I'm crap at multitasking.

OK so I admit it, this blog has been much neglected for a while and is becoming a little cross threaded with different stuff. Both quite good reflections on my personal situation, busy, busy, busy.

Haven't done much in Second Life for a bit though, have been concentrating efforts elsewhere, Family, Friends, The Day Job, learning how to develop apps for the iPhone, learning how to author game content in Unity, some interactive projects in Flash, some music composition work, etc etc. - and yep I'm crap at multitasking...

...feels like I've got a split personality going on at the moment, with stuff flying all over the place, pushing and pulling in different directions all at once.

Need to get me organised, (to feel whole again). Need to get me a website where I can catalogue and consolidate previous work of different types and add the new projects - in one location. Once this is done, I'll drop a URL here, then will move my (more active blogging) over there.

For now though, some current news:

Following a tip-off from Hamlet over at New World Notes here, I decided to send in my Machinima film Watch the World(s) to the NewTeeVee Pier Screenings.

Just heard the the work has been shortlisted (1 of 5 finalists), NewTeeVee will be streaming the event (URL to be announced shortly on their site), and votes will be taken by txt at the live event this Thursday (28th Aug '08) - why not catch the show if possible.

Over and out.

Car Game #2

Some images showing progress on the car game. Madly in content-creation-mode at the moment...

i. Mapping out the Road-Layout (in Flash):



ii. Building the 3d Road-Model (in Carrara):



iii. Importing the Road-Model to test it in Game (in Unity):



iv. Another... :



v. Texturing Low-Poly Buildings:



...the idea here is that these are modular so that different combinations can be constructed from instances of a few parts.

vi. And working on the car physics still:

Car Game #1

Taking a break from Second Life - Thought I’d post a screen capture from a driving game I've been working on...

• Video (higher Quality)

Yes it’s still very rough round the edges, I put this together in the demo version time of Unity (Game Development Tool)  to test what is possible - probably have to put it on hold now for a while as my demo is about to expire (but going to save up for the pro version then start this game for real from scratch).

I’m completely new to game development, but a quick learner, my experience in 3d/texturing/scripting, etc comes from SecondLife (Virtual World) and off the back of a cornflakes packet.... but had a lot of fun putting this together.

With the exception of the last crash clip, this was all captured in real time in one take, I’m using trip-wires to trigger camera angle changes to give a more cinematic feel. There are quite a few soundfiles attached to the car, with different roll-off settings, creating some good engine sound effects as the car flies by...

SCREENBURN_ (Trailer)

In many ways, the opportunities available for an independent film maker / story-teller to have their work seen are much greater these days as there are many more small screens in the world today than larger ones.

Screenburn is a permanent disfigurement of areas on a C.R.T display caused by non-moving text or graphics being displayed continuously over long periods.

Screenburn is also a free video podcast. A work in progress that was started in January of 2008. It is an original story that will unfold over many episodes through machinima.

New episodes will be published as soon as they have been completed at no set interval (even if it takes all year!). For this reason, if you would like to follow the story as it is created you may like to subscribe to the podcast feed at the podcast website

Episodes of the video will also be formatted to work well with mobile devices too.

I’m no author, but this work is largely based upon a short story I wrote somewhere around 1992 (can't be sure of the year, but around then). The story was originally titled 'Interface'.

Now, Some 15 years later, following a house move I recently unearthed a dusty printed copy of the story whilst clearing out my garage.

In the creation of this this work I have now revised the original story (just a little), and over time intend to release it as a featurette length film...

Initially, a speech synthesized voice was used to make an audio-file containing the narration of the story. This file was then processed to give a more characterful and dramatic voice.

The 3d platform / virtual world of Second Life will be used for the filming of this work.

If anyone is following, while it may take some time to complete, I'd love to have you along for the journey - I'll share the work in progress here and the end product too - whatever this thing may be...

Here's the trailer... (Episode one is ready and waiting for you now also, so go subscribe!)

:)

Click to Play

Screenburn is a free video podcast. A work in progress that was started in January of 2008. It is an original story that will unfold over many episodes through machinima.

Mask.

War-paint. Camouflage. Concealment. Act of self-expression or of belonging to a group. Representation, reflection, or pretense? For protection sometimes; actually often. A curtain, a screen, a veil behind which to hide. A shield, disguise or figment. Often fanciful though - ones persona, like war-paint. Masks and avatars. Behind each, a person, with hopes and fears, with feelings often much deeper than the side they show; actually, always.

MASK, a short animation, using the faces of many avatars from Second Life:-

Higher quality version available HERE.

or lower quality from YouTube below:-



Music 'Harper's Song', with permission, by Angry Man.

WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO - In this video (in order of appearance):

Qarl Linden, iN Ni, Jupe Ramona, Sean Voss, Stella Costello, Blaccard Burks, Domenico Quaranta, SignpostMarv Martin, Pansy Snoring, Circe Broom, Slim Warrior, Rob Barber, Ravenelle Zugzwang, Dolyn Foley, Lunata Lupino, Lili Brink, Bradley Bracken, Hokuto Sirbu, Kourosh Eusebio, Calmtommy Lowell, Sylvia Trilling, Larry Pixel, Robustus Hax, Johan Durant, Nicholas Etzel, Flea Bussy, Walker Moore, Ginge Reymont, Jaycatt Nico, Lauren Weyland, Steff Ling, Cubist Scarborough, Pygar Bu, Osprey Therian, Torley Olmstead, Phoenix Psaltery, Tayzia Abattoir, Aimee Weber, Sasun Steinbeck, Jaynine Scarborough, Sally Silvera, Lem Skall, Gwyneth Llewelyn, Diana Hooper, Matthew Kidomen, Matthew Kidomen, Tooter Claxton, Brett Bjornson, Marianne McCann, Kit Meredith, Bettina Tizzy, Veritas Raymaker, Hitomi Mokusei, Lalalocca Miles, Max Burns, Pieter Bosch, Gonta Maltz, DrFran Babcock, Anjouli Troncon, Veyron Supercharge, RacerX Gullwing, Olmia Tenk, Lem Skall, Torley Linden, Burnsand Allen, Milos Waydelich, Snow Gretzky, Juko tempel, iAlja Writer, (and Robbie Dingo).

Meteors (Machinima)

Announced here, I was invited to work with Kirsty Hawshaw as part of the new Millions of Us - Artist-in-Residence Program. The resulting work, a short machinima created in Second Life set to a great song 'Meteors' by Kirsty, is here in higher quality.

Or, YouTube version, is here:



It was a pleasure to work with Kirsty and to be the first Artist in Residence for Millions of Us! - I look forward to seeing other working coming out of their exciting program...

Render me?

Ah well, I was going to sit down to do some animation work for a forthcoming SL machinima project but got waylaid in Poser (again).


(* Image quality is reduced a lot in conversion to .jpg, but please click for a larger image)

As I waited for my image to slowly appear I got thinking, as CPU processing power increases and real-time rendering engines become more capable... well I guess one can begin to imagine what the graphical future may hold for a virtual world, and the impact this may have on machinima as an attractive and effective medium through which to record ones online experiences.

(Note to self: Launching Poser = not a good idea if you want to get some work done).

Love and Hate (The Machine)

...

Portrait.

Thanks a lot for the Picture 'T. Very nice :)

(Hope you don't mind me posting here on my blog). Where/when the heck did you take that?

Watch The World(s) - Revisited

Well. Cough. I don't know what to say. I have never had such a full inbox!

Torley says on the LL Blog: "To this day, I swear one of the kewlest things about Second Life is that if you see something you like, contact is just an instant message away, and this facilitates telling someone “YOU ROCK!” Going beyond text chat, you can visit with them, in-avatar, and until such time we get “RL teleports”, I’d say this is pretty swell. And this sort of activity happens every hour in Second Life, involving strangers (possibly soon to become friends) you “have never really met”.

What he doesn't really go on to say, is what kind reaction this has on the creator. I am feeling very motivated by the comments to roll my sleeves up and do something else THANKS! - In the meantime:-

Many people wrote to me to say that they were sorry that the Sim used in 'Watch The World(s)' was wiped as they wished that they could have explored it for themselves, firsthand :(

Although I know it is not nearly the same thing, but here are some of the out-takes that were not used in the film. This is my way of saying THANK YOU for all of the kind and supportive IM's and comments... they are all very much appreciated.

(Rob - bie Dingo)


Original Music is 'Rollercoaster', written by my good friends Scott Bingham and Steve Bean (Angry Man).
Performed as an instrumental by Steve.

Click here to download a copy.

OR watch the YouTube, lower quality version.

Watch the World(s).

A Second Life Machinima by Robbie Dingo.
(Duration 4'17")

"Frameless heads on nameless walls, with eyes that watch the world and can't forget - like the strangers that you've met". [Don McLean].


Ever looked at your favorite painting and wished you could wander inside, to look at it from different perspectives? Spend a single day in one of mine, from early sunrise on a new day, to dusk when lights come on in cosy homes; through a peaceful night, till morning.

Shot on location in Second Life then post-produced, this was an idea I had a while ago. The Sim in this work was on temporary loan so it's all been swept away now, leaving only the film behind. It was always intended however that the video would be the end product, not the build.

This work is dedicated to the many weird and very wonderful strangers from around the globe I have met, but have neverreally met.

(For more detail on how this was put together, please read this article by Wagner Jame Au over at New World Notes).

Higher Quality version (900 x 600) / (Recommended).
- Compressed to a 97.6MB, full sized download.

Mid Quality version (450 x 300)
- Compressed to a 47.5MB, half sized download.

Lower Quality version (450 x 300)
- Heavily compressed to a reasonable half sized 22.6MB stream.


or Lowest Quality YouTube:-

Digital Creatures #1 - Ant Concert

A fun work I did recently. Little Ants, busy working together, randomly moving the notes around a bar of music whilst it is playing. This might become the first in a set of works, looking at using the movement of, and interaction between digital creatures to create musical works.

Click HERE to watch a large screen captured demo movie (QT.mov)

Or view smaller, lower quality version here:

Play Me

Av Morph Test

Rough test, morph me <--> Av.

Click To Play

DISplace

DISplace. [verb] cause (something) to move from its proper or usual place.

