to share and exchange data with multiple systems the advantages are:
the ability to search the notation for dance analysis and research
no restriction on operating systems [ mac, windows, nix etc compatible]
a file format that can be created with existing / free tools
a file format that encourages new software development
a file format that music, lighting, video, and emergent technology artists can utilise
i'm not the first to suggest xml dance notation, there are two existing examples, the Country Dance animation project in which xml and java are used to show overhead views of dance patterns. and the sign writing system markup language [swml] which also uses svg. sign writing is a subset of dance writing [sutton notation] although it only notates sign launguge not movement.
edit Signing Gesture Markup Language [SiGML] and xml interpretation of HamNoSys [the Hamburg Notation System for sign language] and XSTEP an xml based markup language for embodied agents /edit
other dance markup languages have been proposed but have recived limited devlopment[2001, 2002], other suggestions for xml based notations have only reached the proposal stage [2000, 1998]. there have been efforts towards notating human thought, emotion, gestures, attitude, intent etc. they are however overly complex for the needs of notation and unsuitable in terms of thier limited gesture description [humanml, vhml]
royce neagles machine readable format for benesh notation has been designed to run visualisation software rather than notate dances. rather than use an xml based file format neagle design his own ascii text file format. i do not entirely agree with neagle's virtual dancer propositions but he has written two papers which are of particular relevance to xdsn;
A survey on application for editing and animating dance notations, 2003 pdf
Developing a Virtual Ballet Dancer to Visualise Choreography, 2004 pdf
however i must also recommend
Choreographics: A Comparison of Dance Notation Systems from the Fifteenth Century to the Present, 1989, ann hutchinson guest [ISBN: 9057000032]
choreographics is a well researched and considered work, of particular significance of the book is the listing of each systems pros and cons in a very even handed manner.
the xml markup for xdsn is resonably simple to read by eye. this speeds up the creation and comprehension of machine readble scores [or conversion of existing documented dance works] and should encourage experiemntation. the machine readable format is essentially the handwritten / visual score with 'tags' encapsulating the data.
the most challenging element of the xdsn id the scribble tag which deals with drawings and scribbles on the timeline. the scribble tag references the svg by name [and location] and details the svg data. the tag and svg will look like this:
which looks like this:
sheila pointed out that the svg code looks 'kinda scary', well the good new is that even though you can write svg data by hand you don't need to. you can use a vector graphics apllication to draw then in the computuer or you can scan you hand drawings and convert them to svg file. then all you need to do is cut and paste the svg data inside the scribble tags. nice and easy.. scan - convert, cut and paste.
why use svg?
svg is scalable without loss of quailty, this makes it suitable for printing scores in various sizes and formats from a single xdsn file because svg is text based the image information can placed inside the file format itself rather than depending on additional information the svg data can be generated by random, fractal, algorithmic, evolutionary, geometric and other methods, allowing work to be devised according to the principles used the svg can be data mined by human or machine to create movement [e.g impulse, path, shape] as xdsn notation.
although not all systems have svg readers installed they are available for most platforms. to create the examples i used webdraw, adobe SVG viewer, autotrace, emeditor and ie6 to edit and view svg / xml files [all are free or trialware]. it is possible to combine an svg / xml - editor, viwer and converter into one xdsn aplication that is openware / inexpensive and paltform idependent [java based] i hope that this will happen soon. until then there are many 3rd party options available for all systems.
finally a sample of the xdsn file itself, just the basic structure. the xml file should look somthing like this in your browser:
xdsn-example.xml
try collapsing and expading the document tree using the - and + signs. the markup looks like this:
you can copy and paste this into a text file and rename the extension to .xml and see how it works. notice that the bars are defined before the staves this is to help human reading of the file format.
lastly as a kind of proof of concept with what can be achived have a look at musicxml with examples of scores and software.
thanks for your time
Filed by Article19 at 2:43 PM | 
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