8=8

July 10, 2006 7:20 PM

8=8 is a group of four programmers = four performers = four artists. We each built our own program for my Hypertable platform, then created a program that would group them together for a public performance. More videos &c.
posted by signal (9 comments total)

Seriously, when do I get this?
posted by Pastabagel at 7:28 PM on July 10, 2006

Seriously, how can we have this now?

Is there a software package we can experiment with right now with a projector and a camera?
posted by loquacious at 8:30 PM on July 10, 2006

loquacious, you might be interested in EyesWeb and/or Processing. The former is a computer vision toolkit; the latter is a Java API intended for experimental interactive art. I built an interactive dance piece using these tools, plus some homebrew "glue" (a simple socketserver) to get the two pieces of software talking to eachother, this spring as a senior project in university -- it isn't the optimum solution, but its also free.

You might also want to check out some of the libraries for MAX/MSP -- I know there are motion capture/video analysis plugins and patches out there, but they're payware, and MAX/MSP + Jitter (the video compoment) itself is $1000-ish for a full non-student license.

vvvv and pd are also out there, but I don't know enough to post useful links.
posted by Alterscape at 8:46 PM on July 10, 2006

Thanks, Alterscape.

Yeah, I've wanted to get my hands on Max/MSP for ages, but the price is way high and the learning curve is steep.
posted by loquacious at 8:53 PM on July 10, 2006

I apologize, but the only thing I can see looking at their 8=8 name logo thing is the 'ass-to-ass' scene in Requiem for A Dream.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:24 PM on July 10, 2006 [1 favorite]

Wasn't that 'You, Me, and Everyone We Know?'

That said, Processing is impressive. I just need to get around to actually working with it -- last time I took a look it was tough to wrap my head around.
posted by verb at 9:28 PM on July 10, 2006

Reminiscent of Audiopad, and very cool indeed!
posted by knave at 10:31 PM on July 10, 2006

An interface like this could play nice with BumpTop, which looked cumbersome to use with just a mouse. Hand gestures might make it easier.

I'm sorting out lots of folders of mp3s right now. I could throw all the folders onto a Bump8=8TopTable and reorganize them with my hands. I could open and listen to songs using hand gestures, such as dragging my finger on the table to scrub through the audio.
posted by shortfuse at 1:41 AM on July 11, 2006

I tried programming an algorithmic sequencer from Processing, but the latency of it is, or at least was, atrocious.
posted by Mr. Six at 5:38 AM on July 11, 2006