Perry Hoberman

• Time: Monday October 6 1pm-5pm.
• Place: ZML (Room 201 at the Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts).
• Instructor: Perry Hoberman
• Please RSVP to hoberman at usc dot edu; I will reply to confirm your participation.

This will be a hands-on workshop. We will have Max/MSP/Jitter installed on as many ZML Macs & PCs as possible, but participants are encouraged to install Max on their own laptops before the workshop, either by downloading the 30-day trial version, or by taking advantage of Cycling '74's special student pricing of $59 for a 9-month license.

What is Max?

Max/MSP/Jitter is an object-oriented graphical programming environment designed for music, signal processing, and multimedia. Originally developed at IRCAM in the 1980s, it is now published by Cycling '74. Max has been in use worldwide for nearly two decades by performers, composers, artists, teachers, and students.

In Max, custom software applications are created using a visual toolkit of 'objects' (icons representing self-contained functional components) that are wired together using graphical 'patch cords'. A Max application (or 'patch') is thus both a visual flow chart as well as a functioning software program. Max includes objects for MIDI control, data processing, user interface design, program flow, and timing. Originally designed for MIDI control, Max has been extended with MSP, a set of audio and signal processing objects , and Jitter, a set of matrix data processing objects optimized for video and 3D graphics. Version 5, just released, represents a complete overhaul and modernization of Max from the ground up, with many exciting new features.

Why use it?

Max has the advantage of being extremely flexible and powerful while remaining unusually inviting and accessible for non-programmers. It is also remarkably modular and extensible. Any user-designed Max patch can be integrated as into the Max environment as if it were a built-in function of the core program, and new objects ('externals') can be programmed in C or Java to further extend the program. Max is cross-platform, and incorporates an implementation of Javascript, which allows any part of a Max application to be created using more traditional text-based programming methods.

Max is especially conducive to iterative experimentation, allowing rough ideas to be quickly sketched out and successively refined. Traditionally, Max's strengths have been in the areas of art installation and live performance, but this is more a function of its history and culture than any inherent limitations of the program. If you can imagine it, you can almost certainly build it in Max.

Posted by at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

• Time: Monday September 29 1pm-5pm.

• Place: ZML (Room 201 in the Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts).

• Instructor: Peter Preuss

• Please RSVP to ppreuss at cinema dot usc dot edu; I will reply to confirm your participation.

This will be a hands-on workshop on creating content for the 270 degree display system in the ZML. We will be making still, motion, video, and interactive content and using the Mac Pro cluster display system. If you plan on doing a project in the ZML, then this is the workshop for you !!! Bring your laptops and be sure to RSVP to me so I can make sure you are properly setup before the workshop.

• What will I learn about in this workshop?

We will be using, but not limited to, the following software; Quartz Composer, Quartz Composer Visualizer, Final Cut Pro and Motion, Max/MSP, and Adobe Photoshop. You will also get a full tutorial of the Mac Pro Cluster, 5.1 Audio capabilities of the ZML, Video input and teleconferencing capabilities of the ZML, and much much more. This is a must attend event !!!

Posted by at 3:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Due to the fact that there's been a grand total of two RSVPs for this afternoon's Max/MSP/Jitter workshop, it's been cancelled.

Posted by at 9:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cinematheque 108 kicks off its '08/'09 screening screening series with master visual artists and filmmakers Lewis Klahr and Janie Geiser, who will present selections of their work and participate in a discussion with the audience, moderated by School of Cinematic Arts Professor David James.

7:00PM on Thursday, September 11, 2008
George Lucas Building, Room 108
850 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007

This screening is presented free of charge and is open to all USC students, faculty, staff and alumni. Seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis, with no reservations necessary.

Link

Posted by at 6:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

• Time: Monday September 15 1pm-5pm.
• Place: ZML (Room 201 at the Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts).
• Instructor: Perry Hoberman
• Please RSVP to hoberman at usc dot edu; I will reply to confirm your participation.

This will be a hands-on workshop. We will have Max/MSP/Jitter installed on as many ZML Macs & PCs as possible, but participants are encouraged to install Max on their own laptops before the workshop, either by downloading the 30-day trial version, or by taking advantage of Cycling '74's special student pricing of $59 for a 9-month license.

What is Max?

Max/MSP/Jitter is an object-oriented graphical programming environment designed for music, signal processing, and multimedia. Originally developed at IRCAM in the 1980s, it is now published by Cycling '74. Max has been in use worldwide for nearly two decades by performers, composers, artists, teachers, and students.

In Max, custom software applications are created using a visual toolkit of 'objects' (icons representing self-contained functional components) that are wired together using graphical 'patch cords'. A Max application (or 'patch') is thus both a visual flow chart as well as a functioning software program. Max includes objects for MIDI control, data processing, user interface design, program flow, and timing. Originally designed for MIDI control, Max has been extended with MSP, a set of audio and signal processing objects , and Jitter, a set of matrix data processing objects optimized for video and 3D graphics. Version 5, just released, represents a complete overhaul and modernization of Max from the ground up, with many exciting new features.

Why use it?

Max has the advantage of being extremely flexible and powerful while remaining unusually inviting and accessible for non-programmers. It is also remarkably modular and extensible. Any user-designed Max patch can be integrated as into the Max environment as if it were a built-in function of the core program, and new objects ('externals') can be programmed in C or Java to further extend the program. Max is cross-platform, and incorporates an implementation of Javascript, which allows any part of a Max application to be created using more traditional text-based programming methods.

Max is especially conducive to iterative experimentation, allowing rough ideas to be quickly sketched out and successively refined. Traditionally, Max's strengths have been in the areas of art installation and live performance, but this is more a function of its history and culture than any inherent limitations of the program. If you can imagine it, you can almost certainly build it in Max.

Posted by at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, September 9, 2008 : 6:00pm
University Park Campus
USC Fisher Museum of Art

Admission is free.
Reception to follow.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Irving Biederman, the Harold W. Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience at USC and author of over 200 scientific publications, will explore the neural basis of aesthetics. Long a mystery, recent research in cognitive neuroscience has begun to shed light on the biological events that lead us to seek out novel but richly interpretable experiences. Phantasmagoria: Specters of Absence will provide a test case for such an account by leading us to experience novel interpretations under conditions in which the dimensions that normally accompany pleasurable perceptual interpretations are reduced, if not eliminated. Think Mary Poppins, noir.

Link

Posted by at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

(Adrienne already sent an announcement to the general IMD list, but I just want to make sure that everyone is aware of it - if you are seriously interested in the future of interactive and/or immersive entertainment you will not want to miss this.)

Shivers Down the Spine: IMAX and Immersive Visual Entertainment

Visions and Voices
Thursday, September 4, 2008 : 7:30pm
IMAX Theater, California Science Center
Exposition Park, 39th Street and Figueroa Street
Located across the street from USC. Parking will be available for $8 at Exposition Park.
Admission is free.
Reception to follow.

Explore the power of immersive visual experiences with a screening of the 3-D IMAX movie Mummies 3-D: Secrets of the Pharaohs. The screening will be followed by a discussion with film scholar Alison Griffiths, associate professor of communication studies at Baruch College, City University of New York, and author of Shivers Down Your Spine: Cinema, Museums, and the Immersive View. The discussion will examine the ways that spectacular entertainments shape our bodily and cultural sensibilities. The event will also look at why these attractions maintain such an enduring appeal for a wide variety of audiences, as they bring together science, sensation and virtuality. The event will introduce attendees to the growing academic field of visual studies and to USC’s visual studies program. A reception will follow.

Link

Posted by at 3:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)