Artist profile: Dan Wise
Dan Wise is the author of some the top selling loop packs in our footage library, as well as a very talented VJ and motion designer. He's responsible for the touring visuals for Deadmau5, Muse and Stereo MCs, and aside from live visuals, he does some amazing commercial motion graphic work as well. It's always inspiring to see someone make a living out of doing what he loves, especially when it yields such beautiful and diverse eye candy. We figured it was time to get down to the nitty gritty.
Some of the loops from your UrbanTextures pack are used as demo footage when people first download Resolume. How does it feel that every Resolume Avenue user has seen your work?
When I was originally asked about including my content with the Avenue download I was definitely flattered. I’ve been using Resolume for many years and it’s a great piece of software, so to have my work associated with it is very exciting. Because UrbanTextures is a little bit different to what people may be expecting from VJ content, I hope it will help to get people excited about the possibilities of what you can do with some interesting clips and some decent software.
You've also done some interface design for tv and film productions. What's it like working on an 'enhance' scene?
Working on content for Film & TV is great! There are obviously a lot of cliches with film graphics, and the ‘enhancing a poor quality image to reveal something crucial to the plot’ sequences are some of the funniest. Anyone who has ever used a computer knows they don’t ‘beep’ every time you press a key, you can’t look round corners in CCTV footage, and you can’t hack into the CIA database in under 60 seconds...using your watch. But due to a combination of filmic mythology and convenient script writing, I’ve spent part of my career enhancing car number plates, making viruses flash on screen as laughing skulls, and showing network security breaches in giant red flashing letters. It wasn’t all comedy though, I think I also made some stuff that looked pretty cool too!
Awesome 'enhance' scene compilation on Youtube. Although Dan didn't work on these specific scenes, we thought the whole thing was too funny not too include ;)
How does working on commercial and corporate projects relate to working as a VJ? Do you have a similar approach for both, or does one require a very different skill set than the other?
On one level they are polar opposites. Corporate work can sometimes be restricted by both vision and brand guidelines, which means there isn’t always the potential to create something original. VJ work on the other hand is a lot more open, with no real rules, and is much more free and unrestricted. However, there are also some brands and companies that are very forward thinking. Lifestyle brands and companies that want to get the attention of younger audiences, for example, often take elements from youth culture and draw upon music scenes, events, vjing, and street art for inspiration. So the gap is often not as large as you’d think. I also believe that as we become a more visually aware, culture, people’s expectations about production values are changing, and the application of better designs, slicker interfaces, and a visually rich user experience, all bring people closer to the world that VJs and other digital artists live in all the time.
Very slick motion graphic piece for Skype
You're one of the founders of All City Collective, which is focused on street art. How does that relate to your work as a VJ?
For me, starting All City was always a combination of celebrating all the art that was out there, and fulfilling a desire to express myself more. There’s a lot of scope for experimentation on the street, both conceptually and with the different mediums you use. I have always loved the idea of free, anonymous art, accessible by everyone. It’s stripped back, raw and honest. This sense of experimentation and liberation definitely feeds into my work as a VJ. On an aesthetic level, I’ve always had a thing for dirty, run down streets and buildings, which certainly fed into the UrbanTextures pack. Work on the street is also very transient and can be gone the next day, so the value you place on it changes. It’s even more special when it’s there, but you learn not to get so attached to it. This is very similar to projected video, which only ever exists in a single moment.
Your loop packs range from textured gritty content, to a graphic vector look, to a glowy, dreamy, sometimes almost technological look. All in all very diverse. How do you manage all these different styles?
While I think it’s important as an artist to constantly develop your own technique and style, I also believe it’s even more important to keep challenging yourself to develop new ways of expressing that style. As someone with a passion for visual things, I get excited by the diversity of styles that exist in film and motion graphics. Whenever I see different pieces that look cool, I think about how I could take elements of the concept or treatment and mix it with my work to develop something new and different.
Where do you get inspiration?
These days I can find inspiration anywhere, from idents on music channels, to animations on console games, to iphone/ipad apps. I Live in East London which is very creatively vibrant place, and this also has an influence on me. Club flyers, posters, street art, independent shops, clubs nights, galleries and exhibitions all have an effect too. Websites like ffffound, lookslikegooddesign and tumblr also make it much easier to find quality work.
Can you describe your working process a bit? Do you sit behind AE and fiddle around, or do you have a specific something in mind and sketch everything out in detail before hand?
My creative process usually happens in two parts. Firstly, I think you need a strong concept as a starting point, to create a framework within which to work and a direction in which to go. This then gives context, which is the beginning of all my work. After that it’s all about the execution. I always start with a lot of ideas which I feel I have to try, and get out of my head. Even if they don’t all work it’s good to just get them out. Then I can look at what is working best and develop those ideas further. This is where experimentation and ‘happy accidents’ can shape the final outcome. Once I’ve gone through a few rounds of this, and have a whole load of ideas fleshed out, I can tweak, play, and remove bits until I’m happy.
What's your tool set for creating content, application wise?
I live with After Effects, Photoshop and Illustrator open most of the time, with some C4D thrown in for good measure. Though I constantly remind myself that they are only tools. If I’m trying to achieve something, and I need to draw it and scan it in, or use a piece of custom software, then I will. I don’t let the limitations of the software limit my work. Lately I've been working with some great programmers and developers on a few creative projects, where the only solution is to create bespoke programs and functionality to realise the concept. This highlights how creative problems can be solved both technically as well as visually.
Does making a loop pack come fluently, or do you ever start on something and eventually set it aside because it doesn't work out?
For me, the creative process is always one of tension, and I think that if you aren’t constantly questioning what you are doing and why, you aren’t going to produce your best work. Sometimes ideas don’t always work out, and having the confidence to delete something that isn’t working (even if you spent a long time on it), ultimately makes you a much better creative, and the work you produce stronger.
When is a loop pack finished? Do you smack it together on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, or is it the result of months of meticulous tweaking?
It can definitely be really hard to stop fiddling with your work and say ‘that’s it!’, it’s finished. When you yourself are the client, there aren’t the same deadline and budget restrictions that mean you HAVE to finish a project by a certain time and in a certain way. It takes discipline to say enough is enough. For me, when I can render the clips out, have a play in Resolume, and like what I'm seeing, that’s usually when I think it’s ok to release them into the wild. I think it’s very important to finish things and move on, you get more done and you learn a lot more.
Dan banging out a session with his CosmosFabric loop pack
What about approaching a stage design project like the Deadmau5 stage? Do your perceive the different conditions as limiting or challenging?
Personally I like working with limits. I think it helps force you to be more creative, and to go further down paths you may otherwise not have gone down. Limitations shouldn’t be seen as a hindrance to a project, as often, overcoming the challenges imposed by them will give strength to what you produce and help make something more unique and engaging.
What are some the highlights of your visual career thus far?
Working with high profile artists such as Muse, Deadmau5 and the Stereo MCs is definitely something I am proud to have done. I still feel that I am only just starting out producing visuals professionally, so to have some heavyweight names in my portfolio is great. Touring as a VJ is also a highlight, I love travelling and I love the buzz of live shows, so to get paid to do both doesn’t get much better!
Tour visuals for Muse
Do you have any exciting projects coming up?
I have a few things in the pipeline that are definitely quite exciting. I’m working on developing an interactive installation concept at the moment which will look to create a form of ‘volumetric video’ that will react to interaction as a visually abstract, intelligent entity. I’m also moving into some new studio space in the next few weeks, so I'm massively excited about having more space to experiment and try new ideas. I also have a few new VJ packs in development which I really want to get finished!
Who are the people working in your field that we should be on the look out for? Who are the up and coming motion designers?
