A work in progress, aimed as a useful overview of video possibilities, current software, hardware and techniques, and leaning on the DIY side. A place where I’ll gather various links that help illuminate some of the creative potential and opportunities available with video. [ Last Updated : Oct 2, 2009 for Talk @ Electrofringe ]

Examples of Live Audiovisual Exploration?
The Light Surgeons : True Fictions performance trailer.
and show reel. DFUSE – Particle Performance.Nosaj Thing’s audiovisual show.

Momo : How to use Ableton Live to sequence live video
The Lemur controller being used in live Audiovisual manner.
Serato Scratch video and quartz composer.

Mapping Video Onto Surfaces
555 Kubik, Etienne De Crecy, Lasercave, dataflux.

Breaking it down :

Planning & Capture
Planning. Every hour spent planning will be savoured later when it has saved time shooting, capturing, processing, editing, rendering, exporting, loading into VJ software etc etc. Some useful tools/ideas?

Storyboarding?
( see also Hitchcock iphone app )
The Sour music video is an excellent example of how good planning can bring excellent results ( in this case, utilising the webcams of users all over the world ).
Understanding Comics?
Principles to consider when shooting for the web. Mostly common sense eg web video tends to be smaller, so close ups work better than long shots. Just ideas to be aware of, not concrete rules.
Preparing for VJ performance? Variations of clips, templates, transitions, layers, masks.

Production
There are a variety of basic editing packages out there to chop, layer and splice your videos. Depending on your needs, dedicated compositing, motion graphics and visual effects software will likely prove very useful for video creation.

VJ Software? VJ Forums. Wikipedia’s VJ software list.
Can personally recommend the mac based VDMX 5 from vidvox.net ( click for screenshots ).
( Highly modular, adaptible, powerful possibilities, good Quartz Composer integration. )
Modul8 ( well suited for motion graphics )
Resolume Avenue ( Strong Audiovisual features )
Isadora ( another modular contender )
Max / MSP + Jitter ( Very powerful, customisable graphic programming language environment – People are excited about the upcoming MAX4Live software which will integrate the sequencing possibilities of Ableton Live, and allow audio performers to tightly synchronise their custom Jitter parameters )
Processing ( More accessible variety of the above )
VVVV

Live animation software?
Animata ( Controllable via Quartz Composer and OSC – eg control limb movements / animation components in real-time )

Hardware?

Capturing, Mixing, Controlling, Processing, Outputting.

Capturing : A smorgasbord of sources including mobile phones and even digital still cameras can now capture or create moving images, which can be easily repurposed with a variety of editing software such as imovie, final cut pro, adobe premiere or free software from avid.

HD camera considerations? Which codec does it record as? Quality?
Popular with VJs? the Canon HV20 + HV 30, with a lens adaptor, which gives film-like results.
Digital still cameras? Many can shoot high speed, which makes for great slow motion footage. Underwater casings are also more prevalent and cheaper for digital still cameras.

Mixing : Edirol V4 / Edirol V8 / AVM 02 / VIXID
The DVJ allows DVDs to be scratched and speed controlled like CDs.

Controlling : Video software can be controlled by much more than a double clicking mouser behind a laptop. Using some sort of hardware controller is one of the biggest significant steps to making live video more instrument-like, responsive, versatile and fun. Mostly we’re talking about using knobs, buttons, sliders and touchscreens to control video sfotware parameters. Most real-time video software also allows a range of easy automated processes to control parameters – eg letting audio analysis functions use audio levels to control a parameter, or setting up a range of mathematical processes which can add randomness or ’swing’ to your video parameters.

I use the Novation Nocturn for its portability and on laptop screen interface.
The Monome is a minimalist controller…
( see also, the arduinome )

Popular dedicated video controllers : Codanova, Livid Instruments Ohm64
The Jazz Mutant Lemur sports a huge touchscreen.

iphone applications as midi / OSC controllers : touch OSC, mrmr, MSA remote.
Software such as Junxion allows any USB connectable joysticks, dancemats or game controllers to manipulate video parameters. The DIY electronics Arduino kit : “a tool for making computers that can sense and control more of the physical world than your desktop computer. Arduino can be used to develop interactive objects, taking inputs from a variety of switches or sensors, and controlling a variety of lights, motors, and other physical outputs.”

Processing : Live FX Units. Circuit bending?
Outputting : Mobile projectors open up possibilities. Livestream-ing to the web. Net-jams. Video Mirror Units ( Austria ) allow video projections to move around, by controlling a motorised mirror at the very front of the projector. The mirror and motor are moved using DMX signals, the protocol used for stage lighting. A device called UDMX, allows this to happen through a computer via USB ( it’s essentially a DMX to USB convertor all wrapped up inside a cable ).

