STARWAVES IS DESIGNED & PROGRAMMED BY SINAN BÖKESOY.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WWW.SONICPLANET.COM
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WHAT IS STARWAVES

StarWaves is an audiovisual scene architect, the embodiment of sound, space and visual
design rolled into one.

StarWaves gives the sound designer the architect’s role by creating possibilities of dialogue
between these multiple elements.

IN THE MAKING OF SONIC ARCHITECTURES

StarWaves can import the sonic material in its concrete form as recorded iles. Then this
digital data is being represented as 3D rigid physical forms in space. We name them “the
platform blocks” distributed spatially, a structure which stems from the sonic material being
imported. There can be 100s of them, reaching the granular levels of sonic material. The
layout of the platforms can be designed with 3D tools like positioning, rotation; they can be
stretched, bent, scattered along their physical dimensions in continuous transformations.

As Goethe wisely stated : the architecture itself is “frozen music”. How do we interact with this
architecture to create the sonic textures ?

We know that sound travels as waves in an environment. It originates from a source and travels
towards a distance, then interacts with the surface material of the environmental objects, gets

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re lected, refracted, and absorbed within all the physical reality of its nature, granting a
lexible relation to spatiality.

Sound remains as a hidden existence until it reaches our body. StarWaves uses on its scene
the transmitters which send particles and beams of light to the space ( reminiscent to particle
behavior of light or sound ) They hit the platform blocks ( representing the sonic material ) get
re lected and collide with further objects, travel in distance until they die.

The time they collide with these rigid bodies they trigger sonic events and start a low of
synthesis processes. It is this continuous kinematic interaction, this physical realm which
composes the sonic being and applies continuous transformations on its texture.

VISUAL, CAUSAL AND NARRATIVE FIDELITY OF MOTION

The poetic expansion of architectural elements comes with the contribution of mathematics,
geometry, physical laws ( kinematics ) altogether what de ines this environment. The rich
motion dynamics constitute a choreographed occupation of the StarWaves space, illed with
actions triggering sonic events and with a formal beauty of narrative idelity.

On StarWaves, we don’t interact directly with the sound data as on a standard sound synthesis
tool but we design the architecture of the scene which will compose the sonic organization
through the spatial interactions and let perform this on a timeline. Here, the sound has no
separate existence from space, time and motion.

TIME IS THE MIND OF STARWAVES.

We can create alternate scene designs and store them as individual states. StarWaves makes it
possible morphing gradually between these visible and audible alternates. The dimension of
time will play us perceptual tricks during these transitions. As the time invades the audience
mind, it develops the illusion of a theater of audiovisual forms that move in space.

WHY IN “SPACE” ?

It is merely the very “space” which is an abstraction from our habitat and brings us to the non-
gravitational environment of the universe, where there is no sound ! It is this emptiness which
provokes the sensual penetration into it, and the sound is a perfect narrative medium to do
this.

“NASA's next urgent mission should be to send good poets into space so they can describe
what it's really like.” Shannon Hale.

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As the architects of these virtual scenes and themes of StarWaves, we feel the privilege of
describing it with sound design and without doubt there is the poetry within.

WHY STARWAVES ?

The name “StarWaves” comes from the sense of wonder and fantasy which has stimulated us
during the project development and by witnessing its immense possibilities waiting us to
discover.

As we keep looking for new frontiers in space and get fascinated with its new discoveries and
the use of newest technology, we also need to investigate new instruments for sound design
and new possibilities for musical creation. Analog synthesizers, keyboards and such
equipment of the past were the cradle of electronic music, but one cannot live and progress in
a cradle forever. Because I do believe that the future lying ahead is more prolonged than this
past.

With current technological advances, we are limited only by our imagination and our will to
create. And there are singularities on the timeline of advances in computer hardware and
software applications. Today, StarWaves sees the daylight at one of them as it combines
multiple disciplines and design elements powerfully and roll them into one high idelity
application.

sonicPlanet will continue to produce at great pace the next level of computer software for
sound design, combining science, art and technology.

Dr. Sinan Bökesoy

WWW.SONICPLANET.COM
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PRELIMINARY NOTES
• StarWaves should open in full screen. You can make the OSX Finder menu visible
with Command + f key combination and come back again to full screen mode.

• You can make the scene view of StartWaves full screen with the Shift + u key
combination. Or you can double tap on the scene view to make it full screen ( both
on OSX and iOS versions ).

• It is recommended to use a recent computer / iPAD hardware ( iPadPro 2019 at

minimum ) to run StarWaves.

• On iOS, StarWaves needs to be operating on the foreground always, otherwise its

operation will freeze.

• Sometimes presets need a few seconds to load the sample materials and install the
parameters. Performing the preset during this process may interrupt audio.

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THE STRUCTURE OF STARWAVES

StarWaves includes 2 “Emitters” which generates particles or beams and 4
“Platforms” which hold the digital sample data and relevant synthesis engine to be
triggered by these particles / beams.