So many people are out there making really cool stuff it’s always hard to narrow it down. Universal Everything constantly innovate and create amazing work, as do UVA. I also love the work of Joshua Nimoy who programmed a lot of the clever, generative effects in the recent Tron movie. I’m also massively influenced by people who work outside of motion graphics. Artists like Olafur Eliasson, James Turrell, Làslò Moholy Nagy, who all experiment with light and space are well worth checking out if you don’t know their stuff. D&AD also showcase some of the best emerging creative talent, bringing the spotlight onto graduates as well as more established creatives.
Some of the loops from your UrbanTextures pack are used as demo footage when people first download Resolume. How does it feel that every Resolume Avenue user has seen your work?
When I was originally asked about including my content with the Avenue download I was definitely flattered. I’ve been using Resolume for many years and it’s a great piece of software, so to have my work associated with it is very exciting. Because UrbanTextures is a little bit different to what people may be expecting from VJ content, I hope it will help to get people excited about the possibilities of what you can do with some interesting clips and some decent software.
You've also done some interface design for tv and film productions. What's it like working on an 'enhance' scene?
Working on content for Film & TV is great! There are obviously a lot of cliches with film graphics, and the ‘enhancing a poor quality image to reveal something crucial to the plot’ sequences are some of the funniest. Anyone who has ever used a computer knows they don’t ‘beep’ every time you press a key, you can’t look round corners in CCTV footage, and you can’t hack into the CIA database in under 60 seconds...using your watch. But due to a combination of filmic mythology and convenient script writing, I’ve spent part of my career enhancing car number plates, making viruses flash on screen as laughing skulls, and showing network security breaches in giant red flashing letters. It wasn’t all comedy though, I think I also made some stuff that looked pretty cool too!
Awesome 'enhance' scene compilation on Youtube. Although Dan didn't work on these specific scenes, we thought the whole thing was too funny not too include ;)
How does working on commercial and corporate projects relate to working as a VJ? Do you have a similar approach for both, or does one require a very different skill set than the other?
On one level they are polar opposites. Corporate work can sometimes be restricted by both vision and brand guidelines, which means there isn’t always the potential to create something original. VJ work on the other hand is a lot more open, with no real rules, and is much more free and unrestricted. However, there are also some brands and companies that are very forward thinking. Lifestyle brands and companies that want to get the attention of younger audiences, for example, often take elements from youth culture and draw upon music scenes, events, vjing, and street art for inspiration. So the gap is often not as large as you’d think. I also believe that as we become a more visually aware, culture, people’s expectations about production values are changing, and the application of better designs, slicker interfaces, and a visually rich user experience, all bring people closer to the world that VJs and other digital artists live in all the time.
Very slick motion graphic piece for Skype
You're one of the founders of All City Collective, which is focused on street art. How does that relate to your work as a VJ?
For me, starting All City was always a combination of celebrating all the art that was out there, and fulfilling a desire to express myself more. There’s a lot of scope for experimentation on the street, both conceptually and with the different mediums you use. I have always loved the idea of free, anonymous art, accessible by everyone. It’s stripped back, raw and honest. This sense of experimentation and liberation definitely feeds into my work as a VJ. On an aesthetic level, I’ve always had a thing for dirty, run down streets and buildings, which certainly fed into the UrbanTextures pack. Work on the street is also very transient and can be gone the next day, so the value you place on it changes. It’s even more special when it’s there, but you learn not to get so attached to it. This is very similar to projected video, which only ever exists in a single moment.
Your loop packs range from textured gritty content, to a graphic vector look, to a glowy, dreamy, sometimes almost technological look. All in all very diverse. How do you manage all these different styles?
While I think it’s important as an artist to constantly develop your own technique and style, I also believe it’s even more important to keep challenging yourself to develop new ways of expressing that style. As someone with a passion for visual things, I get excited by the diversity of styles that exist in film and motion graphics. Whenever I see different pieces that look cool, I think about how I could take elements of the concept or treatment and mix it with my work to develop something new and different.
Where do you get inspiration?
These days I can find inspiration anywhere, from idents on music channels, to animations on console games, to iphone/ipad apps. I Live in East London which is very creatively vibrant place, and this also has an influence on me. Club flyers, posters, street art, independent shops, clubs nights, galleries and exhibitions all have an effect too. Websites like ffffound, lookslikegooddesign and tumblr also make it much easier to find quality work.
Can you describe your working process a bit? Do you sit behind AE and fiddle around, or do you have a specific something in mind and sketch everything out in detail before hand?
My creative process usually happens in two parts. Firstly, I think you need a strong concept as a starting point, to create a framework within which to work and a direction in which to go. This then gives context, which is the beginning of all my work. After that it’s all about the execution. I always start with a lot of ideas which I feel I have to try, and get out of my head. Even if they don’t all work it’s good to just get them out. Then I can look at what is working best and develop those ideas further. This is where experimentation and ‘happy accidents’ can shape the final outcome. Once I’ve gone through a few rounds of this, and have a whole load of ideas fleshed out, I can tweak, play, and remove bits until I’m happy.
What's your tool set for creating content, application wise?
I live with After Effects, Photoshop and Illustrator open most of the time, with some C4D thrown in for good measure. Though I constantly remind myself that they are only tools. If I’m trying to achieve something, and I need to draw it and scan it in, or use a piece of custom software, then I will. I don’t let the limitations of the software limit my work. Lately I've been working with some great programmers and developers on a few creative projects, where the only solution is to create bespoke programs and functionality to realise the concept. This highlights how creative problems can be solved both technically as well as visually.
Does making a loop pack come fluently, or do you ever start on something and eventually set it aside because it doesn't work out?
For me, the creative process is always one of tension, and I think that if you aren’t constantly questioning what you are doing and why, you aren’t going to produce your best work. Sometimes ideas don’t always work out, and having the confidence to delete something that isn’t working (even if you spent a long time on it), ultimately makes you a much better creative, and the work you produce stronger.
When is a loop pack finished? Do you smack it together on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, or is it the result of months of meticulous tweaking?
It can definitely be really hard to stop fiddling with your work and say ‘that’s it!’, it’s finished. When you yourself are the client, there aren’t the same deadline and budget restrictions that mean you HAVE to finish a project by a certain time and in a certain way. It takes discipline to say enough is enough. For me, when I can render the clips out, have a play in Resolume, and like what I'm seeing, that’s usually when I think it’s ok to release them into the wild. I think it’s very important to finish things and move on, you get more done and you learn a lot more.
Dan banging out a session with his CosmosFabric loop pack
What about approaching a stage design project like the Deadmau5 stage? Do your perceive the different conditions as limiting or challenging?
Personally I like working with limits. I think it helps force you to be more creative, and to go further down paths you may otherwise not have gone down. Limitations shouldn’t be seen as a hindrance to a project, as often, overcoming the challenges imposed by them will give strength to what you produce and help make something more unique and engaging.
What are some the highlights of your visual career thus far?
Working with high profile artists such as Muse, Deadmau5 and the Stereo MCs is definitely something I am proud to have done. I still feel that I am only just starting out producing visuals professionally, so to have some heavyweight names in my portfolio is great. Touring as a VJ is also a highlight, I love travelling and I love the buzz of live shows, so to get paid to do both doesn’t get much better!
Tour visuals for Muse
Do you have any exciting projects coming up?
I have a few things in the pipeline that are definitely quite exciting. I’m working on developing an interactive installation concept at the moment which will look to create a form of ‘volumetric video’ that will react to interaction as a visually abstract, intelligent entity. I’m also moving into some new studio space in the next few weeks, so I'm massively excited about having more space to experiment and try new ideas. I also have a few new VJ packs in development which I really want to get finished!
