modul8.users

ENTTEC DMX USB Pro special offer!

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:20:00 +0000

As of today you can purchase the ENTTEC DMX USB Pro directly from us at a discounted price. The offer is available to all currently registered users of Modul8 2.6. Simply log into the yourspace page using your serial number and select your country from the drop down menu. The price includes the shipping cost and is best suited for people located within Europe.

Stage and event production relies heavily on being able to control lights using a protocol called DMX. If you have had previous any exposure to stage and event production you will be familiar with light desks and DMX compatible hardware that allow for controlling and automating lighting, smoke machines, lasers etc.

Modul8 can be integrated into any existing stage setup so that it can be controlled with a light controller. Using the module system, it is also possible to develop custom interfaces for controlling DMX devices. A few modules are already available on the online module library.

Hand Drawn Mapping from Retchy

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:34:00 +0000

You read it right. Part of our creative community since 2007, Retchy (aka Graeme Hawkins) is a quirky animator with a curious esthetic sensibility and a taste for making it live. Graeme's work is definitely a soft spot for me. There is humor, illustration and a general air of adventure and sincerity.

Via the message system on vimeo I was able to ask him a few questions about this project and his relationship to modul8 and vjing:

m8.us: In one of your clips you mention that you were making it for VJing and you did not get to VJ or something like that. Is this still true?

Graeme: Yeah I've only just started in the last few months to actually get out there and do some vjing with a friend - that film was just an FCP edit of some content I'd created a while ago and which I'm now using in vj sets. To be honest, my VJ skills aren't really up to scratch yet. I need a lot more practice and content... love playing about with theses techniques though.

m8.us: Are you using a midi controller? If yes which one?

Graeme: I've got an M-Audio Trigger Finger drum pad that I use for triggering clips and cross fading etc, and a Behringer 2000R that I don't really use much.

m8.us: I love the TF. Its quite possibly my favorite. Its a damn shame that it has been discontinued. Can you expand a little bit more on the live drawing mapping project? Your ideas behind it? Motivations?

Graeme: The project was part of my studies at Norwich University College of the Arts where I was doing an MA in animation and sound design. It was really a series of experiments using the mapping technique, trying to find different uses for it other than on architectural, 'static' objects, but I kind of ran out of time for it on the course as I had to move on to other projects. With the first few tests I was trying to create floating, animated objects that I could move the camera around to create the illusion of movement.

The hand drawn version was really just an attempt to get away from the sterile, neon glow of the other tests you can see on my website, and I had grand visions of a really intricate, detailed setup with loads more transitions and movements (something similar to Michel Gondry's White Stripes projection video) but I just didn't have the time or resources to do anything like that. Plus it was bloody cold in the middle of winter in an abandoned warehouse - I couldn't leave the set up over night cos it might have been stolen, so everything had to be done pretty quickly and with very stiff fingers :D

My knowledge of the technology was perhaps a bit limited back then too - it was a struggle to get the dualhead2go even working! - but I reckon I could do something much better now if I were to go back to it.

And with that we both 'got back to it.'

If you're looking for some inspiration overload I highly recommend having a look at Graeme's website and his vimeo page. Personally looking forward to seeing him expand and blend his crazy animations with his ideas for mapping objects.

VisionSonore creates mapping display for MINI store in Paris

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:49:00 +0000

I had planned to post this tomorrow but this was such good thing that I could not hesitate and posted a day in advance. The company of Gael Abegg Gauthey, the Annecy based VisionSonore, were commissioned by TBWA to create a mapping display for the MINI Cooper store in Paris. The campaign is called 'Live' and highlights all of the activities that can be done when they buy themselves a MINI. Gael confirms that for this particular installation they used three beamers, two laptops and (appropriately enough) a Mac Mini. From the module end, the setup was rather straight forward, using the Paint module to create masks and the SlideShow module to run through the clips.

Sweden report, Sonom again, Oigovisiones

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:36:00 +0000

[ Audiovisual live based on sinusoidal waves ] from Sonom on Vimeo

I have a bunch of things to write about but this video above from Borja Alexander of Sonom. Water is one of those properties that does not come quickly to mind when working with computers. And here we have a pool a very, very cold water that is projected on with geometry responding to sound in real time. This is somewhat less moody then previous works of Sonom but no less otherworldly.

Just recovering from the past weekends festivities at PixelVärk. Some special special memories collected from this experience like walking a few kilometers, ankle deep in snow through fields and forrest, dimly lit with a half moon to take a bus into Gothenburg. Helping setup a video wall at club Nefertiti and in the process getting to know VJs of the area, most associated in the Swedish VJ Union. Chatting with a very enthusiastic couple who came up from Copenhagen and like to VJ to Balkan music. I also had a chance to meet up with part of the Startsladd crew again, the discussion led to an interview I am conducting with Andreas Apelqvist about the Startsladd project Club Visual Planet, coming to you in a future post.

