Max Hattler Portfolio Session Review

On March 2nd Myself and fellow student Jen met with Max Hattler to show and discuss our work. It was a very strange experience as it was the first time we did this. We met him on the corner of a street outside a cafe which he had planned we have the portfolio session in, unfortunately it was closed for refurbishment so we went and found another cafe instead.

I decided to show Hattler two pieces of my work which were my concert visual piece for Reverend & The Makers song 'Bandits' Reverend & The Makers - Bandits (Visuals) on Vimeo and my co-produced competition piece 'Harmony Of Chaos'.

On the 'Bandits' piece Hattler said that he liked the finish the piece had to it and that it looked very professional. He asked me if it too a long time to do it as he imagined it would of so I described to him the time in which it took to render a single frame which was about 3-4 mins and there was 2,500 frames I think. He also said that he would like to see more literal imagery in the piece as there is some already, I guess he was saying that because there is some already it is almost teasing the viewer to expect more. Hattler also said that the piece got a bit predictable over time and would of liked to see something that would break it up a bit in the second half of piece. I thought these comments were great because I could understand where he was coming from. in the future I may revisit the piece and implement this feedback and I will certainly take these tips into consideration whilst doing my major project.

On the 'Harmony Of Chaos' piece Hattler again appreciated and liked the 3D and effort that went into the piece but struggled to make sense of the story behind the piece as it was meant to reflect a quote we had found and had worked to which was "Music is harmony, harmony is perfection, perfection is our dream, and our dream is heaven" by Henri Frederic Amiel. We told of a story of a little character breaking free from the chaos and moving with its peers in an harmonious way using the music symbolically as the thing that set the character free. In theory it works but unfortunately the execution didn't. Hattler saw that piece as two halves that was missing the joining point in the middle which was the most vital part. The feedback was excellent as I really needed an outsider especially one that knew experimental film to give me advice on how to improve the work as the piece was abstract.

Max Hattler Contact

Myself and fellow student Jenny Huddart have arranged a portfolio session with abstract film maker and VJ Max Hattler for when we go down to London on a residential trip. Max Hattler would be ideal for me to get feedback on my work because he has created concerts visuals for Basement Jaxx in the past and his opinion would perhaps help me improve my work. Below are the contact emails to make the arrangements.

"Hello Max!
I got in touch with you last year about your film 'Drift', I don't know if you remember me?!
As part of my degree course in moving image, we need to show our portfolio's to people who are in the industry that we want to go into. Throughout my degree course I have realised that experimental film, showing them in galleries and at festivals etc would be my dream area to go into!
I am visiting London between the 28th February - 3rd March this year, to familiarise myself with galleries down there, and show my work to get as much advice as I can. I thought I would ask if it would be ok if I met up with you to show you some of my work, and recieve advice and information about how you got your foot in the door and the processes you went through to get your name out there?
I realise you are a very busy guy, but if you are in London between those dates, and you have a bit of free time you could spare me, I would be SO grateful! :o)
Please let me know if you would be willing to view my work.
Thank you for your time Max!

Jenny

Jenny Huddart Stockport college BA HONS Moving Image. 3rd Year. Manchester."

"hi jenny,

I might be able to meet on 28feb, 1 or 2 march. can you email me nearer the time? then I can tell you for sure.

cheers,
max"

"Hello Max,
I was just wondering if it would still be ok with you to meet up at the beginning of March? I have realised now that the best day for me would be the 2nd on Tuesday.

Also, my classmate Mike Williams has asked me to see whether he could come with me if we met up? He is interested in VJing and Concert Visuals, he has looked at your webpage and thinks it would be a good opportunity for him to get advise on his own visuals from someone who is already in the industry.

Would this be okay, For both me and Mike to meet up with you on the 2nd March?

Thank you again for this opportunity Max,

Jenny

Jenny Huddart Stockport College BA HONS Moving Image. 3rd Year. Manchester."

"hi jenny,

yes 2 march should be fine to meet you and mike. I don’t have a studio at the moment so I’m trying to think where would be best. I live near old street tube so somewhere in that area is probably good, maybe 1pm?

cheers,
max"

"That is absolutely fantastic, thank you so much for doing this for us!

