Along with applications for designers and artists, we’re now accepting expressions of interest from musicians of all shapes and sizes – but only until April 2nd, 2010. If you’re interested, get in touch with a short paragraph about yourself and your music, and a link to some of your tunes online. Contact details are here.
It’s been a while since I posted. The Festival Of Scott began on November 19th and continued for around 4 days, pretty much making me incapable of coherent speech, let alone dispensing worthwhile blog posts. After The Festival Of Scott ended, The Vacation Of Scott’s Immune System began, then I quickly hit The Madness Of Finders Keepers Preparation, which brings you all up to date…
As part of the music stage I was running at The Finders Keepers markets, I decided to introduce some live visuals. I started building a basic video mixer in Processing, but after a few ill-advised incarnations (v2, v3, v4, v5), I was distracted by the flashy lights of the newly released MaxForLive. With Jitter being a part of MaxForLive, I thought it would be a good chance to dip my toe into the graphic-programming-language-behemoth.
It wasn’t long before I realised I was out of my depth. For anyone looking to MaxForLive/MaxMSP for visuals, don’t expect to be able to jump straight into the deep end. You really do need to start with the basics, which Max does provide with a truly excellent tutorial system. Even though it’s a graphic language, it’s certainly no easier than taking on something like Processing. In fact, I’d probably recommend starting with Processing – I personally believe learning the basics of code helps to understand some of the structures within Max. And there are excellent opportunities to combine the two on the way.
This is some lovely work from Wee See, that I spotted via CDMo the other day, which started me on one of those YouTube binges, looking for similar geometry based animation. Personally, I’m really interested in minimalist design, particularly around the idea of negative space.
As Peter Kirn points out in his post, we often shy away from using simple, or elementary shapes in design, in favour of throwing everything we have at something. Personally, I’m tiring of the ‘cut and paste’ and collage style of design that’s been around for a few years now. It feels lazy and often like it’s an effort to cover up a lack of thought in a work. Of course there are always exceptions and I don’t pretend that a clean and minimal design will always win out over something more layered and random – Apple’s glossy, minimal and all too reflective aesthetic has long been wearing equally thin on me.
I’m posting this via Alex at ISO50, because I know there are a few visitors to this blog that should really be inspired by it…
Perhaps more than any other industry, learning to be a creative can be tough. You can become quickly disillusioned when you’re starting out and the pieces don’t fall into place right away. There are many, many reasons that this doesn’t happen, but when you invest a lot of yourself into your art, it’s easy to give up if it doesn’t meet your own high expectations.
I’m only just beginning to come to terms with this myself, and Ira Glass manages to say it in a far more lucid way than I am able. Whilst he is speaking about radio and video in this clip, it most certainly applies to anyone setting out to start work in the creative industries…
As you can see from the above shot, we don’t have room (or budget) for any sprawling 80’s glam rock outfits, sorry. If you’re a Sydney-sider, chances are you’ve been to the markets before and know the kind of thing that goes down well there anyway. So if you think you fit the bill, get in touch with your details and a link to some of your tunes.
On the subject of YouTube sensations (like the aforementioned Boyle), it seems that Google continues to encourage participation in their mammoth social video site, by deciding to offer more users a slice of the advertising pie. It will be interesting to see how this model of entertainment delivery unfolds, even whilst YouTube isn’t turning a profit.
For all the romantic notions of being a kid and running home to watch cartoons on the ABC after school, it’s not often that these shows really live up to the memories. There is of course the exception of Sesame Street, but those guys are on crack – I’m sure of it.
Whenever I see those old shows again, I’m often more than a little disappointed and wish they had’ve stayed with my other rose-coloured childhood memories. And don’t get me started on modern kids television – that stuff is so off the wall, I don’t even know where to begin.
Thankfully, there are exceptions, and Misseri Studio is definitely one. They have graciously put some of my old favourites up on YouTube, including A.E.I.O.U. and The Red And The Blue. Check it out…
One of my perennial favourite blogs, ISO50, has just posted a general guide for colour management. This is an area that really seems to have been glossed over in my education, so it’s great to see an attempt to present these concepts in a straightforward manner.
Colour, and colour management, is nothing short of a science and any artist or designer (whether you work in print or on screen) wanting to learn more about it should definitely check out this post.
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