The Emitters emit either particles or a direct laser beam and basically we expect them
to hit the platforms triggering their waveform content. Below you can see both cases
where on the left, the emitters create particles and on the right, the beams.

The Platforms contain the digital sample data and they represent this data segmented
with 3D rectangular blocks. Once the sample data is loaded to a platform it divides it
with a de ined quantity of blocks by the user. (It can be between 1 - 250 ). The time
each block receives a particle or a laser beam from an emitter, it will respond by
lashing a color and playing the synth voice depending on its sample content and
synthesis parameters de ined by the hitting emitter’s sound engine. The hit point and

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its angle ( along the vertical and horizontal axis of each block ) de ines also some
parameters to be used for the sound synthesis process.

Below you see the same platform holding a sample data. On the left, it is segmented
and divided with 30 blocks and on the right, with 214 blocks. Each block object
represents the starting and ending point of the sample data on the timeline. The
visualization however represents the RMS1 value of the sample data in that block
region.

Below you see again the same platform but bended with a parabolic curve and the
blocks are a bit displaced with a random factor each. StarWaves has numerous tools
handling the 3D position and rotation of platform blocks and therefore e ecting
directly the emitter hits which will be used for the sound synthesis process.

1 RMS : Root Mean Square of a sample block data gives the average power of the signal in that block time range.

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The emitters particles can be made bouncing from the platforms so that they might hit
other platforms on their course. Also the laser beam can be re lected from the surface
of the platform and hit another platform. ( A laser beam can hit 3 platforms at the
same time , 1 direct and 2 re lected. )

The emitter can send particles with variable rate / speed / duration. Also the emitter
can send 3 laser beams at the same time with variable starting points.

In physics, light can be modeled by particles, moving in light speed and a laser beam
is nothing else than a very focused and directed beam of light. So the dynamics of the
StarWaves emitters are built with this inspiration.

The emitters and platforms constitute the space-atmospheric, non-gravitational 3D

scene of the StarWaves. It is an interaction space where the dynamics of physical
movement, kinematics which result to an audio-visual experience to be seen and
heard in a direct relationship.

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THE FLOW CHART OF STARWAVES

The motor of StarWaves is the kinematic interaction between the emitters and the
platforms. The platform blocks hold the sample data. They are representing the sound
object as formed with concrete 3D blocks.

The blocks are triggered with emitter particles or beams when they collide with the
platform blocks surface, each representing a synth voice.

Each collision event creates a synth voice trigger and its kinematic features serve also
as modulation data for the synth engine of each voice.

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Each platform controls a dedicated FX section ( pitchshifter, delay, reverb ) where the
platform block sound output can be sent for further processing.

The platform and emitter control parameters let the user de ine their behavior, content
and spatial orientation.

The FX section of each platform can use also some kinematic features to map to e ect
parameters such as the distance of the emitter from the platform.

The FX section output and Dry output from each platform combines the sonic output
of StarWaves.

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THE CONTROL PANELS OF STARWAVES

The StarWaves control layout is minimalistic and is made reminiscent of retro-style
space ship panels. There is a main panel and sub panels revealed according to the
actions on the main panel. Below is the app opening panel state of StarWaves.

3D Scene area; you can interact with the

scene objects directly.

Panel area; all control

actions are made on this
panel.

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Emitter control panel

Sound engine panel for the emitter

Preset panel

Platform control panel selection

State sequence area

Sound output record

action

Turn audio on / o

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THE EMITTER PANEL

The Emitter panel de ines the behavior of the particle emitter and also the 3D spatial
de inition of the emitter itself. On the scene, Emitter 1 has always blue solar panels for
you to easily distinguish it.

EM dur : This value de ines the life span of the particles , if too short they might be
dead even without hitting any object.

EM rat : Emitter rate de ines the density of the particles emitted in one second.

EM spd : Emitter speed de ines the speed / how fast the particles travel in space.

R rand: Emitter rate randomization factor

S rand: Emitter speed randomization factor.

X dim : Normally the particles are emitted from a single point ( the tip of the emitter
satellite ). With this setting, we can distribute the particle starting points along the
emitter x-axis line randomly ( the length of the line is set basically with the X dim
value ).

Y dim : Normally the particles are emitted from a single point ( the tip of the emitter
satellite ). With this setting, we can distribute the particle starting points along the
emitter Y-axis line randomly ( the length of the line is set basically with the Y dim
value ).

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When using both the X dim and Y dim settings together, we can de ine a 2D plane
which distributes the particle start at random points on this plane. Below you can see
the example use of these settings.

Rot X : You can rotate the emitter satellite around its x-axis.

Rot Y : You can rotate the emitter satellite around its y-axis.

Rot Z : You can rotate the emitter satellite around its z-axis.

To move the Emitter satellite you can alternately grab its emitter tip and move inside
the scene view. The altered coordinates will be exactly shown on the EM position
ields. For precise editing the coordinate values, you can type in the value by clicking
on the relevant ield.

