Tag Archives: broadcast

Escaping, Technical Realisation

The title post actually fits the whole idea of my project, somehow. I wish to portray the sense of escape from all point of view in my final broadcast. Randall even suggest that this whole process is an escape itself, so here I am, getting away with the technical realisation, escaping all the technical aspect and letting the ‘feel’ of an artist finish the job for me. Not quite? Yeah I figure.

Firstly, looking back at my previous hyperessay post,I want to mix videos together like a VJ and I want to do this process live. I also want to include that my final broadcast will be a kind of performance as I am mixing everything live and improvising my every move. Improvisation. I think that is actually a big word here in terms of the idea of a live broadcast. You see, whenever there is a live show, the host will follow the script but when unexpected things happen, the host is force to improvise but at the same time, maintain the programme and transition the next segment fluidly without jeopardising the audience’s attention. That’s the whole point of live broadcasting and in our final project, I feel this is no different. Having to mix videos live, there could be many different combination that I can make at each moment but there will never be the same combination for each time I rehearse it.

I would also like to add that improvisation of my performance will be visible as viewers are also able to see it live. Like how Nam June Paik did Good Morning Mr. Orwell, I do feel a sense of improvisation when he mix the clips from different part of the world despite it looking flawlessly. Taking the seat of a producer is never easy but I will attempt to create a performance which will be easy for the eye and also for the heart.

I also have decide to add another video element in my project. These flashing lights depicts a sense of rupture into the audience which may symbolises an escape into a dream light state or into reality. The flashing of lights almost as blinking, has the ability to disturb the eye and thus has hypnotising capability that enable the audience to be immerse with the screen.

In order to mix videos and layering it on top of each other, like the video above, I used max/msp. I use this application because it allows me to control the amount of effect that I need at a particular moment of time. I am also able to add effects such as zooming in and out, putting noise, changing the hue and to top it all off, I am able to alpha blend the different videos together. I am planning to use the Arturia Beatstep sequencer as my main controller. I would able to programme the buttons and knob on my machine to control the effects and also to play the videos.

Arturia Beatstep

Now on to the broadcast side of things. After last week’s Broadcast Workshop With Prof. Randall, after giving some thoughts, I actually have multiple options to do my final broadcast. Firstly, using Desktop Presenter. As Desktop Presenter is able to hook my desktop directly to Randall’s Wirecast Pro, it is no problem that I will able to edit anything on my screen and show the window that I have chosen onto Wirecast. I am able to choose the Application and the Window. Randall suggested that I make a jit.window on max msp so that I am able to show only that particular screen onto Wirecast. However, Desktop Pro have some difficulty in detecting the max window sometimes. Overall, this is definitely a good option for my final broadcast.

Desktop Presenter

Secondly, I can also consider using Randall’s laptop and open max/msp. This way, I can cut down any lagging comparing to using Desktop Presenter as my laptop is an old macbook with only one graphic card. In my Max Msp Patch, I have different element in it. This is also relevant to the above, in using desktop presenter. I have a live camera, jweb(where I stream live youtube pages onto max msp), pre-recoded videos and lastly, jit.desktop, where the window will show wherever my cursor move. Combining them together in one patch seems very messy and complicated. I will also need to sequence them in perfect order in order to know which part I am going to play first.

Updated max patch

Lastly, I may not even need to use max/msp for my final broadcast as Wirecast Pro has all the features that I need to layers all my videos and play them at different interval. However, it is more difficult as it needs planning onto Wirecast Pro itself.

Right after my meeting with Randall yesterday, it makes me think on how I want to broadcast my final broadcast. I agree with Randall when he suggest that I have different parts to my broadcast. Breaking it to different act like a 3 act play will make my broadcast more systematic and organised. For now, I have ideas on how to package my final broadcast however, I need to get more materials in order to make it as a whole broadcast that gel together.

Equipments needed:
1. Laptop
2. Extra Screen
3. Logitech Camera
4. Tripod
5. Max/MSP Software
6. Desktop Presenter

Escaping Too Soon?

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Right off the bat, here’s the final image of the first Hyperessay post so I guess it’s only right to start this project update with this image as a talking point. This image sparks some positive conversation last week and I agree that this image have so many layers and conspiracy theories to unfold but that’s for another paper. What I do what to emphasise is that the uncertainty and the mystification of this image is what makes people begin to interpret what they see and that is a work of a good art, which is to make people ask question, not about the art, but about themselves instead. I think this image is just a medium of expression for me but also for the audience.

With that being said, I believe the element of ‘escape’ speaks for itself and I don’t have to bring it up to talk about it. I feel the definition of Escape is so wide that everyone have their own interpretation of Escape and I do want to keep it that way actually. In my final broadcast, I have decided to play a mash up video of webcam footages/pre recoded videos, while I am present in the frame/space controlling what the audience is seeing. Similarly like the first image, all these different layers will be overlay each other to create a certain aesthetic. To control this, I have my Arturia Beatstep machine with me, as shown in the photograph below.

