At vision'R there was a range of artists, visual performers, hardware and software designers. It was a great opportunity to meet first hand designers of many different products available for the live time-based visual artist and performer. Of the many people Bart and Edwin, the creators of Resolume, gave a nice talk about their history and process. Please watch and post.
4 comments:
I am always amazed by computer programmers because I took two programming classes, Visual Basic and introduction to C, and I realize the extensiveness of the work that has to be done to write any program. Edwin and Bart took their program, Resolume, and rewrote the ENTIRE thing in the language of C++ so that it could run on both Mac and PC computers. This kind of work ethic and dedication (especially in regards to programming, like I said) really impressed me. And when they began talking about marketing and profit, it actually made me feel bad. I know how much work goes into copyrighted material, such as this program they have written, and it really gives me pause and makes me think about illegal downloading. The two of them made some excellent points when they were discussing this, saying that they're not going to put in the time and effort to try and prevent it because they know that downloading will be almost inevitable. Even the biggest software companies like Adobe get their programs cracked within a month of release.
It may hypothetically be possible that I myself am not innocent of downloading things, and so I shouldn't throw stones or make judgements, but I do think there is a difference between downloading something from a multi-billion dollar corporation and downloading software that is the entire livelihood of these people. And the software itself looks amazing - they explained that they moved the video engine to the graphics card and that all video rendering is now done on the CPU. They showed us a bit of what the program can do, and created a composition with two clips next to each other. I liked the fact that the program uses something almost like a canvas upon which you can position your clips. It seems like a powerful, well-written bit of software, and perhaps I will look into getting it, just to try it out - I would also definitely buy it, because for small business owners I don't mind paying to support them and their work, especially if it is something like this!
Edwin said something that really expresses how I feel about Interaction Design. He was interested in computers but not the real technical aspect of them. He really enjoyed the concept of interaction design, which I am interested in as well. When I discovered the interaction design and physical computing, i really felt like I had found a path that enthused me and allowed me to expand creatively.
Programming usually takes a certain kind of person who can think in certain kind of way. It's tedious and sometimes stressful. What makes programming fun for me is the result of what I am working with. If I were programming for a company that needed, for example, a database it would bore me or slowly drive me insane- but to program a response driven system or an interactive piece- makes that tedious work pay off.
Seeing human and computer interaction is exciting and interesting, which also what drives me to explore interaction design.
It's funny to think that the reason they bring their software to multi-platforms is because of marketing. I really admire small companies like Resolume, who are artists creating tools for other artists. I feel that if I were to use this software I would pay for it. Like Tobe said, "with a company like Resolume, by not paying for the effort in making this software the user is hurting the production of creativity.
Great question Raph asked, "what makes what you are doing different from others". A great response by Edwin was that they are making a new instrument, not just a new tool. Their goal from the beginning was to make the software simple and intuitive, which you would think would be the goal from any software developer, but many fail.
A lot of great advice in the closing comments about programming and this lecture was quite awesome. Glad to see people that love what they do and want to make something more accessible.
I want to comment on something Elana said about downloading. Though I want to agree with you because it feels morally sound, I cannot fully agree for the same reason. If you download After Effects to do a little video project for a class -- YES, you are downloading for a giant, rich corporation. This is the arguement I have with many friends -- you cannot justify actions based on money. I know that people with money try this, but it's hypocritical to do the reverse of this. just because adobe has tons of money does not make "stealing" from them any better than "stealing" for a local artist. yes, it feels differently because you feel like you aren't taking away from them as much, but morally "stealing is stealing" -- now that is just an arguement that I use logically.
For example, I have a friend in LA who is a musician. Her and I have been friends for a little over 3 years now chatting back and forth, and when she released her album, she sent me a bunch (i helped her with some things in the past) -- this is the kinds of systems I think can benefit all, but unfortunately not the systems we live in. I would never put her CD online for free because I would feel like moral crap, but the problem with corporations is they dont care about the people, so moral objection is removed. So, I do understand what you are saying, but that is my rationale behind it.
Programming for me is very difficult, but like Stephen said the results are rewarding. It is fun to see a bunch of text turn into this functioning piece of a project. I cannot code worth crap though (minus HTML, CSS, Some JavaScript, Some PHP, and Some DHTML), but I really respect the process (just because I cannot personally do it). Programming allows for so many processes to become interactive that normally would not be able to (like with DHTML or javascript). You can really realize a project with the process of programming!
This all just makes me think of the greatness that is open source. Even if there is marketing involve on some level places like Resolume love what they do and are doing it for purpose not profit, which is admirable!
As a New Media major I've had to work with some coding, however I do not enjoy coding or its outcomes or even the rewards or benefits to it. Personally I am not a coder, in the least bit, give me a bit of software and I will figure out how to abuse the crap out of it though, pushing to its limits and making things with it in conjunction with the use of other programs to create interesting things happen. But yeah I don’t code I hate it, I don’t hate people who code they, I find them fascinating and very interesting, its just that I get really sick of looking at numbers and letters and symbols, trying to get them to work together to make something happen.
I think that what Edwin and Bart are doing is very interesting and by pushing the boundaries of what has been the norm for so long they are advancing what can be done out there with the software at hand. I can appreciate this especially because as a New Media student and an Art student, love finding new ways of doing things, it is not only exciting but also elating. I mean this in the sense that when you finally reach that point of coming the old the new and create something that at the very least, to you seems to not have been done before, it helps you in advancing your knowledge, and the knowledge of people you work with and share ideas with.
In an ideal world we would all be free to have ideas and free from the anxieties of people possibly stealing our work and calling it their own, or even just the idea of people not contributing for the use of something that we’ve created and still having the full ability of using what it is that we created. I believe more in the idea of an open source system one where people can still receive money for the work that they have done, overall I think that the whole downloading thing comes down to the morals and ethical battle of a person. Personally I don’t believe people should be persecuted and charged nearly as much money as they are, I ultimately believe that it is just a matter of time before, the system becomes overwhelmed by the influx of the amount of people that are in fact downloading that the system of current restraint fails and either they have to develop a new one or give up.
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