open source software

Spheres is an absolutely gorgeous, hypnotic abstract music video by Regis Hervagault:

42000 HD frames at 50p for a duration of 14 minutes, this is my own little space opera inspired by the teachings from Anaxagoras of Clazomenae. philosophy.gr/presocratics/anaxagoras.htm

Using a variety of software including open source tools and custom scripting, i designed a mesmerizing spaceball choregraphy to evoke atoms, DNA, seeds, spirals, fractals, etc…

The first draft screened as a backdrop for the robotic and live music performance by URBAN ORCHESTRA at the city council during the new year celebration in 2008 meeting critical acclaim.

Here’s the final director’s cut with an updated soundtrack and tighter edits to fit my original vision.

This reminds me of the amazing pairing of Ron Fricke and synthesist Micheal Stearns on movies like Chronos, except here, abstract images are used.

Give this a look and leave a comment with your thoughts!

Version 1.0 of Processing, an application for creating audio and visual work, has launched.

Processing is a programming language, development environment, and online community that since 2001 has promoted software literacy within the visual arts. Initially created to serve as a software sketchbook and to teach fundamentals of computer programming within a visual context, Processing quickly developed into a tool for creating finished professional work as well. 

Processing is a free, open source alternative to proprietary software tools with expensive licenses, making it accessible to schools and individual students. Its open source status encourages the community participation and collaboration that is vital to Processing’s growth. Contributors share programs, contribute code, answer questions in the discussion forum, and build libraries to extend the possibilities of the software. The Processing community has written over seventy libraries to facilitate computer vision, data visualization, music, networking, and electronics.

I’ve included an example of a music video created with Processing above, Glenn Marshall’s video for Radiohead’s Bodysnatching. 

Processing is a free download, for Linux, OS X and Windows.  Read more…