We don't really know London that well, but with the tube etc Mike and I would be fine in getting to that area. We have no idea what's around there though! So if you could just let me know where you would like to meet, I'm sure we could figure out how to get there!

Thank you again, you've made my day!

Jenny

Jenny Huddart Stockport College BA HONS Moving Image. 3rd Year. Manchester."

Basic Monkey Contact

I recently contacted Basic Monkey who "Support trade clients with their productions, providing technical support, equipment, design and consultancy." to live events. I got in contact with this company to have a look at my work and in particular my concert visual piece for some feedback. The reason why I contacted them was although they are not a design agency they were a company that works with live shows where visuals are used and was hoping that they would be able to tell me if my work would work live and if not why. This because I have read and heard that you need to be carful what you put onto a large screen because of the effects it can have on a audience such as seizures.

Unfortunately I have heard no reply from Basic Monkey.

Empire Of The Sun Visuals - MATHEMATICS

My on going research into concert visuals led me to find an Australian company called MATHEMATICS, who create concert visuals, music videos, album artwork and other animation for a variety of different clients. Although their website is very basic and doesn't offer a lot of information about themselves, there is a great selection of work that can be viewed. Below is a montage video from their website of visuals done for the band Empire Of The Sun performing at a festival, from listing to their bands music their hippie, mystical, magical style reflects greatly in the visuals, i also found that the screen set up on the stage was very interesting as it was layered but it created the illusion that it was flat from the front.

http://xy-1.com/new/

Total Production International

Whilst researching into concert visuals i came across Total Production International which is a magazine that documents the design and technology that goes into live events including concerts. A full synopsis follows:

"Total Production International

Founded in 1998, Total Production International (TPi) magazine is widely regarded as the industry’s most authoritative monthly business-to-business publication dedicated to

the design and technology of concert productions, theatre shows and temporary events. Circulated to almost 10,000 key international decision makers, TPi’s readership ranges from show designers, technical crew, production/tour management and promoters, through to suppliers of sound & lighting systems, video, staging, catering, trucking and power."

http://www.tpimagazine.com/

The sites production profile articles feature bands such as Coldplay, Massive Attack and Fleetwood Mac. These articles profile their live shows and talk about many aspects of a live concert or gig including technology and how much prep is needed for the show to work. With further research and reading through the profiles I think this publication will come in handy and give me more knowledge that will aide my major project.

Sander Kleinenburg At Sankeys

Last night I went to Sankeys in Manchester to see Sander Kleinenburg VJ. His performance was very abstract but I did particularly enjoyed the opening video (below) which had type synced with sound as when words were said words appeared on the screen. The last time I went to Sankeys they did not have this huge LED screen they have now backing the wall and what they did have was a smaller screen to the left of the DJ booth. It was really impressive and visually pleasing to have this massive screen suck you into what is being shown.

Banksy Article

I was reading the free ShortList magazine (issue 113 - 4th Feb 2010) and found an article about Banksy's new documentary film that has jest been premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The article describes the film as "a look at guerrilla art and the wider satire of the art world" and "a warped hybrid of reality and self-induced fiction". I will be planning on seeing the film when it is out in the UK.

Sander Kleinenburg At Sankeys

As apart of my major project research I thought it would be a good idea to go and see some live VJ-ing as I will be creating visuals for a live show and VJ-ing is apart of this area. I found that Sander Kleinenburg will be VJ-ing at Sankeys in Manchester this weekend so I think I will be attending this event.

