CASSINELLI: It is my work as a researcher not only to develop, but also to constantly ponder about the possibilities of new technologies. As a media artist, my approach is not very different: it is all about being alert about the potentialities of the reality surrounding us. Both attitudes are of course complementary.

MANABE: scoreLight is based on laser tracking technology created in the ISHIKAWA Laboratory at the University of Tokyo, the institution to which Alvaro CASSINELLI belongs. Alvaro showed me what they had developed and asked me to join the project to work on the sound aspect. It was already fun to look at the laser moving around, but it was only a demonstration of the technology. I joined because, I thought, by adding sounds it could propose a potentially new "image-sound" interaction.

CASSINELLI: computers, cameras, projectors and lasers.

MANABE: Xcode, MaxMSP, Super Collider, Ableton Live, Logic, Protools, and a number of plug-ins.

CASSINELLI: First, the concept (i.e. the “beauty” of the idea behind the piece). Then, the potentiality of the work to open new ways of perceiving/expressing human creativity. Last, but not least, the esthetics of the final embodiment (but one is never quite satisfied with this last thing!).

MANABE: The challenge of trying new things. As far as it is something new for me, even if it could not end up as a work of art, I believe that it is worth creating. The process of repeatedly trying to find a seed that can grow into such a work is important and enjoyable to me.

CASSINELLI: I don’t really know. A pattern may appear one day (I notice however that many of the things I do are related somehow to the concepts of space and time, as well as the extension and combination of the senses.)

MANABE: I find interesting themes for each project and then develop them. Therefore, I do not have any trend running through my work or a world view of myself. However, looking back on the projects I have been involved in over the last three years, there is a kind of consistency, which shows that I have been influenced by the games I played in my childhood, and my interest in music and mathematics as a university student.

CASSINELLI: Paradoxically, I feel that the use of “technology” in my work is just accidental. I say paradoxically, because such “advanced” means of expression happens to be the means that are presently more accessible for me -- but I don’t exclude more “classical” ways of expressing myself.

MANABE: Technology is only a tool for me, so I do not usually think about it. It does not need to be high technology; it is a matter of combination for me.

CASSINELLI: I have many influences! Perhaps the influence most instrumental to my present attitude towards art as a whole comes from my elder brother, who patiently (or impatiently!) opened my eyes to contemporary art.

MANABE: I have been influenced by countless people and works over the years. If I speak only about my childhood, the biggest influence came from Namco’s games. When I was in elementary school, I used to mess around with DX-7 to recapture the sounds of Namco games, and it often seems that the sound programming I am doing now is just a continuation of that. I also “heard and copied” various sound effects, such as a car engine or the sound of Packman eating. I had an environment that allowed me to do those things, as my mother was working for YAMAHA at the time, and I was able to play with a synthesizer everyday. Also, the junk games and game books I made with the basic and tsukuru series were my primary experience of making by utilizing case analysis.

CASSINELLI: I have a growing list of projects begging for my time, but despite my efforts to focus, usually I never know which will succeed in absorbing me. As time passes, it is difficult to maintain a sense of novelty, so it often happens that a completely new thing seems much more appealing… so I cannot answer the question right now. However, I can give an abstract answer: I would like to work on bigger spaces. I don’t presently have much space, and this thwarts my thinking -- shrinks it, sort of saying. This attitude may work great when it comes to my research on wearable computing though, but I feel a little claustrophobic lately.

MANABE: I think that I would like to produce something connected with wherever my interests lie at the time I receive the commission. I am currently working on a project related to the air/sky and a solid body.

CASSINELLI: The urge and the fascination to see how ideas become “real,” to see them work. It is a fascinating experiment, which last only a fleeting moment before the real thing (with its limitations) imposes itself and “replaces” the idea. At this moment it may be a good idea to move on… or seek fresh air from a collaborator’s own creativity. And that’s the second thing I like about creating: it can be a full human experience, a game to play with others, an exchange of sensibilities (this is something I could enjoy this time!).

MANABE: Perhaps to set the question myself. We started this applied work ourselves, so I could call it a creative work. On the other hand, I use my hands in the development of commissioned work, but as its main theme is to solve a problem, I cannot call it a creative work. I would like to do both kinds of work in equal measure, as my nature does not allow me to continuously work on creative endeavors exclusively.