Sadly I had too much stuff to cary with me, 2 midi controllers, small LED lamp, DMX controller, all in one backpack and the camera got left behind. The Midi Thief (aka Mikael Wehner) was taking a lot of photos so I hope we can see some of those at some point.

The weekend ended with trip off usual path to a similar world of obsessions, at the recommendation of a friend, GOTO80, Mikael and I took a cab to an industrial park area of Gothenburg to see the week end long demoparty, Datastorm. If you are not familiar with the demoscene, the basics are that computer enthusiasts use older computers like the Commodore 64 or the Amiga to create short animated sequences with music that represent their skills in coding, design and sound. The demoparties bring the community of demoscene creators together to compete in various categories. The animations are never rendered but are played back in 'real time' as you would do if you used the animation FX in modul8 or if you coded it using the module system.

What really excited me about this party, besides beer drinking computer enthusiasts was how people were gathered together and motivated to do something, to be creative amongst other creative people. There were no big sponsors and you could actually talk with people about what they were doing. It reminded me somewhat of LPM in Rome, the ongoing bustling activity, a cycle of presentation and creation. It was spirited and therefore liberating.

DesOrbitArte CUE Berlin TorpeDeArte from JERONI on Vimeo

If C64 and Amiga programming is not your style there are a variety of other activities that combine social activities with creation. The video above features a semi-time lapsed video of a party with visuals created on the spot by Visual Berlin's one and only beloved
Oigovisiones films. Not the entire video is dedicated to his humorous VJing, but the overall concept of this event is quite endearing. Get a bunch of people together, put up a green screen and camera, take video portraits of everyone who attends, get some bananas and then promote it on sites like qashqaiurbanlife. I am a huge fan of Oigovisiones. Unfortunately I can't embed my favorite demo of his here for the same reason he got kicked out of doing visuals at a party in Berlin last year. Now that's a reputation a VJ can stand on.

PixelVärk, Gothenburg, Sweden, modul8, workshop.

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:52:00 +0000

Opening Party, Gothenburg Film Festival from Startsladd on Vimeo.
They got the party started up in Gothenburg.

As promised here are some more precise details in regards to the modul8 workshops taking place in Gothenburg.

Who?

To start with there are two workshops. A basics workshop provided by the VJs who featured and published the video, Andreas Apelqvist and Dan Nordgren from the local VJ group Startsladd. This class is a prerequisite for the advanced class that I will host. Please do not let the advanced label scare you away. Take the basics class and you can enter the advanced class with head held high.

When?

The basics class is on Thursday, February 4th from 18h00 through 20h00.
The advanced class is on Saturday, February 6th from 14h00 through 18h00.

How?

Both workshops are free! But you will need to register for both because there is limited seating/computers available.
To register for the basics class access the related page and scroll to the bottom. For the advanced class access its page and do the same. The basics class will be done in Swedish or depending upon how many people who attend speak Swedish. The advanced class will be done in English because my Swedish is limited to saying hello.

Where?

The precise location is Södra Allégatan 1B. The google location is in the link. But you still need to register to know the exact room. Fun secret VJ society stuff.

I recall quite a few requests in the past from people in Coppenhagen about a modul8 workshop. Gothenburg is only about four lovely hours by train. May be well worth a free workshop no?

Modul8 Workshop: fair - NIU Barcelona. 30 and 31 January

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:08:00 +0000

Wednesday, and with the experiences of the workshop this past Saturday still fresh in my head some more announcements of upcoming workshops, in fact a whole series of them, this time hosted by a regular on the GarageCUBE forums, gNomalab.

The first of these will take place at NIU in Barcelona and will be conducted entirely in Spanish. I am not sure exactly what qualifies as 'intermediate' but you can get a taste of what may be in store for you by checking out the workshops page on the VJ Spain website that features several videos of what has transpired in past editions of their workshops.

Here is a quick listing of the other upcoming workshops hosted by gNomalab:

- Modul8 Workshop: Intermediate level - Artenet, Madrid. 9, 10, 11 February.
- Modul8 Workshop: Advanced level - Artenet, Madrid. March. (date tbc).
- Modul8 Workshop: Intermediate level - Artenet, Barcelona. from 19 to 23 April.

I will post reminders of these as their date approaches.

As for me, the upcoming workshop will be in Gothenburg, Sweden as part of the PixelVärk festival. This is actually the first Pixelvark is hosted in this city. Previous editions were hosted in Stockholm, home base of the Swedish VJ Union, who that put all their energy into this effort.

