AntiVJ Visual Project (Research)

Hello Mike!

Saw this on the OneDotZero website and think it is amazing and right up your street!

AntiVJ - ENGHIEN from AntiVJ / Joanie on Vimeo.

This visual label production did an AudioVisual in June 2009 in France. The music is by Thomas Vaquie and the visual artists involved are all artists who participate in the AntiVJ label: Yannick Jacquet, Joanie Lemercier, Olivier Ratsi and Romain Tardy.

ANTIVJ - Nuits Sonores Festival

I was looking a VJ-ing group that ONE DOT ZERO had put on their webpage in the events section, it was the ANTIVJ live event at EMPAC in New York, although the event is not on ANTIVJ's website (AntiVJ is a visual label LINK) I was keen to look at what they do. The video below shows an example of what they do. They were VJ-ing at the Nuits Sonores festival. ANTIVJ designed the stage and the visuals for this event across three nights in Lyon, France last May. I was amazed how they manged to make the entire DJ/VJ booth into a screen itself whilst there were other screens around it.

AntiVJ - NUITS SONORES (LINK)

ONE DOT ZERO Adventures In Moving Image

I found this event that is happening in New York at EMPAC running from the 30th April - 02nd May. Below is a synopsis of the event from ONE DIT ZERO's website.

"onedotzero_adventures in motion festival returns to empac [experimental media + performing arts center] in troy, new york state for the second invasion of installations, live performances, screening programmes and educational projects. the weekend kicks off with stunning live performances. onedotzero have invited international visual label AntiVJ to empac to create a brand new live painting project during a three week residency which will culminate in a live audiovisual show to open the festival plus an installation to be presented over the festival weekend. AntiVJ are renowned for transforming architectural structures with 3D mapping and “live painting” with light projections so we can’t wait to see their response to empac’s extraordinary architectural features.

we’ll also be joined by diplo, the multi-talented dj, producer and songwriter who, as well as dj-ing with live visuals on opening night, will present his latest feature film favela on blast.

back-to-back screenings of onedotzero’s latest compilation programmes will take place in empac’s 400 seat theatre over the entire weekend. meanwhile installations including AntiVJ’s light painting, an interactive music video lounge and the onedotzero_adventures in motion latest festival identity [developed by wieden + kennedy london + karsten schmidt].

empac will also host the first stateside installment of cascade. under the guidance of AntiVJ and onedotzero, empac students will collaborate on projects that will be presented to the festival audience."

onedotzero | adventures in moving image

More Soon - NTT

After reviewing a link that Jen had posted on my blog about More Soon I decided to follow up her recommendation and whilst looking at the piece she recommended I saw the video below that caught my eye. It was done for NTT a telecommunication company (NTT Data - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). I really liked how the music synced with the sound and it kind of reminded me of a Big Brother title sequence with shape of the circle being like an abstract eye. The imagery reminded me of a camera lens with reflections glaring from it. Whilst researching it was unclear what the purpose of the piece was for. I am now tempted to contact the company and find out more about the work.

Mathematics Contact

I contacted Mathematics (Mentioned in an earlier post > http://mikewilliams11.blogspot.com/2010/02/empire-of-sun-visuals-mathematics.html)in Australia to ask them some questions about some concert visuals they have produced for band Empire Of The Sun for a festival which I really liked because I think the visuals work well with the band's psychedelic style and I also liked the abstract style used.

e-mail conversation:

"Dear Sir/Madam

My name is Michael Williams and I am currently studying on the BA(Hons) Design & Visual Arts - Moving Image course at Stockport College in the United Kingdom. I am very much interested in the work this company produces especially the work on live concert tour visuals and hope to get into this industry myself one day. I was looking at the work that you have done for Empire Of The Sun and was wondering if I could ask someone a few questions about the work to assist me in my studies?

Many thanks for your time,
Kind regards,

Michael Williams
3rd Year Student
Stockport College
United Kingdom"

Reply:

"sure

fire away..."

