Author: Gabriel Chi

title:
opus 1

Link to GitHub:

https://gist.github.com/gabrielchi/b91dac2eef3e0b33d1feb1e34c871305

Project Description

For my project, unlike some of the other students, I wanted to take a very abstract and contemporary take on the audio visual performance art form. I wanted to make an immersive audio visual experience that would reminiscent of my favourite artists in the field, such as Ryoji Ikeda, but with my own twist. By incorporating my prior knowledge with music production, and my somewhat moderate understanding of Max8, I wanted to challenge myself to create something original and artistically unique, pushing myself out of my own comfort zone.

When thinking of a concrete concept behind the project, I approached this less as an art piece with a fully fleshed out plot and story, rather, I wanted to take this head on as a creative exercise in a discipline I had never worked with prior, hence the name: opus 1 (work 1). The name itself not only presents itself, quite straightforwardly, as my first work, but also connotes that this is merely the first piece, and there will be more “opuses” in the future.  

Perspective and Context:

In terms of opus 1 and its relationship to the wider spectrum of audiovisual history, one can look at its relation to contemporary styles of the art form. As we have mainly been looking back to traditional artists within the field for our previous projects, such as Thomas Wilfred’s Lumia, I thought it would be an interesting creative exercise to focus exclusively on contemporary influences.

Thus, the stylistic elements of the project are heavily influenced by abstract visual artists such as Ryoji Ikeda, who, in certain projects, makes use of strictly black and white when performing. Additionally, piece such as loudthings by TelcoSystems, played an important influence for certain portions of the audio that plays throughout the earlier and latter half of the project.  

Development & Technical Implementation
 

For my project, I had already had an idea of how I wanted to execute the visuals. After having a talk about how TelcoSystems made loudthings with Professor, I decided to make a large grid cube of 3d objects, and place different cameras within the space, and trigger them live during the performance. With help from professor, I realized that one could incorporate .js directly into Max8, which allowed for me to easily make such a large amount of 3d objects in a grid arrangement, mainly with the use of for loops  and nested for loops. 

Additionally, by looking into the jit.gl.camera, I was able to place different positions of the camera within and around the cube, allowing for me to switch between perspectives of the cube within the 3d space. I also used jit.gl.skybox and cubemap in order to make a larger cube, which would have a texture inside of it, mainly to give the 3d space more depth and visual texture (I used to a texture of static to emulate an almost deep-space/ starry universe effect to the world). 

Finally, the method to create and control the 3d objects were based off the 3d  object exercise we did in class. This allowed for me to upload my own sourced 3d object, and control the different rotations it made on both the x and y axis. For the rest of the patch, it mainly was the different Vizzie effects to affect the visuals during the performance. 

 

For the audio, which was a large part of the project, I used Ableton to produce the entire 10 minute score. When trying to accomplish this task, I found extremely hard, not only to create a 10 minute score, but to find a way to make it not sound boring and completely uniform. Therefore, the first and last half of the project sound very similar to projects such as loudthings, a very abstract and surreal soundscape, making use of unconventional samples such as locust noises. However, when reaching the middle of the audio, I decided to add my own personal twist to the sound. I decided to make a chord progression, later accompanied by a drop and percussion, just to differentiate the different sections of the project. This was mainly done by using a midi keyboard and different beat packs that I use for my other music production.

I think the hardest aspect of the audio, besides the aforementioned issues, was trying to master a 10 minute soundscape. Not only was there already a chord progression and drum sequence to master and mix, but there was also so many small elements throughout the soundscape, which took a lot of time and effort, and I still think I can improve on it. Making the soundtrack for this project was definitely a challenge, and forced me to step outside my comfort zone. 

For the performance patch, I wanted to make automating the patch in real-time as easy and intuitive as possible. When considering the different elements I was going to be automating during the perfomance, I realized that I actually did not need as many things as I previously had thought. I only added different bangs and triggers for each camera angle, making sure to make not of the different camera names (eg. camera 1, 2,  3, etc.) Additionally, I added in  my controls for the speed of movement for the x axis and y axis of the 3d objects. Finally, I also included the audio for the project itself, the stereo mixer, and the visual effects such as DELAYR and 2TONR for making visual shifts within the project. 

Performance
Overall, I really enjoyed performing the project in a setting that was off campus. Not only did it make it feel as if we were wholeheartedly showing our pieces to the public, but it also brought a certain pressure that pushed me to make sure everything was perfect during the performance. I thought that by having a show that was outside of school grounds, we could all challenge ourselves to step outside our comfort zones.

I think for my performance specifically, I felt that it went smoothly, in terms of the lack of any technical difficulties. However, looking back at the recording of the performance, I definitely could make some improvements. Mainly, I noticed that there was some latency/ lag time between the projection and the buttons I was triggering. Although I did not notice this because the small display had no such latency, I did not account for the slight delay that would be projected on the larger screen, which affected the portion of my project that had percussion.   

Conclusion
I think that this project was an extremely eye opening experience for me, both in a creative and technical sense. I realized that after this project, audio visual performance was indeed something that I would want to further pursue, as it has endless applications within countless artistic mediums and disciplines. By making and performing this final project, I was able to realise that there is still much I have to learn, and there are countless technical skills I must master to better perfect my work. 

I think that in the future, I would like to look into different audio/visual softwares and programs that could offer a more in-depth and intuitive perspective on the art form, as I sometimes found Max8 to be unnecessarily complicated. By taking into consideration the mistakes and accomplishments I had made in this final project, I hope to be able to apply my focus further to continue making more audio visual works. 

