Role
Opening (and possibly closing) instrument of the staged performance.
How it works
- Looks like an ordinary mechanical metronome. A technician starts it swinging by hand; the system takes it over invisibly.
- Tempo: hidden motor slides the weight along the arm.
- Phase: electromagnet near the bottom gives timed pushes, like an electric pendulum clock. Sensor reads arm position.
- Can free-run, then lock to the system clock.
Sound
It may make sound itself, or lead only visually.
References
- Metronome synchronization demo. Several metronomes on a loose shared platform drift, then pull each other into sync. Physical version of the focus lock; the Machine composes the moment instead of waiting for it.
- Electric pendulum clocks and escapements. A pendulum kept swinging by small timed pushes, or powered by a falling weight. Model for “direction decides when; physics does the playing.”