I finally got a green screen so that I can add different backgrounds to my videos. The green screen I have is 5 x 7 and is collapsible from TubeTape. The piece is Ebb and Flow, something I composed for classical guitar and Max/MSP.
Here is the video:
Here are the steps I took to make this video:
1. I recorded (video and audio) against the green screen.
2. I then took the audio and ran it into my Max/MSP patch and recorded the echo and granular synthesis.
3. I then combined the original audio and the processed audio in Cubase.
4. I added the audio to the video. Here is a short video of what the video looks like at this stage:
5. Using the video software, Magix, I deleted the color green (Chroma key) and added some videos I downloaded (for free!) from Stock Footage for Free.
This was rather time intensive (3 hours), particularly for making a video with cheesy backgrounds. Since this was my first time using a green screen I can expect the next one to go a little quicker (I hope!).
Here are some things I learned:
1. I need a more powerful computer (don’t we all). My computer was having a hard time when I was editing in Magix.
2. More light to illuminate the green screen.
3. I need a bigger space. I need to be farther away from the green screen so that it doesn’t bleed onto me (just look at the edges of my arms and head).
Ebb and flow is a piece for classical guitar and max/msp. I am currently recording a CD of originals and arrangements for classical guitar. I though it might be fun to have another piece (Northern Lights is going to be on the CD) that uses Max/MSP. I started improvising using this patch and came up with this piece. After listening to the CD with this piece included I decided to cut it from the new CD. I’m going to save it and hopefully put it on my guitar/max/msp CD I’ll start working on in about a month.
The basic processing tool being used is granular synthesis. As I am playing the sound is stored in a continuously updated buffer (2 sec worth) and then, using a foot pedal, I move around the buffer playing small (really tiny) portions of the sample. I think it creates a cool effect. Nothing is pre-recorded.
I’m using a Yamaha MFC10 Midi Foot Controller and an Ibanez electro-acoustic guitar.
This is an improvisation using Max/MSP. This is the same patch I used in Prayer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQFK5ajYlYU
I’ve been composing a lot for electric guitar and Max/MSP. I was curious what a classical guitar would sound like running through the patch. I decide to experiment with an improvisation.
I am using a Yamaha MFC10 Midi Foot Controller to make changes in the patch during the performance.
I hope you enjoy!
March 9th, 2011 New Music Collective concert at Weigel Auditorium on the campus of The Ohio State University.
Performers:
David Tomasacci, Vocalist
Robert Lunn, Electric Guitar
Andy Thierauf and Tim Shuster, Percussion
Program notes:
Constellations was composed during January and February of 2011. The New Music Collective of The Ohio State University, who commissioned the work, asked me to compose a piece for computer processed voice, electric guitar and percussion. I decided to make as a focal point of this piece the vocalizing talents of David Tomasacci, who can create a vast array of sounds and rhythms that I thought would sound good processed live by the computer.
The central processing tool I use throughout Constellations is granular synthesis. This, in effect, takes a small snapshot of sound and plays it back over and over. With the help of a midi foot pedal, I am able to adjust the position of this snapshot. The resulting sound, to me, sounds other
worldly, hence the title.
The first movement, Phoenix, showcases the vocalist. The movement opens with whistling before moving on to free vocalizations. These vocalizations are processed by the computer which in turn creates a melodic and rhythmic counterpoint to what the vocalist is doing. The second
movement, Orion, is a short, spacious duet between the guitar and vocalist. The second movement runs into the third movement, Andromeda, without a pause. The final movement is flanked by a groove between the guitar and percussion that harks back to my days as a rock guitarist.