To which I replied:

"Hello Josh,

1)Firstly, I have watched some of the individual number from the set on youtube and i was wondering what were the concepts for the majority of the visuals because they are very abstract?

2) How did you work with the screen because it was layered in a way in which it was many screens in the form of arches but from front view it looks similar to a single screen? Was there a template to work to? Was there a specific reason why the screen was built this way?

3) What software packages do you use, because a lot of it looks like it was maybe done in 3D software but i know you can achieve 3D effects in non 3D packages like after effects?

4) Do you have any tips or advice for me on how to visualise music successfully and how to get into the business ?

I am very grateful for your time and I would like to comment on how rich the content was for Empire's performance in terms of colour movement and composition.

Many thanks,

Kind regards,

Michael Williams
3rd Year Student
Stockport College
United Kingdom"

Waiting on reply to questions, the answers will help me understand the design process for this work hopefully and I may gain some vital tips to take to my major project!

I Think 6 months

I have expressed to Frank The Plumber and asked them what they thought about me interning with them for 6 months commencing in September. I am now waiting for a reply and hopefully begin the planning! I think that if I did 6 months I would have the chance to settle in, work on a few projects and walk away with a fantastic experience under my belt that could perhaps make me more desirable to potential employers and give me new industry knowledge and design skills.

Ian Macklin Reply

I was really glad that Ian Macklin got back to me and told me of when he would be giving me some feedback which I am looking forward to as I discussed the project with him during the production of the piece.

Macklin's reply:

"Hi Michael,

I do indeed remember you.

Sorry for not getting back sooner, i've been away from my computer for a few days.

We will indeed take a look at your work. I'll grab my wife this week and we'll pass you some comments over.

yeah, shame we didn't see you when you were down, were you with the group that went to weare17's studio?

hope you're well,

cheers,

ian"

Getting The Ball Rolling!

I am keeping up with the negotiations about my internship in LA with Frank The Plumber and the creative director has expressed a few things in his emails for me:

"I will find out what kind of rate we can pay you, but it will probably be quite low...."

I have heard from past graduates that have gone onto to do internships and placements the sometimes you don't get paid for what you do, but from what I have made out I may not be just there to run around and making coffee and that I will be involved properly on their projects as they were interested to know what software I use and that they are willing to pay me!

&

"Can you tell me what you would be expecting to get out of this experience so I can make sure it is all worthwhile for you?"

To which I replied:

"I hope to gain more knowledge and experience of the industry and have the experience of working in this area. I am really interested about the type of work you guys do and have been greatly interested in audio visual and concert visuals for years."

They replied with:

"Ok, my main concern is that during the time that you are here we are not in production on a given show, but that is rarely the case.

Even so, we will find things to work on.

Keep me posted on when you would want to come and for how long and I will inquire more on my end"

I Have Committed

With further conversations continuing with Frank The Plumber I have decided to commit and go out to Los Angles either in August or September 2010 and intern with Frank The Plumber. I asked how long the internship would be and Alex Czetwertynski (in house creative director) said that they have people from 1-6 months! Careful consideration will need to be taken as this is a major move in my life potentially.

I was asked what software I knew and I said in an e-mail: "The software I use and know is autodesk maya, after effects, premier pro, Photoshop, illustrator. I know some flash and starting to learn cinema4D."

To his reply he said: "Glad you are c4d friendly!"

This shocked me in a way because ever since from going to London and meeting with designers and group visits to agencies, I have learnt that Cinema4D is more and more widely used in the industry yet on my degree course in moving image we use maya. I can see why on my course we use maya and that is because it covers all grounds and is feature rich also there is a difference in price of the software, Cinema4D is cheaper making it more appealing to companies.

Further Conversations

Upon showing and getting feedback from Frank The Plumber's in house creative director Alex Czetwertynski, I have kept in contact with him and through further conversation he Alex has offered me an internship with the company in Los Angeles.

"I'm not 100% sure how we can work together yet, but if we have anything that requires a UK based person I will let you know. If you are interested in interning with us in LA, please let me know"

I was thrilled to receive this email and I am seriously considering the offer.

