Sundown invite

Trying out the new add a video feature in Blogspot.

Actually, cancel that. No link to YouTube so I still need to copy code



Come on Google, life is supposed to be easy.

John Whitney on YouTube

Update to yesterday's post, John Whitney is on YouTube. Arabesque.

My memory is that a previous example did disappear. Maybe you should be quick to see this. Who knows?

In a sensible world, everything from the early days of computer animation would be on YouTube. But this cannot be guaranteed.



There is also a video on Charles Csuri with short extracts towards the end. Personally I find the soundtrack annoying. But this is an example of how to mix interviews, presentation and original computer animation. Half an hour or an hour is not impossible to imagine.

A New Canvas, notes for Sundown

Thinking about an online guide to digital animation it strikes me that the top problem is the lack of availability of the classic stuff. For some reason the kind of work covered in A New Canvas is very rarely shown and is also very heard to find on the web. It seems to have the same sort of status as an ancient oil painting, best kept in the dark away from anybody except a distinguished academic.

Seriously though, why is it thought this style is suited to film and more or less film only. I may be repeating myself from previous posts but I feel certain that computer distribution would have been used in 1967 onwards had it been available.

The demoscene stuff is getting easier to access. A dedicated web TV channel. Versions on YouTube. A big screen at a party is much much better so the YouTube versions are in no way damaging parties as events, any more than MySpace damages live music. By the way, exhibitions of oil paintings can also benefit from online versions in reasonable resolution.

So plan A is to find at least some still images in time for Sundown. Not sure when it is, but summer has not started yet so there must be a few months to come.

Aim is to show some connection demoscene / new canvas. Maybe this will be an occasion to discuss archiving, preservation, distribution.

Not wanting to upset anyone by directly ripping off graphics, here are some links.

A New Canvas

Cibernetik 5.3
1961-65, USA, 16mm, colour, sound, 8 min.

John Stehura

Charles Csuri
Hummingbird
1967
Computeranimation, Microfilm Plotter, Film übertragen auf DVD, 10 min
Charles Csuri

Lillian Schwartz Papillons
1973 music by Max Mathews,
video [large detail of still from installation]


John Whitney Biographical Page
Digital Harmony
still and Quicktime extract

what about some complete stuff somewhere?

Radio Vague and Flash

A very strange thing has happened.

Radio Vague, a longterm supporter of open source, have made the following statement about broadcast from Glastonbury this weekend-

"To listen in you'll need nothing more than Flash Player version 7 or higher, available from Adobe."

I wait to see if this is true. I have now managed to get Ogg Vorbis working and VLC seems ok. So something as simple as Flash seems too obvious. I hope the bandwidth can cope now this is not something just for the dedicated techies who can persevere.

I am not making this up. I first discovered Open Office when Psand refused to send me a Word file.

More on Remixer

Look for "Remixer" on Youtube.

Presumably you can load up anything, then select what to include.

The full Ann Shelton extract is here.

YouTube video edit test

The Adobe online video edit option reaches YouTube, I have tried this out.

Seems to be missing the last bit. Tests from a lunchtime lecture on electronics during Vibraphonic and the food festivities of Sidwell Street. More next weekend but maybe you only get sausages in the winter.

Meanwhile Ubuntu turns up on YouTube

Not sure what is happening with the project discussed at Sundown for intros on Ubuntu but a short video has turned up on YouTube made by a librarian. As promotion it is fairly convincing, making simple points well.



one special effect towards the end.

Video from Animated Exeter now on YouTube

Exeter Television has now loaded to YouTube a short on the Games Day at the Phoenix.
It shows an impression of what went on, including how easy it is to get to the big screen from a digital input. in this case a Wii machine but it could be a web link in theory. So the demoscence material could end up in the Phoenix one day.



Here again is a previous video from Sundown 2006 in Budleigh. Expect another one in 2007.