Who are the people working in your field that we should be on the look out for? Who are the up and coming motion designers?
So many people are out there making really cool stuff it’s always hard to narrow it down. Universal Everything constantly innovate and create amazing work, as do UVA. I also love the work of Joshua Nimoy who programmed a lot of the clever, generative effects in the recent Tron movie. I’m also massively influenced by people who work outside of motion graphics. Artists like Olafur Eliasson, James Turrell, Làslò Moholy Nagy, who all experiment with light and space are well worth checking out if you don’t know their stuff. D&AD also showcase some of the best emerging creative talent, bringing the spotlight onto graduates as well as more established creatives.
Resolume Blog
This blog is about Resolume, VJ-ing and the inspiring things the Resolume users make. Do you have something interesting to show the community? Send in your work!
Highlights
Resolume Avenue 3.3.2 Released, Flash More Stable
We are really happy with the stability of Avenue ... except when playing Flash files. But 3.3.2 fixes this. We have a love hate relationship with Flash and it remains an untamable beast but at least it's not crashing Avenue anymore.
A few bugs concerning masks are fixed. Thanks to Helder Freitas you can now enjoy the Resolume interface in Portuguese and a few other bits and bops are fixed too.
Resolume Avenue 3.3.2 release notes
[fixed] Flash instability
[fixed] Portuguese Translation by Helder Freitas
[fixed] MIDI or DMX deck switch deadlock
[fixed] Effects linked to dashboard reset to default value on startup
[fixed] 3 part OSC position messages to audio/position/values crashes Avenue
[fixed] Column names disappearing (again)
[fixed] DMX clip trigger mapping is not saved in composition map
[fixed] Luma Key: White still visible at 0%
[fixed] Memory leak in file browser when set to thumbnail mode
[fixed] Loaded AFX that are bypassed cause audio-drop out when un-bypassing them
[fixed] Strobe effect on resized clips displays incorrect
[fixed] Masks are not applied correctly
[fixed] Clip with mask not displaying in output window when triggered
[fixed] Clip displays wrong mask
[fixed] Clips triggered by DMX ignore the layer target setting
Download & Enjoy!
The Resolume Team
Edwin Bart Dani Tim Joris
A few bugs concerning masks are fixed. Thanks to Helder Freitas you can now enjoy the Resolume interface in Portuguese and a few other bits and bops are fixed too.
Resolume Avenue 3.3.2 release notes
[fixed] Flash instability
[fixed] Portuguese Translation by Helder Freitas
[fixed] MIDI or DMX deck switch deadlock
[fixed] Effects linked to dashboard reset to default value on startup
[fixed] 3 part OSC position messages to audio/position/values crashes Avenue
[fixed] Column names disappearing (again)
[fixed] DMX clip trigger mapping is not saved in composition map
[fixed] Luma Key: White still visible at 0%
[fixed] Memory leak in file browser when set to thumbnail mode
[fixed] Loaded AFX that are bypassed cause audio-drop out when un-bypassing them
[fixed] Strobe effect on resized clips displays incorrect
[fixed] Masks are not applied correctly
[fixed] Clip with mask not displaying in output window when triggered
[fixed] Clip displays wrong mask
[fixed] Clips triggered by DMX ignore the layer target setting
Download & Enjoy!
The Resolume Team
Edwin Bart Dani Tim Joris
Resolume 2 on the iPad! [Update: April Fools]
Update: April Fools
It's now May 2019, 8 years after we made this April fools joke and we're still receiving emails from people asking where they can download this. I guess this was one of our best ones ;-)
Oh yes, you read it right. Resolume 2.41 is now available for the iPad!!! Mix clips the way you were used to from back in the day, on your o so shiny mobile touchscreen.
When you think about it, it actually makes you wonder why it took us so long to get it together:
1. Resolume 2.41 was made for 1024x768 resolution screens, which just happens to be exactly the size of the iPad display.
2. Resolume 2.41 doesn't use the GPU as much as Avenue, so even a device that doesn't have a modern GPU like the iPad can run it.
With the recent release of the iPad 2, we now can let the dual cores handle the work. And this makes things fly like nobody's business. That's not to say R2.41 iPad Edition won't work on the first version.
The cool part of this (for us geeks) is that we did not rewrite Resolume 2 to run on iOS, ooh no that would have been too easy. We looked at the Win32 API calls that Resolume 2 makes and we wrote a partial Windows emulator that runs on iOS so normal Windows programs can run on the iPad and iPhone. This concept is similar to WINE on linux and could theoretically be used to run other Windows on iOS too.
Check out the teaser video, and then head over to the iTunes store!
AV sampling on the next level
One of the great achievements of hip hop music is that it helped the art of sampling evolve into a legitimate musical genre. Ever since the Sugar Hill Gang topped the charts with the epic bass line from Chic's 'Good Times', the game was on.
Now we've arrived in the next millennium, and DJ Jay-E is taking it to the next level. Sampling and remixing classic video clips, cartoons, tv shows, movies and fresh material into one big pop culture mash up, our feet are a-rocking, and our eyes are a-popping. When the member of the ScreenWerks crew then mentions using Resolume to make all this happen, we figure it was time to let you in on the fun.
You're first and foremost a DJ/producer, and Resolume Avenue is first and foremost a VJ app. What gives?
I was always into film and movies and I always wanted to do something with visuals to my music, so I decided I was going to stop my audio DJ shows and get into VJing. I felt there were more creative avenues then just being a audio DJ. Almost like looking at familiar songs in a whole different way.
Can you explain a bit more about ScreenWerks? Who are the members?
Screenwerks is a crew of VJs Steve1der, Jordan Laws, 2nd Nature, and myself, with the backbone and brains of the operation Shecky Green. 2nd Nature and I were just talking one day about getting a crew together of VJs. So we called up friends of ours that are VJs, Steve1der and Jordan Laws. They were down for the movement, and we agreed that we needed someone to make sense of it all. So we called Shecky Green and so we got started.
What inspired you to start adding video content to your DJ sets?
2nd Nature was a big inspiration, all his sets and video content was always amazing to me. From effects and content to turntable skills, he just made me wanna be a part of the VJ world and perfect my style of VJing.
Is incorporating video just a matter of finding the video that comes with the audio samples, or is there more to it?
I think it's more. I think finding video or content is just the first step, but adding layers, effects and other visual candy really makes it YOUR video.
Can you explain the process of creating a VDJ set?
It's different visuals for every gig. If it's a house set it's more ambient and and visual fxs. If it's a top 40 type gig I use a lot of pop culture visuals and movies, stuff people are familiar with.
Is a typical VDJ set a pre-programmed play list, or do you select different tracks depending on the night? How do you work things live?
I keep a 'run-to' crate if I need to push it up to the next level, but most of the time I rely on the crowd and go which way the crowd takes me.
What is your live setup like? What gear and apps do you use, and how is everything connected?
Haha I always run into new stuff, but my current set up is a Macbook Pro laptop with Serato and Mix Emergency. I use this with two Technics 1200s that control Serato and a Pioneer DJM 800. I'm a fan of how the DJM 800 performs on the sound quality and the audio effects, and the fact that it sends out midi. I also use another Macbook Pro with Avenue on it. I use this for added visual effects, ambient, and sound effects with visuals. Like for example if I wanted to drop a sweep noise on a big build up it would have some kind of visual effect with it also. I also use it for the text, and I show the Macbook's iSight with Avenue as well.
Both MacBooks go into a DVI mixer called TV One Task 1T-C2-750 "love this box" that's how both Macbook visuals are combined. The key feature on this is amazing. To trigger both laptops I use an iPad with TouchOSC. It talks to both laptops. So for Mix Emergency I have a template that controls certain mix transitions and effects. On another page I have it triggering Avenue clips and effects.