You can follow the links for further details.

The workshops are free but you will have to register as they have a room with several iMacs. Because of this seating is limited. There will be a basic workshop hosted by Andreas Apelqvist and Dan Nordgren from Startsladd, for those that have never had any previous experience. The advanced class will be my domain. the basic workshop should fulfill the requirements for it.

I will post more detailed information right on this page by the end of the week.

Oh so pragmatic. Quick glimpses.

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:04:00 +0000

This past week was Bread & Butter here in Berlin , the international fashion fair. And what is a fashion fair without after parties and visuals to decorate these events where new trends are concocted and consumed simultaneously? A series of photos by Kriszta Turna provide a glimpse of a setup by David Szauder for a Custo after party at CHB in Berlin. David (aka Pixel Noizz) works a lot with Quartz Composer and Flash and was able to integrate these elements together quickly in order to have control over the atmosphere in the entire room. Color plays an important part in mood and this series of photos demonstrate Davids understanding of what is necessary in order to acheive this. David says "I was able to bring together my material quickly, QC compositions, .swf files, still images. No MIDI controller, mouse or any other external device. Amazing how quick and simple it was to put everything together. On top of that the client was really happy with the results."

I recently modified my keyboard. Look closely. I don't need to look at the keys anymore when I type, but when I am using my keyboard to control modul8 I like to have an alternate way of changing layer sets and for this I use the 1 through 8 keys. Fine for the numbered keys that control group A. But what about group B? The solution? Grab the 1 through 8 keys from my older, backup laptop and swap them out.

Our recent move gave us access to more space and finally ready is the production space for t-shirt printing and box assembly.

Installation, created by Fred from the Le Zoo crew in the Kab club for last weekends 4th edition of the Drum & Bass + Hardtek party. It was a 4 output setup with a Mac Pro. Connected the MacBook Pro in FireWire transfer mode so I could use my own system. Most charming. The tech was pretty much the last minute and setups were scrambled for at the last minute yielded the following setup:

After creating compositions with all of the layer sets using the library of foreground material at my disposal it was just a matter of re-arranging layer sets over time for variety sake.

If anyone has their own Korg NanoKontrol that they want to share please let me know. Would be fun to see what other people are doing with the same controller and I would gladly test them out and then post them here.

Finally would like to give a big thanks to Visual Berlin and fh.Meppen as well as all who attended the workshop this past Saturday. It was a small but very friendly group of people. Not only did they have a lot of good questions that kept things rolling along, they also communicated with each other giving the whole thing a sort of communal affair. There have been a few requests to do another. Likely in August. So if you are interested in a workshop, live in Berlin or happen to be coming to Berlin this summer please be sure to communicate so we can all get together.

First modul8 workshop for 2010!

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:47:00 +0000

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.

Modul8 Team wishes you a Happy New Year for 2010

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:32:00 +0000

The modul8 Team wishes you an exciting and productive new year. With it we bring several announcements.

We are pleased to announce update Modul8 2.6.1 and Modul8 2.5.10.

The following changes have been made in Modul8 2.6.1:

- Improved assignment of live video capture feeds.
- Fixed minor problem when updating images in a Movie Folder and added the ability to load an empty folder.
- Fixed a potential problem with DMX when quitting modul8.

In both Modul8 2.6.1 and Modul8 2.5.10:

- Fixed some small problems with the authorization/de-authorization process.

You can download the updates by using your serial number to access the 'yourspace' page located at the following address:

http://www.garagecube.com/modul8/yourspace/

If you experience any problems with modul8 please be sure to contact us at support - at - garagecube - dot - com.

HomeVJ loops!

As a special thank you gift to those who purchased modul8 within the last year, or upgraded to modul8 2.6, we present to you a selection of free video loops from the HomeVJ label.

You can access the yourspace page to download the loops.

The HomeVJ label specializes in a unique flavor of quality designed VJ loops.

For more information about the HomeVJ label visit their website at http://www.homevj.com.

Initially planned for January 4th the deadline has been extended to January 15th.

You can apply through the Mapping Festival website at http://www.mappingfestival.com with your proposals, be it a VJ set, AV performance, theater, dance, installation or lecture/workshop/presentation/demo.

If you want to present your products and/or activities (hardware, software, collective, agency, company, etc) in a space dedicated to VJing professionals, please contact them for more information at: pro - at - mappingfestival -dot - com

Best wishes,
The Modul8 Team

Seasons Greetings from the Modul8 Team

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:29:00 +0000

On behalf of the Modul8 Team I want to wish you a busy New Year with lots of projects, festivals, installations, stage design and most importantly good health.

