First modul8 workshop for 2010!

The year is brand new but already there are several modul8 workshops lined up. The first of them is in Berlin within a few days, hosted by the near and dear Visual Berlin at a share studio space that I recently started to occupy called fh.Meppen.

This is an excellent chance to learn a lot of the basic operations of the software, and as usual, learn some methods about mapping midi controls and organizing your projects. I will also cover some of the new features such as the Sound Analysis and a quick run through controlling lights with DMX.

The workshop will be in English. The workshop is free for members of Visual Berlin and 20 euros for non-members. The proceeds go to Visual Berlin and fh.meppen. No need to reserve. Just show up and we'll find a seat for you.

The address: Schliemannstr. 37
Time & Date: Starts at 13h00, ends approximately at 19h00.

If you have any specific questions please do not hesitate to email me at support at garagecube dot com.

Look forward to meeting all who attend.

Mar-K.os launches Visual Drugstore with VJ workshops

The all around VJ Mar-K.os has started up his initiative, Visual Drugstore with a full 2 day, in depth VJ workshop to bring his 10 years of experience to a new generation of aspiring live video enthusiasts looking to soar to new heights.

Focus of the first day will be set to the production of visuals ranging from 3D and 2D to a whole night of studio production at the Visual Drugstore Studio including different camera types (from Panasonic HD Cam, Canon 5D Mark II to regular HD cams), models, dancers and a make-up artist.

The second day will deal with VJing in general, software training on the special Software "Modul8", which allows you to create live performances and real time videos and mixing skills on Edirol`s V8 / V4 and a selection of Midi-equipment.

During both days the Visual Drugstore staff will take care of our ongoing professional VJs regarding workstations, studio equipment, catering/ dinners and of course the party on Friday night at the all new P1 Lounge & Club opening. All participants will be able to show their recently acquired skills at my new state-of-the-art VJ setup with 4 giant 15K Screens, loads of LED and a videoskulpture consisting of 8 projectors ­5 VJs will be able to mix at the same time. We will also use this workshop to scout new talents for our Visual Drugstore VJ-label, so pack up your gear and get ready.

When: 19.20.11.2009
Time: 19.(13:00 - about 02:00), 20.(11:00 - about 02:00)
Location: Visual Drugstore Studio Munich

For further information have a look.

AVIT Kezmarok, Slovakia

Closing of my 2nd day at the AVIT:Kezmarok, License to Screen festival. As I write this I am one hour from the first of my two part modul8 workshop here. My demonstration materials are all set up and I am always a bit giddy.

We arrived after an eight hour drive from Berlin. Two cars speeding along the highways of Poland. As the sun went down we arrived in the hills just before the Tatra mountains and finally the greeting party in the woods just outside the town of Kezmarok complete with a nearby stream, cookout and camp fire.

I am very excited about this festival. The initiative began as a conversation between a group of friends in Berlin who were discussing the tensions between Hungary and Slovakia. There idea was to try to do something cultural that would bring people together. As David Szauder was one of the persons present during this conversation the cultural element lead to VJing and the AVIT network.

AVIT was one of the first large international events dedicated to the VJ medium. This became VJ Central and the AVIT network has been adopted by LPM in Rome, Visionare in Paris, Visual Berlin and now extends east with Kezmarok in Slovakia.

Actually this festival was supposed to make its debut in 2010. But the mayor of Kezmarok was eager and asked if there could be a festival already in 2009. In less than three months arrangements were made as quickly as possible to include workshops in the Kezmarok House of Culture, outdoor performances in the main square and a club party in the basement of Castle Kezmarok.

So why am I here? Besides doing a workshop I will be doing some VJing in the square with some of my peers, David Szauder (recently re-christened pixel noizz), Benjamin Jantzen, Luci Benson and others. Beyond that I feel like I am part of something much larger. As individuals we are tightening our lines of communication within the community. As a group are trying to show how this medium can smooth the rough edges of communication within the European Community. All positive acts ripple on to other positive ones.

I am looking forward to posting some photos of some of the upcoming events.

VJ Spain and Modul8 initiative

Taller Modul8. 25 y 26 Abril. Madrid. Impartido por Vjspain.com from vjspain.com on Vimeo.