As you see, there are 6 switch buttons on the top line of the EM control panel. Let’s go
through their functions.

Eon: Starts and stops the emitter activity.

ARotX : Continuously rotates the emitter around its x-axis. The speed of this rotation
will be set now with Rot X slider.

ARotY : Continuously rotates the emitter around its y-axis. The speed of this rotation
will be set now with Rot Y slider.

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ARotZ : Continuously rotates the emitter around its z-axis. The speed of this rotation
will be set now with Rot Z slider.

Bnce: When turned on, the particles will bounce on the surface which they hit,
otherwise they will terminate there.

RotSync : When turned on, the second emitter satellite will sync to the irst emitter so
that it becomes its twin. Beautiful motion choreography can be established on this
mode and playing with the rotation dynamics.

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THE PLATFORM PANEL

You can grab and move each platform with the mouse ( or tap and drag it on the iPad )
on the scene view. The coordinates will show on the position ield boxes. Alternately
you can type in the exact coordinates by clicking on these ield boxes.

A platform needs a sound sample content. In order to load your sample, click on the
LOAD button. Only mono .wav iles format is supported ( ensuring cross-platform
compatibility ) It is recommended that you import external wav. iles irst with the
Import Samples feature ( found on the Preset panel ) to the app samples directory. And
then load the sample to the platform from the app sample directory.

Attn: Please use only mono samples, using stereo samples is pointless.

When you load a sample successfully, its name and length will be updated. Also you
will see the platform visual updated projecting your sample data.

B.Pitch : This slider alters the base pitch of the sample loaded on the platform.

Division : This de ines the number of blocks which represent the sample data on the
platform. As explained at the beginning section of the manual, each block holds a
portion of sample data with a duration and speci ic starting and ending times on the
sample waveform time line. The more blocks, the shorter their duration. The visual on
the platform / each block represents the average RMS value of this block sample data.
When a particle or laser beam hits a block, it will get triggered and play its content as a
synth voice in accordance with the settings of the emitter sound engine.

Scatter : This function will distort the platform by changing each blocks rotation and
position randomly. The slider de ines the degree of this distortion.

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Parabolic : This function bends the platform with a parabolic function. Likewise it
behaves like a lens when used with emitter beams and is a lot of fun to experiment
with.

X dim : This value of this slider streches the length of the platform.

Rot X : You can rotate the platform around its x-axis.

Rot Y : You can rotate the platform around its y-axis.

Rot Z : You can rotate the platform around its z-axis.

When you move a rotation slider a helper axis visual will be drawn on the platform.

RotAnim : This spins each block along the x-axis of the platform gradually depending
the value of this slider.

Now about the two switch buttons on the top of the Platform panel;

On : This makes the platform visible or not on the scene view.

Att Segment : This changes the block segmentation from linear to attack sensitive
mode. Likewise, the sound sample of the platform will be analyzed and segmented
according the attack content. This is great for using rhythmic groove-style sonic
content where platform block start and stop points can be matched at beat points by
using this mode.

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THE SYNTH ENGINE PANEL

Each emitter has its own synth engine panel as their synth engines are independent.
And the synth engine panel has itself sub-panels. Let’s cover them here.

On the left part of the panel, you can choose the emitter behavior. As mentioned
before the emitter can send particles ( of which parameters are set mainly on the
Emitter Panel itself ) or the emitter can produce beams. Whichever you choose, it will
share the same signal processing chain.

When a particle or beam hits a platform block, it triggers a sonic event which starts
playing the sample data hold by that block and its duration is de ined by the duration
slider of the Synth Panel. It can be in the range from 1ms to a second.

Additionally you can randomize this duration with the dur-rand slider setting and also
randomize the event amplitude with the amp-rand slider setting.

Next, on the right side you will see 5 vertical sliders;

Gain : This controls the gain of the sonic event.

Att : This applies an attack ( fade in ) as a gain envelope. The setting is related to the
attack time. ( The beam mode has a ixed attack and decay internal setting. )

Dec : This applies a decay ( fade out ) as a gain envelope. The setting is related to the
decay time.

Cut : This sets cuto frequency of the ilter which is applied to this sonic event. We
can choose low pass or high pass ilter.

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Res : This sets the resonance value of the ilter, emphasizing the frequencies around
the ilter cuto .

Lopass / Hipass : This switch de ines the type of the ilter.

The switch button called “2nd Param” will open another small sub-panel with
additional parameters.

DelT : This sets the delay time for a mono delay processing which is part of the emitter
synthesis engine and applied to all triggered sound events by the emitter. Very low
settings of the delay time with proper decay setting can create comb ilter e ects.

DelW : This is the wet balance for the delay e ect.

Dec : This is the delay decay setting. Higher values will cause more feedback.

When the emitter is on Beam mode, you will see the additional beam activation and
positioning parameters on the left side.

As mentioned before there can be 3 Beams sent at the same time in parallel from an
emitter. The switches B1, B2 and B3 do activate those beams.

