Miniature – the basic definition describes a miniature as a small model of something or a reduced-size copy. It is also a small-format work of art. Using Interactive Miniatures designed by Paweł Janicki, you can create your own micro-works.

You can also learn how artists and thinkers came up with new and original ideas. Our contemporary knowledge and science are a series of steps, and sometimes extraordinary revelations. Miniatures draw on these experiences, highlight them, signal them, and develop them as micro signs along the paths to understanding sometimes complex issues.

If you want, you can experience it! Choose a Miniature, and you will learn about the history of cellular automata that transform mathematical rules into musical experiences, or discover how text symbols were used to create self-portraits, what Archimedes’ stomachion was, and how order and chance can create a coherent whole. And all this – in a miniature!

Getting Started

On this website, we provide you with a complete set of Miniatures. Although there are no strict instructions, we would like to give you a few tips on how to navigate the site comfortably.

  • The Miniatures subpages are divided into two parts: on the left, you will find tabs with descriptions and editable parameters, as well as technical documentation and source code. On the right, you will see a preview of the Miniature.
  • If the Miniature has a built-in menu, you can show or hide it by clicking anywhere in the browser window with the Miniature loaded.
  • Most Miniatures require permission to use the microphone and camera – if a crossed-out speaker icon is displayed in the preview window, click/tap on it to enable sound.
  • The interface in the Parameters panel is interactive – you can click on buttons, use sliders, or enter your own parameters in the designated fields.
  • In the desktop version, the changes you make will be displayed in real time in the Miniature window on the right.

Parameters

You can also enter parameters via the URL using a simple formula. To check which parameters you can edit in a given Miniature, open the Technical Documentation tab on the selected Miniature’s page. Open the Miniature in a new tab and click the Preview button below the title.

  • To start entering parameters, type the ? character at the very end of the link.
  • The parameter formula is: parametername=value.
  • Separate each subsequent parameter with an & sign.
  • When changing colours, use the formula 0xRGB, i.e., the colour code in RGB mode.

This is what the URL of a thumbnail looks like after adjusting a few parameters:
https://www.paweljanicki.jp/tetoki/cichglo/index.html?bgl=0x000000&bgs=0x7CF0BD?&txtl=0x7CF0BD?&txts=0x000000&stls=italic

More advanced editing is possible with other technical parameters, such as WebSocket, which enables two-way, continuous data exchange between the browser and the server in real-time, and MIDI, which is responsible for transferring musical information between electronic instruments, computers, and other audio devices. If you know how to program, copy the source code and modify it as you want. A simple patch in PureData – a scheme for communication via WebSocket can be downloaded from Paweł Janicki’s website: here.

Tip for presentations

Miniatures don’t have to be mini! You can experiment with scale by opening them on different devices: from smartphones and laptops to large-format presentations using a computer, external display device (monitor/projector), camera, speakers, and microphone. And while doing so:

  • Make sure that the image scaling in your browser is set to a neutral value (100%).
  • Test different browsers: Chrome is the most efficient multi-system browser that supports all the mechanisms needed for Miniatures. Safari also works very well on macOS. Edge, built into Windows, should also work without any problems.
  • On mobile devices (iOS, Android), the default browsers should work well.
  • Check your browser settings: Miniatures use several mechanisms that may be disabled for some reason on the website (mainly for security reasons).
  • Experiment with the camera view: use it not only as a mirror but also as a scanner of the surrounding reality.

Inspiration

You can use Miniatures during workshops, experiments, and creative projects. Miniatures that produce sounds can be used as instruments on which you can play your own concert, combining the sounds of several Miniatures into a composition.

You can find inspiration in the Orchestra workshop, developed by Vitalina Louis Mahomedova and Małgorzata Wrzosek, described in our digital publication Impulses.

Miniatures that use visual filters are great for experimenting with photography, on walks, or as a dynamic, interactive background for activities involving movement. You can create interesting videos by playing a selected Miniature on your phone and using a screen recording function. You can find our interpretations of the Miniatures on WRO’s Vimeo channel.

Having trouble?

If something isn’t working, you can try the following steps. One of them should solve the problem.

  • Refresh the tab.
  • Open the Miniature in a new tab by clicking the Preview button.
  • Allow your browser to access your camera/microphone.
  • If that still doesn’t help, open the Miniature from another browser – the most popular ones should be able to load the programme best.
  • Check your browser settings and remove any blockages.

Help desk for innovators

If you need help processing the Miniature yourself, please contact us at: help.mi@wrocenter.pl, describing your idea.

Terms of use

MI – Interactive Miniatures are available exclusively for non-commercial use with attribution under a Creative Commons licence (CC BY-NC 4.0). You may share, copy, distribute them in any way, remix, adapt, and transform them, provided that:

  • you credit the author in a manner appropriate to the medium (Paweł Janicki and WRO Art Center),
  • you do not use them for commercial purposes.

Here is a simple explanation of how WebSocket and MIDI work

WebSocket is a communication protocol that enables two-way, continuous data exchange between a browser and a server in real time. MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a communication protocol used to transfer musical information between electronic instruments, computers, and other audio devices.

Importantly, MIDI does not transmit sound, but only data about music – such as information about key presses, velocity, pitch, and parameter changes. The combination of WebSocket and MIDI allows MIDI data to be transmitted over the internet in real time, enabling the creation of interactive musical web applications.