Ludic Spaces

On October 19th 2016, 'Zoom Through' was presented at National Center of Early Music, York. This was a project commission by Vespertine, National Center of Early Music & AOC Archeology . The 360 animation was an abstract/artistic response to the historic space been scanned by LIDAR  equipment. This was then released on YouTube after the event, creating an artefact that had a life after the Event day. The LIDAR dataset produced by AOC Archeology was over 40 million point model of the Church, that is the home of the National Center of Early Music. Using MeshLab, this was reduced to around 500,000 points, so it could work efficiently in Trapcode Form without memory errors, it also created the 'x-ray' aesthetic of the animation, by having the point cloud resolution low enough to see through the walls and columns. To produce the equirectangular video output for 360, the plugin Mettle Sykbox studio was used in After Effects to render the Trapcode Form object. This...

Further exploration of investigating Isadora for incorporating into visual projects, I and Devika Rao experimented at The Stage, Leeds University with the trial version. Most of this was to test the robustness of the technology, and trying out the Kinect/Isadora Tutorial - http://troikatronix.com/support/kb/kinect-tutorial-part1/ It was fun to explore the software with some one unfamilar with the technology, so seeing the playful interaction and discovery through someone else is encouraging. Particularly mirroring effects, which was good for Devika to interact with live. Certain things flagged up quickly - skirts and dresses effect the quality of the kinect tracking - which might be an issue for costumes for Indian Classical Dance work. Also the area of the kinect's sensor pick up - reduces the space for dancing in. For quickly prototyping and discussing ideas for future visuals, it is obvious that Isadora can be an excellent addition - previously - I would have to shoot foota...

Finally, after many years - sitting down and trying to get my head around Isadora by Troikatronix. What drew me back to the software was the addition of projection mapping tool called IzzyMap and the slightly updated node based interface. Here is a test I put together using the trial version of Isadora - I had to make Kaleidoscopes, just had to. I'm checking out the midi input to trigger video clip switching, and a midi controller to play with values, the rest is audio reactive - pulling sound input from Youtube, using Stereo Mix switched on the sound card ( so no need to use a virtual audio cable ). Isadora Patch Video playback would benefit from using an SSD in my laptop, Isadora claims I can support 8 HD files at once with that Configuration. FreeframeGL gives me access to bringing in material with  Spout  - the windows equivalent of  Syphon . Hopefully this will allow me to bring in Processing Sketches, and in the longrun - Unity based screen content. N...

Underwater Videography - Annabeth Robinson using Go-Pro Hero 3 “ In the winter we used to go to Bramley Baths dancing but me father used to come and pick me up at 11 o clock. He’d stand outside the door and wait for me. I remember having an angora wool jumper … in a very very pale blue… I thought it was the bees’ knees and me boyfriend and I went dancing at Bramley Baths and he had a brown suit on. The first dance after we stopped dancing he was covered in mohair – ah dear, he was furious (laughs).” A dance, a walk, an exhibition and a finale performance in the swimming pool...Mermaid Tales weaves through the social history of Bramley Baths to reveal its hidden depths through the real and remarkable human stories that have come about here over the last 110 years. Steeped in history, full of vintage glamour and powered by generations of families who have swum, steamed and run through the building, Mermaid Tales invites you to plunge in without getting wet, with original art,...

Over the last year, I've been a member of Leeds Creative Timebank. Leeds Creative Time Bank facilitates and strengthens the informal economy between creative professionals. We exchange skills and knowledge by using time as a currency. One hour of your skill equates to one hour of another members. Through it, I've networked and found a renewed sense of 'worthwhileness' in the Community and Arts. A particular group I've had a close association with through the Timebank - is Yorkshire Life Aquatic - who requested me, in helping document and shape some promotional video for their activities. Bramley Mermaids Club - operates out of the awesome  Bramley Baths , a community led, not for profit center for fitness and fun. This was a fun timebank request - as it was my first chance to play with a Go-Pro camera Underwater. Mermaids - is a montage video of Yorkshire Life Aquatics - touring show.  Collecting footage from several festivals across the regio...

In May I was able to take further some exploration with using Unity to create visuals for a stage show. Ya Devi was a performance by Devika Rao Theatre , funded by the Arts Council and presented at the Stage, Leeds University - and it was an opportunity to create an improvised version of a previous unity prototype, into a visual for the show. Behind the scenes video  Visual for show - ( not music used in performance ) The visual was a response to a music piece and choreography around 'Pain'. The abstact quality of the cloth at times - when dropping its weight vertically created a siloutte of a shawl. From this pre-recorded visual, the dancer - Manuela Benini was able to choreograph her movement in response. This interactive cloth based visual, is ready to be driven by either wearable technology or VJed - and run in a live capacity.. but that brings its own technical challenges and risks during a live show. Part of my research for 2015/16 is to explore this in depth. ...