Ithaca Audio was fortunate enough to experience the Vimeo Awards first-hand this year after being shortlisted in the remix category for our video ‘Don’t hold back, push things forward’.
Held in New York, this celebration of exceptional filmmakers from across the globe was hosted by Beardyman and Reggie Watts whilst the show took full advantage of the latest projection-mapping techniques and other cutting-edge technologies to ensure it was an experience not to forget.
Over 14,500 entries were received from 147 countries this time round and whilst there was an impressive display of talent and creativity present throughout the show, unfortunately the $5000 (approx. £3200) prizes could only be awarded to the winners of 13 categories with the exception of a whopping $25,000 (approx. £16,000) Grand Jury Prize for one lucky finalist.
The winners were chosen by an eclectic range of noteworthy judges such as actor and director James Franco, Shelley Page of DreamWorks Animation, director Edgar Wright, Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood and the Museum of Modern Art’s Barbara London, to name a few.
So without further ado, the 2012 Vimeo Award winners were as follows…
This film was one that truly stood out from the crowd this year. For this reason, it was awarded the Grand Jury Prize and features at the top of our list.
The remaining winners are listed in alphabetical order…
Although the Grand Jury Prize went to US-based Everynone, it is comforting to know that our fellow UK entrants also made a significant impact at this year’s Vimeo Awards, claiming a total of 3 awards.
We are already looking forward to next years show…
The recent earplug campaign has once again reminded us all about the dangers of prolonged exposure to loud music (and loud noise for that matter). Loud music is everywhere; it can be found in bars and nightclubs, at sporting events, cinemas, theatres, music concerts and in cars and the headphones of many living out their day-to-day lives. It is apparent that loud music is a common worldwide occurrence that holds no relation to any particular demography or culture, despite the many risks associated with it (Blesser, Dr. Barry) - so why do we seem to like loud music so much?
The Advantages of Loud Music
It comes as no surprise when I say that music can make us feel good (Ensha, Azadeh). It can help us to perform both physically and mentally and also provide therapy for a wide range of physical and mental illnesses (eMed Expert). In recent years, it has become increasingly evident that loud music, specifically music above 90dB, can also contribute to the release of those ‘feel good’ hormones - some of which were discussed in last week’s post ‘Chemistry and Creativity’. There is supposedly a part of the inner ear called the Sacculus that responds to the beat in music and music’s low-frequency vibrations (Ensha, Azadeh)(Todd, Dr. Neil).
Academic Dr. Barry Blesser claims that loud music is a stimulant that can be compared to likes of caffeine, sugar and even rigorous exercise. Blesser additionally claims that loud music is ‘simply a stronger stimulant than soft music’. If this is the case, theoretically loud music may well be able to magnify many of the positive effects that music can have on our well-being. However, as with all matters concerning the human mind and body, it is never quite that simple.
What we do know is that loud and fast music has been shown to benefit physical exercise for one example. From personal experiences, many of us will also willingly accept the notion that loud music can also make us ‘functionally deaf’ to our surroundings and essentially transport us to another world; a world where music is most influential on our mind and body (Blesser, Dr. Barry). In these instances, loud music more or less acts as an extreme form of escapism; the benefits of which are obvious.
The Loudness War
The advantages of loud music appear to be more recognised than we thought. Due to this, it is no surprise that music records and concerts have got louder and louder over the years. Record labels, advertisers and many others for a while now have taken advantage of the fact that loud music and loud sounds do an amazing job at grabbing our attention and this is supposedly one of the main reasons behind the start of the so-called loudness war (Leung, Grant).
Although loud records can appear to benefit us by initially appearing to sound better, the fact of the matter is that making louder records has always been a trade-off with sound quality (Bob Katz)(Music Radar). The loudness war has created an ultimately pointless trend that sees music professionals prioritise volume and what is essentially digital clipping and distortion over audio clarity and dynamic range. At a glance, this use of loud music seems hardly beneficial to us at all.
We are now overloaded with excessively loud records to the point where it is more or less impossible to make records any louder. Ironically, we now find ourselves in a ridiculous situation where even the loudest of records fail to grab a listener’s attention and have the impact that they once did. It appears that our ears are finally growing tired of this approach to music production and this now means that all we are essentially left with is a rather large bunch of poor-sounding records and ear fatigue at best.
For those of you who are looking for new and better ways to make your music stand out from the crowd, I urge you to check out our other post ‘5 attention grabbing audio tricks’ by Chris if you have not done so already.