Arturia Beatstep

How it works is pretty simple. I will be using a max patch to do this. Each button and knob will control the diameter of an effect. So when I turn a knob, it will control the amount of hue or noise for example. Even colours can be manipulated. I will also use the effect from vizzie, to create these beautiful yet sophisticated visuals of Escape. I also hope the audience will be in a state of trance, I mean escape when they watch my broadcast. Below is an example of my patch so far. It’s pretty messy right now but my biggest worry is actually, the speed of the computer, lagging issues.

I have jit.record my sample video below. As you can see, I am playing live in front of the webcam, which adds another layer that I am being watched as well, technically.

This is just a sample process video which I make. If you realise, there will be instances where my image will be replace by beautiful giant bars that remind you of Rothko’s paintings. I was experimenting with the idea of the secondary frame which I can control as well, it create some kind of a break in the video to depict the concept of ‘Escape’.

From now onwards, I have to pick the right clip to show for the final broadcast. I believe there must be a flow in the video and I will work on the narrative as well.

I have a plan to escape from this world

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My first ever idea was born wanting to do something with the current traffic cameras showing the traffic of the Causeway and the Second link, which is the bridge that connect Singapore and Malaysia. Usually people uses this traffic camera to see how heavy is the traffic before they decide whether is it a good idea to cross the border. Broadcasting and juxtaposing this traffic camera with another video of another bridge (say Golden Gate Bridge) from another part of the world will be an interesting visual actually.

Then I realise I was fascinated with looking at the traffic was because I want to get away from Singapore and cross over to Malaysia. I am fortunate to given the opportunity to travel quite a few countries and every time I travel, what I particularly enjoy is to actually Escape from reality, from Singapore, from school, from assignments and of course, seeing the world. I feel that the idea of Escape is very relevant in my life given the restriction living in a strict country.

From the idea of the traffic camera, I begin to see patterns of escape. As I begin to look at more traffic cameras, I begin to put them side by side making a collage. Even though it is a still image, imaging all this are videos of real traffic cameras. It as if we are working at the road authority! This collage also reminds me of a journey of escape through the never ending roads.

I feel that the idea of Escape do not have to be a destination. It could be a temporary high or a continuous chain of events that never stop. The concept of Escape is related to the idea of letting go and letting the universe to take control. Even though I envision Escape in a very literal visual such as video of airplane taking off and ship sailing off, this a good way to start thinking of the idea of Escape.

The above video is some sort of a collage which I have compiled to visualise my idea of Escape. After this video, I feel that it can be improved through more actions and even colours. However, the sense of Escape can be sense through the different aspect of ‘escape’. The next process I did was to photograph what ‘Escape’ means to me.

Right after this process of documenting Escape with a SLR 30mm camera, I realise that Escape is not always about escaping from your troubles or restriction, sometimes it’s about embracing them instead. I also feel that I took some mediums of ‘escape’ for example the ladder or the tracks. Even practising one’s religion is an escape and I agree on this because when I am practising my religion, I do get a sense of calmness in me, spiritually, escaping from the reality for awhile. From this point onwards, I envision my project to be a mash up videos of all things ‘Escape’. I begin to look at different artists for inspiration and one particular artist that I was inspired was Nam June Paik, the pioneer of Video Art. The fact that he sees the television box as a sculpture is somehow very new for his time.

I remembered watching Good Morning Mr. Orwell in class and Randall telling me that Nam June Paik is behind the scene making this all happen. And he was responsible for the overlaying of images during some of the performances, particularly during the one with Charlotte Moorman. In Good Morning Mr. Orwell, Nam June Paik played the role of coordinator and was responsible for those live images the audiences see. As the show was broadcasted live, Nam June Paik would depend on the aesthetics of the live network and have little control if anything would have happen. In this work, I see Nam June Paik as someone who is actually performing in a sense. He was the main man behind the whole aesthetic of the programme and without his input, Good Morning Mr Orwell will not happen.

Good Morning, Mr Orwell, Nam June Paik

Another work that was inspired to me was the TV Garden. TV Garden is an installation mimicking a garden with plants and you know gardens but surrounded by television set. What inspired me was the visual content of the displayed, as shown below. It shows a very abstract visual which i find it very appealing.

Part of Nam June Paik’s ‘TV Garden’ at Tate Liverpool. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian Christopher Thomond/Guardian

Combining these two aspect of his work and my initial idea, I have decided to hold the position of ‘performer’ in my final broadcast. In this new amalgamation of ideas, I will be manipulating real live video in real time using the Arturia Beatstep. By programming certain video editing style into my machine, I am able to control the aesthetic of my live broadcast. Moreover, a camera capturing me performing in real time will be overlay on the video as well. My act of performance in real time will be the metaphor of Escape, like how musicians playing live in front of thousands of people, they get the adrenaline rush and energy.