Not sure what has happened to the idea of intros or idents for Ubuntu. Maybe there will be an update out of sequence. Things move fairly slowly so one year being much like previously the breaking news could be at any time. At least now there is at least one video from Animated Exeter and one from Sundown on the archive for Exeter Television. Several others on YouTube for Sundown.

Debris, looks even better on a big screen

Video web possible in Exeter

A couple of things have happened recently to make me think that a video web is getting closer. People at Life Bytes on Sidwell Streeet opposite the Odeon are expecting a plasma screen sometime next week. Apparently this is funded by advertising and will be one of several in Exeter. Not sure how this will work. Will there be enough content to make it interesting or will the ads just be annoying? But at least the idea of display from web will get over. There may be wireless access at some locations. The content is all supplied over the web. More on this later.

Also I am finding more video from Exeter on YouTube. For example, this about the cathedral. Not sure what is being said as it is in Italian. Still, it means that a guide to Exeter can be made up from various sources.

Future Shorts arrives at the Phoenix

Last night was the first occasion Future Shorts showed at the Phoenix. There is usually at least one animation. This time 'Last Train Ride' directed by Gokhan Okur from Turkey. Apparently illustration, maybe computers were in there somehow. Well integrated with the soundtrack from Jigsaw Soul. Many of the Future Shorts are online at full length. This one is hosted by Atom Films



You may have to wait for an ad

Or here if you have Quicktime.

In my opinion not much is lost by putting content online. It is a bit obvious that the Phoenix screen is a better place to view something. Online is ok but is mostly promotion for something else. There may be a short pause for discussion on this next time before the 8pm film. I will be in the bar somewhere. Meanwhile please leave a comment unless this is just obvious for most people and I am going on about it out of habit.

Broadcast link

Found this link to a wiki about community broadcast.

Seems relevant to Exeter Television

Also shows how a conference can be followed up. Could there be something similar in Exeter to continue topics from the Industry Day and other ideas?

Please add comments or drop by LifeBytes sometime.

and now the soundtrack from Vibraphonic

Animated Exeter closes as Vibraphonic opens.

It is all a desperate ruse to get through the last of the winter till the sun arrives and we can move outside.

I will use the blog for "wi-fi Exeter" as a suitable spot for Vibraphonic. The idea is to connect with whatever is going on.

More on Flickr

I have loaded some photos from the weekend. Reverse order helps the slideshow so this is now routine.

tag is "southpool", actually on the way back from Southpool so the North is home in this case.

IT Games on North Street waiting on Wii stock

Maybe it was the tennis in the Phoenix auditorium last weekend. There is no wii stock at IT Games. Apparently there may be a few in sometime but no proper supply till nearer to April.

Flickr animation tip

Well it is new for me anyway. Load the photos in reverse order. It starts with the last one for some reason.

I was inspired by the dropin session at Spacex to try some more at home, using one of the apples given away by Tim Brennan during the walk.

It works ok. Link to Flickr, please launch slideshow then speed it up.

extract from animation

This is a short extract of an animation that could be available online later.

Connects with previous photo. Also I am trying out this site for editing options linked to Adobe.

Rocks could be used as planets

Recent photo from Spacex where animation follows on from Tim Brennan's take on theNORTH. These were painted last week based on rocks. They could also be used as planets. Some animation may turn up online, see previous posts for previous links to other workshops.

90 degrees could be on the demoscene imho

So far almost no connection with the demoscene during Animated Exeter.

The Festaval favourites at the Picture House included "90 degrees". I noted down www.90degrees.fr but this seems not to exist. Handwriting in the dark not very reliable. Could we have more web links on the handout please?

However, it turns up on YouTube. search on "supinfocom" finds several pages so more later.

This animation would work ok at a demo party I think. Maybe there are many people who already know this but my impression so far is of two sepearated worlds.

at last, an animated penguin

click here for animated penguin

Pirate University in Plymouth

This is where the open source support may be found. Suggest you try things out online, get stuck, then ask them for help on the day.