It’s no secret that a major update to Max/MSP/Jitter is coming from Cycling ‘74, with a major overhaul of the underlying code and an entirely new, friendlier interface. What has been secret is just what that upgrade will look like. We still don’t know what it’ll look like visually, but Cycling ‘74 today released some new details about what it is and isn’t.

In short, it promises to be:

• Easier to use: Multiple undo, debugging tools for patches, and a visual catalog for perusing objects.
• Easier to learn: Integrated, rewritten documentation, even including Web links.
• Easier on the eyes: A new, zoomable patching interface with lots of new goodies — that’s not only skin deep, but makes patches easier to navigate.
• Mo cross-platform: A new code foundation should make Max more modern, reliable, easier to support on C74’s part, and better supported across OSes. It even opens the possibility of someday seeing Max/MSP/Jitter on Linux and not just Mac/Windows.
• Not full of gobs of new objects: Normally this is not a feature, but here, it’s a good thing: by introducing only a few objects, the new Max focuses instead on improving existing objects and building a better environment / platform for the future.

I’m meeting with Cycling ‘74 this week at AES, so hope to have more details then, including more on what’s changed for Jitter users. Audio users should note a big caveat — Pluggo support won’t be present in Max 5 at launch, which is critical to using patches as audio effects and instruments in other hosts, though it sounds as though that may be added at an undetermined point in the future. But on the visual side, it looks like it could be a pretty smooth upgrade: most patches and externals should be compatible, with some potential updates needed for tools that have special UI features. (I imagine some patches will look a little odd, too, once they hit the new UI — worth keeping that older Max copy around, just in case.) Overall, looks like good news. Naturally, we want to know more. Lots more. Soon. I’ll keep you posted.

Java and JavaScript support will continue to work. And that means Processing is supported, as well (via mxj), so this could be a great Processing prototyping environment, or a way of coupling Processing with other features. (See jklabs MaxLink. And yeah, it really does work … very cool. Viva Java.)

Cycling ‘74 Releases Max 5 Details: Bringing Max Out of the 80s, into to the Future [Create Digital Music]

Cycling 74 has updated its Jitter 1.6.3 installer, while there are no new features, they’ve worked hard on optimizing speed for Windows users. I don’t have a Windows machine to benchmark, but if you are a Jitter user on Windows, you might want to give this a once over. Jitter 1.6.3

Ed.: I do have a Windows machine; I’ll try to check it out! Of course, this isn’t necessarily the really big Max news at the moment. It’s interesting, given that Cycling is talking about how different the new codebase is for Max 5 — maybe in fact there are still platform-specific optimizations necessary. That’d make sense for video, in particular, which remains very much platform-specific. (OpenGL is obviously not really an issue — not unless you’re a driver developer.) -PK

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Bill Etra, the analog video processing pioneer, has been posting some of his original works from the late 1960s through 2005 on video sharing site Blip.tv. It’s a sort of ongoing retrospective of his work. His techniques are varied, including Rutt-Etra processing (using the hardware he co-designed), hand-controlled oscillator-to-RGB inputs, and laptop-based software rigs.

While not a complete archive, it’s an interesting look back at important works and techniques. I’m glad this is online; it’s hard to find useful archives of older analog pieces simply because most techniques involved were incredibly hard to capture to tape. Usually only re-scanning would work (re-scanning is a fancy term for pointing a camera at a CRT). More work will be added, so check back occasionally. I think archives like this are invaluable for inspiration.

Bill Etra’s blip.tv Page

Ed.: We’ll definitely be watching for updates, and hopefully cdmotion can help encourage more documentation of this stuff online. -PK

Sure, you have fun with your one projector. But don’t you sometimes want to add giant water fountains, with water projection? And more video? And fire? And lasers? And some creepy wizard guy? In South Korea, spending money on such things seems strangely commonplace, as at the multimedia/fountain installation at Kangwon Land / High One Resort. Friend of CDM (and Jaymis) Rainer Knobloch had a major role in the project. This definite counts as our Massive Neo-Baroque Multimedia Spectacle of the Day.

Seen other stuff like this you liked? Let us know in comments.

Working on digital visuals for choreographer Grisha Coleman’s echo::system, I got to try some new techniques for running visuals. These were necessary experiments, so naturally we had some things that worked well, and some that didn’t. (For more on the piece, see the project site; warning: auto-playing audio via Flash!)

Two particular pieces of gear involved re-purposing lighting equipment for projection use. At the suggestion of video advisor Maya Ciarrocchi, we used Rosco iCue “intelligent mirrors” for positioning the projections. And because we had easy access to the equipment, we used color scrollers in place of dowsers for darkening projectors.

Now having spent some time with each piece of gear, and having gotten some mixed results, I’m happy to share my experience.

There’s something beautiful about making art with mundane tools, making something creative with something because, not simply in spite of, its limitations. And there’s likewise something surreal about Microsoft’s latest ad campaign for Office for the Mac: get artists to make subversive art with its old version of Office for Mac, which still (cough, cough) isn’t Intel-native. But that’s exactly how the Office:mac team is promoting their software, and to be perfectly honest, I fully expect the new Mac version of Office to yet again trump the version for Windows.

Just what will you find on the Art of Office site?

• Phillip Torrone, my friend from Make/makezine.com, demonstrating an “illegal prime”, a prime number associated with copy protection that’s illegal under US law. (That’s right. Microsoft is now actively promoting a DMCA violation as art!)
• Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo fame, making artsy postcards in Word.
• My personal favorite: El Salvadorian artist Pixelfreak makes pixellated art out of Excel cells.

I’m not sure this is inspiring me to get excited about Office 2008, but it is getting me excited about making office art. (Hmmm, OpenOffice fans want to strike back?) And it coincides roughly with the release of Helvetica: the Movie.

I love boring things.

Of course, this gets me thinking along visualist lines: PowerPoint, for one, can export to QuickTime files, and has for a long time. This means it’s a perfect time to create some surreal business-y motion graphics for your next set. Heck, you could even do some video of the screen in Word or Excel to get really adventurous. If you do make something like that, whether or not you upload them to the MS promo site, let us know.

Related — art in Microsoft Office is nothing new. David Byrne infamously made art with PowerPoint, of a very abstract nature (and I’d still love to see more of this as motion graphics, not just stills):

Envisioning Emotional Epistemological Information (David does have a way with words, with tongue in cheek)

But the greatest PowerPoint art of all time has to be PowerPoint as social criticism, as in the case of Edward Tufte’s essays, presentations (ahem) and book:

The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint

(Hint: he doesn’t think PowerPoint is entirely good for society.)

Well worth mentioning Tufte here, as well, as his work was a big influence on Ben Fry and the creation of Processing, one of our favorite tools. And, in turn, Processing expresses the desire to help users get beyond the rigidity of pre-baked tools like, well, Microsoft Office. (No offense, Microsoft.) On the other hand, if you can’t eliminate the presence of Office for your life, you can abuse and subvert it.

VJ-U has posted a wonderful livecast on Operator 11 featuring the restoration of 3 Rutt-Etra raster analog video synthesizers. I was fortunate enough to be invited to check the machines out in person and have some time to try and help out. Mathew Schlanger and Benton C Bainbridge help explain the history and unique capability of the Rutt-Etra. Certainly worth a watch for those interested in the art form and unique hardware.

For those unaware of what a Rutt-Etra is, be sure and check out Audio Visualizers page on the subject. There is a lot of history with these machines, and they are still quite competent tools with a very unique look and feel.