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If you have set an X dimension / Y dimension for the emitter to expand the distribution
over a plane surface, then you can de ine the starting positions of the beams with the
two horizontal sliders within the X dimension / Y dimension ranges.

The top slider serves the x starting position of the beam and the bottom slider the y
starting position of the beam. First you have to select the beam with the green beam
selector buttons and then those sliders will serve for that selected beam.

The Move slider de ines the degree of randomness of the beam position change
among the X / Y dimension ranges. Hence, the beams will continuously move and
reveal a fantastic motion element. Below you see an example case where an emitter is
sending 3 beams, they are each hitting relevant platform blocks underneath and then
also do bounce with an angle and hitting the other platform blocks on the top.

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This section of the synth voice panel o ers us a new paradigm in modulation design
for sound synthesis, by extracting the kinematic aspects of the StarWaves scene and
map them to signal processing tools. These kinematic features are derived solely from
the interaction of the emitter and the platform which it is hitting.

We do focus on two kinematic features of the emitter and platform interaction.

1. The Y-axis position of the hitting particle / beam on the platform surface.

2. The hit angle between the particle / beam and the surface.

Below, the relevant shots will clarify these aspects.

The Y-axis of the platform

1
0

On the scene shot above, an emitter is rotating and entering the platform area and
hitting it with 3 beams, and as you see the relevant blocks are lit up. Also the y-axis of
this platform has been drawn so that you can see it clearly.

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We have designed the interaction so that when the hit happens towards the center of
the y-axis of the platform, it will create minimum e ect but towards the top and
bottom edges of the platform it will produce the maximum e ect. And above, the
emitter beams hit the platform surface near to the top edge so that the modulation
value will be high.

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Since the emitter rotation is continuous, the beams will traverse along the Y-axis and
on the shot above we see that one beam is close to the center and another one is
closer to the edge producing di erent modulation e ects.

To map this Y-axis hit modulation, you can set with

the Y-axis slider for of the following sonic
processing destination.

P for Pitch, F for Filter Cuto , DeT for Delay Time.

For instance, press the P button and now the Yaxis slider will serve to set the
modulation depth e ecting the pitch parameter. When it is at the center, there will be
no modulation. When the slider is set to zero, then when the particles / beams hit the
surface close to the edges , the pitch will decrease one octave.

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And when they hit close to the center of the platform, the pitch value won’t change.
Alternately, if you set the Yaxis slider value at maximum, the pitch value will be one
octave higher.

All these pitch changes will happen continuously depending on the hit position along
the y-axis of the platform.

A similar logic works for the Filter Cuto and Delay Time parameters as well. You can
modulate them equally with the particle/beam hit dynamics along the Y-axis of the
platform surface.

The second kinematic feature we do use for modulation on the synthesis engine is the
hit angle between the particle / beam and the surface. On the below example, you see
that the particles are hitting the surface nearly with 90 degrees.

And here the particles are hitting the surface with angle close to 45 degrees. The less
the angle, the more the modulation e ect will be.

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In order to map the angle modulation, you can set

with the Angle slider for of the following sonic
processing destinations :

F for Filter Cuto , DeT for Delay Time, DW for Wet

balance for the Delay e ect.

For instance, press the F button and now the Angle slider will serve to set the
modulation depth e ecting the Filter cuto parameter. The value of the slider will act
as the depth of the modulation which is produced by the hit angle value. A similar
logic works for the Delay Time and Delay Wet balance parameters as well. You can
modulate them equally with the particle/beam hit angle value on the platform surface.

StarWave scenes can exhibit a complex and continuous kinematic interaction. One
event can trigger other happenings as a network of connected events. The above
modulation mapping will help to perceive these dynamics as sonic transformations.

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THE PLFX (PLATFORM FX) PANEL

Each synth voice can send its audio output to Platform FX section for further
processing. Each of the 4 platforms on StarWaves o er their dedicated e ects section.
For example, an emitter can distribute in space its particles and they can hit all 4
platforms at di erent times. Each platform block they hit will be processed by that
platform’s e ect section.

You can access the Platfrom FX panel by using the PL DSP switch on the synthesis
engine panel. You will see the above sub-panel.

On the far-left side you see the PL1 FX, PL2 FX, PL3 FX, PL4 FX buttons. By pressing
on them you can switch to each platform’s e ect settings. Let’s explain these settings.

The Gain and FX vertical sliders control the dry signal out and processed FX signal
level of the relevant platform e ects section.

The platform e ects are the following and established in a serial order, and each e ect
has its dedicated parameters.

Pitch Shifter -> Delay processor -> Reverb processor.

It is designed by keeping in mind adding beautiful shimmer e ects on the platforms of

StarWaves.

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The Pitch and FFTsize horizontal sliders control the pitch shift amount and the FFT
size being used for this process.

From the Pitch shifter output the signal goes to the delay e ect. The DelTime, Decay
and WetMix horizontal sliders are dedicated to the Delay processor. They set the delay
time, the delay decay time ( feedback ) and the wet delay signal level of this delay
e ect.

