Interactive Environments with Touch Designer — Professor Matt Ross

Sun Worship

Sun Worship is an interactive installation which forces the user into an uncomfortable position, their physical sacrifice then setting the world into motion. The piece reinterprets causation by centering human action in divine will. While worshiping, the projected sky begins to show signs of the morning, and birdcalls can be heard. Over time, the sun begins to rise to its apex in the blue sky.

Duration: 2:30, the time it took for the sun to clear the horizon in New York, June 25th, 2026.

I designed the environment with a clear division between the viewers and the user. This distance creates a sense of the sacrifice of the individual, but also keeps MediaPipe clearly focused on one individual. In the same way, I created a place for the user to stand which is illuminated, cueing their position and highlighting them for the perception of the webcam which feeds MediaPipe.

I placed a facsimile of the user in the corner of the projection to let them know what the installation is viewing. As they raise their arms, the facsimile begins to glow. My text scrolls up to hint at the direction of motion. If they lose form, the text returns at three times the speed. This variable is shared with the motion of the sun.

Half the freaking node tree is dedicated to making the text move. Other than that, the biggest node combinations are looking for hands above elbows above shoulders. I used the speed node to handle the central interaction of the sky color ramp and the movement of the sun across the sky.