The new video for the Synapscape track “Dirty Deal” was produced entirely with the VSx video synthesizer system, with “traditional” post-production tools (Adobe Premiere and After Effects) used only for the final edit and some (minimal) compositing.
Author: Peter
A VS4 Discussion in DTLA
In July 2018 at a venue in downtown LA I gave a talk that described some of the background, historical references and motivation behind the development of the VS4 project. This discussion touched upon topics including Wagner and early 20th-century avant-garde art, moving to UX and design of the current revision of the software visual instrument.
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VS4, Part Two
Late last year, as described in this previous post, I decided it was time to rebuild the VS3 live visual synthesis tool in a modern development environment. After a considerable amount of fits and starts, an “alpha” VS4 is finally up and running, with all new C# code (implemented in Unity 5.6). Still the same basic paradigm, but with greatly expanded creative options. Continue reading →
VS4, Part One
It’s time to revisit this realtime visual synthesis tool, and build the next iteration on a modern platform. The last version was called “VS3” (for Visual Synthesizer, 3rd iteration); over the next few weeks I’ll be banging out an “alpha” VS4. Stay tuned. In the meantime, here’s the backstory.
This visual instrument concept was developed because typical VJ software tends to be more-or-less a cross between After Effects and Ableton, and I wanted an alternative. Why? Well, certainly not because I don’t love After Effects and Ableton (I use them regularly, of course). It’s just that I found this model limiting for creating the sorts of live visuals I had in mind. Continue reading →
The Return of the Dub Rig
The whole point of the dub station rig, which lives in the upstairs studio, is doing live improvised electronics, mixing, and treatments. “Dub,” of course, refers to the early form of electronic music that developed out of reggae, the protagonists of which considered the mixing console as an instrument and that involved generous amounts of dynamic delay, reverb and other effects in a live mix.
The first iteration of this dub rig was constructed in Boston, and was not surprisingly built primarily around the use of digital delays and feedback. This was with our buddy Jim (who developed his dub chops at the Western Front in Cambridge, MA and who we recently tracked down back in Boston, incidentally). Now the dub rig lives again in Amy’s capable hands and has been expanded to include some new effects and more filtering options. And more analog synths! Continue reading →
The Studio Project, Part One
Let’s start this epic story at the very beginning. Years ago, there was a studio in Boston (Davis Square, Somerville, actually) that was built around a nice large-format Soundcraft TS-24 analog console. It also included a pretty respectable arsenal of analog synths and some classic outboard. About the time I moved to Los Angeles all this equipment went into storage, a process which included completely disassembling the desk. For years it all languished in a basement in New Hampshire … such a shame! But this year Amy and I decided to do something about it: a plan was hatched to fly to Boston, unearth all this gear, and bring it all back to LA where we could build out a proper old-school analog (as well as digital-hybrid, of course) studio, here at the Brewery. Continue reading →