Read the chapters on Live Cinema by Gabriel Menotti and Live Audiovisual Performance by Ana Carvalho from The Audiovisual Breakthrough (Fluctuating Images, 2015). Armed with the knowledge you gained last week by reading the chapter on VJ-ing and by watching the documentary Video Out (Finkelstein & Vlachos, 2005), write a two paragraph reflection on the difference between VJ-ing, Live Cinema, and Live Audiovisual Performance. Reference one contemporary artist / group / collective from each category as an example to indicate the differences in context, methodology, and technology (if any!).

When considering the differences between VJ-ing, Live Cinema and Live Audiovisual Performance,  it is important to recognize the subtle details that separate the different mediums. Live Audiovisual Performance is like the umbrella that encompasses a variety of audiovisual performances, while VJ-ing and Live Cinema are subsets of the larger category. The art forms themselves, and other like it, all fall under a certain type of Live Audiovisual Performance, but all posses unique features which distinguish themselves from their contemporaries.

In my personal opinion, VJ-ing is a much more improvisational and “live” form of the artistic medium. It requires VJ artists, much like DJ’s, to mix different forms of media and visuals with the music that is being played. Additionally, VJ-ing sometimes is overshadowed by their musical counterpart, as VJ artists in certain settings, are only in control of visuals, and may sometimes be unfairly categorized as an addition to the music, rather than an equal. On the other hand, Live Cinema is much more of a pre-planned, and meticulous process, intended to be consumed much like in a traditional cinema. This is not to discredit VJ-ing, as practice is still an important component of the process, however, Live Cinema contains a much more concrete progression, and is entirely in control by the artist(s). 

Live Audiovisual Performance: Ryoji Ikeda

Ryoji Ikeda is known for his elaborate and large audiovisual installations. Although he is unable to attend and perform for every single exhibition, he has on multiple occasions, has performed live using the audiovisual medium.

Live Cinema Example: Granular Synthesis- Modell 5

Granular Synthesis’ Modell 5 is an example of live cinema. Similar to traditional forms of cinema, viewers take the backseat not as participants in any interaction, but merely as spectators watching the artistic expression of the artist(s). 

VJ-ing Example: 

For my VJ-ing example, I chose the class example of Gridspace’s live performance at the Mutek Festival. This is a clear example of the VJ-ing art form, with the live automation of  both visuals and music taking center stage. 

Link to Github: https://gist.github.com/gabrielchi/2ea3e4b1e0f103ca938934beac24380d

For my 3D model assignment, I used the 3d object of a spray can, and altered it using Vizzie effects. For the patch itself, I based what we learned from the previous class and the example patch to create a patch that could move and alter a 3d asset. When using the Vizzie effects, I knew I wanted to create a nostalgic, and almost video game like effect. This was because 3d objects and assets in general remind me a lot of videogames, or creating videogames in an engine or VG software. I used 2TONR, PIXL8R, and DOWNSAMPLR for my Vizzie effects, mainly to achieve the previously mentioned goal. 

After completing my patch, I used the Max8 screenshot feature to save my work. However, after re-opening my patch, I had discovered that all of my work was gone and the features had all been set back to its original state. I tried my best to recreate the effects and color scheme I had earlier in the second version. Luckily, after I finished, I was able to salvage a screenshot of a portion of my max patch.

Max Patch Screenshot Pre Crash:

Max Patch Screenshot After Crash:

Link to Github: https://gist.github.com/gabrielchi/e43ee1f9be3a08cba4d12b2e011328f8

For this exercise, I wanted to combine some of my interests with the Granular Synthesis art piece. The video’s aesthetics were inspired by one of my favourite contemporary graphic design artists, Hassan Rahim. Specifically, his work for the band Nine Inch Nails caught my attention. The strongly contrasted,  grainy, black and white album cover really peaked my interest and I believed it would be interesting to apply such a design to this exercise. 

For the patch, I used what we practiced in class, with three videos going through the AV Players. However, I used the cropper to place and skew certain videos, to further emulate the visual style I was going for. After putting it in into the mixer, I put it in  a down sampler effect, in the BBB mode, and adjusted the gain. For the audio, I put in a sequencer, which was connected to an oscillator. This oscillator acted as the background synth, which I made more atmospheric and spacey with the feedback delay and the gigaverb effects. For the video’s audio, I used specific parts of the video I thought were interesting, and adjusted their speeds in order to get the desired noise from the sample.

Write a two paragraph reflection on the practice of VJing and how it relates to the notions “liveness”,  “the performative”, and the concept of “visual wallpaper”. Relate it to your own experience with work you’ve seen by VJs in a concert / club / theater setting.

VJing is a performative art that embodies the ideas of improvisation and “liveness”, where each performance is never the same. Similar to DJing, “VJing is the manipulation or selection of visuals, the same way DJing is a selection and manipulation of audio.” The art of VJing, at its core, is intrinsically linked to music, and without it, it becomes a completely separate work of art. However, there is a trend of “visual wallpaper”, where many VJ artists are dissatisfied that in many settings, often in clubs or venues, where the music overshadows their art, becoming an accessory instead of a part of the experience. Therefore, many VJ artists are struggling to find a balance when performing, making sure their audiences can equally appreciate the different aspects of the performance, not just the music or visuals. 

Personally, I’ve experienced a few instances of VJing, or something close in nature. One of my favourite musical artists, Flying Lotus, uses a lot of visuals in conjunction to his performances. Based either loosely or directly to his music, the effect of having the VJ heightens the experience for the audience, as the visual accompaniment adds a new depth to the music itself.