Arrow Root Media

Darian Dauchan’s Media Madness directed by Margaret Perry premiered at The Kitchen’s Counter Culture series. The show features live video and pre-rendered video pieces and is a “multi-media” extravaganza.

 

 

You can read an in-depth interview with Darian in The Ithaca Times or check out this great interview in The Ithacan.

I’ve been working on the show as the video designer. It’s been quite rewarding working with Margaret and Darian. Right now, we’re using the following equipment for the video setup:

• 2 TV’s
• 1 projector
• A Camera for the Live Feed
• A Video Amplifier and an A/B Video Switcher
• Surprisingly, Keynote is running it all.

In the next production, I’d like to incorporate more interactivity into the piece using either Isadora or Max/MSP Jitter so I can create custom titles during the live feed. For example, there is a scene for a press conference (picture above). I’d like to have graphics and lower thirds appear that say “LIVE,” to give it a sense that it’s a media circus in a fictional place by creating custom titles.

However, I’ve found the delay and pixelation in these software platforms to be problematic.

For this installation 2 VCRs are networked, sending a custom made VHS tape from one VCR to another. As the VHS tape travels in the space between the VCRs, the VHS signal slowly degrades in quality.

Level I
The decomposing signal on the VHS tape mirrors the disappearance of analog technology from our culture.
Like audio cassette tapes and other analog technology, the VCR is on its way out. With the rise of DVRs (digital video recorders) DVDs, and other digital technologies, the VCR is now a quaint thing of the past. Taking the cue from Vinyl Records, VHS tapes are now acquiring a nostalgic status.

Level II
In the installation, the top left image represents the “realty” as it happens in front of us – the live feed is what our eyes see.
The bottom right is what our mind keeps of that. After filtering the “feed” coming in through our eyes, each mind keeps its own memory, which is in fact, a minute fragment of the data that the actual “live feed” contained. In a day from now, what you saw in the room will remain in your brain as a few scattered images with no detail – if any.