Particles ^ 6

IMG_4873.JPG

Flight404′s recent exquisite work with additive blending and particles led me to return to an old project of mine. Of course, these days, revisiting a project translates to “add more LCD screens.”

We’ve successfully added support for passing larger amount of data across clients in the multi-screen framework and this has led to some nice experiments, including having one client capture video for the entire system. The demo below involves 3 client computers, 6 LCD screens, and 2 video cameras. Did I mention this is all works with Processing???

Multi-Screen Video Particles on Vimeo

Download QT Version of Video

Now, I have to admit. I have a problem. When I had one screen, I wished for two. When two came, I wished for 3. Then 6. Now, I wish for 12. (Well, I would really quite prefer in the vincinity of 96 screens, but I have to be realistic.)

Thanks to Michael DelGaudio for appearing in the video.

Run Lola, Ruuuuuuuuuuuuun!

Working on a demo for the MPE system consisting a grid of cells, each playing the film Run Lola Run at 60×32 pixels. Each cell is one frame behind (or ahead) of its left (or right) neighbor. The idea here is to ultimately have enough pixel space to display the entire movie all at once (much like Brendan Dawes’ Cinema Redux), only in motion. Too bad this is quite a blatant copyright violation.

Seriously, Run Lola Run.  Run! Seriously, Run Lola Run.  Run!

(Special thanks goes to Chris Kairalla for suggesting “Run Lola Run” as the source content.)

Tech Trek TV!

March 4th 2007. New York City
3 Minutes

Wherein we pick a name we like (Tech Trek: Inside ITP) and catch ITP researcher and teacher Dan Shiffman working on 6, 32-inch TVs. His project is was just up and running when we talked to him. It’s an open source Java framework for spanning real-time graphics applets/applications across multiple screens.

  • More Info: Dan Shiffman: www.shiffman.net

Most Pixels Ever

Coming soon to a Processing library folder near you, I’m pleased to announce a new project I’m developing at ITP with Chris Kairalla, tentatively titled “Most Pixels Ever.”

“Most Pixels Ever” (not to be confused with “Best Pixels Ever”) is an open source Java framework for spanning real-time graphics applets/applications across multiple screens. The above video is a quick demonstration of the first prototype. Three client applications on three Mac Pros connect to six 32 inch LCD displays (each Mac has a dual video card, but this could just have easily work with 6 client machines). One of the Macs is also running a server application. The server tells each client about the master pixel dimensions of all the screens combined (here 8160×768). The client keeps track of its own location dimensions (say 2720×768) as well as its location with in master dimensions (say 5040,0). The server keeps everyone in line, making sure that frames are rendered in sync.

In theory, the system is scalable to whatever your network will allow. If you want to run 100 LCD displays off of 100 mac minis, you can (and I really hope you do.)

We’ve got quite a bit of testing and tweaking to do before we release the library to the public along with documentation and instructions. So stay tuned!

Thanks to Caleb Clark for the video.

Autobahn

A new version of the wordpress video comments plug-in is available. Many new-fangled features such as a GUI interface inside the WP administrative screens, hyperlinked timecodes on the main post page, and the ability to put a thumbnail or your own text in the post for launching the player. And what a better way to test it than yet another video of blinking lights. This time real-time sound responsive blinking lights! To the music of Kraftwerk!

Lest you think I’ve really gone insane, I did get through six chapters and an introduction first.

Wir fahr’n fahr’n fahr’n auf der Autobahn. . .

Ze Fire Instructions

Ok, so this really takes ze cake. At the Paris hotel in Las Vegas, there’s a friendly video available on the room television that provides instructions on what to do in case of a fire. They could at least have gotten a real french person, zut alors! (if you listen closely, you may be able to hear me laughing in the background. oh, and apologies for the high-pitched noise, makes the video a bit uncomfortable to watch.)

Glowy Tadpoly Thingies

swimmy

Ok, it’s time to test the Video Comments Plugin. I’m working on an interactive fishtank project for the amazing and awesome Local Projects so I thought I’d use a demo video I just whipped up (where glowy tadpole-like creatures interact with a shadow). Perhaps not the best video for an in-time comments engine, but it’s all I got. . .)

Here it goes. . . comments plug-in go go go!

[QT_COMMENTS http://www.shiffman.net/movies/fishies.mov 360 240]