Pure Data workshop + "resonanCITY" live cinema performance Apotheke Portland Oregon USA March 28,29,30

Apotheke is hosting a multi-faceted audio/video event at the end of this month.

1. "resonanCITY" live cinema performance

Tuesday March 28, 9 pm

2. Pure Data Workshop for Sound and Vision

Wednesday March 29 - Thursday March 30, 1-5 pm

Details>>

1. "resonanCITY" live cinema performance

Tuesday March 28, 9 pm

resonanCITY is a live cinema performance by Sara Kolster (NL, 1978) and Derek Holzer (USA, 1972). It has been performed live in the USA, Canada, Holland, Brazil, Poland, Serbia, the Baltic States and at the Transmediale 05 festival in Berlin. Their Portland date is part of a limited North American engagement.

Both Sara and Derek find inspiration in the history of experimental cinema and electroacoustic music, as well as in contemporary video and microsound practices, and a variety of live sources such as photographic film and found objects are used to generate the visions and sounds.

Kolster and Holzer also reject the use of common, commercial production methods and the default, commercial artworks that these methods often produce, preferring instead to program their own software, build their own hardware interfaces and actively participate in the free and open source communities which surround these activities.They also explore contemporary ideas about "Live Cinema" and demonstrate the principles and tools explained during their Pure Data workshops.

This evening will also feature improvisational audio and video from local artists Zachary Reno, Seth Nehil, and Rob Tyler, among others.

Cost is $5 at the door, starts around 9pm.

2. Pure Data Workshop for Sound and Vision

Wednesday March 29 - Thursday March 30, 1-5 pm

A workshop on Pure Data, GEM and PDP for sound and video artists.

Pure Data is a free and open source software, a modular and object-oriented programming environment geared towards manipulation and synthesis of both audio and video. It is similar to the commercial package "Max/MSP" , and can be used on Linux, Mac OSX and Windows.

Participants will learn the basic "grammar" and "vocabulary" of Pure Data, GEM and PDP, upon which objects for sound, 3D and video will be added. Emphasis will be placed on direct connections between sound and image through three different methods: influence of sound on image, influence of image on sound and the use of common "control data" for both image and sound.

The workshop spans two days, and is geared as a ground-up introduction and interface between the programming environment and artist. Attendance of the first day is a prerequisite for the second day, since information and concepts introduced in the beginning of the workshop will be used later on.

Students will also be required to bring their own computer, however PD software will be provided, for either Linux, Mac OS 10.3/4 or Windows. (With the exception of PDP, which is not available for Windows.)

The workshop starts at 1pm each day, and should last about four hours.

Registration costs $75, or $50 with a Student ID. You can sign up at Apotheke, payment will be required to hold a spot. Sign up early, as space is limited.

Full schedule info is tagged to the end of this release, and can also be found at the venue's website, http://www.apotheke-nw.com.

More information on both of these events, and about some of the artists involved, can be found on these websites:

http://www.umatic.nl http://www.sarako.net

http://www.onomato.org http://sethnehil.artdocuments.org/ http://www.vcr100.com

Thanks! Hope to see you there.

Apotheke 1314 NW Glisan St., #2a . 503.241.7866

www.apotheke-nw.com

Workshop Schedule >>

DAY ONE: BASICS & AUDIO

Installation Clinic.

The first part of the workshop will be devoted to installing Pure Data, GEM, PDP and several other externals on the participants' computers. For PD and GEM, Mac OSX, Windows and most Linux distributions can be accommodated. Please note that PDP is NOT available for Windows, and only runs on Linux or OSX 10.3/4!

Pure Data as a Language.

Like learning any new language, PD starts with learning vocabulary and grammar. In this case, we will learn the names of many common objects and the syntax of how to use them, in a clear "Geek-to-English" translation which makes the complex data-flow operations of PD understandable to non-programmers.

Pure Data for Sound Synthesis.

PD has powerful signal-processing abilities, and we will explore these by building a simple, monophonic synthesizer controllable from either a MIDI device or from the keyboard of your computer. Different types of sound synthesis, such as Additive, Subtractive, Amplitude Modulation, Frequency Modulation and Wavetable Synthesis will be covered, along with the use of filters and delays for a variety of effects.

Pure Data for Sample Manipulation.

Because PD uses a range of very basic building-blocks to store and playback sampled sound, a wide range of manipulations are possible. Here, we will explore pitchshifting, time stretching, looping and basic granular synthesis. Other uses of data stored in tables for control purposes will also be touched on.

DAY TWO: VIDEO & CROSS-SYNTHESIS.

Pure Data for 3D: GEM.

GEM is an external library used in PD for moving 3D graphics under the OpenGL protocol. It is also an ideal environment for VJ mixing. We will explore how to create and manipulate simple 3D objects, how to texture them with images, how to playback and mix video clips in GEM and how to use a live camera input.

Pure Data for Video: PDP.

PDP (Pure Data Packet) is used primarily for video playback and effects filters. We will investigate PDP for direct video synthesis, for the playback and mixing of (audio)visual clips and for the processing of a live camera input. PDP includes several tools for the analysis of video for movement, change and color, which in turn can be used to control sound playback and other events in PD.

Pure Data for Audio Analysis.

We continue our investigation of the audio side of Pure Data by looking at different methods of analyzing sound signals for pitch and amplitude information. The data we extract from the audio can be used to either (re)synthesize new sounds or to control 3D or video graphics manipulations.

Pure Data for Cross-Synthesis.

Combining what we have learned so far about sound and image in PD, we'll explore the interrelation of sound and image in three ways: the analysis of sound to control video (PD-->GEM/PDP), the analysis of video to control sound (PDP-->PD) and the use of data to simultaneously control sound and image (PD, GEM, PDP).