Producing dazzling, elaborate visuals doesn’t have to mean ensnaring live music in pre-defined tracks. In the latest episode of this ongoing series, we look on Create Digital Music at a new show for the act ‘Feed Me’ – the kind of story I love, crossing the Music and Motion boundaries.
Here’s a key excerpt on what it’s all about, via software programmer Mattijs Kneppers:
“We all hit play”; this is exactly the problem that we wanted to solve. Jon builds his performances live, with separate audio tracks and segments, with live effects, free improvisation, etc., so every gig is different. As an example, he is completely free to change the tempo and the show tempo will change too, which is pretty much impossible if you use timecode or SMPTE….
This didn’t come easy, of course. Both technically and conceptually, it required some serious software development. The lighting controller and video server are both developed from scratch with continuous real-time synchronization in mind. There is no lighting desk involved: the system runs on MacBook Pros connected via Ethernet that drive video, LED, and lighting fixtures, using breakout boxes for DMX.
In case you missed it, the full story on CDMusic:
Playing Live From a Giant, Toothy Monster Mouth: Behind the Scenes with Feed Me