More Disadvantages of Loud Music
The loudness war aside, music is famously only pleasurable and beneficial when we want it to be. As discussed above, loud music’s ability to dominate our ‘aural space’ is a quality that many of us clearly do appreciate at the best of times, but it is also the reason why loud music can often be an intolerable distraction and nuisance (Blesser, Dr. Barry). Whilst music can improve our health and make us more relaxed, it can also just as easily damage our health and make us more stressed. Therefore, it is vital to know when exactly loud music is most useful. Knowing this can not only improve our well-being but it can also make us better as music professionals (Music Radar).
Hearing damage is perhaps one of the most significant disadvantages of loud music. If we cannot hear music, then we cannot benefit from music. It is also important not to forget the social and psychological repercussions of hearing loss as well. There is seemingly a fine line between the benefits of loud music and the damage it can cause (Blesser, Dr. Barry). Music’s remarkable impact on our lives undoubtedly relies on surpassing that 90Db threshold at least every once in a while. However, like Chris Martin, Gary Numan and Plan B are all saying, looking after your ears is vital and it should be a no-brainer, it is simply a matter of awareness (BBC).
Whilst we sometimes may crank up the volume a little too high (and a little unnecessarily), the key to making the most of loud music’s many potential benefits has been obvious from the beginning; by doing so in moderation. This can be applied to live music, records (including the motives behind the loudness war), as well as pretty much everything else of course.
Writer’s block is a well-documented problem that has troubled creative professionals throughout history and music professionals are no exception (Clark, Irene). There are countless exercises and techniques which aim to help overcome this issue but even after these resources are exhausted, we still sometimes find that inspiration is short-lived, if present at all.
Unfortunately, it is highly likely that writer’s block is an issue we will never be able to fully understand or control. The main reason why is simple; because we are human. Our brain chemistry is without doubt an unpredictable force and influence on our mood and, therefore, how creative we feel. The brain and its chemical make-up is a profoundly complex matter and it is important to note that no-one fully understands the human mind and exactly how our brain chemistry works. However, this does not have to stop us from taking advantage of what the current and latest evidence suggests. A slightly more detailed understanding of our brain chemistry can actually help to stimulate creativity more than we might think.
It is widely believed that certain notable brain chemicals are essential in order to stimulate creativity. Therefore the key to feeling inspired is partly down to obtaining the right balance of these chemicals…
Noradrenaline
Noradrenaline is a chemical that can be seen to have influenced the way we function since the very beginning of our existence. It is one of the so-called ‘fight or flight’ hormones that are known to be triggered by stress and anxiety (The Hormone Foundation). In more primitive times, these chemicals prepared us to either fight or run away and escape from a threat or attack.
In the modern world, stress can severely prevent us from being creative. One way to combat stress is by simply re-labeling ‘stress’ and calling it ‘drive’. You might have noticed that when you feel driven and inspired, your physical responses (e.g. heart beat, breathing and that energised feeling) are identical to the physical responses you feel when you are stressed.
This mental exercise is a way to try and channel these feelings in a more positive way. By mentally preparing to ‘fight’ instead of ‘running away’, we can utilise feelings of stress much more productively as a way of actually motivating ourselves and increasing our inspiration.
Dopamine
Dopamine plays an extremely important role in the creative process. It is the chemical that allows our brain to wonder and think-up new ideas (Flaherty, A.W).
Our lifestyle and many relating factors affect the amount of dopamine that enters the brain. We are all aware of the benefits of leading a healthy and proactive lifestyle but its benefits regarding the creative process are often overlooked. It is known that dopamine gets trapped in tense muscles. Regular (and even gentle) exercise can help release this dopamine back in our body and brain. We also know that maintaining a relaxed state can often be the best way to stimulate creativity and this observation allows us to understand why being relaxed helps; the more relaxed we are, the less tense our muscles are. For this reason, it is important not to forget to indulge yourself from time to time with a warm bath, Jacuzzi, sauna, massage or whatever takes your fancy, as long as it relaxes those muscles.
Dopamine is released whenever any reward or pleasure is anticipated (Musetude). Therefore, giving in to your desires once in a while can also be a great way to stimulate creativity. Novelty and new surroundings are two ways of doing this. This can include purchasing that new item of clothing or that new gadget that has been on your wish list for a while!