Have you ever worked with Pioneer DVJ's? What do you think about them?
Never have, I'm a turntable guy.
Sometimes your visual content is the actual video clip, sometimes it's all fresh material, but always there is some additional work done on the video. Do you do all this yourself?
Most I do myself but i have guys/friends that give me new stuff from time to time.
How do you deal with copyright issues?
Knock on wood but no one has said anything. I understand how they could say something but I come from a hip hop background and with that being said I used to chop and loop old records and make a new piece of music out of that. I look at this the same way.
Anything else you'd like to add?
I'm currently finishing up a new mix that's called "Roswell's Chicken N Waffles", a sci fi video mix. It will be on screenwerks.tv and JayEBeats.com soon!
Now we've arrived in the next millennium, and DJ Jay-E is taking it to the next level. Sampling and remixing classic video clips, cartoons, tv shows, movies and fresh material into one big pop culture mash up, our feet are a-rocking, and our eyes are a-popping. When the member of the ScreenWerks crew then mentions using Resolume to make all this happen, we figure it was time to let you in on the fun.
You're first and foremost a DJ/producer, and Resolume Avenue is first and foremost a VJ app. What gives?
I was always into film and movies and I always wanted to do something with visuals to my music, so I decided I was going to stop my audio DJ shows and get into VJing. I felt there were more creative avenues then just being a audio DJ. Almost like looking at familiar songs in a whole different way.
Can you explain a bit more about ScreenWerks? Who are the members?
Screenwerks is a crew of VJs Steve1der, Jordan Laws, 2nd Nature, and myself, with the backbone and brains of the operation Shecky Green. 2nd Nature and I were just talking one day about getting a crew together of VJs. So we called up friends of ours that are VJs, Steve1der and Jordan Laws. They were down for the movement, and we agreed that we needed someone to make sense of it all. So we called Shecky Green and so we got started.
What inspired you to start adding video content to your DJ sets?
2nd Nature was a big inspiration, all his sets and video content was always amazing to me. From effects and content to turntable skills, he just made me wanna be a part of the VJ world and perfect my style of VJing.
Is incorporating video just a matter of finding the video that comes with the audio samples, or is there more to it?
I think it's more. I think finding video or content is just the first step, but adding layers, effects and other visual candy really makes it YOUR video.
Can you explain the process of creating a VDJ set?
It's different visuals for every gig. If it's a house set it's more ambient and and visual fxs. If it's a top 40 type gig I use a lot of pop culture visuals and movies, stuff people are familiar with.
Is a typical VDJ set a pre-programmed play list, or do you select different tracks depending on the night? How do you work things live?
I keep a 'run-to' crate if I need to push it up to the next level, but most of the time I rely on the crowd and go which way the crowd takes me.
What is your live setup like? What gear and apps do you use, and how is everything connected?
Haha I always run into new stuff, but my current set up is a Macbook Pro laptop with Serato and Mix Emergency. I use this with two Technics 1200s that control Serato and a Pioneer DJM 800. I'm a fan of how the DJM 800 performs on the sound quality and the audio effects, and the fact that it sends out midi. I also use another Macbook Pro with Avenue on it. I use this for added visual effects, ambient, and sound effects with visuals. Like for example if I wanted to drop a sweep noise on a big build up it would have some kind of visual effect with it also. I also use it for the text, and I show the Macbook's iSight with Avenue as well.
Both MacBooks go into a DVI mixer called TV One Task 1T-C2-750 "love this box" that's how both Macbook visuals are combined. The key feature on this is amazing. To trigger both laptops I use an iPad with TouchOSC. It talks to both laptops. So for Mix Emergency I have a template that controls certain mix transitions and effects. On another page I have it triggering Avenue clips and effects.
Have you ever worked with Pioneer DVJ's? What do you think about them?
Never have, I'm a turntable guy.
Sometimes your visual content is the actual video clip, sometimes it's all fresh material, but always there is some additional work done on the video. Do you do all this yourself?
Most I do myself but i have guys/friends that give me new stuff from time to time.
How do you deal with copyright issues?
Knock on wood but no one has said anything. I understand how they could say something but I come from a hip hop background and with that being said I used to chop and loop old records and make a new piece of music out of that. I look at this the same way.
Anything else you'd like to add?
I'm currently finishing up a new mix that's called "Roswell's Chicken N Waffles", a sci fi video mix. It will be on screenwerks.tv and JayEBeats.com soon!
Eyesupply Profile
Eyesupply and Resolume have always made a tight team. The boys from Eindhoven have been using Resolume since version 1.1 (and since they were still the boys from Rotterdam ;)). Over the years they only became bigger and better at what they do, and now they're putting together some of the biggest and awesomest shows you've ever seen, not least of which the Armin Only world tour, which has them flying all over the five continents. If you want to know all about what makes these fellas tick, read on:
Can you give us the low down on Eyesupply? What do you do supply to the eyes? Or are you actually a front company for black market organ smugglers?
What's in a name? Haha. Our goal is to supply all eyes with mind-blowing visuals. In the past few years we've done visuals for over 1000 major events. We are currently touring with the Armin Only worldtour, A state of Trance worldtour and we are the main VJ's of Armin van Buuren during his gigs. For 5 years now we are responsible for all visuals during the Extrema Closing show and all Masters of Hardcore shows.
Left to Right: Syndicate - Westfallenhalle Dortmund (DE), Kane - Amsterdam (NL), A State of Trance 450 - Wroclaw (P ), Masters of Hardcore - Den Bosch (NL), Lowlands - Biddinghuize (NL), Best of Both Worlds - Amsterdam (NL)
What do you reckon makes Eyesupply one of the major players in the visual scene? Is it all hard work and good content, or is there a secret to your success?
There's no magic secret. Like every successful company or artist: it all comes down to hard work and indeed a lot of high-quality content. Also we differentiate ourselves by our own distinctive style what is best defined as abstract, animated, rhythmic and vivid. All our content is made by our team and it's growing everyday.
Can you tell us a bit more about the history of Eyesupply? How did you get started and what are some of the highlights thus far?
Eyesupply was founded in May 2003 by 5 people with each a complete different backgrounds, ranging from industrial design to motion graphics design. Our first gigs where small gigs for friends and were paid with beer and food :D But after a while it got more serious and we really got into it after a gig at the Roskilde festival! We wanted more! Our network grew and the projects started to become more serious. It wasn't a hobby thing anymore. Till the point we are now, still doing the thing we love the most, creating visual shows! We are now with 9 people at the office and a good network of freelance content designers and video operators.
When you guys play, one thing that always stands out is how you work together with the lighting guys. Is that a conscious decision? Do you use DMX control at all?
We always keep an eye on the complete show. That included lights but also motion, laser, performance and pyro. When all elements work together the show is at its best. Therefore we work closely together with 250K (http://www.250k.nl): a company that creates show concepts and stage designs and combines all these elements in the best possible and innovative ways. We don't tell our story, we tell the story the artist / promotor wants to tell to their audience.
Masters of Hardcore 2010 - The Voice of Mayhem Aftermovie
Right now, you're doing the main visual setup for the monster Armin Only tour. Can you give us some more details about that? What sort of screens are you using, what sort of content are you playing on them? Any wonderfully ingenious rigging setups? How does the stuff get from one place to the other?
