Guitar Hero vs Vinyl Hero

After a good few hours crying with laughter playing guitar hero the other day I can safely say this game has my vote.

I’ve had an idea of creating a Vinyl version called…. drum rolllllllllll (excuse pun) – Scratch hero!! It has been done before mind with the playstation and arcade games: ‘beatmania’.

How about doing it with a real turntable tho?? Surely the technology is there to create such a game. Using the same GUI as guitar hero for example but have a real turntable/mixer as the interface ?

It could even be stretched to the limits by having a mixing section of the game using different turntabalist techniques to have as different levels of the game e.g. blending, cuting, using the gains, beatmatching etc…

Maybe im jumping on the bandwagon slightly here but it’s definetely food for me thoughts

Beatspinner 2.0

Interesting project using a turntable as the interface for a beat making device. The user can change beats depending on a variety of wooden cylinders that can be placed at different points on the physical ‘timeline’ or platter.

The project uses a MAX/MSP path to control how the beats are processed. This also works along side abletone live so live sinthesisers could be used to gain a multitude of sounds. MAX/MSP could record an aspect of the beats as they were created and loop them accordingly.

Another version of the beatspinner was created using a video camera and coloured coins. A live feed was sent to MAX/MSP where it could pick up the coloured coins and output a representing sound…

Interesting project that in theory could be developed further…

Mini Alaska Mix

First of a series of mix’s from myself

    Drumatic amens: Alaska aka Paradox

30 mins

Click for download

Sounds of the human body

Interesting to read that “our mother’s heart was the first sound we heard, so a heartbeat is one of the most reassuring sounds we know.” Going back to the womb is what we are all striving for!! Producers take note. If atmospheric human made sounds are most reasuring to us, could this be something to think about when sampling/producing/thinking about how to change someones feeling to a sound?

The day I start producing, I’d like to give it a shot.

That is all.

I need a camera…

I’ve been pondering over the idea of buying a nice camera. I’ve always been one for catching those ’special’ moments, be it wondering streets, at the top of the slopes or driving round an suddenly being hit with an amazing view. Whenever I spot one, that voice inside me says ‘if only I had a camera’, even if being in that moment for no one else to witness is rather special in itself, sharing it is the next step…

A loyal member of a forum I visit regularly has also been an inspiration for me. He goes by the name of ‘Munkeh’ an some of his shots are unreal. This is a recent one…

You can visit more of his work @ http://photoaddiction.co.uk/

Books?

If anyone has any recomendations on what books have been useful, interesting or inspiring to them, give us a heads up!

I will always recomend anything by Charlie Brooker… The man is a comical genius.

Adobe Thermo

Something I’ve only just come accross. Looks like this will be a useful tool in future. It can be used for fast prototyping, and communicating ideas quickly and efficiently to a client.

Especially for me as a programming dummy. You can add interactivity to PS files for example and create a real working application. This gives a designer full fidelity for what the application may be like.

This in turn will increase work flow between designer > developer as generally speaking the design can usually be given to the developer drawn out/printed on a piece of paper. This could give a fully functional application for the developer to visualise with.

Source code is also implmented whilst creating the application so the developer can program on to whats already there…

Bring on design integrated developing software!!

CERN – Arrives April 6th

Next week the infamous CERN will be opening its doors to the public before it goes into operation later on in 2008.

It will be displaying it’s LHC(large hadron collider), the largest particle accelerator in the world at 27km long, 100 metres underground.

Im looking forward to this going into operation.. BIG step for man-physico’s!

Miniature Projection

So it seems there is a future for DLP(digital light processing technology) pico-projectors in either a standalone format or as integrated modules in handheld devices.

Not so high quality as yet (protoype), but if it does get anywhere near HD then this could change the way we see things portably. See lots of potential in this..

Could this be the new platform for presenting our work as we move??

I hope not!

Laser Harp

‘Stephen Hobley’ has created this beeeeeeauuuutiful laser harp.

He wreckons you can build one for under 600 US dollars.

‘The harp is driven by an Arduino (Boarduino varation) and connected to the impOSCar VSTi software synthesizer, the TAOS sensor array sits on the floor in it’s own stand.’

Build instructions and source code available on his website..

http://www.stephenhobley.com/build

Another pic..