From our end we have delivered to you modul8 2.6. One of its key features is DMX support. So far this has been a very exciting addition for those who are already working with DMX. And for people new to it there may be some things to learn but once you get the basic idea I am sure we will be seeing a lot more VJs working with lighting in addition to their video.

One of the projects that I was able to see and hear that really impressed me in terms of lighting and its implications was the above project by Sigma6. I hope it will inspire you to think about this subtle medium.

This years activities in the live video world could be summed up by the proliferation of outdoor mapping projections. A year ago this practice was limited to just a few individuals and collectives. However the trend has caught on and these type of projects are happening everywhere and in a variety of contexts.

The constants of these are outdoor events where a public building is transformed by mapping imagery to the surfaces of the building. In some ways if done properly this has the effect of something akin to the wrapping of the Reichstage. A public facade that people see every day is renewed by non malicious means, temporarily giving it new life. In my observations of audiences who are in attendance, the reaction is very similar to the 'ooo's and 'ahh's of a fireworks display. The positive sides of this are twofold. The VJ gets pulled out from the club and the concept of synesthesia is brought to a wider audience.

Back in the DJ/Dance world we are also seeing more work where customized structures are created for more immersive experiences. Immersive though has emerged not necessarily as something the surrounds the audience completely. In fact that could be considered counter productive as human beings don't have 360 degree vision, and the DJ who is almost always the focal point of the dance party can only be in once place. By that sort of deduction a more realistic definition of immersive could be defined as an area around the DJ that enhances the experience of the music.

Not to imply that there is no place where projections behind you are not useful. The above link is a rare example from Udart that documents the use of modul8 in the event world. Here the video is a component of a social event. There is no DJ. The focus is in providing a unique environment for people to enjoy not the music or the visuals but each other. While the doc is entirely in Dutch but most of the references here that are modul8 related are highly visible. Highly practical and straightforward. The way we like it.

Looking forward to a great 2010.

DVblog features Grrrridwave

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:08:00 +0000

I am not sure how and when I stumbled on DVblog. My first impression from the typeface on the header and the use of QuickTime as the media format of choice was that it was a bit 'old school.' But upon further browsing of the content presented I put aside my preconceived notions and absorbed myself in the breath and depth of the point of view it provided.

In the past I have extolled the virtues of UBUWEB and will continue to do so. Despite this high regard it also takes some time to find things as there is no real way to browse content by style or genre. And that is not a bad thing, it just requires some patience and the possibility that you will not always get exactly what you are looking for. I, and other colleagues do agree though that looking at something that is off the beaten path is a healthy practice. What DVblog has to offer is straight up great curatorial delivered on a weekly basis.

I was really delighted to have received a message from Doron Golan requesting permission to include Grrrridwave.

Just to share one of my favorites of past DVblog posts:

I used to be a big fan of generative art, and still do support efforts in this area. However a shot like this shows how much is left to be explored in our own reality.

Have a most joyous weekend.

Artist feature: Betsy Kopmar

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:45:00 +0000

If you read posts here fairly frequently you might notice a tendency on my part to drift more towards the abstract. I do try to avoid the word 'artistic' because in my view anything within the criteria that one sets of themselves can be bestowed with this label. I may have actually already written that here before. I'll have to make a note to myself so as not to repeat that one again.
Nevertheless the work of Betsy Kopmar definitely falls into what most people would categorize as art. Using a Cinema 4D to create her materials and then Modul8 for performance, her most recent work demonstrates that what cannot be expressed in words or familiar symbols.

Her most recent work "Night Fishing with Cormorants" has been receiving attention from several avenues. A showing at SIGGRAPH led to an impressive article in the press box of Animation Magazine. I am not sure about the chronological order but the piece was also included in issue #69 of Stash DVD Magazine. The work will also soon bring her to Europe for a showing at the Anima2010 Brussels Animation festival. In Betsy's own words this is "a wondeful way to share this powerful and expressive tool set with a broader audience of filmmakers and artists." I do look forward to seeing more of that.

Old school still rules anew and other stories

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:42:00 +0000

With Modul8 2.6 now out there in the world I await to see what kind of things will start popping up on Vimeo and elsewhere that take advantage of the new features. For now there is still a lot of excitement going on with what is there. The above loaded in freshly yesterday, Visualicious (aka Chika) and Parisgraphics mix it V4 style for monthly Chip Music event in Philadelphia delivering heavy with the pounding (by 8 bit standards) track OMG GUITAR from Animal Style. I got to hang out with Paris for a bit during my visit. Even though he is not an m8 user I think it is worth mentioning that he has some pretty interesting hardware for doing his stuff. He explains it very clearly in this video. Lets play!