Yeah the whole Armin tour was a big step forward for us. Creating over 460 minutes of custom content, figuring out a complete new way to sync video to audio with a custom made Video Server configuration and some special adaptation to Resolume Avenue! We are using 5 seperate 18mm LED screens with a total width of 44 meters and 8 meters heigh. 2 of them on a trolley system so that they can slide open and they can turn 360 degrees.The output that we are using is a Full HD signal from straight out of the Avenue Video Server and pixelmapped by the Advanced output options in Avenue! There are 5 controllable dome camera's and 2 small finger/spy camera mounted on the drum kit and the guitar. All those signals are collected in a Edirol V8 and thanks to the guys from Roland we where the first one to use the Roland MVS-12 multi-viewer for our previews.
Armin van Buuren - Mirage Worldtour 2010/2011
Backstage report Armin van Buuren - Mirage Worldtour 2010/2011
A lot of people are interested in the custom Avenue machine you're bringing on the road. What are the specs on that little fella, and how do you generally use it?
When the Armin project started we were searching for a new way to play video in the best quality and in the most easy way possible for us. We've looked at other servers and mixers but weren't completely satisfied, most of them are too complex and needed too much pre programming before you start your show and also way too expensive. We wanted our own little fella with the software we grew up with! After a chat with Bart from Resolume we've decided to build the best possible configuration around Avenue! With some minor modifications we had ourselves a beast! 3x Full HD Input, 3x SD Inputs, Up to 3 Full HD Outputs still running 60fps with 8 layers of Full HD mixed together!
What other gear are you bringing with? What's the signal flow like?
Each project is different and needs a different approach, sometimes a single SD signal is enough to do the trick. Two Resolume or Avenue PC's with a Edirol V8 would be the configuration. But the pixelmappings are starting to get bigger and more complex, multiple screens, different LED pitches, stitched projectors, videomapping, etc, is getting more common nowadays. So we bring our server to control all video as an end control. We now can decide where to place bits of video on what and change this during the show.
Since a few days we're the proud owners of a Roland V440 HD Mixer. We haven't had the change to use it during a show but i think this machine will also be a change in our workflow.
There's also some custom time code stuff happening at the Armin Only shows. How does that work?
That's our little secret :D Unfortunately we can't give you those details. It's like us asking you to give the open programming file of the avenue software. ;)
But the main thing Armin wanted the visuals to be completely sync in HD without him doing video stuff even when he pitches his tracks, and he wanted us to keep full control over the video.
How come you're still using R2.41 on some machines? Get with the times man!
We started using Resolume on version 1.1. We grew up with the interface and still love the quickness and the fast controls. Especially when you really want to VJ fast and live in time to the music with your visuals, R2.41 is still the best interface there is! Also all our content was created based on the workflow of R2.41. Since our projects grew we are using Avenue more because we needed a stable and reliable piece of software to do Full HD or more and still stay digital. But sometimes when it's possible we just want to VJ the oldskool way. It feels natural! You know what would be the best innovation ever? An R2.41 interface with the power of Avenue, sort of Avenue Light version!
What about the pyros, dude, do you get to play with fire?
LOL, that isn't an Eyesupply thing. But it's nice to see some fireworks once in a while! Specially during the summer season and if you want to see great fireworks go and see the Closing Show of Extrema Outdoor!
Where are things heading? What's the next step after this?
We are constantly trying to renew and challenge ourselves. Trying to find new solutions to give people a great show. Now we are working on several new shows that will be touring the world this summer. And of course a new Extrema Closing Show this summer! Trying to professionalize and keep evolving our vj'ing.
We are always looking for experienced people (Motion Graphics, VJ'ing, Operating, etc) if you're interested please send us an email!!
Contact:
Mail: comeonboard@eyesupply.tv
Website: http://www.eyesupply.tv
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/eyesupply
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eyesupply/126703474058989
Eyesupply showreel spring 2010
Can you give us the low down on Eyesupply? What do you do supply to the eyes? Or are you actually a front company for black market organ smugglers?
What's in a name? Haha. Our goal is to supply all eyes with mind-blowing visuals. In the past few years we've done visuals for over 1000 major events. We are currently touring with the Armin Only worldtour, A state of Trance worldtour and we are the main VJ's of Armin van Buuren during his gigs. For 5 years now we are responsible for all visuals during the Extrema Closing show and all Masters of Hardcore shows.
What do you reckon makes Eyesupply one of the major players in the visual scene? Is it all hard work and good content, or is there a secret to your success?
There's no magic secret. Like every successful company or artist: it all comes down to hard work and indeed a lot of high-quality content. Also we differentiate ourselves by our own distinctive style what is best defined as abstract, animated, rhythmic and vivid. All our content is made by our team and it's growing everyday.
Can you tell us a bit more about the history of Eyesupply? How did you get started and what are some of the highlights thus far?
Eyesupply was founded in May 2003 by 5 people with each a complete different backgrounds, ranging from industrial design to motion graphics design. Our first gigs where small gigs for friends and were paid with beer and food :D But after a while it got more serious and we really got into it after a gig at the Roskilde festival! We wanted more! Our network grew and the projects started to become more serious. It wasn't a hobby thing anymore. Till the point we are now, still doing the thing we love the most, creating visual shows! We are now with 9 people at the office and a good network of freelance content designers and video operators.
When you guys play, one thing that always stands out is how you work together with the lighting guys. Is that a conscious decision? Do you use DMX control at all?
We always keep an eye on the complete show. That included lights but also motion, laser, performance and pyro. When all elements work together the show is at its best. Therefore we work closely together with 250K (http://www.250k.nl): a company that creates show concepts and stage designs and combines all these elements in the best possible and innovative ways. We don't tell our story, we tell the story the artist / promotor wants to tell to their audience.
Masters of Hardcore 2010 - The Voice of Mayhem Aftermovie
Right now, you're doing the main visual setup for the monster Armin Only tour. Can you give us some more details about that? What sort of screens are you using, what sort of content are you playing on them? Any wonderfully ingenious rigging setups? How does the stuff get from one place to the other?
Yeah the whole Armin tour was a big step forward for us. Creating over 460 minutes of custom content, figuring out a complete new way to sync video to audio with a custom made Video Server configuration and some special adaptation to Resolume Avenue! We are using 5 seperate 18mm LED screens with a total width of 44 meters and 8 meters heigh. 2 of them on a trolley system so that they can slide open and they can turn 360 degrees.The output that we are using is a Full HD signal from straight out of the Avenue Video Server and pixelmapped by the Advanced output options in Avenue! There are 5 controllable dome camera's and 2 small finger/spy camera mounted on the drum kit and the guitar. All those signals are collected in a Edirol V8 and thanks to the guys from Roland we where the first one to use the Roland MVS-12 multi-viewer for our previews.
Backstage report Armin van Buuren - Mirage Worldtour 2010/2011
A lot of people are interested in the custom Avenue machine you're bringing on the road. What are the specs on that little fella, and how do you generally use it?
When the Armin project started we were searching for a new way to play video in the best quality and in the most easy way possible for us. We've looked at other servers and mixers but weren't completely satisfied, most of them are too complex and needed too much pre programming before you start your show and also way too expensive. We wanted our own little fella with the software we grew up with! After a chat with Bart from Resolume we've decided to build the best possible configuration around Avenue! With some minor modifications we had ourselves a beast! 3x Full HD Input, 3x SD Inputs, Up to 3 Full HD Outputs still running 60fps with 8 layers of Full HD mixed together!
What other gear are you bringing with? What's the signal flow like?
Each project is different and needs a different approach, sometimes a single SD signal is enough to do the trick. Two Resolume or Avenue PC's with a Edirol V8 would be the configuration. But the pixelmappings are starting to get bigger and more complex, multiple screens, different LED pitches, stitched projectors, videomapping, etc, is getting more common nowadays. So we bring our server to control all video as an end control. We now can decide where to place bits of video on what and change this during the show.