Techniques?

Editing? ( In the Blink of an Eye – Walter Murch )
Processes & workflows.
Zen TV Masterclass ( By Cold Cut / ninjatune.net ) – on how to create audiovisual loops for live sequencing and performance.

Post-Production

Software? Adobe After Effects, Motion and many, many other applications can go beyond the edit, and provide rich processing capacity. As well as these traditional tools, many VJ applications provide capacity for real-time exploration of effects and manipulation.

Budding visual artists looking for something like Photoshop with a timeline, usually find themselves at the door of After Effects soon enough. And while higher end software packages exist, it remains a sophisticated and powerful application for creating animation or motion graphics, for layering and compositing text, graphics and video, and for adding special effects or post-producing ( colour corrections etc ). There’s an abundance of tutorial sites online, but there’s a few resources that are particularly handy :

videocopilot.net – has a great range of free introductory video tutorials, and sells more advanced tutorials ( as well as software plugins ).
ae.tutsplus.com – Probably the most regularly updating AE blog out there.
aescripts.com – Useful scripts that can make several tasks easier ( auto-detect edit points and separate clips into individual layers? No problem. )
creativecow.net/after-effects-tutorials-podcast – The pioneering motion graphics site also has 150+ video podcast episodes to wander through, from easy through to brain-squintingly hard.

Arguments about resolution & production : quality vs flexibility for performance ( with smaller file sizes )?
Recording & remixing.
Processes & workflows.

Distribution / Performance

The Engage Media Guide to Digital Video Distribution has an excellent overview of the technical aspects of video. The BBC has a succinct guide for understanding RSS, and why it is meaningful for distribution. Why are we entering a ‘subscription age?‘
Videoblogging is thriving – in terms of tools, audiences and clips.
mefeedia: directory of videoblogs.
Videoblog mailing list – *lots* of discussion here, even browsing the archives will illuminate.
Freevlog’s guide to making your own videoblog for free.
Fireant : awesome video blog subscriber application.
Vlogmap – joining the global video-blog dots.

VJing & live audiovisual performance, real-time cinema.

Technical needs : projectors, screens, cables, adaptors.
Software needs : appropriate codecs, resolution, responsiveness.
Liveness. Flexible, modular clips that allow improvisation, adaptibility. Clips that loop nicely. Clips that layer and composite well together. Clips that can mask areas of the screen. Clips that allow dynamic transitions.
More Info on all above : vjforums.com

Miscelleanous Tangents….

machinima: a film genre, referring to movies created by using video game engines ( to build virtual sets and/or characters ).
The subscription age : a succinct analysis of how our use of the web is changing, and clearly outlining how RSS, feeds, blogs and podcasts are part of this change.
Second Life : a privately-owned, partly subscription-based 3-D virtual world, in which many are experimenting with video broadcasts.
This Spartan Life : Popular talk-show available as a podcast, created within the game Halo.
DIY DVD Label…
( lulu.com ) : self-publishing model.
revver.com: get paid for viewers watching your clips.
Social media. Conversational media.
Mobile phones? ( Easy export of .3gp files within quicktime pro, a mobile phone friendly format. )

100+ video storage sites, review of the best

JumpCut.com – includes a crazy inbuilt editor that allows editing or remixing of your own video, photos, music, or someone elses from the site.
“Any time you update your movie on Jumpcut, your movies embedded elsewhere will be updated instantly without you having to do anything.” [ now dead ]

Filtering Video ( DIY TV Channel ) :
http://videobomb.com/ – vote for videos.
http://www.getdemocracy.com/ – application that allows easy subscription to video ‘channels’.
http://digg.com/view/videos – videos ranked by popularity.
http://cliptip.blogspot.com – music video blog.
http://videos.antville.org/ – meta-music-video-blog.
http://typolis.net/shortsville/ – short film group blog.
http://www.screenhead.com/ – funny, viral, popular clips.
http://engagemedia.org/ – melb based, independent media channel creator.

Further Resources
Mark Pesce – hyperdistribution : Sydney Film Festival video podcast talking about the challenges of creating and distributing good online content.

More Context?
July hosted the worst week ever for TV ratings in the U.S., whilst simultaneously youtube.com boasted 100 million videos per day, and social networking site myspace.com laid claim to becoming the site most visited by the US population.

There are now more than 2 Billion mobile phones in existence, and as Mark Pesce notes “More people listen to the podcasts of Radio National than listen to the live broadcast,” and “more people read the Sydney Morning Herald online than read the print edition.”

See also the Skynoise Guide to Harnessing Networked Media, produced for a workshop @ the Straight Out of Brisbane festival 2006.