Number Girl – Drunk Afternoon (1999)
Posted by Scott
ISO50
RSSArchive for the Video Tag
Tycho – See
Posted by Scott
We’ve released a new Tycho single and a GMUNK-directed video to go along with it. Lot’s process over at GMUNK’s blog. Enjoy!
Cover Art Credit
Design & Layout: Scott Hansen (Tycho)
Photography: Lukas Furlan
Video Credit List
Director: Bradley G Munkowitz
Assistant Director: Ian Colon
Executive / Line Producer: Andrew ‘Demansky Devankeys’ Devansky
Concept: Bradley G Munkowitz, Ian Colon, Joe Picard
Director of Photography: Joe Picard
1st Camera Assistants: Magaera Stephens, Noah Hassie
2nd Camera Assistants: Dakota Wilder Smith
Grips / Lighting: Tej Verde, Dakota Wilder Smith, Patrick Walsh
Props design and fabrication: Conor Grebel, Mike Williams
Practical FX design: Conor Grebel, Mike Williams
Lead Actress: Hannah Helena Bjørnø
Lead Actor: Eone Darke n’ Cray
Makeup: Melissa Capistrana
Production Company: Ground Control UK
Executive Producer: Michael Stanish
Editors: Bradley G Munkowitz, Ian Colon
Post Facility: Glassworks UK
Colourist: Matt Hare
Flame Artist: James MacLachlan
Process Photography: Dan Cowles, Maris Curran, Dakota Wilder
Process Editorial: Cyrus Tabar
Camera Rentals: Chater Camera, Keslow Camera
Equipment Rentals: Little Giant Grip & Electric
Extra Special Thanks: Autofuss + Bot & Dolly, Ghostly, Tycho
1980 NASA Shuttle Video
Posted by Scott
This is like the archetype for every retro-styled with the synth-soundtracked logo build in and the crackly PBS voice over. Can’t believe this was made in 1980, would have guessed earlier from the quality.
The New Sound of Music (1979)
Posted by Scott
Fascinating BBC doc on history of recorded music featuring a whole lot of EMS synths including the Synthi 100 “Delaware” modular system (pictured below). Fun Fact: Years ago I had the opportunity to buy a Synthi 100 system in beautiful condition for a very reasonable price. For reasons I can’t explain now, I passed on it. Honestly, it would have been a nightmare to maintain and very impractical, but look at that thing. I still regret the decision every time I see a picture of a 100. These days my synth acquisition pace has slowed quite a bit, mostly just holding out for a Memorymoog LAMM and a Prophet 5, then I’ll be done.
BBC: The New Sound of Music (1979) Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Via Synthtopia
International Space Station Time-Lapses
Posted by Jon M
Joan is a Vimeo user who likes to download high-resolution image sets taken by crew members of Expeditions 28, 29, 30 and 31, onboard the NASA International Space Station (ISS), and constructs short time-lapse videos.
The images used to construct these, come courtesy of the Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. “The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.”
Best of the Best Shuttle Footage
Posted by Scott
I’ve seen some of this footage before but never heard the commentary. The narrators go into some really interesting detail on the tech involved in capturing the film footage of Shuttle launches. Most of the footage is for review purposes but some is purely documentary. All of the footage is beautiful though. It amazed me that they still used film all the way up until the end of the Shuttle program. They’re also shooting at higher frame rates so you get some great slow motion in there.
The lenses used range all the way up to a 4000mm, 250lb., catadioptric for the medium range tracking system. The Shuttle program was undoubtedly one of the greatest technical achievements humankind will ever produce (and I’m guessing the last of it’s scale), so I suppose it’s fitting that it was documented with a 100+ camera array of some of the most sophisticated optics available.
This was part of a DVD put together detailing some of the best footage from the later Shuttle launches.
Full video is here (be sure to switch to the 720p version!)
VDMX 5
Posted by Scott
Visuals are a big part of the Tycho live show and I’m often asked how they were created and presented in a live setting. The answer is VDMX, a modular video performance platform. For those of you familiar with video editing / effecting, you could think of it as a stripped down, real-time version of After Effects where every parameter is controllable via various protocols (MIDI, OSC) and even by other parameters. It can mix multiple sources using blending modes like multiply and color burn all while utilizing Quartz Composer effects.
I’ve been using VDMX for a few years now and it’s become one of those tools that I can’t live without. Because it’s modular, VDMX’s interface can be arranged in any way you prefer. I personally use three video decks with and effects bin on each and then a master effects bin. I trigger clips and modulate parameter via MIDI over IP from Reaper running on a Macbook Pro w/ a Vertex 3 MAX IOPS drive (VDMX eats data bandwidth alive!).
VDMX is an incredibly deep and flexible application which I have yet to see any real limitation to. The workflow and functionality is so abstract that there are myriad ways to accomplish pretty much anything you can think of. And therein lies the only real problem I can find with VDMX; the flexibility and modularity afforded by the abstract way in which the application functions comes at the expense of usability. The learning curve is very steep and many of the initial concepts are a little tough to wrap your head around. Vidvox (the developers of VDMX) have put together some great tutorial videos which can help move the learning process along.
Thankfully a new version is out, and with it come some very helpful additions and changes. VDMX 5 is an entirely new program, written from the ground up. For those coming from older versions a lot of the way VDMX works will feel familiar. But you’ll quickly notice that some subtle changes in workflow make a big difference. I just started learning the new version during this current tour and it was pretty straight forward.
VDMX, while certainly not geared toward the casual user, is one of those apps that will allow you to grow into it. The relatively steep learning curve will pay off pretty quickly when you realize just what it’s capable of.
You can grab a demo and get more info here.
Seventeen Evergreen
Posted by Scott
Fellow San Francisco band Seventeen Evergreen have just been announced as the opener for the Tycho show this Saturday at The Independent. They recently released this Terri Timely directed video for Polarity Song. Incredible color and definition in this. Not sure how it was shot but I’m assuming some high end HD DSLR and a healthy amount of post. Beautiful stuff.