Frank The Plumber – We're Gonna Clean Those Pipes Right Out

John Narun Feedback

I contacted John Narun (http://www.johnnarun.com/)a moving image designer in the US to see if he could give me some feedback on my work. I decided to show him my self directed project was a concert visual piece for the Reverend & The Makers song ‘Bandits’ (Reverend & The Makers - Bandits (Visuals) on Vimeo). Narun has worked for companies such as Veneno to produce concert visuals for some major worldwide stage tours. He has produced visuals for the likes of Christina Aguilera and Madonna. I thought that for these reasons Narun's feedback and thoughts would be priceless and enable me to improve my work and it would give me some tools and tips that I could take to my major project which is on going and I am creating concert visuals that are going to be shown at a live event!

Narun's comments:

"michael,

thanks so much for your email. i watched your piece and i think its amazing fun! here are my thoughts for what its worth...

you have a great sense of rhythm. both the animation and the edit work perfectly with the song - even your use of blur in the slower part shows that you are very in touch with the musicality. nice work. i love the illustration as well. its colorful and fun. the icons that work with the lyrics are just right.

if you were to continue to evolve it i would focus on the following things:

1. find ways to make it more of a story. it should change from the beginning of the song to the end in some sort of arc. that keeps it more interesting for the viewer. perhaps its a simple machine at first and throughout the song it gets more and more complex until it breaks under the strain of its own complexity. something like that to keep it changing.

2. the reflections are gorgeous and make me wish there was even more structure. even some simple 3d structure would give it much more depth.

3. Look for moments to insert fun and unexpected nuances. The way the wheels turn and lock into place maybe. Variations in the way the lights blink. Things like that.

Overall, great work! Let me know how it's received.

J "

Feedback Frank The Plumber

I contacted US production company Frank The Plumber (Frank The Plumber – We're Gonna Clean Those Pipes Right Out) who I found whilst researching for my major project, who specialise in music videos and concert visuals to see if I could get some feedback on my work, as I am interested in the area of concert visuals and that I had created a concert visual piece for my self directed project. I was hoping that the feedback would enable me to perhaps improve my portfolio and give me some tips that I could implement into my major project, which is creating music visuals for a live event.

My self directed project was a concert visual piece for the Reverend & the Makers song ‘Bandits’. Reverend & The Makers - Bandits (Visuals) on VimeoThe feedback I got from Frank The Plumber was from the in house creative director Alex Czetwertynski and his comments regarding the work are as follows “My feedback would be that depending on the band you do this for it could be conceived of as great or terrible. It is very well executed and you can see the work that went into it, but the style is very cartoony. If you were to work for a band that liked that, great. But not all would. I would be curious to see more samples of your work with a maybe slicker approach, stuff that shows more a different style.”

This feedback tells me that the piece is 50/50 successful. Perhaps the “cartoony” aspect would be misrepresenting the band? A way in which I would improve the work is to give the 3D model a more professional and realistic look so it looks like a more serious piece of design rather than being too playful.

Ian Macklin Contact

I contacted Ian Macklin of what was know as Goodies Corp now Me&You Studio for feedback on my concert visuals piece as he said that he would like to see it when it was finished back in October when I interviewed him to gain more information on him and his work with concert visuals.

My email to him below:

"Dear Ian,

You may remember me from a few months ago when you came into Stockport College, I was the third year that interviewed you about your work! You may remember me telling you about a project I was doing making some concert visuals? I was wondering if you could have a quick look at it if at all possible and maybe give me some feedback? I would really appreciate your thoughts as you work in this area and the feedback would be really valuable! The link is below

Reverend & The Makers - Bandits (Visuals) on Vimeo

( http://vimeo.com/10631486 )

How are you anyways? I was hoping to meet up with you when you met with Rick Clapham in London a few weeks ago as we were all down there on a trip! Unfortunately I never properly arranged it with him which is a shame!

Many thanks for your time,

Kind regards,

Michael Williams
3rd Year Student
Stockport College
United Kingdom"