Delving into Audiovisual performance, it’s easy to get overwhelming. Mashing up commercials, music videos, sampled footage and more can quickly lead to eyeball meltdown.

Here, then - Mike Winkelmann (as Beeple) takes simple and distinct typographic elements, synced to a minimal lo-fi tech soundtrack to create AV that is masterfully compelling and straightforward.

Beeple - Century Gothic from momo_the_monster on Vimeo.

Mr. Winkelmann continues to produce and release as Beeple - he’s created new more fanciful works since his first appearance on CDM. See his whole library at Beeple.com.

Also, he’s got screenings of IV.7(annoyingly small mix) coming up at Ann Arbor Film Festival (March 25-30), as well as the Wisconsin Film Festival (April 3-6th).

The picture says it all. BBC Research & Innovation is considering presenting video in surround. Just as audio surround assumes a still-central source, enhanced by additional material in the 360-degree audio field, the idea here is to capture ambient visuals using a fish-eye lens and then project that beyond the screen.

Of course, whatever the (uh, dubious, potentially) practical applications of such technology, there are plenty of compelling directions this could lead VJs. In general, the ability to control more of the environment and break out of the rectangular frame helps live visuals and installations. And there are other consumer, examples, as well: TV maker Phillips has toyed with creating ambient, colored light that matches the on-screen image with Ambilight, something DIYers have already cloned (see Hack a Day).

Hmmm.. I think BBC should just give us all projectors and we’ll go work on it, eh?

Graham Thomas, one of the researchers, explains:

Surround Video is a means of visually immersing the viewer into a TV programme.

It is like surround sound, an optional extra that enhances viewing on a normal display. The idea is to use a wide angle (or fisheye) camera fixed rigidly alongside the normal camera shooting the programme, and project the image onto the walls, ceiling and floor of the viewer’s room.

Wait, you know, this could have practical applications — making English children hide behind the couch even more readily during Doctor Who.

Pic Of The Day: Surround Video [BBC Internet Blog]

Via ChromaTouch, aka Leon Trimble

It’s been almost 6 months since we posted about Shiffman’s Most Pixels Ever processing library, but that doesn’t mean there’s been no progress.

Recently he’s left the lab and ensconced himself in front of the IAC Video Wall, bringing Most Pixels Ever to the screen with the most pixels to give.

Run Lola Run Lola Run Lola Run Lola Run from shiffman and Vimeo.

A little technical detail, with an announcement:

Each cell of video is 60×45 pixels. The entire system is run by 3 Mac Pros each pumping out 2720×768 (totaling 8160×768 for the entire wall.) I’m going to be releasing the Processing library/framework this week! Stay tuned!

Releasing the library? You mean this library?

The site is still a little lean, but early adopters can download the Alpha version and read a little about running it with processing.

Bouncy bouncy!

The Web is becoming a more and more powerful archive for film-making that you might not otherwise see. In addition to sites like the Internet Archive / Prelinger Archives, you can now catch up on more recent film, video, and sound history, ca. the 70s and 80s, and works with a decidedly more experimental tilt:

Expanded Cinema, blog by Joao Ribas (via Rhizome.org)

For feeding inspiration to your eyes, it’d hard to do better than Jaoo’s choices. Two of my favorites:

This work by Abigail Child is a perfect example of her knack for cutting together faux documentary scenes with actors, narration-free sound, and brilliantly edited sound scores into subversive experimental works. The results are always witty, and as much about music composition as film. I got to work with Abi while an undergrad at Sarah Lawrence, which was a great way for me to both get inside her head and annoy the real film students. (I was in music.)

Charles and Ray Eames are design geniuses, and they’re finally starting to get mainstream recognition for their film work and not just their (also wonderful) chairs. Their design sense is just as fresh today as when applied to this otherwise-dated Polaroid ad:

I’m betting James at Retro Thing is going nuts for the cameras, too.

In other news, the Eames films are now being made available on DVD. Study them well, and — as long as you makes sure the Eames people don’t find out — go VJ with them. Well, if you can bear to touch them, anyway.