Phenethylamine (PEA)
PEA is supposedly a chemical that coordinates all of the above brain chemistry. It is released when we are relaxing, having fun and feeling good about ourselves and also our abilities for example. First and foremost, this is why it is important to take regular breaks when attempting to be creative. Most importantly, a positive state-of-mind (including positive self-reinforcement) really works wonders when attempting to be creative. If we believe in ourselves, believe in our abilities (such as our ability to be creative) and, even go as far as to literally say it back to ourselves, inspiration often can come as if from nowhere.
You may also be interested to know that PEA is found in dark chocolate. So maybe next time your feeling uninspired, it may well be worth a quick trip to the kitchen to grab your favourite chocolate snack from the cupboard.
Serotonin
A last important chemical that is worth a quick mention is Serotonin. This chemical evidently plays a vital role in controlling our mood. It is popularly thought to be a contributor to our feelings of well-being and happiness (Young SN). Unlike the three chemicals above, this will get reduced in your brain by the release of PEA. This can have a negative effect by causing a low mood, particularly after a highly creative episode. This, in turn, can once again leave us feeling uninspired and stressed out if our creative process is not properly managed.
It is also evident that this chemical is one that can make us obsessive and compulsive. This often brings out the perfectionist in us and this can sometimes be a bad thing, especially when working to tight deadlines.
References:
Clark, Irene. “Invention.” Concepts in Composition: Theory and Practice in the Teaching of Writing. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2012. Print.
Flaherty, A.W, (2005). “Frontotemporal and dopaminergic control of idea generation and creative drive”. Journal of Comparative Neurology 493 (1): 147–153.
We were recently asked by Directors/Animators Jeff Han and Paul Sangwoo Kim to create the audio for their new short film World of Sounds.
The film is centred around the idea of a ‘world of sound’ being created when a musician plays an instrument. The character in the film plays the keyboard and around him an entire world evolves into being, containing the different elements of the sound, for instance the large floating ships represent the bass element of the keyboard sound.
The film allowed us to be very creative with the sound design and we were able to layer the audio to give the feeling of an industrial space where all these sounds are being created.
If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the film for presenting then please email [email protected] and we would be happy to provide a copy.
Credits:
Directors/Designers/Animators
Jeff Han
Gyum Kevin Heo
Paul Sangwoo Kim
Jeewon Kim
The mashup took around two months to create and countless hours searching through thousands of clips on YouTube. The mashup was performed on an AKAI APC40 connected to the excellent Ableton Live software.
Here are the tracks that went into it’s construction:
The Prodigy - Mindfields
Ludovico Einaudi - Nightbook
Haddaway - What is love
The Streets - Turn the page
4th Avenue Jones - Move on
Layo & Bushwaka - Love story
Adele - Rolling in the deep
The Killers - All these things that I’ve done
Death in Vegas - Aisha
Beyonce - Crazy in love
Felix Mendelssohn - A midsummer night’s dream
DJ Shadow - Organ donar
Destiny’s Child - Bug a boo
DJ Shadow - The number song (T La Rock - Breakdown / Don Covay - Bad Luck)
Daft Punk - Around the world
Queen/David Bowie - Under pressure
Aretha Franklin - Deeper love
Peter Carpenter - The theme from Magnum P.I
Klaxons - Gravitys rainbox (Soulwax remix)
Michael Jackson - Scream
The Verve - Bittersweet symphony
Run DMC/Aerosmith - Walk this way
Basement Jaxx - Do your thing
Faithless - Take the long way home
If you have any questions about the mashup just leave a comment and we would be happy to answer. Or drop an email to [email protected]
Following the performance there were a lot of questions about the setup I used. This post will aim to run through the different hardware and software used, some of the problems that arise mixing multiple videos in real time and a few of the solutions.
The Setup
AKAI APC40
Laptop
MIDI Yoke
Monomulator (optional extra)
Ableton Live 8
Arkaos GrandVJ
Microsoft LifeCam Cinema HD
AKAI APC40
First of all, some kind of hardware controller is a good idea. While you can trigger clips with your computer keyboard a dedicated controller like the AKAI APC40 is far more engaging to perform with and much more interesting for an audience to watch. The APC40 benefits from a great visual feedback mechanism so you and the audience can easily tell which clips are currently active and which are available to trigger. It uses the MIDI protocol to both communicate with the software used and to trigger the lights within the pads.
There are a few similar hardware options available but the APC40 has a great mix of clip launching pads along with rotary and slider controls.
Also worth considering are:
AKAI APC20 (the same as the APC40 but without the rotary controllers)
While you could carry your desktop to a gig, it’s probably not the best idea.