If you live in the UK, part of your taxes goes to fund the BBC. If you are into VJing you get back more then just programming and web content. You also get access to lost of really nice video footage that they just don't know what to do with. So all you VJs in the UK, you have 1 up on everyone else with this bountiful harvest.

In the domain of that ever notorious 'mirror' filter that just won't die here is at least something bizarre and entertaining that struck me coming down the vimeo pipe. The people involved took photographs of the attendees and the projected them. Perhaps the lesson for me here is that often the most obvious and simple things can be highly gratifying. The good news for these folks is that the new Movie Folder feature will cut their work down a bit making faces bigger, faster.

Mapping Festival / Vision´R open for submissions!

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:38:00 +0000

While we are in entering the hibernation of caves of winter this is the perfect time to start planning what we will do to celebrate the return of Spring. Those projects you have been working on for many months should be given a proper public airing. And just now the deadlines for two of these opportunities have sprung.

Most readers of this blog know that the birthplace and home of Modul8 is also home to the Mapping Festival. Next years edition is now set on the calendar for May 6th through the through the 16th. Unlike previous years where we required applicants to send in DVDs we have converted the entire process into an electronic one. Instead of having to mess around with a DVD we require that you submit your project using the now ubiquitous Vimeo. If you do not already have an account with Vimeo obtaining one is free of charge. The time to submit your project is now and the deadline is January 4th, 2010.

Slated for around the same time as the Mapping Festival is the Avit affiliated Vision´R in Paris. More didactic, Vision`Rs mission is seeking "radical *here and now* live images." The initial proposal deadline, to be followed up with more extensive information, should be submitted via email by December 10th with the following information:

Name: (group/artist) + number of participants
Contact: email + cell phone
City + State:
A short presentation txt about intention and content.
Pictures (if possible): photographs, video
Proposal type : (performance, speech, workshop, showcase...)
Proposal duration:
Website: url

Send all of the above to: vision-r(AT)reseaux-creation.org (Mail object "vision'r 2010").

Personally I always look forward to seeing all of the submissions. It is kind of like receiving lots of gifts from people all over the world.

Good luck!

Modul8 2.6 available now!

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:41:00 +0000

The live video performance tool of choice gains new features:

Sound Analysis

Fine tune how compositions react to specific sounds. Isolate frequencies using the Sound Analysis Configuration panel and turn sound into movement.

DMX control

Open yourself up to controlling lighting and other stage production tools, or expand your existing control of the stage into video.

We created several basic modules that you can download from the GarageCUBE online module library to get you started. For stage designers you can use the DMX Layer Fixture module to control Modul8 using a light desk.

If you are completely new to DMX and want to control lighting using a MIDI controller you can use the new Midi2DMX module.

DMX control with Modul8 works exclusively with the ENTTEC DMX USB Pro device and requires the installation the Virtual COM driver.

Up to 4 live video feeds

Incorporate several view points using multiple video cameras and mix them together as you would any other media within Modul8.

Import/export MIDI and key mappings

Start every new project with a familiar feel by quickly incorporating the controls that serve you best, or share your Midi/Key mappings with your friends.

Movie folder

Quickly create a slide show by dragging a folder from desktop that contains images and dropping it into the Modul8 media set. Incorporate new images or edit out ones you don’t want on the fly by simply removing images for the folder.

Blend modes

An essential feature for most compositing tasks, blend modes allow for artistic experimentation with any image based media. Furthermore the implementation of these blend modes is very efficient, requiring very little CPU usage, so your frame rate does not suffer when your creative juices start to flow.

Wacom tablet support
The Painter module responds to pen pressure allowing you to add a natural, lively feel to your video performances.

Additional new features:
• Screenshot of preview and output windows
• MIDI device filtering
• Customizable aspect ratio of the preview panel
• Specify the rendering size of your Quartz Composer patches
• Support for Snow Leopard.

New modules
All of the following modules are available for download from the GarageCUBE online module library.

• Midi2Dmx (dmx) - Allows you to control DMX fixtures using your Midi controller.
• DMX fixture (dmx) - Use Modul8 like a DMX control device.
• DMX color test (dmx) - Test the RGB of a DMX compatible light fixture.
• DMX 8 (dmx) - Simple slider control for 8 DMX channels.
• Perspective Transform - A more precise version of the popular Core Image filter
• EqTest (example) - Demonstrates how to access Sound Analysis data using the module system.

Updated modules:
• BPM (global)
• Bpm Router (layer)
• Bpm Router (master)
• PrintedDirectEvent v2 (tool)

How to get Modul8 2.6
If you are already part of the Modul8 community you can upgrade your current Modul8 license to Modul8 2.6.