About.

Not a Second Life project, but related in some ways to my SL work.

DISplace is proof of concept application which enables you to audibly record moments, events, or journeys associated with a particular place and time, then recall and interactively explore these fragments whilst at a different location, or perhaps the same setting at a different point in time? Additionally, you can construct imaginary and composite sound-scapes or musical structures which can be explored from a variety of audio perspectives in a nonlinear, non-timebased fashion.

Although DISplace will run on a desktop PC it was developed with mobile media devices in mind (PDAs, Pocket PCs, etc).


How it works.

Similar in some respects to 'Geotagging', DISplace allows for multiple audio-files to be imported and dropped at definable coordinates within a 2D space (referred to as moments). An Image file (eg. a map) can also be imported and layered as a background graphic for reference. The user's perspective (the listener) is additionally represented within the same 2D space, and the position of this can be controlled by the user, or via a definable walk-path (a journey). Volume and pan parameters for each sound-file are calculated based upon the relative -distance and -angle (respectively) between the Listener and each moment.


Applications and Scenarios.

1) By taking multiple audio-recordings from a variety of positions at and around the same location, rather than a single recording whilst moving from A to B, we have the ability to be able to re-construct the sound-ambience characteristics from a particular place, over a large area. In doing this we also provide the benefit of not only being able to recall a representation of a journey through this place from A to B, but also one from B to A. Furthermore, we could choose to dwell at any particular point for any period of time to explore sounds 'around us' which are of personal interest. Audio in this format is both dynamic and memory efficient.

2) DISplace'd audio through headphones could be employed whilst (re)visiting the same location from which the recordings were taken - albeit from an earlier point in history (eg. Notting Hill at non Carnival time) - thus providing an immersive, rich experience (true visual and false auditory) engineered to illustrate a particular scene.

3) By combining DISplace with live GPS data (not implemented) we could create interactive audio tours whereby spoken information, or music is trigged upon reaching predefined areas of interest. Here, rather than the commonly employed static terminal for all, each visitor could receive an audio experience which has been tailored to their preference and interest.



Demo Video.
Please note, the embedded video has been converted to mono, so important panning has been lost on the sound track, download the QT version in glorious Stereo - below.

Play DISplace Demo Video

(or download Quicktime movie here)

He Still Watches (Machinima)

Real world author, Dale Moses (Second Life resident, Dale Bolero) recently posted a request on the SL forums. He wanted a machinima film to work as a trailer for his online novel titled- "He Still Watches".

Dale also contacted me directly about this, but by the time I got round to replying he had already taken up an offer from another film maker.

Still, I thought this project looked interesting - I greatly admire the 'get up and go' and innovative approach Dale has gone for here (he is publishing only one page per day, seven pages per week, and posting them for anyone to freely read via his website, whilst selling advertising on each page, neat idea) - so I thought I would do a film for him in any case, for fun.



Watch the BlipTV Version Here.

Set myself a tight schedule, to see what I could do in three (full and long) days:-

Day 1 - Story Board, Building Sets/Props, Designing Character, Scripts, etc.
Day 2 - Filming and Editing.
Day 3 - Sound Design and Mixing.

(Thanks out to Reuben & Chris at Millions of Us for a 2 day Island Loan, and to Foolish Frost for his scripted book I modified for a prop, cheers guys).

Watch the You Tube Version Here.

'Q' in Second life

Haven't been posting much in this blog of late as have been busy with a fairly large-scale building project...

I was contracted by Millions of Us to create a building to act as a base within Second Life for one of their clients. As the building is has not been officially launched yet, (although it is about to be), I have decided not to refer to the company name in the body text here as I don't want this blog entry to be picked up by searches for the name before the launch, (although it will be obvious from the images here who the client is). Instead, until the building has been formally opened, the company name is referred to as 'Q' below.
(I'll come back and amend the text later).

'Q' is a global interactive agency that uses innovative ideas and technology to deliver results for the world's leading brands. For more than 10 years, 'Q' has built strong customer relationships and realised positive results for their clients. 'Q' strives to be at the cutting edge of emerging media and technologies, and ''Q' Second Life' is an active demonstration of this commitment.

'Q' Second Life was constructed in the winter of 2006. The original brief which was provided by 'Q' was to construct a 'building without walls', to convey an open, creative and collaborative space. The intention is that the building and its contents will be continuously developed and updated. The building includes public spaces as well as spaces that can be made private for meetings, presentations and interviews.

The build...

The 'Q' Sim is set to constant night and makes significant use of local lighting. It is best viewed by setting your viewer's Advanced Graphics, 'Night Time Brightness' preferences to zero, and ensuring local lighting is present.







Gallery: Central to the building's design is the open gallery space. Sitting under a large roof canopy with a mezzanine walkway all the way around, this space is intended to house example real-world projects from 'Q'...

...alongside innovative virtual-world installations from Second Life residents and 'Q' staff.

(Image shown above is an installation by AngryBeth Shortbread entittled 'You Demand Too Much of Me').


The content on display in this area is also duplicated and inverted below a semi transparent floor to create an illusion of reflection and, as the gallery floor sits just above sea level, Second Life's dynamic water refraction is also used.