Laptops are pretty powerful these days but if you are going to be running high quality multi-track audio along with multiple video then you will need something with a reasonable spec. The laptop I use is a Dell Studio 1558:
Intel Core i3 2.13Ghz
3GB RAM
Windows 64-bit
Midi Yoke
Midi Yoke is a great MIDI routing driver for Windows (IAC does this on Mac) allowing you to send MIDI between applications. While both Ableton Live and GrandVJ are capable of communicating via ReWire I found using Midi Yoke to be a little more straight forward as there is no need to send transport information such as track position etc. between the two applications. It also allows you to use the excellent Monomulator application.
Monomulator (optional)
Note: While the Monomulator was not really used in the performance at Update it is part of my setup and gives you some great additional options if you own an AKAI APC40 or Novation LaunchPad.
I’m a big fan of the Brian Crabtree’s Monome projects, especially the original 40h seen here:
The Monomulator is a great, free Max/MSP application by TrackTeam Audio that takes the input from the APC40 and remaps the MIDI messages to increase the ACP40′s functionality, run Monome apps and output OSC.
In standard mode the Monomulator takes the MIDI messages and simply passes them though onto Ableton Live (as if the Monomulator was not there). Pressing combinations of the Shift and Send buttons on the APC40 selects different modes, which remaps the APC40 controls giving you a fader mode, a keyboard mode and a Monome mode (allowing you to run monome apps). This can be a little tricky to set up but Banginclude on YouTube has recorded a couple of very useful videos showing the setup and use of the Monomulator.
Ableton Live 8
Live 8 is fantastic for audio performance and as it’s name suggests it is heavily geared towards live use so it is stable, fast and inspiring to use. In this setup Ableton Live deals with all the audio in the performance and also sends MIDI messages on (using MIDI Yoke) to GrandVJ (which deals with all the video).
Click the image below to see a screenshot of the Update performance file:
The track is arranged into scenes (horizontal strips) with each scene containing the audio file to be played on the left and a series of MIDI files that will then send data on to GrandVJ via MIDI Yoke on the right. All clips simply send a MIDI note matching the length of the audio clip they represent. The red clips send a MIDI note to GrandVJ which stops one of the layers from displaying video.
Triggering the scene on the APC40 will play the audio in Ableton Live and also the MIDI clips which are then routed like this:
Each of the MIDI tracks outputs to MIDI Yoke (in this case MIDI Yoke 7, but you can just pick any unused one) and importantly outputs on MIDI channel 2. This is because the APC40 uses MIDI note on and off signals on channel 1 to communicate with Ableton Live. This helps stop any accidental triggering of clips as the MIDI data going from the APC40 to Ableton Live will always be on Channel 1 and the data going from Ableton Live to GrandVJ will be on channel 2.
Arkaos GrandVJ
There are a few options out there for controlling video in realtime. GrandVJ is nice as it has two performance modes, is very stable and has great MIDI integration.
Click the image below to see the Arkaos File for the Update conference:
Each video is assigned to one of 8 layers that can then be controlled in the right hand panel. This works much in the same way as layers in Photoshop. All the clips assigned to the top layer are image files set up as masks, creating the white borders around the videos.
You can take a look at the MIDI mapping of the video files by clicking this image:
As you can see each of the video files is MIDI mapped to activate when it receives the corresponding MIDI note on channel 2 from MIDI Yoke (sent from Ableton Live). In the layers panel the ‘Kill Layer’ buttons each have a MIDI assignment that comes from the red clips in Ableton Live. This stops videos from a previous part of the track continuing to loop when a new section is triggered.
You will notice 3 additional MIDI mappings on channel 1. These are set up to take MIDI data directly from the APC40, in this case the rotary controllers. This way you can control both Ableton Live and GrandVJ at the same time with one controller.
Two of the rotary dials are mapped to control the opacity of a layer in GrandVJ as well as control the cutoff on a low pass filter on a track in Ableton Live. Turning the dial will fade in the video and also filter in the audio (which is a slightly nicer effect than just fading in the audio).
One rotary dial is mapped to control the audio cross fader in Ableton Live and the video cross fader in GrandVJ allowing very quick flipping between the two videos and corresponding audio.
Microsoft LifeCam Cinema HD
Having some kind of visual indication of the actions you are taking during a performance greatly increases the audiences understanding of the process and the music being played. GrandVJ can take a variety of video sources and mix them with video files and a webcam is a really simple way of doing this.
