360 Media

I am continuing my explorations of the great terminal-based video tool FFmpeg. Now I wanted to see if I could “flatten” a 360-degree video recorded with a Ricoh Theta camera. These cameras contain two fisheye lenses, capturing two 180-degree videos next to each other. This results in video files like the one I show a screenshot of below. These files are not very useful to watch or work with, so we need to somehow “flatten” them into a more meaningful video file. I find it cumbersome to do this in the Ricoh mobile phone app, so I have been looking for a simple solution on my computer. ...

We just started a new run of our free online course Music Moves. Here we have a tradition of recording wrap-up videos every Friday, in which some of the course educators answer questions from the learners. We have recorded these in many different ways, from using high-end cameras and microphones to just using a handheld phone. We have found that using multiple cameras and microphones is too time-consuming, both in setup and editing. Using only a mobile phone is extremely easy to set up, but we have had challenges with the speech’s audibility. Before recording this semester’s wrapup videos, I, therefore, decided to test out some solutions based on the equipment I had lying around: ...

The third NIME contribution from the fourMs lab this year was the paper: The ‘Virtualmonium’: an instrument for classical sound diffusion over a virtual loudspeaker orchestra Paper [PDF] Soundfiles Despite increasingly accessible and user-friendly multi-channel compositional tools, many composers still choose stereo formats for their work, where the compositional process is allied to diffusion performance over a ‘classical’ loudspeaker orchestra. Although such orchestras remain common within UK institutions as well as in France, they are in decline in the rest of the world. In contrast, permanent, high-density loudspeaker arrays are on the rise, as is the practical application of 3-D audio technologies. Looking to the future, we need to reconcile the performance of historical and new stereo works, side-byside native 3-D compositions. In anticipation of this growing need, we have designed and tested a prototype ‘Virtualmonium’. The Virtualmonium is an instrument for classical diffusion performance over an acousmonium emulated in higher-order Ambisonics. It allows composers to custom-design loudspeaker orchestra emulations for the performance of their works, rehearse and refine performances off-site, and perform classical repertoire alongside native 3-D formats in the same concert. This paper describes the technical design of the Virtualmonium, assesses the success of the prototype in some preliminary listening tests and concerts, and speculates how the instrument can further composition and performance practice. ...

Interesting things from ICMC 2006 day 5: Max Matthews (CCRMA) spoke about phase filters The algorithm is a difference equation based on a rotating complex number. A complex number, viewed as a two-dimensional vector, is sometimes called a Phaser, hence the name of the filter. The resulting filter is a high Q two pole resonant filter that is well behaved in terms of stability and is easy to re-tune dynamically during a performance. The filter is about twice as expensive in terms of computer multiplies and additions per sound-wave sample than most other filter algorithms but laptop computers now are so fast that they can run a bank of several hundred Phaser filters in real-time. ...

Interesting things from ICMC 2006 day 2: Tim Place presented Jamoma. Golan Levin presented a very interesting project on spectrographic performance, where a large table with a projected image is “scanned” sequentially and synthesized as a frequency spectrum. So the table would serve as a performance space where physical objects could be moved around to create various rhythmic patterns and timbres. ...