Oscar of VJ Spain has been working hard on an initiative with us to provide certification for modul8 in Spanish speaking countries. Here you can see a video demo showing some of the techniques one can learn from the classes he and his colleagues are assembling.

We are also working with SAE in Barcelona to develop a course in VJing and video performance production in the near future.

Festival Fever: towards Mapping 09

Firstly we are now almost a week away from the beginning of the 2009 edition of the Mapping VJ Festival. The site has launched, the schedule is up! 10 days of VJing, clubbing, performances, workshops, talks, installations and outdoor projections on the facades of several major historical buildings in Geneva, Switzerland. While I am very satisfied with the overall program that the Mapping team, of which I am a member, have come up with I do have my favorites.

In particular are the visual antics of Sans Culotte coupled with the Breakcore mashing sounds of Electric Kettle. In general this night is dedicated to the offbeat with acts Xerac and Mec. Not for everyone. Sometimes we curate for ourselves. I think we deserve it.


i dont know anything about music from sans culotte on Vimeo.

I will be documenting the festival video wise. It is probably the best way for someone who is involved with the festival to actually see everything.

Now to back track a little the weekend before last I was jumping around from town to town doing modul8 workshops. Somewhere along the way I saw some things of interest. Firstly there was the Sound:Frame festival. The festival itself lasts a month. The exhibition of the festival took place at the Kunsthalle located almost square in the center of Vienna. Events don't take place every day of the festival. Each weekend was devoted to either parties, a/v performances and workshops with the exhibition in the Kunsthalle open to the public for the entire month.



The exhibition itself was quite impressive comprising of installations that revolved around the theme of audio visual culture in its myriad forms. Surprisingly for me there were also some drawings and paintings that pointed to a desire for audio visual festivals to become more inclusive further blurring the lines between art, performance, commerce and VJing's common trappings of the night club. There were some new works and quite a few familiar ones, especially in the screening areas, of Pfadfenderei, Luma Luanisch, 4youreye and V-atak, all veterans of the Mapping Festival.



As I was mainly at Sound:Frame to conduct a workshop and the weekend consisted mainly of workshops I sadly did not see much VJing. I was however very pleased to have been present for a performance by Claudia Rohrmoser & Ritornell. The performance took place inside Claudias installation in the Kunsthalle. Three projections of the same image. For the performance that was accompanied by the experimental music group Ritornell Claudia used modul8 in combination with a wacom tablet and a Lemur. Her imagery of dripping colors and dancing lines over filmic like washes of color was painterly and somewhat reminiscent of the work of Stan Brakhage. The lines and washes complimented the carefully improvised sounds of Ritornell.

The following day was the workshop. After a group announcement and introduction with all the participants and workshop hosts that included a variety of disciplines we all entered our assigned rooms and roles. The workshops took place at a facility called wienXtra-mediazentrum. Very nicely furnished and equipped I had an embedded VGA cable and a sound system. The class was filled (the maximum allowed registrants was 20 people) and I preceded with six hours of an in depth tour of modul8 rounding up in the last 45 minutes with, with the help of Florian of Luanisch, a quick and simple TripleHead2go setup.

There is no rest. In the morning early on the train to Brno via Breclav. The Multi-Place Festival is aptly named. Events, workshops, parties took place in Czek, Slovakia and Poland. From what I can gather its activities functioned in a decentralized manner. If someone somewhere had an idea and wanted to proactive it was brought into the fold and posted to the multi-place web site. Lena, a high energy person quickly escorted me to the arts school in Brno while also explaining to me life in Brno and how the Apple authorized reseller in Brno was glad to provide some support for the festival. It was still a bit early for the workshop so a small group of us gathered in the cafe next to the school, six or seven of us talking, about our respective endeavors and exchanging stickers.



Our workshop took place in a small room on the top floor of the school building. Lena improvised some blinds with a black cloth and a large piece of white foam core for a screen and away we went.

Back in Vienna that evening I was invited to VJ at a party at place called Ragnarhof. A former factory now an arts space where my hosts, the Do.Phunk party have their monthly soirees. This particular party consisted of the Do.Phunk crew but was actually a birthday party for one of their friends. And it was quite a party. Sharing the beamers with me that night was the designer and VJ Sito. With all of the videos I get to see as part of the Mapping Team, who does what can get a bit fuzzy so I was a bit embarrassed when I realized that we had actually selected him for the DubStep night for the Mapping Festival this year.



As I was watching Sito VJ I then remembered one of the main reasons we selected him. He has an extraordinary sense of how to use the particles in modul8 by creating clusters of his iconography and crowding them together into different compositions. I thought myself very lucky to be able to see a VJs work live before their performance at the Mapping. While documentation definitely helps, and we are seeing a lot more of that these days, there is nothing like the experience of the energy, the music, the audience. I am really looking forward to seeing him light up the Zoo.

Festival Fever 2009

Festival season is now upon us. Next week I will be in Vienna to do a Modul8 workshop for the Sound:Frame Festival. This massive festival that is already under way stretches through a whole month with exhibitions, events, performances, workshops and parties hosted in nine different locations. Lets just say that the Viennese like to party and are also going the distance in broadening the public definition of the VJ medium.

My modul8 workshop will take place on Friday, 17.04. It will cover the basics and do some advanced output. As usual I like to focus on what is creatively possible with modul8. With a little bit of luck maybe even a little sneak peak preview of DMX capabilities.

The workshop is free and will take place at wienXtra-medienzentrum (Zieglergasse 49/II, 1070 Vienna). It will run from 16h00 through 22:00. It is recommended that you bring a Mac OS X based laptop running 10.4.11 or higher. A temporary license will be issued for each person who wishes to get hands on experience with modul8.


The following day I will be in Brno, Czech Republic for an almost identical workshop for the Multiplace Festival. I have to say that I am really excited about this. I have seen some really fun and creative work coming out of the Czech Republic. My connection with this festival was through Mapping 2008 veteran VJ Kolouch. A sample of his incredible video work here.

As in Vienna attendees should bring a Mac OS X based computer in order to received a temporary license for use during the workshop. It will take place from 11h00 to 16h00, room 206 at udolni 19, Brno. For more detailed information you can contact akkamiau-at-gmail-dot-com or see the info page on the Multiplace Festival site.


That very evening I will return to Vienna to VJ at Ragnarhof for a party arranged by the Do.Phunk DJ team. It is a birthday party for a friend of my friend Nick Worthington who is one of the organizers of monthly party at this location. I really like the concept of Do.Phunk. They are a group of DJs and party people who really love getting together once a month and decided to make it an official non profit to keep things organized and flowing consistently. Reminds me a bit of our friends Broken Beat.


Just when you thought that things are relaxed and that there is plenty of time to prepare for next weeks adventures then stop. A whole bunch of us Geneva VJ crew people will be busy lighting up this years Electron Festival. The festival as is the title implies a rather large electronic music festival. I have been on deck for this festival for the last two editions. Always a lot of fun. This year is exceptional for me because a) I got to choose what nights I would play b) what artists I would mix for and most importantly c) all the participating VJs are credited on the website for their respective nights and venues.

Just to make it really easy for VJ enthusiasts who will happen to be in Geneva for this here is the VJs teams nights and venues:

Thursday April 9th:
Palladium - KRMT + Tchernoboy
Zoo - Decrepticon
Kab-Ptr - Sigma6
Theatre De L'Usine - La Loutre + Akinetik

Friday April 10th:
Palladium - KRMT + Tchernoboy + POSTBABYLON
Zoo - Matt
Kab-Ptr - Decrepticon

Saturday April 11th:
Palladium - Azadeh + La Loutre + Akinetik
Zoo - Matt
Kab-Ptr - Decrepticon

Sunday April 12th:
Zoo - Azadeh
Kab-Ptr - POSTBABYLON

If you are wondering what the burnt weenie is about this is part of the concept developed by the founders of Electron that every edition would have the theme of the table of elements. This year is 'carbon.' Get it?

Barcelona Modul8 Workshop

It was not that long ago that we were received in Barcelona with its food, clubs and a group of modul8 enthusiasts that we are returning once again! We have been invited to work on a project at the Hangar with Chicks On Speed. While there the opportunity was presented to us to do a two day workshop at Niu.

