Kristin Grace Erickson (back)

A Jitter application with a matrix controller for layering and moving images and videos that contain a transparent alpha channel.

INSTRUCTIONS: Double-click the file called “PERSONPLACEANDTHING_v1,” the file without the “.maxpat” suffix. The application window and a smaller window named foo will open. The foo window will already be playing a background video and a foreground image. Pressing return loads random images and videos. Pressing tab randomly loads a control matrix preset. The matrix switch control determines the order of layer visibility from top to bottom. The layers to the right are on top of the layers to the left. There are eight different ways the software handles image content: BACKGROUND, FOREGROUND, CHARACTER, PROP, LIVE VIDEO, PREMADE LOOP, TRIGGER, AND COLOR. Seven of the categories have folders in the main application folder. Images and videos can be added and/or removed from the folders as the user wishes, but the application must be rebooted to detect content changes.

• The BACKGROUND category can contain any video or image. Initially this category was designed to function like a theatrical backdrop or like content used to replace a green screen. The images do not have transparency. The videos automatically loop.
• The FOREGROUND category contains still images with transparent data.
• The CHARACTER category contains still images. The content generally has transparent data on all sides of the image. A maximum of four unique CHARACTERS can be loaded simultaneously. The CHARACTER movement is controlled by the drunk object at a randomly determined speed.
• The PROP category contains still images with transparent data on all sides of the image. A PROP differs from a CHARACTER because of the way it moves. A PROP image moves across the screen or changes size. The path of a PROP is generated from a randomly determined starting point and size and its path to a randomly determined ending point and size. The speed of the movement is controlled with a number box next to the PROP pull-down menus. The PROP category also has an option to automatically load a new prop once the previous PROP has completed its journey. Two PROP images can be loaded simultaneously
• LIVE VIDEO turns on the built-in camera and the user can layer the live video with other images.
• The PREMADE LOOP category is for videos that loop.
• The TRIGGER category is for videos that jump to their start-point when you press the spacebar. These videos do not loop. Other versions of this application have MIDI implementation to control TRIGGER video restart.
• The COLOR category contains colors that can be randomly selected with a metronome. There is also an alternating strobe function with a secondary color that can be controlled with a metronome.

A 3 x 3 live video sampling application written in JITTER.

INSTRUCTIONS: Double-click the file called “BRADYBUNCHVIDEOSAMPLER,” the file without the “.maxpat” suffix. The application window and a smaller black window named foo will open. You may need to move the foo window to the side. Press the tab key to turn on your built-in camera. A green light will appear next to the lens, and an image, probably of you, will appear in the application window. To record a video sample press q, w, e, a, s, d, z, x, and/or c. The key that you press determines the location that the sample plays in foo. The duration of the sample is determined by the length of time you hold down thekey. When the key is lifted, the recording stops and the sample begins to loop. To record a sample in a different location of foo, press a different key. Once video has been recorded into some or all locations, there are various ways to modify the frames. The left and right arrow keys rotate the frames around the screen. The rotation pattern is serpentine. You can rotate the frames at a rate (ms) determined by the “Automatic Rotation” knob, if the “Automatic Rotation” toggle is ON. The spacebar re-triggers the beginning of the loops. You can repeatedly re-trigger the loops at a rate (ms) determined by the “Automatic Retrigger” knob, if the “Automatic Retrigger” toggle is ON. Return resets the frames to the original position and stops automatic functions. Delete erases all samples. *The color strobe will only function fully when using the “.maxpat” version of the application after pointing the color strobe pull-down menu to the “colors_psd” folder located in the BRADYBUNCHVIDEOSAMPLER_v1 folder.

The Klardiscopic Remedy is a sample and effect sequencing application designed in Max/MSP. The custom-designed multi-sliders store and recall four playback parameters for four audio files. Most parameters can be randomized. Use the built-in audio output with the standalone application for best results.