To start you can point your web browser to the following address:
http://www.garagecube.com/modul8/yourspace/

Read more detailed information about the upgrade process in our FAQ on the forum.

Too soon for you to jump into 2.6?
If the features of Modul8 2.6 are not attractive to you, we have released Modul8 2.5.9 so that it is compatible with Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

What is ‘yourspace’?
We are developing solutions for you to manage your account with us. For now yourspace allows you to download Modul8 whenever you need to and see how many authorizations of Modul8 you are currently using. In the future we look forward to providing you with more options and incentives to make yourspace part of your Modul8 experience.

Special limited time offer!
To take advantage of the DMX capability in Modul8 2.6 you will need to purchase the ENTTEC DMX USB Pro device from ENTTEC. As of December 1st, If you purchase Modul8 2.6 upgrade you will be able to obtain a coupon code to purchase the ENTTEC DMX USB Pro device for a discount. The coupon is available to you after you purchase the Modul8 2.6 upgrade and can be obtained by logging into 'yourspace.' The coupon lasts 1 month so if you are interested in DMX now is the time to act, and save!

We look forward to seeing the next wave of creations that follows a new release. Remember to join us on vimeo, facebook, twitter or flickr to share your Modul8 experiences with us.

Best wishes,
The Modul8 Team

B-seite Festival looking for submissions

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:08:00 +0000

B-Seite2010 from pixelschubser on Vimeo.
It is probably a bit too soon to start thinking about Spring. But it is never too late to find reasons to get together with your peers and present the work you have been toiling away at. After a one year hiatus, My friend Benjamin Jantzen has been working hard on providing an outlet for such things with his B-seite festival in Mannheim, Germany. He is looking for you to fill that outlet with your a/v sets, vjing skills and installations. It is not a VJ festival per-se just as much as Modul8 is not strictly a VJ tool. In the parlance of those days when music would be played using that medium now only favored by DJ's and audiophiles, B-seite looks to present an eclectic side audiovisual exploration.

Log in to see what its all about.

An 'if/when/then' post if evah.

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:55:00 +0000

Brokenbeat Night - Dec 2009 from Accent Creative on Vimeo.
I wish I could attend these parties. The promos Miguex does always get me going. If you are San Diego at the 1st Saturday of the month go check this party out. More tomorrow.

A whole bunch of activity

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:11:00 +0000

Abstract Sound Project - Live Teaser 2009 from Personne Records on Vimeo.
The inbox has received a bounty of video links recently. The dream of several years ago of cohesive audio visual collaborations is becoming a reality as the Abstract Sound Project collaborates with Diez. A relatively simple approach that delivers.

"Through a live audio associated with a performance video, Abstract Sound Project reveals a unique combination of sound and image. On a projection surface of 20m², they transport us into their world where electronic sounds blend with the graphic arts.

This structure helps to immerse 2 musician in various tables imagined realized by the video artist Diez.

One beamer, modul8, one bcf2000 , for live video , each screen is managed independently."

Video Mashup from Zoo Usine, Geneva 2009 from Startsladd on Vimeo.
Gothumborg, Sweden crew Startsladd gets teamed up with A-LI-CE at the Zoo in Geneva, Switzerland. A nice pairing I think as both entities are skilled creators of custom video footage that is always both engaging and humorous. Startsladd has also just relaunched their website with an updated VJ demo for the coming year.

baba roga's revenge voirchestra presents HÄXAN from pixelschubser on Vimeo.
From Mannheim, Germany Pixelshubser keeps up a very active schedule of vj sets, the upcoming B-seite festival. Of interest to me was an 'expanded cinema performance of Häxan (Witchcraft Through the Ages) made 1922 from Benjamin Christensen.'

As for me, I am in New York at the moment along with Modul8 Team member Sigma6. Meeting up with Vimeo and other Modul8 enthusiasts as well as doing some performances and a Modul8 workshop. Until then.

The Empires troops use Modul8

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:34:00 +0000

Community man at Vimeo, Blake Whitman got his hands on time with Modul8 and a Trigger Finger. Supposedly he was mixing Star Wars and Indiana Jones. I don't see a whip here. At least we know that he got the Star Wars part going. Hopefully he was whipping it up with Modul8 and the Trigger Finger instead.

RVB en Alpha with VIXID @ Les Pixels Transversaux - (8)

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:27:00 +0000

RVB en Alpha with VIXID @ Les Pixels Transversaux - (8), originally uploaded by VIXID Team.

Apparently Modul8 is so popular now that people like to dress up in the colors of the logo and dance around in nice lighting.