For the performance I just positioned the webcam on the APC40 so that the audience could see what I was doing with the control surface and also in the background could see themselves (helping to prove that it is actually all being performed in real-time, which can be a problem). GrandVJ treats this just as it would a video file and you can assign MIDI to trigger the webcam input.
There are tons of webcams out there. The LifeCam is very straightforward and outputs at a high resolution (if you want it to) so is a good choice for this kind of thing.
System Drawbacks
This setup is definately a work in progress and there are a number of drawbacks including:
Scene trigger only
As each audio files needs to trigger a corresponding MIDI file in Ableton Live you can only control the flow of the track through triggering scene rather than individual clips.
Video layout
The videos have to be layed out manually before the performance so if a video loop is playing full screen in one section of the track and in the bottom quater of the screen later on you will need two video clips in GrandVJ and assign there position and size properties in advance. This is another reason for scene triggering as each scene has videos at different sizes and a border mask to match those videos. Ideally the system would automatically detect the number of videos triggered and assign them in real-time to a place on the screen.
MIDI mapping
While the MIDI mapping system works well it is extremely time intensive to create all the MIDI clips in Live them assign them in GrandVJ and test it all. You need to have a fairly set idea of the track arrangement before you start.
Other options
There are lots of different ways of doing this kind of thing and one to diffinitely look into is JAM by fellow Brightonian Jonathan Hammond. This is a Mac only application that allows you to control visuals through Ableton Live and Serato.
If you know of different solutions for live A/V setups then let me know in the comments.
Also it you have any questions about the setup described then just ask below or contact me on Twitter
Loud noises attract our attention and these days adverts and brands are screaming at us from every angle to take notice. Consumers are overloaded, so it’s time to look at some slightly more cunning ways to get the attention of the public and get your message out there using the power of audio.
These tips will give you some insight into some creative ways of using audio to get people’s attention and will also dip into the science behind ‘attention grabbing’ sounds along the way.
1.Our brains like backwards sounds
The very nature of sound vibration is that it loses energy over time, meaning almost all sounds start loud and get quieter. Hitting a gong, plucking a string, dropping your keys, with all these noises you instantly get sound that then dies away at varying rates. Our brain is used to this, play a sound backwards and our brain focuses on the sound trying to work out what is happening.
Here is an example recording, the sound of a radiator being hit.
Our ears have evolved to amplify certain frequencies. Your outer ear and your ear canal act as an amplifier boosting the signal where you need it most. This is centered around the human speech frequencies, which if you think about it makes sense. Humans have become the dominant species through the abilty to communicate with each other and it is only natural that we should have evolved to easily hear each other speak. The frequencies that the ear focuses on most are between 300hz and 3khz and this is one of the reasons why the bassist in a band gets less solos that the guitarist.
The audio equivalent of an M.C. Escher drawing, psycho-acoustic effects confuse your brain. Take the Shepard Tone for example, it is a sound that appears to be constantly rising with no end point:
Silence is a very powerful tool in the audio arsenal. Again, much of the effect of silence on our attention stems from evolution.
Naturally the world is quite a noisy place and sudden silences are often an indicator of danger in the form of predators. As a successful species humans have evolved to take a particular interest in avoiding being eaten. As such our ears are always on, even when we sleep and our brain is constantly processing the input. It is very good at identifying sudden changes in audio that could be dangerous to us.
Much of the time our brain is ‘passively’ listening to the sound all around us, blocking out the everyday noises (traffic, computer fans, wildlife etc.) that are of no danger to us. When our brain very rapidly switches to actively focus on a particular sound this really grabs the attention of all our other senses. Load noises are a good example of this but often overlooked is the effect of sudden silence which in many cases can be much more interesting.
Here is a piece of music created by Ithaca Audio that focuses on the change in volume between loud and soft sounds to create tension in the listener:
Last but certainly not least is quality. High definition, well recorded or created sounds just get our attention. Any of the attention grabbing tricks mentioned above will be dampened by bad quality audio. Wherever possible steer clear of low quality encoding such as mp3. Where small file sizes are necessary try looking at some of the lossless audio codecs such as mp3HD, FLAC and Apple Lossless. If size and compatibility absolutely demand mp3 then encode it at the highest quality settings that you can.
Last.fm’s excellent scrobbling feature tracks the music you are playing through iTunes, Windows Media Player, Spotify and more. It then lists suggestions of music you may like; this is great for finding new artists.
Here are some statistics of what has been playing in the Ithaca Audio studio over the last couple of months using last.graph, a last.fm stats engine:
