Isadora, the node-based, open-ended live performance and media tool especially loved by theater and dance, gets a major update this summer. There’s a lot in there, but the biggest is something called IzzyCast, a remote functionality that lets you run any video, audio, and data in full resolution around the world. Here’s what’s new in Izzy 4.
Even among other node-based/dataflow tools, Isadora is a uniquely competent media environment, tested in a lot of critical art, installation, theater, and dance environments, alongside programmer- and education-friendly features. It’s the work of Mark Coniglio and team, with a lineage that’s interconnected with the evolution of interactive media development over the past decades.
Isadora is an investment, and to manage that, they’ve got some different purchase options and a new “buy-to-own” license/support model. I’ll leave the explanation of that and upgrade policies to TroikaTronx’s site. Let’s just cut straight to what’s new:
- Updated interface and usability, updated Control Panel, and a new Show-Hide Control actor for customizing your UI on the fly
- Work with Python: Pythoner actor for all kinds of script, data, Web, and AI possibilities, with all the tools – see below
- Interactive camera control with VISCA and UVC cameras
- More built-in add-ons, including GLSL, NDI, and screen capture options
- OSC Address Listener, File Reader, Skeleton, JSON and other new Actors, plus lots of improved Actors
- Multi-channel audio routing with up to 64 channels
- Live Capture improvements
- Updated SDK
And then there’s the big one – IzzyCast. It’s positioned as a plug-and-play solution for doing remote projects, working with everything from “movement tracking data from a dancer halfway across the world to interactively manipulate the theatrical lighting” to projection mapping “a performer located a thousand miles away.” Now, other environments can do something like that, but they tend to require some network admin background; TroikaTronix is touting their service and tools as turnkey-easy. Here that functionality is in action in their just-released videos:
From last year, here’s their big public demo of both Isadora and IzzyCast:
For more:
Isadora 4 is available now! – community announcement (and I’m jumping the gun a little here, in that this is so far meant just for the community)
Isadora 4 Release Notes – preliminary [TroikaTronix support, including all new functionality and pricing info & FAQ]