[sdiy] re: video-synth DIY

[bruce tovsky]

i've played a bit with analog video synths, starting back in
the early 70's, and they can be amazing and extremely quirky.
you didn't mention bill etra and you should search him on google -
the rutt-etra synth is amazing. bill is working on a software version
of his classic, in fact i saw him perform live just a couple weeks ago
at a unity gain show in brooklyn. while there were obvious bugs, the
potential was exciting. do a search for benton bainbridge as well -
a current video artist who uses both analog hardware and software.
as far as diy being an alternative to off-the-shelf, particularly 
cost-wise,
forget about it. the amount of work and expense would far outstrip any
commercially available software solution for any platform, and would
take you years. if you're a student, or know one, you can get a deep
discount on cycling 74 products - max/msp/jitter. i use jitter all the 
time,
and while the learning curve is steep, the potential is limitless. 
still,
there are things that you can do with analog gear that is impossible to
achieve anywhere else. one option for you would be to explore working
at a place - like the non-profit experimental television center:
http://www.experimentaltvcenter.org/
they're in upstate new york. i'm sure that there are others spread about
the country in colleges and the like. finding a facility where you can
learn and work for free or for little money is a definite possibility 
and
that way you can get your feet wet before dedicating your life to 
building
the ultimate analog video synth. and if you do build one, can i play 
with it?
good luck!
best
bruce

On Jun 28, 2005, at 11:56 AM, Metrophage wrote:

Does/ has anybody here tinkered with making video synths or processors?

I have been interested in video art for most of my life, but it has
always been an elusive thing. The hardware was never widely produced.
The classic works of the medium are not readily distributed for people
to see. Years ago I got to see some analog video work from Nam June
Paik, Ed Emshwiller, Dan Sandin, and others - these made a lasting
impact on the ways I think about video.

I am aware that video signals run faster, with the various components
synchronized together. What I have read on the topic at
AudioVisualizers and other sites is not terribly specific about
implementation. A lot of the older systems (circa 1968-1974) appeared
to be analog modular (audio) synths which had interfaces hacked into
video scan modulators, ramp generators, etc. Lots of emphasis on
oscillators being "phase locked", which I'd guess is like hard sync?

Thinking ahead, since I will have a few panels together this year, I am
wondering how I can interface these to video gear. My computers are not
fast enough for most video stuff I have tried, and I am less inspired
by the After Effects and Arkaos ways of doing things. NATO or Jitter
would be fun, but are too expensive for me now, and I'd need a faster
computer. So I am determined to learn more about video synth DIY. I
currently have way too much stuff on my plate to fix, mod, and build -
so I will start messing around with this stuff next year.

I'd be more than psyched to hear of anybody's experiences with such
things!
CJ

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com


bruce tovsky
www.skeletonhome.com

"To know is nothing at all; to imagine is everything."
Albert Einstein

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: text/enriched
Size: 3577 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://synth-diy.org/pipermail/synth-diy/attachments/20050628/38140695/attachment.bin>