Since a few days we're the proud owners of a Roland V440 HD Mixer. We haven't had the change to use it during a show but i think this machine will also be a change in our workflow.
There's also some custom time code stuff happening at the Armin Only shows. How does that work?
That's our little secret :D Unfortunately we can't give you those details. It's like us asking you to give the open programming file of the avenue software. ;)
But the main thing Armin wanted the visuals to be completely sync in HD without him doing video stuff even when he pitches his tracks, and he wanted us to keep full control over the video.
How come you're still using R2.41 on some machines? Get with the times man!
We started using Resolume on version 1.1. We grew up with the interface and still love the quickness and the fast controls. Especially when you really want to VJ fast and live in time to the music with your visuals, R2.41 is still the best interface there is! Also all our content was created based on the workflow of R2.41. Since our projects grew we are using Avenue more because we needed a stable and reliable piece of software to do Full HD or more and still stay digital. But sometimes when it's possible we just want to VJ the oldskool way. It feels natural! You know what would be the best innovation ever? An R2.41 interface with the power of Avenue, sort of Avenue Light version!
What about the pyros, dude, do you get to play with fire?
LOL, that isn't an Eyesupply thing. But it's nice to see some fireworks once in a while! Specially during the summer season and if you want to see great fireworks go and see the Closing Show of Extrema Outdoor!
Where are things heading? What's the next step after this?
We are constantly trying to renew and challenge ourselves. Trying to find new solutions to give people a great show. Now we are working on several new shows that will be touring the world this summer. And of course a new Extrema Closing Show this summer! Trying to professionalize and keep evolving our vj'ing.
We are always looking for experienced people (Motion Graphics, VJ'ing, Operating, etc) if you're interested please send us an email!!
Contact:
Mail: comeonboard@eyesupply.tv
Website: http://www.eyesupply.tv
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/eyesupply
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eyesupply/126703474058989
Eyesupply showreel spring 2010
Nick Bertke aka Pogo interview
One of the great things about developing creative visual tools, is that sometimes you see things done with them that surpass your wildest expectations. One of those revelations was seeing that AV phenomenon Nick Bertke, better known as Pogo, uses Resolume Avenue as his live VJ tool. After listening and dreaming away to his tracks on many a long journey, it was about time to ask the man some questions!
-So, even after choosing a well known term as your artist name, you're the fourth hit on Google. How does it feel being more popular than both the stick and the dance?
Dunno, it just feels like a lot of people listen to my music. I invest emotions into my work, and people receive them as though opening a parcel. It's great being able to emotionally communicate with so many people, but sometimes, the hype and recognition tends to go to my head. I think it's a balance between taking pride in your work and not leaning on it to validate your existence and worth as a human being.
Your style of music is very unique. Have you been always been doing this cut-up, vocal syllable style, or did the pennies fall into place later on?
When I was around twelve, I'd punch sequences into a Playstation game called Music 2000. I had always longed for the freedom to make music on my own. The music I made in those days was very much Happy House, kind of like Todd Edwards and DJ Tonka. When I hit thirteen/fourteen, I became fascinated with piecing sounds together like a jigsaw puzzle. I've always heard small sounds, chords and vocal slithers in movies that stand out to me, so I thought "Hey, if I love all of these sounds individually, why not put them together?" I guess it's where any sample artist begins. Where my work differs is that I concentrate largely on finding notes in the spoken voice and piecing them together without any intention of forming sentences or making sense.
At the moment you get millions of views online, do projects for 'big business', but also show your work at the Guggenheim, and you're about to go on a USA tour. How did your career take off like this? Is one good clip on youtube and a heap of talent all it takes, or did you have to do lots of promotion and social networking?
'Alice' took off entirely on its own. All I did was upload it to my YouTube channel, and it received a good 2 million views within 6 months. I then hooked up with Bryant Randall, a DJ at the time who expressed an interest in my work and wanted to help me make some business out of it. I've never been good with business, money or the law, so I figured it was worth a try. Now, Bryant has helped me find work with Disney, Pixar and Showtime, and I'm at a point now where my music is selling online well enough for me to continue supporting my passion.
There's a cool video on your blog, showing how you work in FLStudio (link). Can you explain a bit about your process for creating the video part of your work? Any particular hardware or software tricks involved?
No hardware. No software tricks. I simply capture the clips from the film I'm remixing, and edit them over the track I've made. This means going back to the vocals and chords in the film to capture the corresponding video - a process that sometimes requires word searches in the script of the film online. I have always edited my videos in Sony Vegas, but I'm choosing to migrate over to Final Cut Pro because I prefer the features and performance.
Is a Pogo live show a DJ mix of all your hits, or do you also 'remix the remixes'? What are the crowd's reactions like?
I have every layer of every track on a Jazzmutant Lemur in front of me, and it's my goal of the evening to mix and splice them together to form a megamix of my tracks. The crowd, at least in the USA, can never seem to get enough of it.
Can you explain a bit about your live setup? What gear do you bring on stage? How are you connected?
On my MacBook Pro, I’m running Ableton Live and Resolume. Processing my audio is a Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1. I’m using a Jazzmutant Lemur to control my Ableton set, which is kind of like an iPad, just bigger and better suited for live performance. In place of my Roland PCR-300, I’m trialing an iPad Wi-Fi, which displays the same Ableton set but through the touchAble iPad app. This is so I can adjust a mixer with my left hand, and trigger clips with my right on the Lemur. I’m also busy experimenting with Korg iElectribe, an amazing iPad app that lets you build drum loops and percussion sequences live for immediate mixing. I simply connect the iPad headphone jack to an input on the Audio Kontrol, route that through a channel in Ableton, and I’m ready to roll.
How did you decide on using Resolume for the video part of your shows?
VJZoo in Perth WA first introduced me to Resolume. At the time, I wanted to essentially edit videos live. It was great fun and Resolume proved to be ideal for the job.
Which features of Resolume do you use the most? How do you use Resolume in general?
I have since focused more on my music than my videos in my live shows. As I developed my system for triggering sections and layers of my tracks in real time, I needed an application that would automatically take care of the video side of things. Splicing my videos and triggering them in Resolume via MIDI in Ableton is so far the best solution I've come up with.
Do you have any tips and tricks for people developing their own live av-sets? Any gotchas or things that took you ages to get right?
I think 800x600 Photo-JPEG .MOV is the fastest, most accessible format to use in Resolume. It's quite large in file size, but it performs like a dream and the quality is great.
Any upcoming projects, shows, collaborations or world travel plans that you are particularly excited about?
In the same way I remixed my mother in her garden, I'm heading to Tibet this year to remix the sights and sounds of its culture. It's going to be tremendous fun and I'm very grateful to everyone who has helped us fund the project on Kickstarter.
Check out more of Pogo's work at http://www.pogomix.net/ or at his Youtube Channel.
-So, even after choosing a well known term as your artist name, you're the fourth hit on Google. How does it feel being more popular than both the stick and the dance?
Dunno, it just feels like a lot of people listen to my music. I invest emotions into my work, and people receive them as though opening a parcel. It's great being able to emotionally communicate with so many people, but sometimes, the hype and recognition tends to go to my head. I think it's a balance between taking pride in your work and not leaning on it to validate your existence and worth as a human being.
Your style of music is very unique. Have you been always been doing this cut-up, vocal syllable style, or did the pennies fall into place later on?
When I was around twelve, I'd punch sequences into a Playstation game called Music 2000. I had always longed for the freedom to make music on my own. The music I made in those days was very much Happy House, kind of like Todd Edwards and DJ Tonka. When I hit thirteen/fourteen, I became fascinated with piecing sounds together like a jigsaw puzzle. I've always heard small sounds, chords and vocal slithers in movies that stand out to me, so I thought "Hey, if I love all of these sounds individually, why not put them together?" I guess it's where any sample artist begins. Where my work differs is that I concentrate largely on finding notes in the spoken voice and piecing them together without any intention of forming sentences or making sense.
