Jonas Denzel Interview – Genius Loci Winners

Meet the audiovisual artist behind THE SHAPE OF SOUND, projection mapping on the facade of the new Bauhaus Museum in Weimar.

We said it many times: audiovisual is vast and complex, and within audiovisual the different techniques branch out to a myriad of different styles and expressions.

Jonas Denzel here really embraced the think-outside-the-box approach delivering something unique, engaging and playfully attractive.

The projection might not strike at first impact. Nevertheless as soon as you pick up the complex audiovisual interaction and sound design, you realize that you haven’t quite seen anything like that before.

The protagonist is the hand, the starting point of the artistic expression. From a simple gesture the whole audiovisual narrative takes over the building, truly engaging with the audience by inviting them to play along.

As part of our series about the Genius Loci Weimar 2019 winners, our young journalist Marta Minguell asked the creator about his creative process and how he approached the audiovisual event open call.

1. Can you tell us about the interaction design process that is so prominent in this projection mapping artwork?

For me as an artist it is important to let the audience become part of the projection. They should not only look, they should have the chance to actively participate. The interactive part of the projection is based on a musical pattern: it’s called Call and Response.

Basically, one person claps a rhythm and the crowd responds by clapping the same rhythm. In “The Shape of Sound” hands on the façade animate the audience through gestures to participate and rhythmically respond.

It’s a game of call and response. The viewers communicate with their hands. It’s a dialogue between them and the new Bauhaus Museum. By responding to the façade, the audience completes the projection. The rhythms are arranged in a way that they become increasingly difficult.

The simple beginning encourages as many spectators as possible to participate. The increase of rhythmical difficulty is not only challenging but also fun for the audience. It creates a feeling of community.

2. The piece celebrates the power of the gesture as an essential tool to create images and sounds. Which have been your sources of inspiration both in music and visual art for this piece and how did you link them together?

Hands are the oldest tools of mankind. They assist us in our everyday life: to work, to communicate, to make music, etc. The work “The Shape of Sound” is mainly inspired by playing drums.

“Body percussion” is a form of drums, where only hands are used to create rhythms and sounds on the body. I translated this to the new Bauhaus Museum and the projection. One can say it’s now no longer “Body Percussion” but actually “Bauhaus Percussion”.

The building transforms into an oversized instrument which is played by hands. For me it’s important that not only the visuals but also the sounds refer to the building. This is why the sounds were directly recorded at the new Bauhaus Museum facade.

Together with sound designer Sören Schaudel, sounds and rhythms were recorded on the actual building by knocking on windows, stroking on rough walls, drumming on railings, anything that makes sounds.

These sounds are then arranged in a composition which is an interplay of image and sound. Recording the sounds on the façade is an essential and inspiring part of the design process of the projection.

3. Can you share with us your creative approach when submitting an artwork to an open call?

First of all, I study the building, the architecture and its history. I then take a close look at the facade and its architectural structure to imagine what kind of musical instrument the building could be transformed into and how it could sound like.

In the specific case of the new Bauhaus Museum, the fine horizontal architectural lines on the facade were used to create a keyboard which then transforms the building into a huge piano played by over-dimensional hands.

Genius Loci Weimar

Interview to Genius Loci Weimar

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ruestungsschmie.de and Soundselektor Interview – Genius Loci Winners

Meet the audiovisual artists behind REMAKE³, projection mapping on the facade of the German National Theatre (DNT) in Weimar.

ruestungsschmie.de are absolute masters of the video mapping technique while Soundselektor crafts unique soundtracks intertwined with the visual narrative.

The audiovisual duo has a very analytical and technical approach to the audiovisual art. Their aim is to get as close as possible to the architecture and its role within the urban environment.

The result is a mind-blowing explosion of structural elements hitting hard on the viewer’s senses. Every single element is visually enhanced and undergoes numerous levels of abstractions, constantly oscillating between the architectural and the geometrical.

We had the chance to see their artwork NUCLEUS³ live at Signal Festival 2018. An audiovisual thunderstorm infusing every element of the facade with vibrant life: another of their masterpiece!

As part of our series about the Genius Loci Weimar 2019 winners, our young journalist Marta Minguell asked the creators about their creative process and how they approached the audiovisual event open call.

1. Can you tell us about how you constructed the abstract story-line for the visual narrative and the relationship with the sound experimentation?

The graphics are buildings on top of each other, they slowly evolve from simple to complex. The journey is the destination. We visualize our work-process as a part of our creation.

Our work is multi-layered. Each layer describes a fragment of a topic. By adding the layers on top of each other we create a multi-topic collage. 

In the first layer, the absolute beginning, we chose the main “topics” to work on graphically. In this case the architecture, the facade composition and the historical and urban context of the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar.

Being architects, we believe that the building plays the part of the protagonist. Our main instruments for the visual narrative creation are building plans, sections, 3D-models, satellite images, 2D and 3D geodata, plans and models of the surroundings and finally the landscape of the city itself.

In the second layer we reflect upon the historical, political and social impact of the Nationaltheater in the past, present and future. With this in mind as well as the current political and social development in Germany and Europe we decided we have to make some kind of statement, in using clear font. Finally, the categorical imperative (Kant) and its analogies found in the different world religions seemed to be the right answer.

The third layer is the sound design. Obviously it is important for composing the atmosphere in the visuals. We try to envision what will happen visually. We start working in 2D and 3D.

As soon as we have a rough cut, we send it to Jarii van Gohl / Soundselektor (our sound magician). Then he works on the sound composition and sends it back to us. Then the ping-pong-game starts, by sending back and forth. This goes on until we achieve the desired result. 