"This is Sankeys - Sander Kleinenberg (5 Hour DVJ Set) This is a bit of a biggie. Sankeys has consistently brought the great and good of dance music down to the Ancoats Mill in Manchester, global figures who command respect all over. Such is the club’s lofty reputation within the rave circuit that these starlets often ask to play at the club, and to do so frequently. Such requests are no better showcased than by the star of the show this weekend, selecting Sankeys for his trademark This is... party, Sander Kleinenberg. Whatever your take on dance music, there is no denying Kleinenberg’s quality. For well over a decade the Flying Dutchman has been at the epicentre of electronic rhythms across the globe, constantly maintaining his position at the vanguard of the genre’s creativity. Exploding onto the late nineties superclub scene, Sander’s melodic progressive trance veneer saw him quickly established as a staple of the scene leaders at the point, with Oakenfold, Sasha, Digweed and Van Dyk all resolute fans. This quickly progressed into housier and more electronic feeling music, Sander bringing his quirky groove to the forefront, not least with the leftfield electro behemoth ‘The Fruit’. Compilations for Renaissance and Global Underground, running his own night at Pacha and showcasing the use of visual footage as part of his DJ sets through his work as ambassador for the Pioneer DVJ equipment, Sander has done it all. And he knows how to command a dancefloor, Sankeys one particularly consistent stomping ground for him and his aural arsenal. Oh and the bugger has got five hours to do what he damn well pleases. With support scheduled to be confirmed imminently, this is what Saturday nights were made for."

Santander: Lewis Hamilton TV Ad

A new Santander advert has been recently showing a massive bridge being made from lego bricks featuring Lewis Hamilton. The CGI looks really convincing and realistic or is it CGI? The ad has that 'wow' factor that stays in your head because of the setting and what is being built. I have heard many people talking about it so I decided to go and investigate.

I Found out that It was created by WCRS (WCRS LINK)to which I understand is a marketing agency and The Mill (Mill)who made the CGI. I also found a video on how the ad was made.

Modul8 VJ-ing software

As apart of my research and interest in audio visual i had an opportunity to try out a piece of leading VJ-ing software called Modul8. This software allows you mix images and videos live so that you can manipulate these images and videos as they are playing. You can have continuous rotations and scale sizes as the VJ mixes their set. The user can also export the mix made to use for future performances. When using the software i managed to export a video from the program but unfortunately the computer that Modul8 was on had a graphics card that was incompatible with the program so my mix came out terribly.

Modul8 Website: http://www.modul8.ch/index.php?c=home

Basic Monkey Limited

I was researching companies that worked in audio visual work and i had found a local company called Basic Monkey Limited. This company is based in Manchester and they are a firm that provide video and production solutions for the private, corporate and live music industries. The company also provides sound and lighting solutions for such events. I think this is a good practitioner to follow as their work involves live music events which i am really interested in also they have a blog which makes them easier to follow. The blog holds examples of Basic Monkey's work.

http://basicmonkey.net/

BBC - Blast

I have come across a BBC website that allows young creatives show case any type of work from design to fashion and even writing. BBC Blast also runs competitions and does national tour in which they run workshops and other events. The website also offers young creatives feedback from industry. I wish that the members age is a bit higher than 19 because i think it would open up more opportunities for those on higher level design and art courses.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blast/

Urban Audio Visual

Whilst researching audio visual work i cam across this company - Urban, they specialise in audio visual solutions for clients seeking audio visual design for promotions and event productions. They have a large list of their services on their website (link below). Here is their list of services that make them extremely important to myself and my interest in audio visual design and to my discipline

List:

events audio visual design and production for events audio visual system design for live shows events/show documentation equipment set up and technical support for events and exhibitions video shooting editing and special effects encoding dvd authoring content creation logo's animated branding video wall paper stock footage motion graphics

I thought that this could be a potential company that could be a group visit or an individual portfolio visit when my uni group goes on a residential trip to London in February.

http://www.urban-av.com/index.html

Particles

Further particle research took us to the video hosting site, Vimeo in which we found Matthias Muller who showcases many of his experiments with particles and 3D work. From looking at the names on the videos I have noticed that software used to create theses amazing pieces is 3DS MAX. The piece below shows an astonishing transformation between substances which include, fire, water, and smokey looking images combined with a random free style movement. They almost appear like pieces of art.

Particle collection from Matthias Müller on Vimeo.

Particles

As a result of a collaboration with my colleague for a brief we became increasingly interested in the use of particles and its uses in creating work. We came across this website (below) that shed information on particles and tutorials for using particles. These proved useful and inspiring in our knowledge of the use of this medium.

http://shinichiromatsuda.com/2009/07/07/53-essential-trapcode-particular-tutorials-for-after-effects-users/