Sitting in the centre of the gallery there is a permanent gallery installation. This installation is linked to the local lighting so that if an avatar dwells on any of the colored panels, over time the interior lighting will drift to that color, taking the walls (and mood) with it.







Reception/Lounge: A long thin space, notionally divided into three areas.





i. Reception, complete with a 'Hyper-Link' board. This allows for quick navigation around the building to key areas, equivalent in some ways to web-browser navigation in that each key area includes a '<- BACK' button to allow for quick return to the reception. The board also includes a link to launch the user's default web-browser with the 'Q' home page loaded.


ii. Lounge 1: An informal meeting area with couches and tables.




iii Lounge 2: A more relaxed space, complete with a separate media stream for music, a functional chessboard and more seating. Music and conversation in this area is restricted and therefore will not bleed into adjacent areas.


Above the Reception/Lounge is a mezzanine floor with a long window providing a one-way view through the media screen to the main gallery. Doors on this level lead to the Gallery, Building Area and Boardroom, and on the lower floor there is a set of stairs leading to a Function Room.

Function Room: A multi purpose space, set out for presentations complete with a smaller video screen (will play a different video stream to that on the Media Wall) and rows of couches plus an interview area. This space can be set as private when needed.



Boardroom: The main meeting room is on the first floor and can be locked to prevent public access when required. A guest list can be set up to determine who is granted/denied access or the room can be set as open to all, this includes access through the open roof port. A functional interactive whiteboard has been installed here which allows many people to control pointers at the same time or to write messages, etc, along with another video screen. Sitting on the glass floor in the center is a large meeting-style table, with an integrated comment and voting system. Doors lead either back to the mezzanine in the Reception/Lounge, or through to an outside building area.

Building Area: Although built into the building, this space is set outside allowing for greater camera view freedom, useful when building. On the floor there is a custom made building 'mat', a grid to aid construction that can be zoomed in / out and can be illuminated, full-bright.





Surrounding Area, Roof Space and Hidden Garden: Easily accessed from the Hyper-Link board in the reception, there are other spaces to explore, some in unexpected places.



Media wall: A key feature in the gallery is the large media screen/wall. This has two modes which can be toggled from a button sitting at the bottom-center of the screen;







-Full-Screen- where the parcel's video stream (or any image) is displayed across most of the screen (very large), and -


-Patchwork- where a combination of many smaller images are randomly displayed as slideshows.

This wall is fitted across the entire width of the building and divides the gallery space and the reception/lounge. It is raised to provide easy access underneath to the Lounge.

(I'll provide the SLURL link when the building is opened).

Second Life Stats (Dec 06)

I noted total SL Resident Numbers back on 28th June '06 (298,407), and again on 11th August 06 (396,651). Over that period on average there were 2233 new sign-ups per day. Now, some 128 days later I wondered how this figure held up?

Well, as of today, 17th Dec '06, there are 2,051,648 total residents, and 18,230 are currently online. Therefore, 1,654,997 more residents since my last record, or around 12,930 new avatars generated per day.

Second Life Profile Page

What the FAQ ?
This page is intended to be viewed in my Second Life Profile...

Hi, I find myself often answering the same set of questions,
so to speed things up I thought I would supply a FAQ list,
if you have a question, please read on to see if it has been
answered here:

Russian Roulette:

Q: I'm interested in buying a Russian Roulette Table,
where can I get one?

A: Please see the My Picks tab for a direct TP to the vendor,
there is a table out nearby too so you can try before you buy


Q: Can you make me a special Russian Roulette Table
which will give me a cut of the winnings?

A: Sorry no, this was the game I wanted to make.

Musical Instruments:

Q: I'm interested in buying a Musical Instrument,
where can I get one?

A: Please see My Picks for a direct TP to the Musical
Instrument vendor, also there is a TP to my showroom,
many of the instruments can be viewed here,
and some can be demoed, thanks!

Vendor Instructions:

Q: I'm at your Vendor, how does it work?

A: The home pages on the vendor show many smaller images
all at the same time. Use the <- -> keys to move between pages.
If you see an item you might like to buy, press the image to
enlarge it. From here you can either press the ' i ' button to get a
notecard about the item, or pay the vendor to buy the item.
The price is shown ABOVE the vendor in floating text - you need
to be fairly close to be able to see / read the price - Remember to
look ABOVE the vendor please...

Hyper-Instruments:

Q: Can I hear a demo of a Hyper-Instrument?

A: Yep sure, a demo of the Hyper-Flute can be seen/heard
in this video


Q: Any advice on how to work the
Hyper-Instrument's HUD
- what do all the buttons do?

A: Yep sure, you will have got instructions but loads
more help here


Q: Any advice on how to write a Musical Score for
the Hyper-Instruments?

A: Yep sure, loads, and loads of detailed help
can be found here


Q: Can I get more Scores/Music to play in my
Hyper-Instrument?

A: Yes loads, you can collect more score-notecards
from my Hyper Instrument score sharing-vendor and please
leave any of your own scores here too for others to collect
and play. Please see My Picks tab for a direct TP to the
sharing vendor, thanks!
(Please remember, if you are leaving a score for others
to play, use a name for your notecard that is NOT longer
than 24 characters in length).