From the delay processor, the signal goes to the Reverb processor. The DryL, RevL,
Dec and Room vertical sliders are dedicated to the Reverb processor. They control the
dry level entering to the reverb, the reverb level of reverb processor, the decay time of
the reverb e ect and the room reverb density of the reverb e ect.

All these settings are unique to each StarWaves platform and you can morph these
parameters between StarWaves scene states.

Like on the synthesis engine, we can map a kinematic parameter for modulating these
e ect parameters.

The feature we do focus here is the distance between the emitter and the platform
which it’s hitting with its particles or beams.

The distance slider will set the depth of this mapping for each of the parameters Pi,
DW, RW. They are Pitch shift amount, delay wet signal amount and the reverb signal
amount.

For an example, the distance between the platforms and the emitters can increase the
reverb signal amount , when you set the distance slider for the RW button. This will
wash out the distant hit events.

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THE PRESET PANEL

The preset panel can be reached directly by pressing the Preset button on the main
panel.

StarWaves presets are grouped in banks and each bank contains 12 presets. Banks are
merely folders in your StarWaves work directory. You can re-organize them at your will.
Each preset comes with 5 scene states stored on the sequence panel. They are scene
variations and can be called by pressing the relevant state recall buttons. ( or use the
key shortcut Shift + state no )

Whenever you install the app and launch it irst time, it will create its work directories
inside the directory of StarWaves. Let us explain them now.

Presets : This folder contains the banks holding the presets of StarWaves. The Factory
Bank and StarBank1 comes by default and hold 12 presets each and also there is a
UserBank created by default.

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Samples : This folder holds the sample iles used by the presets. Also when you use
the Import Samples feature of the app, the imported sample will be located here for
future use.

MidiSettings : This folder holds your midi settings presets ( Midi and OSC is an In App
purchase add-on ) All your controller assignments can be packed as a midi setting
preset.

AudioBounces : You can record the audio output of StarWaves by using the REC
button on the main panel. With each successful record an automated wav. ile will be
created in this folder.

In order to load a preset, irst select a bank by using the dropdown menu on the left.
As soon as you select a bank, its preset list will be uploaded to the preset dropdown
menu on the right. Here you can select a preset, and its content will be loaded
automatically.

Alternately you can load a single preset by using the IMP button, which will lead you
to a ile browser so that you can select the preset.

Now that you have worked on a new preset and want to save it, use the EXP button.
The ile browser will open up, you give your preset a name and then click save.

If you just want to re-save the last loaded preset with your edit, you can use the Save
In Place button. It will ask for your con irmation to replace the old preset in place.

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WHERE IS THE APP DIRECTORY LOCATED ?

Apple has certain regulations for the apps sold on the AppStore. For instance, the app
work iles cannot be placed freely. Likewise, the app uses a certain path to put its
folders/ iles for later use and for the access of the user. Not following these restrictions
by the developer will lead a rejection of the app on the AppStore.

This speci ic path we show at the bottom of the Preset panel for your convenience.
You can do your ile operations by using this path which will be revealed to you when
you launch your app irst time.

• On OSX. you can easily reach this directory and manage its content.
• On iOS. the work directory is as usual the documents directory of the app. This is
created by the app whenever you launch it for the irst time. On iOS, you can do the
preset / sample import / export operations by using the ile browser of StarWaves
inside this folder only. And it won’t let you access other directories on the iPAD from
the app. ( app sandbox regulations )

• On iOS, we recommend using a ile management utility to backup your iles or

import samples from your computer to the app directory etc. Such a 3rd party ile
utility is indispensable for such operations on the iOS environment. Remind that, on
iOS when you delete the StarWaves application you will loose its work directory as
well.

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THE CAMERA PANEL

You are looking to the StarWaves 3D scene through a camera. And it has its own
settings panel.

One can directly use the mouse ( touch screen on the iPAD ) and navigate / rotate the
camera by clicking/dragging on the scene view area.

However by using the sliders on the Camera panel you can do the following camera
modi ications : You will see on the right, the 3 CAM buttons. They locate the Camera
position.

CAM1 positions the camera so that it faces and locks itself to Emitter1 CAM2
positions the camera so that it faces and locks to Emitter2 and CAM3 positions the
camera so that it faces and locks to the center area from all objects on the StarWaves
scene.

X-orbit : This slider rotates the camera horizontally around the center point which it is
looking at. ( see above the camera positioning buttons )

Y-orbit : This slider rotates the camera vertically around the center point which it is
looking at. ( see above the camera positioning buttons )

Translate-X : This translates the camera position to towards its left / right.

Translate-Y : This translates the camera position to towards its up / down.

You can also use the camera position ields on the left to type it the position
coordinates manually if needed. On the main panel, you will see a camera zoom
slider, which will actually change the distance of the camera from the point at which
is it looking.