Come Play with Fire!

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:28:00 +0000

As of November 1st I will be visiting my old home town of New York City for the entire month. Most of my colleagues here in Europe say 'nice' and it is. But it is no vacation. I have arranged for several events to take place. The most relevant one to Modul8 users will be a two hour presentation of Modul8 on November 15th at Harvestworks as part of the Play With Fire Festival that has been most efficiently curated by Kristen Trethewey.

Two hours is not a lot to get very deep into Modul8. Its simplicity is deceptive. I did a two day workshop in Barcelona last year and besides feeling a bit exhausted I felt that I was able to cover almost everything beyond getting entangled in Python scripting, something I have yet grapple enough with to be able to conduct a workshop on.

I will take a consensus of the attendees level of experience with Modul8. If the majority says 'we have no idea what this about' then it will be fairly basic. However as we are nearing the release of Modul8 2.6 I will pepper in some of the new features we have and how to use them. In particular Sound Analysis, a brief demonstration of DMX control from within Modul8 featuring the mighty ENTTEC DMX USB Pro interface and as I always did prior to WACOM support, some live drawing using the Paint module. Even if you are a well seasoned user, you might want to show up just to say hi or give me that promo DVD you never got around to sending us via post.

As for the performances and discussions, some notable Mapping Festival participants from previous editions will be present. In particular the inspiring and heart warming Artist and Professor Raphael Di Luzio and the renegade film maker and audio visual performer Rafaël.
There are also some close friends from my SHARE days such as Paris Treantafeles, Mary Ann Benedetto and Adam Kendall. There are also quite a few names on the bill that are either vaguely familiar or completely foreign to me. Whoever they are I look forward to meeting them.

Do have a look at the Play With Fire site for further, in depth details about the performances, workshops and talks.

Look forward to meeting you there on November 15th!

Modul8 v2.6 release candidate

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:54:00 +0000

The beta testing phase of modul8 v2.6 comes to a close. Thank you to everyone who has participated in the beta testing program for v2.6 of modul8. Your feedback has been very helpful to us.

We are providing a 'release candidate' so you will be able to continue to use modul8 v2.6 until the upgrade procedure is in place. We will notify you about the full details on about upgrade procedure within a few weeks.

This version of modul8 will expire on November 31st, 2009.

Even if you have not been testing the beta and are a registered user of modul8 with a valid license this limited time version will be available to you.

Contact us at support [at] garagecube [dot] com and we will provide you with a download link. Be sure to include your serial number in the email so that we can verify your account with us.

Thank you all once again for you enthusiasm and support.

Kind regards,
The Modul8 Team

*Update*
In some instances you may have to deauthorize modul8 2.5.8 or older if you have trouble authorizing 2.6 RC1. After you have successfully authorized v2.6 RC1 you will be able to launch 2.5.8 without having to authorize it again.

DVI mixer... finally! Someone has done it!

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:16:00 +0000

My history with VJing started with software running on a laptop. I don't know what the percentages are of how many people are using laptops now for VJing and/or other activities involving mixing images live using a projector. Considering the growth of this area in the last five years I would not be surprised at all if the number of people using just their laptops out numbers the amount of people using a V4 with two input sources without laptops. That leaves us with a lot of people using laptops that have the potential for high quality being back clocked with NTSC/PAL in their final output.

I have a passing fascination with the V4. Using modul8 and sometimes occupying whole nights with just 1 laptop I never really saw the advantage of a V4 and never bought one. The effects in it did not interest me and I much preferred a VGA output over composite. It looked more 'direct' if that is a good description for it.

Boris and I have always dreamed of a VGA mixer. One of those discussions that meandered through cost effectiveness to the V440 HD and finally culminating in a long sigh.

What we both always felt was that we did not really care about effects, BPM function or even keying. Just the simple pleasure of switching between two computer signals smoothly so one of us could take a break.

This past summer I was invited to Lisbon once again to participate in the small festival mentioned before here called Arbertura3. Toby Spark was also invited, en route to Brazil to deliver and supervise the tech of a new project by D-Fuse that called for mixing a VGA signal with two laptops and a TripleHead2go(!). Upon his arrival, I am always glad to see Toby, he pulled out a neat little black padded case, a few inches thicker then a regular laptop case and opened it up to reveal what appears in the image above. A VGA mixer. I remember my heart pacing wildly and my mouth running dry from the excitement of seeing this realizing what it could do. As I had my laptop open I sent a message to Boris via Skype and not a minute later he was talking with Toby on the phone.