Q: How do I add new scores to my Hyper-Instrument?

A: In edit mode select the attached HUD. In the HUD's
edit window, choose MORE>> and then choose the contents
Tab, drag and drop new scores here to add them.


Q: My Hyper-Instrument no longer loads a new score,
what's wrong?

A: This is most likely because you have a notecard in
your HUD's contents with a name of greater than
24 characters long.

Rename the offending notecard with a shorter name,
and you're good to go!

Q: My Hyper-Instrument is not working,
"stack-heap collision error",
what's wrong?

A: The script has become inactive, this can happen
if you try to load a Notecard score which is too long
for the memory capabilities of a SL script, or sometimes
if you have tried to load a score whilst it is already
busy loading one....

To fix this problem, please select the HUD in whilst in
edit mode and choose 'Reset Scripts in Selection'.
This can be found near the bottom of the 'Tools' Menu.

Syncronisation/ No Sound Issues:

Q: My Drums or Gamelan instruments
don't play sound, what's wrong?

A: Most of my drums require you to also rez the
conductor object nearby, you will have received
one of these when you bought the drum(s).
Please rez this and touch to turn it on (Green = ON)
- this thing holds the timing between many drums so
they play in sync, and without it you get no sound.

The Gamelan instruments need this too and also need the
Pattern Changer object to be rezzed, which looks like a
set of 4 large gongs, but is actually 4 buttons used to change
the patterns on many Gamelan instruments at the same time.
If you have not rezzed the Pattern changer and the conductor
objects you will get no sound from the Gamelan instruments.
Yep, the Gamelan instruments work in time with the
Elven Drums too!

General:

Some reviews for Hyper-Instruments:
(copied from my SLEX page)

• "Truly a fantastic piece of work! Easy to use and
  looks and sounds fantastic"


• "This is a wonderful item - looks and sounds
  beautiful - and very easy to make REAL music with"


• "It plays beautifully and is very intuitive"


• "All in all, I'd say anybody with an appreciation
  for instrumental music would find a fun use for it"


• "Very beautifaul and well worth the extra for
  composer edition. great if your creative and enjoy
  the sounds"


• "The most amazing thing I have ever seen in SL.
  As a musician, I have been looking for a way to bring
  my music with me into SL. Now I can. I can't wait to
  start composing"


• "Awesome design and lots of fun to play and
  compose"


• "I love the Hyper-Pipes! They sound gorgeous.
  These instruments are such fun and so much more
  versatile than most other SL instruments"


• "These (pipes), the Hyper-Flute and the
  Hyper-Cello, all highly recommended"


• "Works well, sounds beautiful. Love it"

Q: Do you do custom work?
I want an instrument making?

A: Usually the answer to this will will be "no sorry"...

... (unless you are making a sensible offer for work).

Remembrance Day

A friend and I, after only about 19 years of saying "yeah we really should go", finally got round to it... my video (YouTube) pretty much summarises our visit this weekend to Jim Morrison's grave at Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris.

With a very early start, shaky camera-work, large quantities of beer and bright contrast... yep, this is how I remember it.



(Higher quality here) (QT)

(Image set here) (jpeg)

X-Bam Video

Wooo, this little video is worth checking out. (Visit link then, click the picture of the soldier at the top).

Virtual Lecture

In three places at one time...

I usually try to keep Second Life work and real world work separate, but this was too interesting an opportunity to not bring them together a little. I work for a large UK University, within the School of Film, Music and Media (music area) and this has been something that I have wanted to try out for some time now...

Very early, Tuesday 17th Oct 2006 I dragged myself out of bed and prepared myself to deliver a hands-on 'Master-Class' on the subject of Sound-Design for Games.


The session was arranged by Gary Hazlitt (SL Name) and was aimed at a group of undergraduate and postgraduate students (sound-designers & screen composers) based at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, in Sydney. It was part of a day long workshop they were running investigating this area.

Earlier, the students had been divided into 2 groups and presented with an opportunity to layer soundfiles in bespoke 3D environments (either a Haunted Castle or a Spaceship scene). My session came at the end of their day and included live demonstrations of game-audio techniques, interactive sound (conducted from within a computer simulated 3D environment), amid verbal Q&A discussions.


(...oh... and we released a swarm of virtual bees to demonstrate transient sound and localisation!)


Using voice-over-IP we created a 2-way audio connection for conversation (UK <--> AUS, with my voice amplified and played into their teaching room) and also simultaneously established multiple connections to Second Life (on-line virtual-world based in San Francisco, California. The effect being as if we were all present in the same space, via USA, UK and AUS.


All in all, I feel that this was a really interesting project/experiment, with a successful outcome. The learning experience felt very real, the technology held up well and, the students were great...

Edit: A load more images, and a commentary of the day here and here. (thanks Gary).

Machinima Festival 2006

Very pleased to announce that my short film - Better Life has been nominated at the 2006 New York Machinima Festival (Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences), for Best Virtual Performance (Custom Animation). Also nominated for Second Life based films in various categories are 'Game Over' (Pierce P), 'Machnima Island' (Richard Gras) and 'Silver Bells and Golden Spurs' (Eric Call). Best of luck guys!

