Video 2: The Grid

Welcome back, viral viewers! (drumroll)

Although abstract art (which is what I consider this video) is not my forteh, I don't think this video came out too badly.
It started as 3 seperate files, as may be apparent with 3 different color shifts in the video (which I call "Dark," "Light," and "Vibrant"), which led to minor problems getting timings re-aligned and adjusting the image on canvas. Ever tried to move a image encompasing an entire timeline? Interesting procedure.

Again, used Sony ACID (6.0) since I don't yet have what I need to create true masterpieces~
I plan to get a nice new keyboard soon that has a USB port, which is the first step. The second is getting one of the better sound-recording softwares. Though I've been told of some, such as Reason and Ableton Live, I wonder how well ACID could work if I used the tunes on the keyboard? We shall see, as the wise man once said.

Without further ado, here is the video. *dejavu*

The Grid from Robert Wooldridge on Vimeo.

Ambient Art and Sound

Ambience, or the ability for art or sound to be ambient, has to do with its ability to blend in with the surrounding environment; to be unobtrusive.

The first to explore this notion within art was Brian Eno, with his "Music for Airports"from 1978. More recently, Jeremy Blake became known for his surreal "digital paintings," which employed slow, relaxed transitions between images and low-tempo ambient music.

In a short read by Benjamin Weil (Ambient Art and Our Changing Relationship to the Art Idea), it is pointed out that, perhaps, Ambient artists got their original inspiration from Minimalists, such as Dan Flavin and Carl Andre, the latter of which are prominent for their installations of (somewhat) interactive pieces where, as Oscar Wilde phrased, "life imitates art."

Brian Eno's Music for Airports album "creates a sonic atmosphere that pervades the architectural environment, blending in, becoming part of that space and that moment." (Weil) The music does not try to express itself, but rather stay in the background, unintrusive yet ever present.

After much personal debate over Jeremy Blake my concensus on his work is that, though it is calming, relaxing, and can blend in, it is not ambient soely for the fact that it can draw you in, and make you sit and devote time to experiencing the entire piece. It isn't something one can glance at and walk away fulfilled, much less just meander with it playing in the background.

Video 1: Digital Seasons

Hello, various internet surfers and cruisers.

Following is the first video assignment for my Time-Based Media course. This was actually a second, purely-photoshop version of the idea of "four changing seasons." My first idea was a traditional-media animation which, due to time constraints and thoughts it wouldn't fulfill requirements, didn't get used. The background is a stretched row of pixels from a few pictures, and the rest is either rectangles, brushes, or shapes in photoshop. The sound was made using Sony ACID 6.0 sound loops, though I hope to invest in a Casio keyboard soon and record my own stuff.

Without futher ado, here is the video.


Digital Seasoning from Robert Wooldridge on Vimeo.