2. The projection mapping features a great variety of textures and patterns. How did you create them and what tools did you use?

We use very different techniques to create our visuals. We create 3D models from architectural drawings and Geo-data. We also use 2D video footage to create 3D objects importing them in 3D programs. A technique we have been constantly working on and refined over the years.

We also use different techniques offered by video editing software like DaVinci Resolve and others. For 3D we mostly use Cinema 4D and some known and unknown Plugins.

3. Can you share with us your creative approach when submitting an artwork to an open call?

It really depends on the task. First of all we analyze the object and its context. Typically, it is a building. We look at the facade, its specific details, patterns and composition and try to find plans and sections of the building.

We then look at the building’s history, the location within the city and the surroundings. Google Earth is our good friend there. When we can, we try to visit the city and see everything live.

Often there are given topics. Thereafter we start the conversation. Talking and sketching are the main instruments here. We shout out ideas and discuss them. This process leads to new ideas, which are also discussed and the wheel begins to turn. Eventually we find a concept which we can all agree on. 

Then the typing starts. We try to formulate our ideas the way an “outside” person would interpret it. Meanwhile the visualization starts. We try to squeeze in as much concept as possible within little pictures.

Finally we work on matching the text and the visuals, which is always a good test for the concept itself. If we cannot connect the written words with the images we created, we know there is a bug and we know what to do. Finally we add some artistic flavors and statements.

Then we win the call, the game begins and a new discussion starts. We love it!

Genius Loci Weimar

Interview to Genius Loci Weimar

ruestungsschmie.de

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Laura Seitz and Daniel Pitts Interview – Genius Loci Winners

Meet the audiovisual artists behind REVERSE IMAGINATION, projection mapping on the facade of the MON AMI cultural centre in Weimar.

Laura Seitz and Daniel Pitts’ audiovisual work stands out for its detailed storytelling and figurative approach.

Rather than opting for simply highlighting the architecture, they have decided to tell us the story behind the construction of the building, through a captivating audiovisual narrative.

As part of our series about the Genius Loci Weimar 2019 winners, our young journalist Marta Minguell asked the creators about their creative process and how they approached the audiovisual event open call.

1. What are the main references that inspired you to create the “Reverse Imagination” audiovisual narrative?

In order to start the foundations of the building, the people of Weimar had to drain parts of a swamp located in this area. Without that effort the construction of the MON AMI would not have been possible.

We found this tedious task to be a good symbolic starting point for a broader approach to the theme: individuals working together to open up space for their community.

The ground, that otherwise would have been inaccessible or even hostile to life, became fertile. Ideas that couldn’t be previously heard can now be shared and developed.

The whole building can be perceived as a foundation stone for decades of dialogue, cultural and artistic expression, political engagement and countless untold personal stories that otherwise would have not been possible.

We reenacted that progress, but not in a historically accurate way. Instead we opted for a fantastic reinterpretation of the construction of the building. Abstract beings finding themselves back in the former swamp surrounded by ruins and rubble.

They are there to rebuild an alternative MON AMI, revealing more of the
inner nature of the place than the facade might be able to show on its
own.

2. Can you tell us about the techniques you used and the creative process you followed to create this animation mapping piece?

We wanted to put emphasis on the audiovisual story telling in this work right from the beginning. So we did a fair amount of writing work and concept art, to develop a solid narrative structure, that is engaging and suitable for the site.

Furthermore we had to consider the different spectators experiences, due to the wide range of viewing angles and visual obstacles, like trees in front of the building.

Since our story evolved around the fictitious rebuild of MON AMI, we tried not only to superimpose imagery onto the real world structure.

Instead we referenced it and played with its spatial perception to immerse a viewer even further by forcing perspectives and vanishing points.

While the composition of the different elements, their movements and lighting was done in a digital 3d environment, almost all visible surfaces were hand drawn, scanned and then integrated into the scene.

This mixture of analog and digital technology enabled intriguing animated movement, dynamic lighting and complex scene setup. But it was also providing the necessary detail, texture and imperfection that created a natural and tangible look, even at the scale of such a mapping piece.

3. Can you share with us your creative approach when submitting an artwork to an open call?

Genius Loci Weimar 2019 was the first video mapping project that we did of that kind. Visiting the audiovisual event in recent years, gave us an impression of the unique mood in the streets of Weimar during those nights.

Entire areas of the city seemed to be immersed in a dream-like state. Yet all the locations featured different atmospheres achieved in many different ways.Inspired by that we were eager to create our own approach reflecting our interests and skill sets.

For the submission we wanted to create an artwork that well portrays
our stylistic decisions as well as giving a glimpse of the narrative
structure we planned for the full animation piece.

At the same time, we were trying to figure out whether our ideas could work on a medium that we only knew from a spectator’s point of view back then.

Genius Loci Weimar

Interview to Genius Loci Weimar

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Dejero Wins Second Prestigious Technology and Engineering Emmy® Award

Globally recognized award underlines how Dejero exponentially improves flexibility in location coverage for newsgathering and live events crews   Waterloo, Ontario, January 20, 2020 — Dejero, an innovator in cloud-managed solutions that provide award-winning video transport and Internet connectivity while mobile or in remote locations, has been awarded a second prestigious Technology and Engineering Emmy® ...

The post Dejero Wins Second Prestigious Technology and Engineering Emmy® Award appeared first on NAB Show News | 2020 NAB Show Media Partner and Producer of NAB Show LIVE.