Hyper Pan-Pipe Song Competition

In May 2006 I ran a song writing competition for the Hyper-Flute, (video here).

In July 2006 I ran a song writing competition for the Hyper-Cello.

So it's got to be time for another one, this time for the Hyper Pan-Pipes, prize money is 5,000L$ for the winner, (this being the money I won in the recent Alt-Zoom film festival which I would like to throw back into the Second Life art scene).

Deadline for submissions is the 17th of September 2006, I hope that you will consider entering?


I have sent the URL link to this page to all the current Hyper-Pipe owners and for anyone else who wishes to enter, here are the details:

To be able to enter you will need to own a Hyper-Instrument, (this does not need to be the pan-pipes, it could be the flute or 'cello, but as the Pan-Pipe will be used to judge the competition this would be best).

The Hyper Pan-Pipes can be bought in world at < Scafell (55, 131, 47) > (SLurl), or from SLEX here, or from SLBoutique here.

Remember, absolutely anyone can write a song, you don't need to able to read music or play an instrument, just have an ear for a good melody and be able to write the note-sequence down in the correct format in a notecard.

Full instructions on how the Hyper-Instruments work can be found here, and loads of help for writing your own songs here.

After the competition, all entries will be available for sharing so this is also a great way to generate more songs for us all to play in our Hyper-Pipes - (and Flutes and Cellos as the scores are interchangeable).

Rules.

1) Closing date for song entries is 17th September 2006.

2) To enter the competition, songs (notecards) should be dropped on the entry-box at the following location. - < Scafell (51, 136, 47) > (SLurl), before the closing date.

3) Song entries should be longer than 30 seconds and must be original music composed by you.

4) Robbie Dingo will judge competition and the judges decision is final.

5) Your entry notecard must include your name and the name of the song. You must be willing to share your song with other Hyper-Instrument owners after the competition has closed. Your entry must load correctly without errors when importing into the HUD.

A good song, for the purpose of judging this competition will be one that is idiomatic of the hyper-pan pipe. That is to say one that has been written specially with THIS instrument in mind and takes into account its features, range and well yes, cope with the timing problems that exist in SL. The winning song should be varied, yet memorable; original, include a strong melody and make use of silence too. For examples of original and strong, effective melodies, sing just about any Beatles tune!

I will go through the entries and announce the winner to all as quickly as I possibly can after the closing date.

Good luck and have fun with it!

RD.

EDIT:
Hyper-PanPipe Song-Writing Competition - Results (Sept 06).

Six excellent entries were submitted into the song writing competition this month (for the Hyper Pan-Pipe in this instance). Once again this was a very hard one to judge, so much so that I have had to call a joint first place (yes, not strictly in rules but both the winning entries stood out for different reasons)...

So.... 2500L$ each to....

A) 'Songs of SLyrinx' by Codalisa Levitt..

T=0.6, 1.6
G1,1.0,D2,G2,T=0.8,As2,T=0.1,*,T=0.8,D3,T=0.5,As2,T=1.3,1.6,A2,A2,*
T=0.6,1.6,G2,1.0,D1,G1,T=0.8,As1,T=0.1,*,T=0.8,D2,T=0.9,A1,T=1.3,1.6,G1,G1,*
T=0.6,G1,1.0,D2,G2,T=0.8,As2,T=0.1,*,T=0.8,D3,T=0.5,As2,T=1.3,1.6,A2,A2,*
T=0.6,1.6,G2,1.0,D1,G1,T=0.8,As1,T=0.1,*,T=0.8,D2,T=0.9,A1,T=1.3,1.6,G1,G1,*,*
T=0.6,1.0,G2,G1,G2,As1,D1,As1,D2,T=0.1,*,T=0.6,As1,D2,1.6,F2,1.0,A2,1.6,F2,*,*
1.0,G2,G1,G2,F2,A2,F2,G2,T=0.1,*,T=0.6,D2,As2,G2,1.6,As2,1.0,G2,1.6,E2,*,*
T=0.6,1.0,G2,G1,G2,As1,D1,As1,D2,T=0.1,*,T=0.6,As1,D2,1.6,F2,1.0,A2,1.6,F2,*,*
1.0,G2,G1,G2,F2,A2,F2,G2,T=0.1,*,T=0.6,D2,As2,G2,1.6,As2,1.0,G2,1.6,E2,*,*
T=0.5,1.0,E1,*,E1,G1,*,G1,As1,T=0.4,G1,T=0.5,As1,Cs2,*,Cs2,*
E1,*,E1,G1,*,G1,As1,T=0.4,G1,T=0.5,As1,Cs2,*,Cs2,*,*
T=1.0,D1,G1,F1,D1,C1,D1,F2,*,*
T=1.2,F1,E1,F1,A1,C2,E2,T=1.5,F2,*,*
END

(Codalisa has such a good ear for a melody that will stick with you!)

B) 'Tapestry' by Jennifer Mahoney..

