THE WORK OF CHARLIE WHITNEY

For the NEW INC inaugural class end of year show, we took over Redbull Studios in New York. Together with the brains of Phil Sierzega and Emilie Baltz we created the ultimate cotton candy machine, the Cotton Candy Theremin

This machine let you spin your own cotton candy, while simultaneously spinning a dope beat. Sensors embedded inside the machine gave us an exact positioning of where the paper cone was inside the bowl. I wrote software to take this data and infer not only position, but if someone was twirling, in which direction, and how quickly. We took this data to tweak and remix an original track penned and performed by the amazing Antfood.

In addition to the delicious candy and fantastic sounds, I also programmed a candy particle system that responded to your candy making moves. A gentle wind, stirred up by visitor candy making would blow sugar crystals around the screen, and when hot enough, the sugar burst into flossy strands that waft on the candy winds.

The Cotton Candy Theremin premiered in July 2015 and is currently touring the globe.

Press:
Creators Project
Adafruit
Paper Mag
Art F City

An illustration of sugar cubes on a colorful background.A cotty candy attendant in front of a curved screen at the Red Bull Music Academy

Cotton Candy Theremin

Delicious Instrumentals

Credits:

Code

Charlie Whitney

Creative Direction

Emilie Baltz

Philip Sierzega

Hardware

Dave Sheinkopf

Audio

Antfood