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THE SEQUENCE PANEL

The sequence panel is part of the main panel and displayed at all times. The idea is
basically storing all scene parameters / panel parameters as individual states and call
these states back with various options.

StarWaves o ers 5 state slots where you can save 5 unique states of the scene. There
are 5 numbered buttons dedicated to each of them, you can use the ones on the
upper row to call back the saved states. And In order to store a scene state, double
click on a button on the bottom row. ( the button surroundings will lash with a
successful store )

All this is nice but how about a continuous transition from one state to another ? For
such an audio-visual morphing process, we need to set the duration / how long it will
take between states in transition.

state sequence
durations ield
ield

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To determine the transition durations between states, type on the durations ield
( indicated above ). The irst number will set the transition duration ( in seconds )
between state 1 and state 2. The second number will set the transition duration ( in
seconds ) between state 2 and state 3. this will go on like that…

Attn : Always leave a space between numbers and hit enter when you are done.

On the example case above, the transition between states 1 and 2 is 3sec, between
states 2 and 3 the duration is 4 sec and between state 3 and 4 , the duration is 2 sec. If
there is no duration set for a certain state transition, the default duration value will be
valid.

We can also automate the state transitions by typing its sequence on the state
sequence ield. On the example case above, the state transition sequence will start
with state 1 and then move to state 2 and will end at state 3.

Attn : Always leave a space between numbers and hit enter when you are done.

In order to achieve that animation you have to start it with the switch at the bottom
middle. When active, it will be on the play mode and when not, it will remain on the
pause mode.

This will perform the de ined state sequence. This can be a one shot performance or a
looping one.

In order to loop a sequence of states, the sequence should not start and end with the
same state.

All these scene states and sequence settings are part of a StarWaves preset.

On OSX, you can use the key combination Shift + state no to call a state. And use
Command + state no to store your current scene on a state slot.

Only continuous slider data can be morphed between states. Particle voice attack and
decay values won’t change between states.

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THE EXTERNAL FEATURES PANEL

To access this panel, click on the EXT button on the main panel display.

The External features panel exhibits the MIDI / OSC settings and the Theme Park
panel, both are In App Purchase options which you can purchase on the AppStore for
your StarWaves app.

MIDI / OSC PANEL

The MIDI / OSC add-on panel will reveal itself automatically after the In App purchase
process and restarting the app. All the parameters of StarWaves can be controlled
now with a Midi CC controller. On this panel, you can de ine which CC message will
control which StarWaves parameter.

Just select the parameter on the Param dropdown menu which you wish to assign a
controller. And then select the CC number on the Midi CC dropdown menu, which will
control this parameter. And click on the Store button; this will store this assignment.

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You will see the related destinations below the helper arrows for the parameter and
the midi controller assignment. Each time you select an assigned parameter or a CC
number from its menu, the arrows will remind you the relevant destination if they have
a previous assignment.

If you would like to cancel a parameter assignment, just select it on the list and click
on the Erase button, which will free the assignment for this parameter.

The slider next to the Midi CC dropdown menu will let you specify the depth of the
midi modulation on that parameter. A full scale control would be the slider value 1.

There are 162 parameters which you can address with Midi CC controller. A certain
Midi CC number can be assigned up to 4 di erent parameters at the same time. From
synthesis parameters to camera movement, this has a great potential of live control.

The CC 0-127 value range is automatically normalized according each parameter

assignment.

After you have inished your midi settings , you can use the EXP button to save it as a
preset into the app Midi Settings folder by using the File browser. And you can load it
back later with the IMP button.

If you want to save your settings on top of the last loaded preset, you can use the Save
in Place button. You can select your connected midi controller device by clicking on
the Midi IN button.

OSC (OPEN SOUND CONTROL)

StarWaves will accept OSC messages from external applications and let you address
its parameters with OSC messages.

The local port number for StarWaves is 8888.

At the bottom of the Midi / OSC display you will be shown automatically the relevant
OSC message format to use for each selected parameter on the dropdown menu.

For instance, the OSC message /starwaves/EM1duration 0.5 sent to StarWaves on

this port number will set the Emitter1 particle duration to 0.5 seconds. Always use
loating number format when sending the values.

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THE THEME PARK PANEL

The Theme park add-on panel will reveal itself automatically after the In App purchase
process and restarting the app.

StarWaves comes by default with 2 scene themes : default theme and the milky way
theme which put your scene in space full of stars.

With the Theme park add-on, 6 additional meticulously crafted theme designs will be
added. Also an additional preset bank called StarThemes with 12 presets will be
accompanied.

The Theme park panel controls are straightforward. You can choose your preferred
theme for your preset ( this choice will be saved within the preset ).

Also there is a Field of Vision camera control slider ( Camera FOV ) to give you more
background depth control of your theme.

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ABOUT THE PRESETS OF STARWAVES

Here we preset some comments of Laurent Mialon about his preset creations on
StarWaves.

