daisyrust.com » performance http://www.daisyrust.com digital art hacks - quartz composer - creative code - exhibition Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:30:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 en Digital Puppetry Project Using Quartz Composer http://www.daisyrust.com/2007/02/12/digital-puppetry-project-using-quartz-composer/ http://www.daisyrust.com/2007/02/12/digital-puppetry-project-using-quartz-composer/#comments Mon, 12 Feb 2007 23:11:54 +0000 ian grant http://www.daisyrust.com/2007/02/12/digital-puppetry-project-using-quartz-composer/ Quartz Composerscreensnapz003-1

I have recently completed the first prototype of a major digital puppetry project that relied heavily on Quartz Composer and used it in the arena of live performance familiar to vj-ers, visual artists and visualists. I wont include the full patch, due to dependencies but here's a component, an instant garbage matting and blue-screening demo: Download Link: garbage_matte_bluescreen_demo_002.qtz.zip ]]> I have recently completed the first prototype of a major digital puppetry project that relies heavily on Quartz Composer in an arena of live performance familiar to vj-ers, visual artists and visualists. I have a set of predefined visuals (’scenes’) and effects and a complex mechanism that lets me composite my real-time singing mouth onto an a character that I (or someone else) can manipulate with a nintendo wii remote. Moving eyes are pre-recorded and in future versions, I indend for the eye movements to be controllable by the wii. The source code for the character control can be found elsewhere on this blog.

I do not intend to post the full patch as it is very dependent on other media, the wii controller and the Behringer midi controller, but you can view the root of the composition in the image below. I have split some of the more useful elements up and will be sharing them in other posts. I attempted (and will develop further) the idea of having a separate ‘buses’ for scenes, effects and transitions - a little like the way (I think) quartonian (and other vj-ing tools) work.

Total Qc To Wii Patch

Image (1.8mb large): Screenshot of Root of Performance Composition

The project used some of the following ideas:

  • instant chroma-keying and garbage matting of a performers blue face and the compositing of a hybrid character with live mouth and controllable pre-recorded eyes into multiple scenes
  • midi control
  • nintendo wii remote control of a virtual character (this meant I had to write a custom cocoa application to host the open source darwiinremote.framework ‘)
  • Quasi 3D (or 2-and-a-half-D) effects derived from 2D frames - I’ll post some movies of this.
  • Depth of focus and pulling focus effects
  • Dynamic real-time titles

Some Images and Commentary

A fuller walkthrough of the final images with a commentary can be found here:

Screenshots and Scene-by-Scene Descriptions Link: http://www.daisyrust.com/quartzcomposer/moocher/

Garbage Matte Demo 002

Image (above): Prototype of the Garbage Matte and Chroma-Keying Patch

Download Link: garbage_matte_bluescreen_demo_002.qtz.zip

This demo patch makes uses of Sam Kass’s excellent core image kernels available here:

Link: http://www.samkass.com/blog/

Dscf0001 Dscf0002

Images (above): Behringer BCF2000 MIDI controller controls scene sequencing and properties of various screen objects and parameters in real time

Quartz Composerscreensnapz003-1

Image: Real-time Mouth / Recorded (controllable) Eyes Composited into an Image in Real-Time

Full credit and copyright acknowledgment to the Fleischer Brothers Estate for frame grabs and stylistic inspiration.

]]> http://www.daisyrust.com/2007/02/12/digital-puppetry-project-using-quartz-composer/feed/ writing: “finding the wooden voice” http://www.daisyrust.com/2001/02/10/writing-finding-the-wooden-voice/ http://www.daisyrust.com/2001/02/10/writing-finding-the-wooden-voice/#comments Sat, 10 Feb 2001 23:22:34 +0000 ian grant http://www.daisyrust.com/2006/02/10/writing-finding-the-wooden-voice/ woody the puppet finding his voice

a published essay (jan 2001) on world puppetry and performer training. research was drawn from research and participation at the henson international puppetry festival, new york (2000) and a v&a symposium, theatre museum, london (2000).]]> woody the puppet finding his voice

i published an essay (jan 2001) on world puppetry and performer training. research was drawn from research and participation at the henson international puppetry festival, new york (2000) and a symposium at the victoria & albert theatre museum, london (2000).

download and read: towards the wooden voice (unedited) - download pdf
download and read: towards the wooden voice (edited) - download pdf

“It is logical to assert that voice is a primary tool for the puppeteer when bestowing the impression of life on dead things”

“Giving voice to objects, along with movement, is a principle tool of the animator when intimating the ‘presence’ of a soul.”

“As soon as a puppet speaks, it is cultured, it has a past - it is not only living, it has lived”

“No matter how much some performers, scholars and trainers dislike puppets speaking, puppets and objects will be given and will find their voices.”

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