C3 showcase at DU

LED globes

I was unexpectedly invited to a new media showcase at the new Digital Media Studies and Electronic Arts, Media, and Design center at the University of Denver.  These are two degrees the university offers.  Their new center "C3" (Center for Creation and Collaboration) had just recently been finished and this was the inaugural gallery event.  I didn't know exactly what kind of work I'd be seeing, other than the work of students and instructors of the various programs.  I was invited by Synthia Payne who might possibly be teaching a Digital Audio and Telematic Music course next semester (if you're intrested, email her).

Playing with cellphone vibrators

Here are some rhythmic experiments with the tiny motors used in cellphone vibrators.  They bounce if you hold them just right.  They're fun, but everything really depends on the quality of the material you're using it against.

In one scene I'm running way too much voltage through a cellphone vibrator. At one point, it broke... not from too much power, but from bouncing so hard the cable snapped.

There's some pretty cool musical things you can do with these... plus they cost like 89 cents. 

Nature by Numbers by Cristóbal Vila

Nature by Numbers from Cristóbal Vila on Vimeo.

Even if you don't understand the math behind this, the visuals are incredible.  It's amazing how much math there is in nature.  Read more from the artist here.

One of my very first UX designs from 2007

I found this while reworking some of my portfolio things.  I built it in flash... this is probably one of the first user experience things I ever created.   And boy is it crappy... but the loops are fun!

Loops created using the RC20-XL Loop Pedal during 2007:

Balinese Gamelan Documentary

Here is a copy of a short documentary I helped make this past fall. It was created for a course on ritual and media at the University of Colorado, Boulder. It documents the 2010, November 7th Gamelan performance at IMIG music center.

Gamelan is the "why" of life, it is as important as food. I Made Lasmawan instructs the group as well as many other gamelans across Colorado and the US. This film was made in iMovie for simplicity and in collaboration with a group.






Check out the other documentary I made this year The 1996 Ute Mountain Ute Bear Dance.

Obligatory Nightime Exposure

Runaway

So long exposure shots at night are bread and butter for photography... for whatever reason.  This is a new take on the concept; these are exposure shots from an airplane of the city and runway lights at dusk.  You can click on the pictures for more detail.  Of course I turned off all electronics before takeoff...

Going up?

The Latchkey Kids lost album

Back in high school, me and my (still good) friends started a music project called the "Latchkey Kids".  We wrote a bunch of songs and played at a few venues, but we never did the serious recording we wanted to do.  We tried to organize sessions, but sometimes, its just hard to get it done.  Fortunately, our very first (acceptable) recordings turned out pretty good, if I say so myself.  They were tracked on a Boss BR-1180 before any of us knew what we were doing.  Anyways, have a listen... leave a comment (you can do it on the media player!)... Enjoy!



The songs we never finished... I think they still sound pretty good.

EJ Posselius - Guitar, Bass, Percussion, Piano
Mike Bedard - Guitar, Songwriting
Charlie Ballas - Guitar, Organ, Percussion
Jon Swihart - Guitar, Percussion
Carly Smith - Vocals (LnC)
Laura Stratton - Guitar/Vocals (LnC)

I also added a soundclip to Narcissus, a really interesting flute and electronics piece.

Audio for Narcissus

There is a lot more information about this performance in the original post.

Scoring for Film

Instead of adding this back to the Long Neck Big Heart post, I decided to make a new post about scoring for film.  During the performance, there is a stop-motion video that required music.  As the sound-designer for the show, I decided to try my hand at it.  There are many challenges to scoring for film.  You really have to understand what the picture is saying, and putting that to music is difficult.  This short piece is a dream about a man and his relationship with his blue robe.




The Beast of Dreams from EJ Posselius.

New Blog Direction for 2011

So I haven't been using this blog very effectively. I haven't been updating posts on time, and haven't been devoting enough time to my own projects. That said, I'm going to start posting more of my work in this blog on a frequent basis. (cross fingers). I signed up for a Vimeo account that allows 500 mb/week of video upload. So one of my goals is to meet that limit with quality video projects. I'll also be working on rounding out my portfolio, including adding more media to this blog.

Additionally, I'm going to experiment with sharing interesting articles and books I discover. Hopefully I can share some of the resources I've been able to take advantage of. Of course, I'll continue to talk about events and performances that I attend and am a part of.  I've also added a lot of media to past posts, so it may be worth going back to watch some videos, see some pictures, and listen to some samples.

Here's a little sample of more to come:





 Energy Force from EJ Posselius.

Useful Websites of 2010

Here some of the sites I frequented this past year... I thought I'd share them:

Flickr and Vimeo :: These have been a great way for me to share my pictures and video. Flickr needs to be paid for to have any real value, but Vimeo lets you upload 500/MB a week, which is enough for me for right now.

CreateDigitalMusic/CreateDigitalMotion :: These two blogs moderated by Peter Kirn are some of my favorite sources for cutting edge technology news. The articles are informed and and the comments are filled with educated discussions. Definitely check these out.

Make Blog :: This blog is amazing in that it updates very frequently, with some very interesting posts. There are a a number of very different topics covered that are worth checking out. My favorite is the Math Monday section.

HackADay :: This blog also updates frequently. The articles here are fairly technical, but have a lot of great ideas. As with any good info-blog, there are lots of pictures and videos.

Sparkfun :: A great (local - Colorado) resource for electronic components. Additionally, they have an excellent library of tutorials, weekly refreshing inventory, and really interesting contests.

Creativeapplications.net :: I just recently discovered this site, but they showcase a lot of very interesting applications and installations that have recently been developed. I wish they updated more frequently, but I still enjoy the pictures and video each contains.

FlowingData :: Data visualization is one of my recent interest, and this site provides a number of very interesting data representations. I have gotten a lot of inspiration from this site.

OpenProcessing.org :: This, albeit unorganized, site lets users show off their Processing patches to the ever-growing community. I particularly enjoy that users can share their source code, so there is much to be learned.

I have a degree in what...?

Go ahead... ask me. I can explain it to you, but the best way to understand it is to experience it. But that's the best part! Anyone can experience ethnomusicology, if they have some interest in learning about music and how we as humans interact with it. That is essentially what ethnomusicology is.  Now, who here doesn't like music? Moving on.

I graduated with a Bachelors in Ethnomusicology with certificates in Music and “Technology, Arts and Media” from the University of Colorado Boulder. While it took five years, I learned a lot during my progression from engineer to musician to technologist. At each step I learned a little more about how they are all related. What’s next?

I’m currently thinking about some graduate schools, as well as just jumping into the workforce. Either way, I am going to take a little time to clear my head from school and work on projects I’ve had to put off for so long now. Projects that will ultimately show up in this blog...

(Seriously if you want to know more about ethnomusicology, email me)