VJ trip

Had to put together three VJ sets for a class prject in my Digital Cinema class for the end of the quarter. The only limitation was that the audio was to be a single element. That was stipulated because we will be projecting three different sets at the same time on three "screens" (a wall projection on a DU building outside) and funnel all the audio into one output. The result...don't know yet. It happens on Monday, June 1 after 8pm next to the Schwader Art Building on the DU campus at 2121 E. Asbury Ave. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and something to sip on for the show.



Here's what I think is the best of the three that I put together. Trying to get better about driving the audio and the video at the same time. It's difficult to mix audio while not letting the visuals get stale. I think once I learn how to use the program a bit more effectively I'll make some better compositions. I tend to get too wrapped up in making music and sound and leave the visuals unattended.

I'm working to develop a better library of video clips to use in the productions and get away from using other VJ's clips. The theme was dreams and space, but I didn't really have a developed idea and I think it comes through in the composition. It isn't as cohesive without a backbone or storyline to drive the piece. Let me know what you really think. It's a bit outside of what I've been normally sharing, so let it fly.




Here's links to Dreamspace 1 and Dreamspace 2.

Trance trip

Had to build a VJ performance for my Digital Cinema class. By VJ I mean video jockey, but not the MTV VJ when they actually played music videos. Meaning mixing and mashing video clips in an artistic fashion using a computer program. I decided to use Resolume Avenue 3 instead of Max5. Just a bit more flexibility in Ave3, but since it is a demo version a text watermark and audio watermark are included in your output file.

After a bit of practicing and lots of video codec converting I happened to be reading a blog post about turning off a particular setting to make the program work faster. For some stupid reason I changed the setting right before I was to perform my set live in class, which was part of the assignment. I changed the setting back after seeing a few things change that I didn't like but it did not "undo" the change. As I was doing my performance everything was acting funny and several clips wouldn't play or work as designed. It was turning into an Amtrak route with the engineer texting while not driving. Despite all that, the class thought it was a pretty cool sequence of images and all. Luckily.

I actually spent too much of my time working on creating an audio track than I did on the video clipping and setup. I mixed together a handful of tracks from a couple trance artists to play outside of Ave3 as I didn't really get the sense I could play an entire audio track with the way I was running clips through the program. This was a recorded practice session before I screwed up the settings. So have a look and listen.



The concept was, just as the title of this blog, a Visual Journey based on the reflection of travel and transport in our bodies as much as our world.

Series 90

So while wandering the 16th Street Mall making photos today with the 3600 intermediate class I took a venture down an alley. That venture started a series of frames for the rest of the morning.

Series 90 will be frames at 90 degrees to any particular wall with 90 degree angles as part of the visuals. I remember stressing my life away trying to come up with a personal vision and style for a semester project during my second year at Colorado Mountain College. I cursed my professor for months trying to come up with something, wondering why we had to do that "stupid assignment." Now I find myself doing that semester project in a matter of minutes.

I also had recently looked at Chip Litherland's series "accidental rothko" V1 and V2 which triggered in my mind as I was looking at a grouping of hard lines and angles in hard light. Had a bit of fun with it for a little while. We'll see where it goes....

Visit the Flickr pages of the photos to see them larger.

Here's a couple bonus photos from this morning as well. Found myself in the alleys a lot today. I was pretty bored with the mall I suppose.