INSTRUCTIONS: Double-click the file called “KLARDISCOPIC_PUBLIC_v1,” the file without the “.maxpat” suffix. The application may take a few moments to load. Once the window is open, click the purple button in the top left corner and find the included KLARDISCOPIC_AUDIO folder, or find your own folder filled with audio samples. The four pull-down menus in the center of the window should auto- populate with the names of the audio files. Turn on the audio by pressing the black button with a speaker image on it in the lower middle part of the window, or press esc. Press tab to load four random samples. Turn on the metronome by pressing the spacebar, or clicking the toggle in the center of the window. At this point, you should be able to hear the generated sequence. To randomize many parameters at once, press return. Pressing delete resets the parameters to reasonable values. The four multi-sliders on the left side of the screen were originally programmed in 2002, before the CNMAT multi-slider object had the functionality it has today. The Klardiscopic Remedy multi-sliders are made using the LCD object. The original impetus for designing custom sliders was to be able to change multiple values with only one mouse click. The upper half of the sliders output values ranging between 0 and 63. These values are scalable in real-time using the “micro,” “macro,” and “scale pitch range” number boxes. The bottom part of the sliders are on/off switches for each step of the sequence. Clicking the “PITCH,” “FILTER,” “PANNING,” and “AMPLITUDE” text buttons above each multi-slider recalls stored values for each parameter. The green rslider object below the multi-slider sets the beginning and ending loop points of the sequence and is quantized to only loop in multiples of eight, as you can see when you click on the green rslider or grab a portion of the bar. The number messages below the rsliders are used to store and recall the four parameters of each multi-slider setting on the fly. The top row of numbers store the settings and the bottom row of numbers recall the settings. The pull-down menus in the middle of the screen list the available samples in the chosen folder. Samples are randomly loaded by pressing the tab key. The user can also choose each sample individually. Below the menus is a small mixer for the four samples where levels and mutes can be set. To the right of the mixer are the metronome controls. Here, the metronome can be turned on and off, the tempo can be adjusted, and the loop length and go-to points can be triggered. Below the metronome are 25 recall buttons that recall all four multi-slider presets simultaneously. The “RESET” and “RANDOM” buttons live to the right and are underneath the “clock display” and the “manual clock control” knob. This knob can be used when the metronome is off to manually step through the sequence. The filters are in the top right corner. The “freq” parameter is determined by the values stored in each multi-slider FILTER setting and the remaining filter values are controlled manually. The master level controls are located in the bottom center of the window, including an external level control for clipping the audio, a stereo delay, a strobe that alternates at different rates between the Klardiscopic audio and an external audio source, and an sfrecord~ object. Enjoy.

In the spring and summer of 2009, Kristin Grace Erickson and Christopher Fleeger were invited by Teatro Praga to Lisbon, Portugal to compose the music for an original experimental opera called Demo. Teatro Praga is a Portuguese theater group that began in 1995. As written on their website, “The individualities that form Teatro Praga (a group of artists that work without a director) embrace anunrepeatable theatrical practice: they are always different, in constant metamorphosis and subjected to unpredictable variations of themselves.” Demo is a multilingual work written predominantly in Portuguese and English, but also including dialogue and lyrics in German, French, and Estonian. The majority of the music was composed during a three-week residency with members of Teatro Praga in Faro, Portugal in March, 2009. The remaining composition was completed in June 2009 during six weeks of rehearsals in Lisbon. The show was performed eleven times in July and August of the same year at São Luiz Teatro Municipal. Written in two acts, the first act contains 35 minutes of continuous vocal music and the second act alternates between dialogue and song. Teatro Praga transformed the orchestra pit into a crocodile pit by installing a swimming pool at the front of the stage and filling it with water. Three human crocodiles swam in the pool throughout the show. The antagonist, Savitri, would throw characters to the crocodiles during her violent ascension to power. The composers were cast as live musicians and supportive actors. The piano, computer, and drum trio sang, danced, and narrated, until they too were thrown to the crocodiles. After opening weekend, the entire cast spent a day in the recording studio and produced an original cast recording of the show. The music will be released digitally and on double vinyl by Teatro Praga in January 2010.