T=0.8,0.3
Ds2,0.4,Ds2,T=0.7,0.5,As2,0.6,As2,T=0.3,0.7,As2,Ds3,As2,T=0.8,0.8,C3,C3,C3,*,*
T=0.6,0.9,Cs3,Cs3,Cs3,Ds3,1.0,C3,C3,*,T=0.3,*,0.3,As2,T=0.6,G2,F2,T=0.7,0.4,As2,T=0.8,G2,0.5,Ds2,Ds2,*,*
T=0.6,Cs2,C2,As2,G2,Gs2,Gs2,*,*,T=0.5,0.8,Ds3,Cs3,Cs3,Cs3,Cs3,Cs3,*,*,*,*
T=0.6,0.6,C3,C3,C3,Cs3,As2,As2,As2,*,*,0.5,Gs2,Gs2,T=0.4,*,T=0.7,Ds2,Ds3,C3,C3,C3,*,*
T=0.4,0.9,Cs3,Ds3,Cs3,C3,T=0.7,As2,G2,Ds2,T=0.4,C2,F2,T=0.6,Ds2,Ds2,*
0.7,Cs2,C2,As2,Ds2,T=0.5,C2,As1,T=0.6,Gs1,Gs1,*,*
T=1.5,0.6,G1,T=0.6,0.5,F1,G1,T=1.2,0.4,Gs1,T=0.5,*,1.0,Gs2,T=0.6,0.3,Ds2,Ds2,Ds2,*,*
0.4,Ds3,0.4,Cs3,0.5,C3,0.6,Gs2,T=1.5,0.7,Cs2,T=1.7,0.6,Ds2,0.5,Gs2,0.4,Gs2,T=0.6,*
END

(Once again a lovely piece, technically well written, clearly much time has been spent perfecting the subtle detail).


Congratulation to Coda and Jennifer and a big thanks to all that entered, until next time...

(As always the entries have been added to the vendor at Scafell for all to play for free)...

Distant Thunder: Taiko Drums #2

Animation and Music Sync. Test #1.

An early experiment in attempting to synchronize both the audio and avatar animation(s) ready for a Taiko drum ensemble within Second Life.


(It's close, but a non-steady frame rate is causing timing issues at the moment).

BlipTV version here.
YouTube version here.

Distant Thunder: Taiko Drums #1

This is a project that I have wanted to bring to life in SL for some time, a Taiko drum ensemble.

Taiko is the Japanese word for 'big-' or 'great- drum', and is a musical instrument whose history goes back to ancient Japan. Taiko is more than just a musical instrument and it involves more than just striking a drum skin. It is also an art, a fusion of movement/rhythm/philosophy and form whose history has been an important part of the everyday lives of the Japanese people for some 2000 years, therefore it is important that we treat it with the greatest respect.

It has gone through an amazing evolution in arriving at the way it is played and used today. For example, it has been played on the battlefields to threaten and frighten and as a form of communication to signal orders. It has also became a familiar sound in daily village life. It has been heard in festivals going way back in history and has been associated with religious celebrations.

Only relatively recently has taiko evolved into a powerful performing art, as seen in this YouTube clip:



Taiko in Second Life.

There are a number of considerations and features that I would like include when bringing a taiko ensemble to Second Life, for example I would like to ensure original, interesting and authentic sounding audio-files are created (written to work sequentially and overlaid to form numerous rhythmic combinations); I would like to include a sense of progression in the musical performance, so that it grows over time; I am keen to include avatar to avatar & avatar to music synchronized animation so that this is a visual experience too;

- all of which means that this will not be a project that is completed quickly, but it is coming...


More to follow

Second Life Stats (Aug 06)

I noted total SL Resident Numbers back on the 28th June 2006. At that time there were 298,407 residents. By comparison, now there are now 396,651 of us (give or take an alt or two). Therefore 98,244 more residents in only 44 days, an average of 2233 new residents per day! Whoo... crazy.

(Edit: Only a couple of days later the total number exceeds 400K)

An Audience with Suzanne Vega

On the 3rd of August 2006, Suzanne Vega became the first major recording artist to perform live within a virtual world in avatar form. Suzanne was interviewed by The Infinite Mind's John Hockenberry within Second Life.

This short video tries to catch the moment from the perspective of the audience of avatars who, from their 'armchairs' around the world, shared this moment together, live.

(Embedded YouTube Version here:

Suzanne's Guitar

In August 2006, Suzanne Vega will become the first major recording artist to perform live in Second Life avatar form. This forms part of a larger project sponsored by The Infinite Mind, a public radio show which has hired Infinite Vision Media to create a permanent presence in Second Life.

I was commissioned by Boliver Oddfellow (CEO, Infinite Visions) to make the Guitar and animation for the Vega avatar (created by Munchflower Zaius).


However, I decided to use this opportunity to also make a short (3 minute) video.

This is Suzanne's Guitar...



[View it here, 21.8Mb lower quality]
[View it here, 54.2Mb mid quality]

(A High Quality, 121.2Mb version is also available upon request).

* Music on the video is Prelude No.2 (V.Lobos), performed (well) by my good friend Steve Bean.

Suzanne Vega will perform live on August 3.