As per the details on the site the workshop will cover the basics and then enter advanced module and output territory.

More details about the what/where/why of Chicks On Speed to come.

Love of Chicks On Speed

Over a year ago Boris was filling me in on the variety of artists using modul8. One of these was Chicks On Speed. I had heard of them through my interest in both alternative music and artistic channels. If you do not know anything about the group have a quick read on the wikipedia entry about them.

Some time after I began providing communications for GarageCube I received an email from one of the Chicks. Alex Murray Lesley. It was an interesting communication because it revealed to me one of the preconceived notions about modul8 that people have in that they just use it to run video during their performances as if it were a DVD player. My approach had always been to trigger clips in time with the music as one would play a musical instrument. Alex was equally interested in this approach but she was interested in moving beyond midi devices and using shoes or rocks.

Guitar shoe created and photographed by Chicks On Speed

As co-curator of the Mapping I brought up the prospect of having the Chicks On Speed appear and her interest in triggering some butt slap footage that they had shot inspired the idea that they should do a butt slap installation at the Mapping, or a performance with the butt slaps, or a performance that would open the installation, or a...

Pre-visualization of Butt Slap Bongo installation drawn by yours truly.

After a long series of emails, skype sessions and a few phone conversations the Chicks On Speed and GarageCube/Modu8/Mapping created the Butt Slap Bongo installation for Mapping 2008. The installation consisted of a series of podiums with contact microphones attached to them that visitors would slap. When slapped video clips of the Chicks On Speed getting slapped on their butts would play on one of the six projectors. To open the installation the Chicks performed to a packed room, screaming, playing their instruments, ranting about the art world and slapping on the podiums madly.

Chicks On Speed installation Butt Slap Bongo at the Mapping Festival 2008. Photo by Matt Cheetham of Samurai FM

It was all very satisfying and the Chicks proceeded to propose the visualization of a longtime dream of their. Super Suites! Futuristic super suites with wireless sensors that could trigger butt slap video loops or anything else that they would deem edgy and entertaining.

Many emails, skype sessions and phone conversations later have lead to GarageCube/Modul8 and the Chicks On Speed converging upon the Hangar in Barcelona to make this dream a reality. At the end of the week long project there will be a massive party with performances by my favorite 8bit duo Meneo, Ultraplayback and the premier of Chick On Speed in their Super Suits. September 19th!

Prior to that on September 13th and 14th yours truly will be conducting a modul8 workshop at Niu.

Just bought myself a fancy new DSLR camera for reporting and hope to have freshly shot pictures of the super suits in progress.

Arbertura2

I have the delightful pleasure of joining in with the 2nd edition of Arbertura. The one night festival takes place in the enchanting city of Lisbon, Portugal and is curated by SHARE compatriot Elsa Veira and co-founder of VJ Theory Ana Carvalho.

As per the e-flyer above the event is free. Amongst the performers is Lance Blisters, the band I have been working with since 2004. We will be joined by 8 bit mad man GOTO80 visually accompanied by the bottomless energy of Raquel Meyers.

In addition to the performances, SHARE open jam and after party there will be a modul8 workshop that I will conduct as well as several round table discussions about the where all this audio visual culture is at.

For full info check out the site or get updates from the blog.

I will be arriving in Lisbon on the evening of the 18th. Can't wait!

DMY Berlin Avit May 24th

This is confirmed now! Thanks to Toby and fRED who were so welcoming! fRED made the suggestion that we should make this more of a meeting then a presentation which is kind of a more laid back position for me then the usual 'this is how it works' kind of scenario. The date is definitely the 24th and the times is roughly from 18h00 (6:00pm) on.

For the full on information go to the Avit DMY site.

<< I am going try and crash demo modul8 at the μ:avit scene in Berlin. If I am in the mood I might do a raffle of one license. Definitely will have demo discs and stickers.

Come if you can. If you can't then cancel whatever you were thinking of doing and come anyway. If you are far away somewhere rob our grandmas piggy bank and purchase a ticket. Berlin is really beautiful this time of year and there are lots of parks you can sleep in. Totally worth it.

Will announce more details as they materialize. >>