Got a favorite source for online video inspiration? “Curating” your own video history blog? Let us know about it!

Backspace is the Honors project of Melbourne Communication Design student Stephen Watkins.

… a Stimulating video podcast showcasing experimental short films to provoke your imagination.

I’ll be interviewing Stephen soon about his project, but for now: Watch that wonderful video again, and subscribe to the podcast.

via Wooster Collective.

Light Emitting Textiles is a technological theme which keeps reappearing year after year. In fact, a year ago for the Internationale Funkaustellung (IFA) Phillips announced their Photonic Textile Prototypes - rather blocky but undeniably cool flexible LED arrays.

For this year’s IFA, Phillips have upped the ante with: better resolution? Cliched example loops? Come on people, an @ symbol hasn’t meant “super cutting edge technological stuff” for at least eight years now. This is just showing that you’re as out of touch with the cool kids as the corporations who will pay to use this for their marketing.

Motion design weakness aside: I think this would go beautifully with something like the Remote VJs Control, which is way too limited for serious VJ action, but probably just daft enough to work with a fabric-embedded display.

via Processing Blogs

Beeple contains a suite of intricately animated, synaesthetic IDM styled music videos. Lofi, crunchy beats, good times from Mike Winkelmann.

Check out IV.4 or Century Gothic for a taste. If they’re to your liking grab the 20 minute IV.2 or have a look at DoneBestDone for more Winkelmann collaborations.

Want to recommend a site? The contact form is your friend.

Cybersonica turns a gallery space into an interactive playground, filled with sound art installations that mine the power of fun in art. Curator Chris O’Shea sends this professionally-produced documentation video from the hip Phonica record store in London:

Cybersonica & Encompass Sonic Art Exhibition [YouTube]

Among the delights inside: suspended disco satellites controlled by Korg Kaoss Pads, motion tracking that translates a performer into a shadow puppet monster (complete with roaring sounds), a liquid, fully-3D interface for making music which shall be known at CDM simply as the hotness, a 3D Etch-a-Sketch for sound, an installation with an interface controlled by torn paper, and even a mechanical contraption that samples visitors onto analog tape (it’s not all digital).

Chris is gradually documenting the works on his blog, Pixelsumo. If you’re in London, don’t miss the programs Friday and Saturday, and do file a report so all the rest of us know how it goes!

What if Lite Brite and a tablet PC had a crazy love child? It might look something like the Yamaha Tenori-On. The basic idea is, you press buttons on a 16×16 LED grid and trigger sounds and visuals; there are collaborative features for playing with your friends Tenori-Ons, and the back of the screen functions as an LED, so instead of a private trippy experience, everyone can see the fun. Tim writes us:

On the strength of the demo videos I want one of these! I first read of its existence [at We Make Money Not Art].
Most of the official info seems to be in Japanese, but there’s a 16MB movie of someone playing with one here:
http://envol.info/iwai.mov, and info on the OS.
I have a lot of respect for designers who can create musical instruments and interfaces which even small children can play with!

I agree — fun stuff! But can we please stop repeating the cliché about new musical instruments, clearly levied at the computer? Designed Toshio Iwai is quoted on WWMNA as saying: “A violin doesn’t work if any of its beautiful shape, sound quality, and usability is missing. However, electronic musical instruments often fail to create this inevitable relation of shape, sound, and usability. My goal with TENORI-ON is to make it the right instrument for the real digital age by rethinking what musical instruments should be.”

I almost agree. But a violin’s usability? You crane it uncomfortably between your chin and your shoulder, bruising your neck, it takes months to make a sound that won’t clear the room and make people beg for mercy, and years to make music. If you never got to see a violin, it would sound just as beautiful. Instrument design is important, but let’s separate the toys from the great instruments: even if violins looked ugly, we’d still fall in love with them for their sound and expressive range. So maybe designers need to reconsider what the criteria are. I think it has a lot less to do with shape, looks, and “usability,” and a lot more to do with sound and music. (Of course, in the meantime, I do still want to play with a Tenori-On.) See also: Music Thing