(Edit: embedded YouTube Version now available below:)



(Edit: Suzanne's Guitar is broadcasted as a backdrop on Japanese TV:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVRQXAlR8zw

Distant Drums

I find it kinda strange, when you make something (like the for example the Elven Drums I built a while back) and then you 'release it into the wild', cut your ties and it's out there, in the Metaverse doing its own thing. Strange, when you have kinda forgot about it to suddenly stumble across it again in a different setting and you realize that someone, somewhere has been caring for, commenting upon, or simply doing something else with the work you started - when you, the creator didn't know this was taking place. Strange, but nice-strange.

A couple of recent examples spring to mind:


Firstly, this youTube clip of a discussion about Drumcasting technology using my Elven Drums (with Raoul Weiler, Rolando Berger, and Tom Munnecke).


Second, another youTube broadcast, this time a film from the very creative (and often hilarious SL comentator) Pierce.P showing machinima footage of what looks like a very bizarre twilight drum circle. (Great work PP, note to self -have got to try do some work with Pierce if I can at some point).

Little Girl Giant

So every now and then, along comes a film that is hard to describe. For me this is not one of those. Simply put, it's quite possibly the most beautiful and inspiring video I have ever seen... (view here)

As a World turns

Much has already been written about the potential for SL (Second Life) to become the mainstream front-end for a more three dimensional web experience. Judging recent actions taken by LL (Linden Lab), the move to open and free registration for example, along with the increase in SLurl links appearing on traditional websites and blogs; this feels like the general direction things are moving.

If we need any more evidence, the word on the street is that if the population of SL continues to grow and if the immigrants continue to settle, laying down roots in the form of virtual land acquisitions, eventually LL will most likely need to extend the Grid beyond which they could personally manage, allowing residents to host their own land on 3rd party or personal servers. When you take a few steps back to look at the BIG picture, this almost seems inevitable, and if LL doesn't someone else probably will, right?

So let's roll with this for a while, not looking at the fine detail but speculating and, using what we know about historical developments with regard to web trends, lets see where this might go, assuming of course that LL retains its advantage over future competition.

First, maybe it kicks off when the population reaches 1 million? (...and they laughed at Noah too). Maybe it takes a major outlet store who wants a piece of that action to come forwards and they negotiate a deal with LL to host a
Sim of their own. Seeing an additional opportunity here they also begin to rent land to their customers; and overtime the ownership of the Grid enters the public domain. Initially 3rd parties continue to offer hosting of SL Sims perhaps, but increased competition, advertising and sponsorship lower monthly rental fees and eventually, just as we have seen with website/blog/video-blog hosting etc., it becomes possible to obtain free Sim-space or to run ones own personal SL server.

(LL adopt a different payment model at this time, possibly one where charges are required to update the Client or through licensing of dedicated Server software?)

The Second Life village/town/country/continent/world, (whatever), becomes big... very big. SL worlds are arranged or naturally migrate into (solar) systems, polarizing around individual themes.


Next, the Client software is absorbed into a browser, (or if at this point LL wanted to be really shrewd, it's the other way around). Either way the 'net' result (excuse the play there) is that browsing the web whilst switching between 2- and 3-D views becomes common place, and hassle free.

Great, so everyone has a huge and open playground, what about content?

There are many analogies that can be draw between the traditional 2-D website model and a 3-D virtual world such as SL, the language is different but some of the concepts are similar: (Internet /Grid; Website/Parcel; URL/Land- mark; Hits/ Dwell or Traffic; Hyper- Link/ Teleport; etc). However the sociable and freely creative side to SL make for distinct differences (the browser/viewer being at any moment a chat room and also the tool for content creation).

Yet putting my inventing and chatting time aside, when I log to explore, the experience of flying over other people's land is like randomized web-surfing. The point I am trying to make is that unlike it's 2-D counterpart I do not currently see SL as an information resource nor do I see an effort to place 'portals' between locations which share a logical relationship - (read Hyperlinks between Web-Pages). The latter is a real shame for me.

However the true currency of SL is its content.

Currently the popularity of one location over another largely comes down to the skill and inventiveness of its Builder. Also at the moment all residents have access to the same compliment of building and scripting tools therefore everyone is able to realize builds of the same standard, at least theoretically. However, if the code for SL were to be open-sourced as occasionally hinted by LL, or if the systems were made modular so that additional plug-ins could be enabled, then we might see an un-leveling of the playing field. This could bring about healthy competition amongst major players and would certainly help to raise the bar when setting standards in quality with respect to builds and more importantly technological innovation.


Open sourcing the code would also allow for greater flexibility and versatility in the application of this technology. However the 'monopoly' assumed above (and I never really gave the make-up of that word much thought 'till now), I mean this large scale adoption of a single system without rival seems unlikely. Alternative, or spin-off systems may well come about, and there are a lot of decisions that LL will need to consider when they do.

In any case, at this time in our theoretical journey the typical reasons currently put forwards by people who do not initially enjoy the SL experience have been addressed through regular updates to the client. For example, the GUI has been made more accessible or has become a HUD - part of the user-content created by the owner of the Sim?; and an optional mode has been provided whereby all the content from a particular Sim could preloaded and cached to let it run more or less entirely on the client - in this option only active scripts and chat are streamed providing an alternative for people who are looking for a more game-based or non-lagy experience.


I wonder?