FACTORY BANK

Blink_lf

Two rather rhythmical samples here have been loaded using the Att Segment feature, which
divides the platforms according to their transients (vs. equally). Since they were not classic
drum loops, during their making of, a transient enhancer has been used (many DAWs have
such a tool, using a compressor with a slow attack can also help). A noise gate also can be
useful, to further de ine the sample parts to be isolated by Starwaves.
When switching back and forth from the irst to the second state, you can hear some drone
produced by the second emitter synth engine. Its beam, unlike the other emitter’s, is not
moving, which contributes to giving a steady drone-ish sound. It is only audible during the
state 1 to state 2 transition, as its volume is turned down for the irst snapshot (yet you can see
the trapezoidal shape made by the re lecting beam).
Even with non rotating emitters, the combination of a randomized area for the EM1 beam with
some oddly placed platforms can produce some generative soundscape, with endless
changes.
From state 3, the emitters are rotating, unveiling sounds that were not audible until then.

Cinnabar

This preset was inspired by the sul ide mineral which is the most common source ore for
elemental mercury.
By morphing between states which have di erent delay rates, these being often modulated by
the Yaxis and the Angle settings, it’s possible to achieve some sounds that feel at the same
time metallic and liquid. It can be interesting to try out long sequences of snapshots with
short morphing times to come up with organic structures.

Growl

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As for all the other presets, it’s worth exploring the states one by one, as well as playing them
sequentially (by pressing Play and even Loop - since both emitters will randomly scan the
platforms, the probability to have the same repeating sequence is close to null).
One little trick here to create pseudo exponential rhythms was to have a beam hitting the
same segment, with short duration sounds on one state, and increase that value for a nearby
snapshot.

Her Majesty’s Sheep

A minimal preset, which is better played one state after the other, with manual changing of the
state (shift + state no, if you are in full screen mode, double-click anywhere on the scene
screen for this). By reversing the platforms, tilting or rotating them alongside their x axis,
modifying the pitch shift amount between states by meaningful intervals, it is possible to get
di erent atmospheres, which played slowly one after the other will tell a full comprehensive
story. It’s good practise by the way to load samples that are within the same scale, though
experimenting is totally worth it too.
In Pace

This preset is also better played slowly, one snapshot (state) after the other.
Let’s focus on the irst state to showcase a little trick. The camera on that snapshot is focused
on the only audible events (others are coming in the other states, and are visually shown).
When the beam touches platform 1 for the second time (after it’s been re lected by P2 on top),
it will touch the platform at a di erent (non perpendicular) angle than initially. With the Angle
to Frequency slider pushed to the max, with a pretty high resonance, you can get some nice
overtones - which are also randomized, as the beam will hit the platform surface on a random
area (within the limits de ined by emitter’s X dim, in conjunction with the e ective length of
the platform, de ined by the platform’s X dim). It’s thus possible, with a minimal set-up to make
never-ending melodies.

Iskander

For the irst two states, the emitters are static, sending their particles on a chosen segment. It
can be a visually rewarding experience to then play with the particles view, with some pseudo
stroboscopic e ects.
You can also note, that for the second preset, the original sound of P1 has been enriched with
the platform’s reverb, harmonically Pitch shifted. It’s worth trying out di erent FFT sizes every
time you use the pitch shifter.
From the third state, the emitters are rotating. In state 4, some particles are bouncing whilst
the slowest rate emitter’s aren’t : the same sounds are being scanned in parallel with a slight
delay related to the emitters relative position to each other’s, but these synched emitters are
doing way more than a simple echo, it’s in turn like layering one sound with a totally di erent
texture - which happens nevertheless to be directly related to the platform’s content, initially
unveiled by the irst emitter to hit it.

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Oxycomptine

A rhythmic preset, which basically consists of three platforms hit by the same emitter, whilst
the second emitter is playing the background pad.
The colour of this last sonic event is changing from one preset to the other, thanks to notably
some Pitch shifter / FFTsize adjustments. Also, to give the impression the pad is not static, the
particles hit the platform in di erent spots on both axis, the Yaxis being a modulator routed to
the platform’s LPF (alongside the angle).
As far as the other discrete events (vs. the background pad) are concerned, the variety
between states is a consequence of the platforms’ position, enabling the particles to bounce
on speci ic areas of them, at speci ic times - yet with a randomization factor, related to the
area chosen for the particles emission, alongside with the degree of randomness per axis
(Mov slider).

Station F2

Only two emitters and two platforms for this preset.

The 3 beams of EM2 are scanning the second platform, where a sound made of the 4
microtonal (Bohlen-Pierce scale) distinct tones of plucked synth has been loaded. Sometimes
you will hear a 2-notes loops, sometimes a 3-notes one, and eventually the full loop will play.
In the background a highly modulated sample made on Novation Bass Station 2 is being
scanned slowly, for some classic granularization textures. The richer the texture of the loaded
sample, the more variety you will eventually get once the platform is played within StarWaves.
When they are meant to overlap it can be recommended to load sounds with a di erent
frequency spectra on di erent platforms, so that their frequencies stay audible.
Please note, notably on State 3, the comb e ects on the Bass Station sample, here achieved
with a short delay time on the EM1 synth engine, the modulation being provided by both the
Angle and Yaxis position.