So now it is here. Not quite. Its really up to you now to go over to his page and put your money where it counts and order one of these things, custom built just for you. Your support will drive this device into demand. Just imagine that clean signal you always wanted for your VJ sets and performances. Fill in that demand sheet today!

Zaji Chalem

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:17:00 +0000

One of the aspects about being involved with communications for modul8 is that I have an overview of all of the different people and ways that people are using the software.

I am always finding interesting approaches that teach me about how people work and share these ideas with other modul8 users.

One of the more inspiring stories I have come across in the past year is that of the multi-media artist Zaji Chalem.

Zaji has a long history with video. Having studied traditional animation in Paris in the 70s he has been working in video graphics production back when there was no such thing as Desktop computers.

His journey eventually led him to work on the high end systems such as the Discreet Flame and Inferno com positing systems. If you know anything about these systems they cost thousands of dollars. They are still in use today in high end production facilities. The learning curve for these systems is high and generally accessibility to them is very limited.

Based on the work that I have seen him do throughout his life I can sense a very pragmatic approach.

In more recent years Zaji has been working more and more in event production, working with slide projectors and now video projectors. He has had some exposure to some of the high end tools of the events production world, most of which are usually quite expensive and require teams of people to install and operate.

He discovered modul8 via another good friend and modul8 user, Lillevan who started to use modul8 as part of his setups for collaborations with musicians such as Christian Fennesz and Vladislav Delay. For Zaji the first experiences were revalatory. Here was a software that was not that expensive (compared with competative products that provide very similar features) and allowed him to run it on his desktop computer in his home. This allowed him to experiment and be more creative. "It makes me feel like a painter again."

After purchasing his license he also bought a TripleHead2go and three small Samsung LED projectors. While one might scoff at the mere 150 lumens that these projectors provide, a setup like this actually makes a lot of sense for our current world of small apartments or studios combined with the desire to experiment with projections. The LEDs last a very long time and don't take up too much space allowing Zaji to spend hours of experimenting with images in modul8 and moving the projectors around in different ways.

For most of his projects owning large projectors don't make sense. As a production artist his interest is in creating the setups on a small scale so that he can visualize them for his clients. In most cases and event production company will handle the large projectors and installing them to meet the needs of the design.

Zaji also picked up the ever popular nanoKontrol so he could add interactivity to his live paintings.

For myself, I do a lot of workshops with modul8. It occured to me the tremendous convenience it would be to have several small projectors with a Triple or DualHead2go that would allow me to demonstrate multi-projection setups with all of the participants standing around a table and being able to interact with the projectors in a more intimate way. Kind of like playing with legos.

It is really inspring to me to see someone with all this experience embrace a relatively new technology like modul8 and also bring a completely new perspective to it.

Live drawing demo by VJ2C

noreply@blogger.com (ilan katin) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 09:40:00 +0000

. modul8 v2.6(beta) wacom tablet from a nomad on Vimeo.

My hat is off the VJ2C for delivering to us this very clear and straight forward demo of how to use a Wacom tablet with modul8s Painter module. His little trick with repeatedly pressing the 'add frame' button with a key to reproduce a 'drawn on' look is something I never thought of. Always great when someone not in the modul8 team figures out a way to do something we never thought of. It means that the user base is really energized in exploring all of the possibilities and in return inspiring us with our development efforts.

I recommend you to show it to your friends who use modul8 and even show it to people who simply enjoy drawing and are maybe interested in VJing but are not video loop fanatics. As I have seen with the growing community of the open source TagTool platform, there is tremendous creative potential in this tool being that unlike TagTool you can mix in the usual tool box of VJ materials.

The Painter module is one of those modules that most everyone seems to have missed since its inclusion in v2.5. For me though it was one of those blessings. Firstly because I simply love to draw. I am not one to just sit there (no offense) letting the BPM do the work, and so what better way to pass a night of VJing then to add some live drawing to the mix?

JAB:Visual. A demo. 2008 from ilan katin on Vimeo.

I also found myself looking for creative work arounds to the limitations of the module. Firstly without proper Wacom support there was no pressure sensitivity. My solution for this was to use a MIDI knob bound to the 'dot' width so that I could emulate pressure sensitivity by making the 'dot' size small at the beginning of a line and then making it wider towards the middle giving it that hand drawn feel. It was tricky to do. Try drawing and moving a MIDI knob. It took a bit of practice but felt very satisfying.

Now there is Wacom support. And that is a good thing. For those who may have avoided the Paint module due to this lack of support the path stands open before you.

We still have a ways to go with this though. Would be nice to see the 'pen' tool also have pressure sensitivity added to it. At the moment the Paint system in modul8 needs to be modified and I hope that this can be added in 2.7.

But lets get 2.6 released first.