At the moment you get millions of views online, do projects for 'big business', but also show your work at the Guggenheim, and you're about to go on a USA tour. How did your career take off like this? Is one good clip on youtube and a heap of talent all it takes, or did you have to do lots of promotion and social networking?
'Alice' took off entirely on its own. All I did was upload it to my YouTube channel, and it received a good 2 million views within 6 months. I then hooked up with Bryant Randall, a DJ at the time who expressed an interest in my work and wanted to help me make some business out of it. I've never been good with business, money or the law, so I figured it was worth a try. Now, Bryant has helped me find work with Disney, Pixar and Showtime, and I'm at a point now where my music is selling online well enough for me to continue supporting my passion.
There's a cool video on your blog, showing how you work in FLStudio (link). Can you explain a bit about your process for creating the video part of your work? Any particular hardware or software tricks involved?
No hardware. No software tricks. I simply capture the clips from the film I'm remixing, and edit them over the track I've made. This means going back to the vocals and chords in the film to capture the corresponding video - a process that sometimes requires word searches in the script of the film online. I have always edited my videos in Sony Vegas, but I'm choosing to migrate over to Final Cut Pro because I prefer the features and performance.
Is a Pogo live show a DJ mix of all your hits, or do you also 'remix the remixes'? What are the crowd's reactions like?
I have every layer of every track on a Jazzmutant Lemur in front of me, and it's my goal of the evening to mix and splice them together to form a megamix of my tracks. The crowd, at least in the USA, can never seem to get enough of it.
Can you explain a bit about your live setup? What gear do you bring on stage? How are you connected?
On my MacBook Pro, I’m running Ableton Live and Resolume. Processing my audio is a Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1. I’m using a Jazzmutant Lemur to control my Ableton set, which is kind of like an iPad, just bigger and better suited for live performance. In place of my Roland PCR-300, I’m trialing an iPad Wi-Fi, which displays the same Ableton set but through the touchAble iPad app. This is so I can adjust a mixer with my left hand, and trigger clips with my right on the Lemur. I’m also busy experimenting with Korg iElectribe, an amazing iPad app that lets you build drum loops and percussion sequences live for immediate mixing. I simply connect the iPad headphone jack to an input on the Audio Kontrol, route that through a channel in Ableton, and I’m ready to roll.
How did you decide on using Resolume for the video part of your shows?
VJZoo in Perth WA first introduced me to Resolume. At the time, I wanted to essentially edit videos live. It was great fun and Resolume proved to be ideal for the job.
Which features of Resolume do you use the most? How do you use Resolume in general?
I have since focused more on my music than my videos in my live shows. As I developed my system for triggering sections and layers of my tracks in real time, I needed an application that would automatically take care of the video side of things. Splicing my videos and triggering them in Resolume via MIDI in Ableton is so far the best solution I've come up with.
Do you have any tips and tricks for people developing their own live av-sets? Any gotchas or things that took you ages to get right?
I think 800x600 Photo-JPEG .MOV is the fastest, most accessible format to use in Resolume. It's quite large in file size, but it performs like a dream and the quality is great.
Any upcoming projects, shows, collaborations or world travel plans that you are particularly excited about?
In the same way I remixed my mother in her garden, I'm heading to Tibet this year to remix the sights and sounds of its culture. It's going to be tremendous fun and I'm very grateful to everyone who has helped us fund the project on Kickstarter.
Check out more of Pogo's work at http://www.pogomix.net/ or at his Youtube Channel.
First Releases by Video2000: CubicReflex & FluidReflex
We have some fresh blood on board to strengthen our footage catalog. Meet Video2000 and his first 2 releases: CubicReflex & FluidReflex.
Video2000 is a professional animator from Amsterdam with a background in 3D and motion graphics. He likes playing around with reflections, refractions and render-engines and some of these experiments turn out to be excellent VJ material.
CubicReflex is a set of animated geometric objects set in a colorful stylistic environment.
FluidReflex is the same basic setup as used for the CubicReflex animations but now with more organic shapes.
Video2000 is a professional animator from Amsterdam with a background in 3D and motion graphics. He likes playing around with reflections, refractions and render-engines and some of these experiments turn out to be excellent VJ material.
CubicReflex is a set of animated geometric objects set in a colorful stylistic environment.
FluidReflex is the same basic setup as used for the CubicReflex animations but now with more organic shapes.
AV remixing with Frank Sent Us
Many of you may know Frank Sent Us, a team of energetic Italians that rock the crowd with powerful AV remixes of some of your favourite movies, video games and cartoon shows. They've been playing shows all over Europe, all the while running their faithful Resolume Avenue setup. And if you didn't know them, it's long overdue that we dig a little deeper in the audio visual phenomenon that is Frank Sent Us.
Frank Sent Us consists of four people, Mastro (guitar player), Frenetik Beat (live electronics), Mr Orange (Bass player) and Frank Sandrello (audiovisual player) and they have their visual roots way back in 2001. Starting in the underground clubs of Rome, specifically the Brancaleone, rocking VHS tapes and analog mixers, they soon made the jump to lightspeed AV mixing.
These days they take a more technological approach, but still keep it surprisingly down to earth. Using good old QuicktimePro to select AV loops, a collection of cool sounding and cool looking clips is created. The clips are loaded into Resolume Avenue, which is also sporting a Focusrite sound card. These samples are then played pretty much like a drummer would play the drums, triggering the clips with an Akai MPD24.
You might be surprised to hear that instead of tightly laying out the sync with a combo of Ableton and Resolume, all the AV stuff is done freestyle in Resolume. No beat snap, no BPM sync, all the clips set to timeline one-shots, allowing them to really follow the flow of the music and the crowd.
This intensity is what makes Frank Sent Us shows so powerful, and anyone that has seen em live will agree! They're literally an explosion of energy, visuals and music, and I dare anyone to keep their hands in their pockets and feet on the ground when these guys hit the stage!
Currently working on a DVD collection of their material, as well as making the move to commissioned Hollywood remixes, you're bound to see more of em in 2011. Keep your eyes and ears peeled, and in the meantime check out their site at http://www.franksentus.com/
Frank Sent Us consists of four people, Mastro (guitar player), Frenetik Beat (live electronics), Mr Orange (Bass player) and Frank Sandrello (audiovisual player) and they have their visual roots way back in 2001. Starting in the underground clubs of Rome, specifically the Brancaleone, rocking VHS tapes and analog mixers, they soon made the jump to lightspeed AV mixing.
These days they take a more technological approach, but still keep it surprisingly down to earth. Using good old QuicktimePro to select AV loops, a collection of cool sounding and cool looking clips is created. The clips are loaded into Resolume Avenue, which is also sporting a Focusrite sound card. These samples are then played pretty much like a drummer would play the drums, triggering the clips with an Akai MPD24.
You might be surprised to hear that instead of tightly laying out the sync with a combo of Ableton and Resolume, all the AV stuff is done freestyle in Resolume. No beat snap, no BPM sync, all the clips set to timeline one-shots, allowing them to really follow the flow of the music and the crowd.
This intensity is what makes Frank Sent Us shows so powerful, and anyone that has seen em live will agree! They're literally an explosion of energy, visuals and music, and I dare anyone to keep their hands in their pockets and feet on the ground when these guys hit the stage!
Currently working on a DVD collection of their material, as well as making the move to commissioned Hollywood remixes, you're bound to see more of em in 2011. Keep your eyes and ears peeled, and in the meantime check out their site at http://www.franksentus.com/
Mixing two HighDef sources?