However, the final broadcast should not be just abstract forms and explosion of colours. I feel that it should have some kind of narrative to the idea of escape. The video could also be about my own definition of Escape and it could be about me as well. Thus, I have to decide if I should even be inside the final broadcast. Since my final broadcast have some element of randomness and glitch, I think it is also relevant if I could relate some of the technical aspect and compare it to Glitch Art.

4. Employ bends and breaks as metaphors for différance. Use the glitch as an exoskel- eton for progress.

-Glitch Studies Manifesto, Rosa Menkman

In my final broadcast, it will be many videos overlaying each other to the point where one won’t be able to recognise the scene. I am able to achieve this by using softwares that is able to bend and modify video clips. I believe with each bend and effect I apply, it should act as a metaphor in the final narrative that I am telling in the final broadcast.

Above is a screenshot of a test that I did which I imagine my visuals to be.

signing off.

regards,

Kamarul

The Great Escape

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Let’s recap: My idea for the final broadcast was the concept of the Escape. In my previous post, I juxtapose a video of a plane taking off and also a scene where the bus is at the Causeway. These two elements of escape in a sense that I am escaping from Singapore but figuratively, I also wish to escape from the reality of living in Singapore, the stress and the high expectation of living in a First world country. Then it makes sense, because the idea of broadcast ties in the idea of escapement. For example, watching movies in the cinema or any screen for that matter, is a temporary escape from reality and able to sit down and enjoy in a very control situation (happened in the movie), we forget about reality for 2 hours.

During my Skype meeting with Randall, we had a discussion on the direction my project is going and have asked me to do these few things, in order to progress in a progressive way. To sketch ideas of what escape means to me and to take elements of escape/flight in a photograph.

The bus is the vehicle for an escape.

I actually use a film camera to capture these below images. Some images I took based on my feeling towards the idea of ‘Escape’.

Escalators transport us to escape

This is the view when I lie down on my bed at home. An escape for me as well.

Train tracks is the medium to escape

Escape to the white light outside which brings uncertainties

The haze give an effect of the garden of eden

all you need is to climb to escape

A room to escape

that light at the end of the hallway is your only escape

the path to escape the world, will you take it?

again, the bus is the vehicle to escape, take a seat and enjoy the escapade

during raya haji at the mosque, a temporary escape for religion

when the prayers are done, everyone ‘escape’

that is a dead bee actually, i guess he ‘escaped’

Performing the Solat is a temporary escape to get closer to God

By taking these images and looking back at them, I think the next step is to take videos of flight or escape. My initial images of flight or escape was too literal for example, plane taking off, ships at sea or busses moving. I think if I take moving images which also represent escape and juxtapose it with a live broadcast video of me doing an action, I think it will be more interesting and also open for interpretation.

Randall also asked me to test out if I can link websites to max msp to do some effect and so i tried a thing or two.

I used the Jweb where basically I can open a browser on a max patch and then i uses jit.broadcast to actually show what my browser is showing and then alpha blender it with the webcam video.

For now it is just a experiment and it is still ongoing.

Regards,
Kamarul

Progress/Thoughts on Final Project

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My previous idea stays put but in order for me to develop it even further, I need to know the how final broadcasting is going to happen. I guess I need to know what I can do and what is not possible. Will I be accessible to Max/Msp? Can I broadcast wirelessly through a mobile camera while still broadcasting through the transmitter?

I’ve given some thought of my previous idea of using the causeway as a metaphor for escape, for freedom and creativity that this self need after living in his home country. The need to break free. Anyway, I went over to Malaysia over the weekend, took the public bus and manage to film some video while the bus was crossing the bridge that separates Singapore and Malaysia. Then a epiphany hit me, I got a couple of videos of plane taking off taken from the view from inside. Plus, it be good to have another one from the sea. All these actions symbolize escape, moving out, departure, breaking out, flight, leave and so much more. This would then be a good layer to talk about the state of myself always wanting to find my ‘place’ in society.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-4j7HsW13E

As much as I really like the idea, I have to think of what broadcasting live means. I know by definition that I have to transmit something and also be able to ‘perform’. If I were to look at this way, then my initial idea was actually, layering all the different clips and overlay it with me performing some kind of act that compliments the videos. In order to do this, again, I need to know what is able and not able to work within the constraint of the equipment available. I’ve made some video sample with max msp.

The thought of broadcasting our final assignment on the Internet actually makes this project very wide and the possibility is endless. In order to make this project a success (in terms of numbers of viewers), I need to be able to attract the attention right at the first second. Sound also plays a major role as well since it is video broadcast.

Good Morning, Mr Orwell, Nam June Paik

I like how Nam June Paik does all the overlaying of live video in his Good Morning, Mr. Orwell. I was really inspired by that idea and I hope I have the chance to do something similar for my final assignment. I also hope to integrate some form of glitch art into the video as well if I have my hands on max/msp or quartz composer.