I've been out of e-commission for some time traveling (including the welcome
opportunity to meet up with Mark Coniglio, Andrea Sferes and Stephan
Koplowitz in NYC) and working. At present, I am co-writing a final report
for the Amsterdam School of the Arts on how to invest in the application of
ICT in their various arts education programs (fine arts, music, theater and
dance, architecture, film and television). By no means am I an expert on the
specific choices that these various programs should make (except maybe in
the dance area), but the exercise as been an extremely productive and
exhausting one. I have to admit to a bit of tiredness as regards this
consultative role in 'new media' and long for the low tech but highly
evolved expressive potentialities of 'just' the moving body. Nevertheless,
there are some specific projects which I believe will capture some of your
imaginations, in particular two workshops which are taking place right now
at the School for New Dance Development (part of the Amsterdam School of the
Arts) in collaboration with two STEIM artists. I have appended descriptions
here.
1)
SOUND & GESTURE WORKSHOP
Joel Ryan STEIM
The workshop will take sound as a starting point for the making of music and
music theater. Basic digital tools for the generation and manipulation of
musical material will be introduced. The effortless virtuality of the
computer-studio model of music production will be challenged by bringing
physicality and touch back into the mix. We will look at fresh ways to
rationalize sound and invent techniques to touch the sounds we imagine. In
the second and third weeks of the workshop the focus will be on realizable work.
Techniques include montage in Deck/ProTools/LogicAudio, Sound
Transformation, Digital Signal Processing: SuperCollider; Sensors for
measuring touch and space: Steim Sensor Lab/Spider; Midi techniques in Max;
Spatialization using the Yamaha 02R.
Joel Ryan is a composer of electro acoustic music. Most recently he has
collaborated with William Forsythe in the production of two ballets,
"EIDOS/TELOS" and "Sleepers Guts" and an installation "Tight Roaring
Circle". He is currently working with James McDonnald of the Royal
Shakespeare Theater in a production of Roberto Zucco by Bernard Maria Koltes.
2)
SCENOGRAPHY WORKSHOP: REAL TIME INTERACTIVE MEDIA PROJECTION METHODS
Sher Doruff STEIM / Eileen Standley SNDD / Lot Siebe SNDD
The scenography workshop will deal with techniques for creating interactive
projected set design for integrated choreography. The principal tool will be
a software programme recently developed at STEIM called Image/ine that
manipulates and composites live video, QuickTime movies and still images in
real time with a variety of controlling methods. Performers can choose to
trigger changes in selected visual parameters through midi devices and
sound, as well as other sources.
Image/ine has the ability to mix and merge a live video image with a
captured image of the same source in temporal relationships well suited for
experimentation with movement. The workshop will also explore media
techniques through the use of dia and overhead projection. The group will
develop small choreographies for experimentation with the merging and
contrast between live and pre-recorded dancing to be used compositionally in
performance with the Imagine software. Basic video techniques will be
examined and the dance compositions will emphasize the consideration of the
perspective of video, movement for and with the camera, the limitations and
possibilities of the frame, etc. In creating this material, we will also
consider the placing of the body in space as a surface of projection (from
light sources like projectors and video beams).
For the final performance, this work aims to find integration with the other
workshops being given (i.e. the first year workshop with Ria Higler,
co-Director SNDD, the soundworkshop with Joel Ryan, and the lighting
workshop being given by Dennis Gillanders from SNDD and Madeleine Strandberg
from Sweden) so that real time video images made of the live performers and
that midi sensor instruments developed in the sound workshop will be used to
trigger changes and control some of the visual projected effects in the
final performance piece.
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Scott deLahunta and Susan Rethorst
Writing Research Associates, NL
Sarphatipark 26-3, 1072 PB Amsterdam, NL
tel: +31 (0)20 662 1736
fax: +31 (0)20 470 1558
email: sdela@ahk.nl
http://huizen.dds.nl/~sdela/wra (WRITING RESEARCH ASSOCIATES)
http://www.art.net/~dtz (DANCE AND TECHNOLOGY ZONE )