Try a little harder, please.

So I went to a performance this weekend that featured all sorts of performers and huge projections on several walls. This is a situation where the performers "excite" a video system, and the whole thing because a big mediated jumble. Alas, I came away a little sad, because while it held some interesting options, it was a little, um, lacking in attention to detail.

The days of projecting something on a wall and winning your Media Artist badge are over. Now, there are expectations that need to be met. And it's not just about the content - it's about the details of presentation. For example, if you are going to have multiple projectors, the brightness, contrast and black levels need to be matched across machines. If you are spanning across these projectors, you need to make sure the alignment is impeccable. In fact, impeccability is something that was missing from the whole show, and it left me wishing for more than I saw.

[ddg]

Robert Speaks

Ran across this interview on FB, but these things often go unread. This one shouldn't. I interviewed Robert one time for (presumably) a thesis thingie, but he was kind of hard to interview (especially for me, since I consider him a bit of a friend). But even Robert admits to liking this interview (enough so that he posted it on his own site), and I have to admit it is pretty spot-on. Hopefully you enjoy it too.

[ddg]

ArdCore Love

There's a very nice thread about the ArdCore modular platform on MuffWiggler. The thread starts with a discussion about why the ArdCore isn't as beloved as the MakeNoise Maths (which doesn't even seem logical to me, but there you go...), but eventually evolves into a discussion about the value prospect of the ArdCore as a creative module.

I love the way that the ArdCore has taken off - mostly thanks to Dan Snazelle's introduction of the device in Eurorack format, and FAC's creation of the drum-based sketch. It started off as a passion-project to be utilized as my Master's Thesis project; it has ended up being seen in a variety of modular systems across the world.

Reading the thread has reinvigorated my desire to pumps out a new sketch or two. I've got this thing in my head to do some physics emulations; let's see how this goes!

[ddg]

Performance Season - almost over!

Incredible summer of performances, but (thankfully, perhaps) it is almost over. One of the highlights was playing at the Currents New Media Festival, where I performed in two pieces: one as visualist for Andrew Pask and Janet Feder, and one as musician/visualist with Andrew Pask. Both were incredible, and the duet with Pask allowed me to introduce my modular foolishness to a new crowd. The response was fantastic, and I appreciate the guiding hands of Mariannah Amster and Frank Ragano for making the Currents festival a magnificent place, and to Paul and Kitty for sharing their home with us douring our visit to Santa Fe. An incredible time, and I met so many incredible people. Thank you all!

(The picture was take by Janet as I was trying to get the lighting right for my area of the stage - and attempting not to fall off said stage...)

[ddg]

Haters Gotta Hate

This little gem showed up in my Facebook stack, and I've just got to blurt a few things out. The organizer of this thing has (in my opinion) jumped the rails a bit, and this is the result.  A few notes:

• If you are going to go Ableton-negative, don't continue to cop the Ableton name and logo. Lacks class.
• Starting the message with Bitwig is just meant to incite. Don't worry, Marc, they are watching. But this'll just make 'em write you off.
• Opinion on the Push is not rapidly declining, because the Push isn't yet in consumer's hands. After it is, the opinion will vary, they will be in widespread use, and all planets will continue to orbit as expected.
• Live 9 is unready? I haven't heard that one yet, although I know some people would prefer it to have different feature sets. But I'm not sure where this one came from. I've been (secretly) gigging with it for a while, and couldn't be more confident in it.
• The Livid Base is a cool thing, and is completely different from anything Ableton is likely to do in the next many years. The goals are different, as are the devices.

Yeah, I hear the peanut gallery already: I'm a Ableton shill!  I can't bust out of my own bubble! I'm not open enough! Yada yada.

Breaking News: I'm a hater too. In this case, I'm just hating on the fragging of cheap shots on the way out of town.

[ddg]