Welcome to VJ'ing the year 2011. Composite outputs are disappearing, computers are becoming faster and faster, HD projectors are becoming more common. Some of these developments can be considered good, others less so, but whatever your thoughts are on it, your trusty old V4 is just not cutting it anymore.
These days everyone is looking for that holy grail: affordable HD mixing. The V8, boasting two VGA inputs, but no mixing between them, and no VGA out, is not really a contender. Sure, if you got the €9200 to dish out on an Edirol 440HD -interestingly advertised as 'affordable HD mixing'- that's just peachy for you.
The rest of us would like something cheaper. Luckily the worldwide VJ community is not afraid of a little DIY, and it has come up with a few alternatives.
It's all about this little gizmo, the TV One 1T-C2-750 Dual DVI mixer. It's quite a handy little device, that straight out of the box allows you to switch or fade between two DVI sources, and can output up to 2048x2048 in resolution. With some tweaking/tinkering it can also be pushed to TripleHead2Go rez. Aside from that, it also supports luma/chroma keying, and picture in picture. And all this for a list price of around $900.
Now of course we don't want to just cut or autofade between our sources, we want full crossfader control like on our V4s. Enter VJ community!
First off the bat was Toby Harris, who first started mentioning an out of the box, all hardware mixing solution based on the device. Unfortunately, at the time of writing this, the product is still in the prototype stage. The glimpse some of us were fortunate enough to catch at the Visual Berlin Festival in 2010 was great, and we can only hope it goes into production soon.
Image by Andreas Apelqvist
So then, just when you thought it was time to drag out your Korg KrossFour again, VJ Leo and VJ Fader appear on the horizon. Running a simple but effective Midi to RS232 conversion with the help of a Processing sketch, all you need for full on crossfading mayhem is a simple USB-RS232 cable and your midi controller of choice. More info at neuromixer.com/imixhd/ and direct download here. The code is left open source, so other artists can add their own functionality if desired.
Although an all hardware solution has plenty of appeal, a lot can be said for running the conversion in software as well. Since the overhead of the conversion is pretty low, and a computer very likely to be present anyway, a few other people have gone in this direction as well.
Tom Bassford, aka SleepyTom has made working versions of the conversion for Quartz Composer and VVVV. Also Anton Marini, aka Vade has gone the QC route, with source code available here.
With all the accessible coding platforms covered, there's no reason we shouldn't see the venue screens covered in glorious HD pixels this year! If you have any experience with the device and/or the software to control it, please feel free to share via the comments!
These days everyone is looking for that holy grail: affordable HD mixing. The V8, boasting two VGA inputs, but no mixing between them, and no VGA out, is not really a contender. Sure, if you got the €9200 to dish out on an Edirol 440HD -interestingly advertised as 'affordable HD mixing'- that's just peachy for you.
The rest of us would like something cheaper. Luckily the worldwide VJ community is not afraid of a little DIY, and it has come up with a few alternatives.
It's all about this little gizmo, the TV One 1T-C2-750 Dual DVI mixer. It's quite a handy little device, that straight out of the box allows you to switch or fade between two DVI sources, and can output up to 2048x2048 in resolution. With some tweaking/tinkering it can also be pushed to TripleHead2Go rez. Aside from that, it also supports luma/chroma keying, and picture in picture. And all this for a list price of around $900.
Now of course we don't want to just cut or autofade between our sources, we want full crossfader control like on our V4s. Enter VJ community!
First off the bat was Toby Harris, who first started mentioning an out of the box, all hardware mixing solution based on the device. Unfortunately, at the time of writing this, the product is still in the prototype stage. The glimpse some of us were fortunate enough to catch at the Visual Berlin Festival in 2010 was great, and we can only hope it goes into production soon.
So then, just when you thought it was time to drag out your Korg KrossFour again, VJ Leo and VJ Fader appear on the horizon. Running a simple but effective Midi to RS232 conversion with the help of a Processing sketch, all you need for full on crossfading mayhem is a simple USB-RS232 cable and your midi controller of choice. More info at neuromixer.com/imixhd/ and direct download here. The code is left open source, so other artists can add their own functionality if desired.
Although an all hardware solution has plenty of appeal, a lot can be said for running the conversion in software as well. Since the overhead of the conversion is pretty low, and a computer very likely to be present anyway, a few other people have gone in this direction as well.
Tom Bassford, aka SleepyTom has made working versions of the conversion for Quartz Composer and VVVV. Also Anton Marini, aka Vade has gone the QC route, with source code available here.
With all the accessible coding platforms covered, there's no reason we shouldn't see the venue screens covered in glorious HD pixels this year! If you have any experience with the device and/or the software to control it, please feel free to share via the comments!
Idiron AV: Max4Live patches for Resolume
Anyone that has been VJ'ing for more than 5 minutes will have at some point or other asked themselves: how do I make this visual fit the music? Regardless of whether you're making full-on AV sets, or banging out the lumens in a club to somebody else's tune, matching the visuals to the music is what stands a VJ apart from a WinAmp visualizer.
Enter Gilbert Sinnott, the man behind Idiron AV. Gilbert spent a lot of time thinking about how to match audio to visuals, and vice versa. In fact he graduated on the subject in his final year of studying Multimedia Design + Tech BSc at Brunel University in 2010. After finishing his studies, he developed this concept into a complete set of tools for creating, syncing and performing with audio and visuals as a unified whole. He called this project Idiron AV, and you can see it in action below.
Gilbert's research took him further than just techniques as audio FFT and midi sync, although of course they feature heavily as well. He also developed concepts regarding what sort of content should be used, and how to best control it.
Best of all, he's not afraid to share with the other kids in the visual playground.
He developed a comprehensive set of Max4Live patches, that allow you to send FFT data from Ableton straight to Resolume via OSC. With these you get some really cool ways of linking FFT and midi data from Ableton to the timeline in Resolume. By an ingenious way of using the dashboard as an intermediary you have plenty of options to configure the sync to your own specific needs as well. To help get you started Gilbert even provides a little tutorial video.
Aside from the Max4Live patches, he's using some custom TouchOSC patches to control the whole performance, which you can also download from his site. So head on over to http://idiron.kaen.org/av for more info, and of course to download these handy tools. Don't forget to check out Gilbert's other music, and to leave a thank you and/or donation while you're there!
Enter Gilbert Sinnott, the man behind Idiron AV. Gilbert spent a lot of time thinking about how to match audio to visuals, and vice versa. In fact he graduated on the subject in his final year of studying Multimedia Design + Tech BSc at Brunel University in 2010. After finishing his studies, he developed this concept into a complete set of tools for creating, syncing and performing with audio and visuals as a unified whole. He called this project Idiron AV, and you can see it in action below.
Gilbert's research took him further than just techniques as audio FFT and midi sync, although of course they feature heavily as well. He also developed concepts regarding what sort of content should be used, and how to best control it.
Best of all, he's not afraid to share with the other kids in the visual playground.
He developed a comprehensive set of Max4Live patches, that allow you to send FFT data from Ableton straight to Resolume via OSC. With these you get some really cool ways of linking FFT and midi data from Ableton to the timeline in Resolume. By an ingenious way of using the dashboard as an intermediary you have plenty of options to configure the sync to your own specific needs as well. To help get you started Gilbert even provides a little tutorial video.
Aside from the Max4Live patches, he's using some custom TouchOSC patches to control the whole performance, which you can also download from his site. So head on over to http://idiron.kaen.org/av for more info, and of course to download these handy tools. Don't forget to check out Gilbert's other music, and to leave a thank you and/or donation while you're there!