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STAR BANK 1
AlaFX

This is a variation of the preset named Oxycomptine, present on the Factory Bank

Being Palmer Eldritch

Here, 3 platforms have sounds with de ined transients, hence the choice to use the Att
Segment dividing mode. They are all together triggered by the same slow rate Emitter, whilst
the tonal part is provided by a Tibetan bell loaded on P4.
Things get more complex from state 4. Putting the platforms closer to each other’s and using
the Scatter, RotAnim and Parabolic function establishes a topology that allows the formation
of reticular sounding patterns that always change. By adjusting the width of X dim, we can
e ectively control the amount of randomness.
Be sure to try out slow and fast morphing times when you play the sequences.

CDG Nord

A simple setting that works well by default is to have the platforms in vis-à-vis, with rotating
emitters reading their content - one emitter for each pair, emitters being 90° apart.
Between states 2 and 3, the division of P3 and P4 has been increased, transforming a discrete
arpeggio into a more continuous sound (still with transients actually, but closer to what we
could refer as a single iterative sonic object). Using RotAnim alongside the assignation of
Yaxis to the sound engine’s delay time combined with the modulation of the LPF cuto by the
Angle of collision transforms what could be a static iterative sound object into a more organic
irridescent, swell.

Cinq Cents

This preset was conceived thinking of what StarWaves could also be about (the fascinating
relationship between the void and silence, space and sound), with arguably Pascal’s most
famous quote (« le silence éternel de ces espaces in inis m’e raie ») loaded on P1.
Let’s jump to state 5, and focus on that classic psychedelic e ect on the voice : as the synth
engine delay time is increasing the perceived pitch of the sample is, as both the platform Pitch
and EM1 Delay time have a positive modulation originating from the same source, Yaxis.
Let’s go back to snapshot 4, and consider one of the advantages of using a twisted platform.
Besides some possible variations in color (in the event the position on the Y axis and the angle
of the collision are used as modulation sources), we can use the odd shape in conjunction
with a scanning beam to have irregular re lections on further platforms. Here, what’s being
re lected on P3 reaches P4. Try changing P4’s Parabolic, RotAnim and X Dim parameters to
observe how the beams originating with EM2 end up on either platform.

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P1 is being initially scanned by the other emitter; the occasional playback that is a
consequence of the multiple re lections of the EM2 beams contributes to the repetitive
hypnotic e ect.

Crevasses

Let’s focus on the action of EM1 (rotating alongside the vertical axis) in relation to platforms 1
and 2 (the horizontal ones).
Recall state 1. Both platforms have been divided in seven segments. Rare particles (it’s a slow ,
irregular rate - note the high value of S rand) are triggering speci ic piano chords.
Now recall state 2. The platforms’ segmentation has been pushed to the max, transforming the
loud piano chords into accelerating of decelerating sequences of the same chords - the
change in speed being controlled by the curvature of the platforms and distance related to
the emitter. Also, by reversing the platform orientation, the beam will pick various amplitudes
of the decaying chords, thus creating, depending on this orientation, either a crescendo either
a decrescendo.

Dub Huit

A simple preset, where a rhythmic loop is being read by the irst emitter, whilst the second is
responsible for playing a background pad. Now and then EM1 also triggers the playback of the
other platforms’ blocks.
This is particularly noticeable in state 4, where the twisted shape of platform 2 allows the
occasional triggering of some of P4’ blocks, creating some harmonically rich background.

Kinzhal

A melancholic ambient preset, with little changes between the states. Please note though, the
di erence in tone that is a direct consequence of the FFTsize adjustments between states.

Mandragora Blooming

One emitter is sending beams to 2 platforms, that have been segmented with Att Segment,
given their nature, and more important, the sonic intention (remember that you can always
edit the sounds to be loaded so that StarWaves reads a speci ic number of blocks, either
accentuating transients, either making some perfect divisions).

Morgen

A few things can be spotted here.

The State 1 to 2 transition : for EM1, check the sliders of EM dur, EM rat, Em Spd, Y dim. For
the platforms’ FX, check the following PL1 FX parameters : dry and wet gains, pitch shifter, FFT
size. By changing multiple parameters at both the collided platform and the emitter synth
engine levels, you can use StarWaves to create the most unusual transitions and with the
added advantage of having a powerful visual feedback.

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On State 5, the platform blocks have been fractured and made itting the same small space,
with the irst emitter being in the core of that topological chaos. Since the emitter is rotating,
with big values for both X dim and Y dim, you have now a totally self-generative abstract mini
piece, which sounds totally di erent from the straight loop you could hear in states 2,3,4.

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Finally, thank you for using StarWaves. Independent of your profession, and what you
are doing, we believe that it will spark some creativity for you and deliver valuable
experience for the time you spend on it.

WWW.SONICPLANET.COM

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