http://log.mer-mer.co mer-mer log Sat, 16 Jun 2012 20:40:11 +0000 http://log.mer-mer.co en http://log.mer-mer.co/Berkeley-Session http://log.mer-mer.co/following/log.mer-mer.co/Berkeley-Session Sat, 16 Jun 2012 20:40:11 +0000 mer-mer log 3601901 <img src="http://payload65.cargocollective.com/1/7/245835/3601901/ryan_mrc.jpg" width="670" height="445" width_o="2048" height_o="1361" src_o="http://payload65.cargocollective.com/1/7/245835/3601901/ryan_mrc_o.jpg" data-mid="19252358" border="0" align="left"/> http://log.mer-mer.co/Lot-1-Sequins-and-Skeletons http://log.mer-mer.co/following/log.mer-mer.co/Lot-1-Sequins-and-Skeletons Mon, 11 Jun 2012 00:58:52 +0000 mer-mer log 3564623 <img src="http://payload63.cargocollective.com/1/7/245835/3564623/169257_10151030078204560_1667098837_o.jpeg" width="670" height="446" width_o="1280" height_o="853" src_o="http://payload63.cargocollective.com/1/7/245835/3564623/169257_10151030078204560_1667098837_o_o.jpeg" data-mid="18440196" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload63.cargocollective.com/1/7/245835/3564623/470548_10151030078774560_1563346263_o.jpeg" width="670" height="446" width_o="1280" height_o="853" src_o="http://payload63.cargocollective.com/1/7/245835/3564623/470548_10151030078774560_1563346263_o_o.jpeg" data-mid="18504973" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload63.cargocollective.com/1/7/245835/3564623/412148_10151030079034560_1802179314_o.jpeg" width="670" height="446" width_o="1280" height_o="853" src_o="http://payload63.cargocollective.com/1/7/245835/3564623/412148_10151030079034560_1802179314_o_o.jpeg" data-mid="18440239" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload63.cargocollective.com/1/7/245835/3564623/177307_10151030078499560_2061736504_o.jpeg" width="670" height="446" width_o="1280" height_o="853" src_o="http://payload63.cargocollective.com/1/7/245835/3564623/177307_10151030078499560_2061736504_o_o.jpeg" data-mid="18504953" border="0" align="left"/> Sequins and Skeletons Some unplanned goofing at Lot 1 on Sunset Blvd in Echo Park with friends Justin, Ryan and Brendan. Photos by Sean Ferris. 05/31/12. So stoked to be able to play with these guys. Sequins and Skeletons Some unplanned goofing at Lot 1 on Sunset Blvd in Echo Park with friends Justin, Ryan and Brendan. Photos by Sean Ferris. 05/31/12. So... http://log.mer-mer.co/Composite-lights http://log.mer-mer.co/following/log.mer-mer.co/Composite-lights Fri, 25 May 2012 00:35:20 +0000 mer-mer log 3470329 This started practically. While sequencing LEDs with sound I've had in mind an array of larger lights. Constructing a unit with 12 LEDs was alright. I placed it inside a latex weather balloon to increase the scale, but there was still the problem of only one existing. Filming the light multiple times and comping those videos together seemed way easier than constructing several more fixtures. Instead of monitoring MIDI signals as I was before, this is running multiple Max for Live envelope followers (one on each audio track) which are then mapped to the PWM value of a Maxuino channel. This isn't as precise as the MIDI, but I think it's ok because the sound is so undefined and textural anyway. Oh yeah, shot with my iPhone and composited in AfterEffects. All of the grain or whatever is digital artifacting from shooting in low light. I recently happened upon Masayoshi Fujita, who is a vibraphonist and sometimes performs under the pseudonym El Fog. Vibraphones have such a nice tone, and I wanted to play with one, but because I don't have a vibraphone I was unable to. But I had a fishbowl and a mallet, so I recorded hitting that a multiple velocities to make a multisample. What you're hearing in the beginning is that sample. Each hit is multiple layers of the fishbowl to smooth out the tone, plus one quiet hit with a fork to provide definition in the higher frequencies. Pan position is randomized a little to give it a little more space, too. At around one minute you can hear some piano. That was recorded on a friend's baby grand, which I'm told was one of the first pianos to be sampled for computer based performance. A small section of that was then played through a Guyatone Tube Echo pedal—one of my favorites. Once things quiet down you can hear some coyotes who were making a racket down the street in the middle of the night. Maxuino was really easy to get going. Just load Firmata to the Arduino, spin up the Maxuino controller patch inside of Live and being mapping, just as you would a MIDI controller. Glad I caved in grabbing Max for Live. It's pretty remarkable. The balloon idea was initially inspired by a little installation at Machine Project by Chris Kallmyer and Jason Torchinsky. After working on this for a bit I began finding others who have done similar things: <img src="http://payload58.cargocollective.com/1/7/245835/3470329/DSC_8030_o.jpeg" style="float: left; margin: 0 35px 0 0; width: 200px">Hideaki Takahashi and teamLab: RGB and touch sensitive. Chris Milk: Thousands of massive wireless balloons. ColorSynth: Translates MIDI messages into light and colors. Edit: Just got back from Eyeo Festival and Tangibale Interaction basically nailed it. Really cool to experience. Probably going to abandon anything like this after seeing that. Hopefully all of these words don't give the appearance of this being a weighty thing. It was done quickly in a day or two just for fun. This started practically. While sequencing LEDs with sound I've had in mind an array of larger lights. Constructing a unit with 12 LEDs was alright. I placed it... http://log.mer-mer.co/MIDI-Processing-Arduino http://log.mer-mer.co/following/log.mer-mer.co/MIDI-Processing-Arduino Thu, 24 May 2012 22:06:57 +0000 mer-mer log 3469657 These are some of my first tries at generating sound and light from the same input. Should probably mention that these are just short demonstrations of the technology. Also, appologies for any bullshit language. Trying to get better at thinking outloud. I'm using an Akai MPK Mini and a Korg NanoKontrol mixer to generate MIDI data. This is then mapped to various devices and MIDI chain effects racks in Ableton Live. Randomization is introduced, which can be applied to note velocity, duration, arpeggiation rate, sample selection, playback direction, etc... These algorithms paradoxically provide a humanistic element, and effectively the computer mutates into a musician which I then improvise with. After this the MIDI data is split into two paths: Live, and the Internal IAC bus. The data to the IAC bus is then sent to Processing, where I'm running a modified branch of Jacob Sikker Remin's sketch for a Ryslinge Højskole workshop. Jacob: you're a life saver. Within that sketch I'm divvying up certain MIDI notes to specific PWM output pins on the Arduino. LED arrays are turned on when a note is pressed, and off when released. Pulse Width Modulation (PWN) enables brightness to be controlled by velocity. Directly monitoring MIDI makes things very precise because of note on/off, rather than monitoring the amplitude of an audio signal. Good for very rapid things, like the last video. The only downside is you must be using MIDI. This was good practice, though. Learned how to communicate between Live, Processing and Arduino, plus a bit about basic electrical engineer by configuring a parallel series of LEDs powered off it's own power source. These are some of my first tries at generating sound and light from the same input. Should probably mention that these are just short demonstrations of the... http://log.mer-mer.co/An-Introduction http://log.mer-mer.co/following/log.mer-mer.co/An-Introduction Thu, 24 May 2012 19:06:53 +0000 mer-mer log 3469204 This project is called Mer-Mer. The name comes from a bit in the book “Reality Hunger: A Manifesto”, by David Shields. In English, the term memoir comes direcly from the French for memory, mémoire, a word that is derived from the Latin for the same, memoria. And yet more deeply rooted in the word memoir is a far less confident one. Embedded in Latin's memoria is the ancient Greek mermara, itself a derivative of the Indo-European for that which we think about but cannot grasp: mer-mer, “to vividly wonder,” “to be anxious,” “to exhaustingly ponder.” Mer-Mer for a few reasons: 1. “That which we think about but cannot grasp” The more I learn the larger the unknown appears. It's alright not to know and ignorance shouldn't be debilitating. Just recognize it and keep searching. 2. Semantics and cymatics Leonard Bernstein gave a televised lecture series called “The Unanswered Question” on musical phonology—the systematic organization of sound in music. He uses the structure of linguistics as a metaphor for the structure of music. Notes as morphemes, chords as phonemes, etc… I like the repition of Mer-Mer as a sound and ambiguity as a word. 3. Memory Similar to knowing, it's ok to forget. The things which matter stick with you, but memory isn't a harddrive. It's messy and scattered and not 1:1. Because I can't remember the name of this or the form of that doesn't mean it isn't being recalled in other ways. 4. Memoir Rather than this being an audio project, or visual project, or technology project, I'd like this to be a collection of thoughts or intentions manifested as sound, or motion, or light, or words. What I'm going for is the part that you carry after listening or watching, or something. Oh, and I have a hyphenated first name, so that's a fun consistency, too. Also, definitely watch those Bernstein lectures. <img src="http://payload58.cargocollective.com/1/7/245835/3469204/me.jpg" width="670" height="455" width_o="670" height_o="455" src_o="http://payload58.cargocollective.com/1/7/245835/3469204/me_o.jpg" data-mid="17890530" border="0" align="left"/> That's me when I was smaller. Also, instead of a project, let's frame this as practice. It alleviates some of the unnecessary weight associated with “project”. This project is called Mer-Mer. The name comes from a bit in the book “Reality Hunger: A Manifesto”, by David Shields. In English, the term memoir comes...