One of my most important requirements for an effective working environment is pixels. The more I have, the more efficiently I can work. Starting in the days when dual-outputs required having an AGP and a PCI card working in tandem, and eventually bringing in multiple computers controlled via Synergy (on CDM) I’ve steadily upgraded to the point where I currently have 6560 pixels of desktop-width in front of me, spread over 3 machines.

The current biggest and brightest is a BenQ G2400W. After purchasing my first HD video camera, I spent several months looking for a reasonably priced monitor with HDMI input and the requisite 1920×1080 pixels to allow me to get a 1:1 HD preview. The G2400 was the first monitor I found with these specifications priced under AU$500 (around US$400).

Prior to picking it up, my biggest monitor was a Phillips 21″ CRT. It pushes out a respectable 1920×1440 pixels, and pushes down a reasonably frightening 28Kg. At its highest resolution, those pixels start getting a little small. I’m happy with lots of tiny text on screen, but few other people can use my setup on that monitor without squinting and leaning close enough to hear the photons bouncing off their epidermis. Upgrading from a CRT to an HD LCD gave me just about as many pixels, but much more clarity, more readable text, and considerably less flickering.

mememamo writes in with his audio visual synthesizer exploration project, Visual Space Music.

Visual Space Music is an interactive audio visual installation created in Max/MSP and Ableton Live. It explores the possibilities of space based audio arrangement and mixing. The user navigates through the virtual space, moving through and manipulating audio/visual synthesis objects, creating anything from abstract virtual soundscapes to precise rhythmic space music.

Using a joystick and knob/fader based midi controller, the user navigates through the virtual space, while moving knobs manipulates each synthesis object, controlling how the object sounds and looks in realtime.

Movement in the space can both affect the arrangement of a composition (using space instead of traditional time-based methods) and also the surround mix. The object sounds project from the direction they are in, manipulated by the user’s exploration of the space.

Visual Space Music Introduction (HD) from Ian McKinlay on Vimeo.

There’s extensive software and hardware information on the project site. I’m especially loving the use of Ikea rear projection screens!

Audience from Chris O’Shea on Vimeo.

Chris O’Shea and rAndom International have completed a lovely installation at the Royal Opera House (UK). 64 mirrors move, each distinctively, to follow moving attendees who catch their “attention.” The installation is powered by Chris’ custom code and rAndom’s hardware and circuits, build on C++, OpenFrameWorks, and Intel’s ubiquitous open source computer vision library OpenCV.

I really enjoy how elegant the resulting design is, and the way it fragments the faces of viewers in a sea of mirrors, bobbing around with simulated intelligence.

Audience for Deloitte Ignite Festival [Project Page, Chris O’Shea]

I expect this could inspire other computer vision projects, or motorized screen concepts in place of mirrors.

Here’s what the video analysis software interface looks like:

See also: other photos of Audience on Flickr

Filament @ Tyneside Cinema Launch - The Wall from Steve Holmes on Vimeo.

Dan Shiffman’s Run Lola Run creation, built in Processing, appears here at Tyneside Cinema in the UK. This is how to watch a movie: 1400 frames on screen at a time. Cuts cascade across the screen, colors shift as the in-frame palette changes, and Lola’s action turns into sculptural wallpaper.

There’s no better time to mention that Dan’s Most Pixels Ever library is getting some fall semester refreshes, with new documentation and other improvements. If you haven’t used it before, this is your ticket to working on Processing with multiple displays – even if it’s just, you know, like two displays.

http://code.google.com/p/mostpixelsever/

Oh, and incidentally, it is Shiffman, not Shiftman.

Looks like Tyneside made a nice launch event for this Filament event. I love the shadows walking in the windows and colored lights. I’ve been talking with visualists lately about improving the quality of live events. Really turning something into an event, and making a visual splash on the outside of the venue, is a great way to start.

Filament @ Tyneside Cinema Launch from Steve Holmes on Vimeo.

Decibel Festival :: Thursday Quickie from momo_the_monster on Vimeo.

Ed.: Visualists are constantly looking for better exposure and better fusion with musical events. In the US’ Pacific Northwest, one highlight of the North American calendar year is unquestionably the legendary Decibel Festival. Our own Momo is there, at an event that also attracts the likes of another favorite visualist of ours, Scott Pagano.

Momo sends along this dispatch from Decibel. -PK