2008 MIMA Workshops

Two, One Week Workshops in New York
Specifically Designed for Moving Image Media Artists
June 14 - 18 & October 27 - 31, 2008

Where: 3LD Art & Technology Center, 80 Greenwich Street, NY, NY
Deadline for June Workshop: April 14, 2008
Deadline for October Workshop: August 25, 2008
Participants: 10 participants will be accepted via application.
Times: 10:00AM - 4:00PM daily, Saturday - Wednesday
Cost: $500, includes a six-month trial license for the Isadora software

Introduction
Required Equipement
Application Procedure
About Troika Ranch, Mark Coniglio & Dawn Stoppiello
Contact Information
Troika Ranch Home Page

Introduction

With support from the New York State Council on the Arts, Troika Ranch will offer two workshops specially designed for Moving Image Media Artists. Led by Mark Coniglio and Dawn Stoppiello, Artistic Co-Directors of Troika Ranch, the MIMA workshop allows students to explore strategies and techniques for using gestures or vocalizations to interactively control computer based media, such as sound synthesizers, video playback devices, theatrical lighting and robotic objects and to create and playback digital media for Installation, DVD’s, Web Sites and other non-performance based practices.

The main creative tool for the workshop is Mark Coniglio’s Isadora® software. Designed for the real-time manipulation of video and audio, Isadora is being used by hundreds of artists worldwide including Royal Shakespeare Company, Mort Subotnick, Rosemary Lee, Three Legged Dog, Christopher Kondek, Maya Ciarrocchi (for Bebe Miller and Merce Cunningham), VJ Solu, Lingo Dance Theater, Gretchen Schiller, Hans Tutschku and others.

Guided by the instructors, each participant will use Isadora to create a short study that makes use of the software in ways that reflect the aesthetic intentions of their own work. Our hands on approach is complimented by a consideration of the aesthetic and compositional concerns that arise when using interactive digital tools, including critical discussions about how the technology itself shapes the form and content of an artwork. Participants will learn what is necessary to create their short studies during the workshop: basic programming skills, video and audio capture, and how to manipulate the media via external sensing systems.

If you have questions, please email us at:

Required Equipment

Computers: Students will either bring their own laptops, or computers will be provided to them. For those using one of Troika Ranch's computer, it may be necessary for two participants to share one computer. The computers must meet the following minimum requirements:

Macintosh G4/G5 or Intel based computer with a bus speed of 1.0 Ghz and 1.0 GB of RAM; Mac OS X 10.3.9 or greater; QuickTime 7.0 or greater must be installed.

Windows computer with a bus speed of 1.8 Ghz and 1.0 GB of RAM; Windows XP or NT or Windows Vista; QuickTime 7.0 or greater must be installed. For desktop machines, a second video card is highly recommended so that users may view the Isadora user interface on their monitor whilst simultaneously displaying video on a video projector.

Video Camera: A digital video camera (DV, web cam, etc.) and a compatible external interface (if needed) is highly recommended. For those whose computers do not have an integrated internal microphone, an external microphone compatible with the microphone input of your computer is also recommended.

MIDI & Other Sensory Systems: Users may also bring MIDI input devices or other sensory systems if they have prior skill in connecting and using those systems with their computer.

Application Procedure

To apply, please send an email to

Include one paragraph explaining why you are interested in attending the workshop and one paragraph describing the kind of work that you make. You should also briefly tell us about your level of expertise with computers. Please include your name, address, telephone number and email address.

Deadline for June Workshop: April 14, 2008

Deadline for October Workshop: August 25, 2008

ou will be notified of your acceptance one week after the workshop deadline. After being accepted, we will ask you to forward us a check in the amount of US$500. Wire transfers can also be accepted - please contact us for bank details. Payments may also be made by credit card, but require an extra $40 processing fee.

IF YOUR PAYMENT IS NOT RECEIVED BY THE DEADLINE YOUR SPOT IN THE WORKSHOP WILL BE GIVEN TO THE NEXT PERSON ON THE WAITING LIST. NO EXCEPTIONS!

A Note About the Selection Process

Please know that, beyond your application information, an important factor in choosing those ten people is how the group fits together as a whole. When the skills of those participating vary too widely, it means that someone ends up either bored or overwhelmed. So please understand that if you are not chosen it is not a reflection on your abilities or your skills as an artist.

About Troika Ranch, Mark Coniglio & Dawn Stoppiello

Troika Ranch is the collaborative vision of artists Mark Coniglio and Dawn Stoppiello. Established in 1994, Troika Ranch produces live performances, interactive installations, and digital films, all of which combine traditional aspects of these forms with advanced technologies. The name Troika Ranch refers to Coniglio and Stoppiello's creative methodology, which involves a hybrid of three artistic disciplines, dance/theater/media (the Troika), in cooperative interaction (the Ranch). This method preceded the organization Troika Ranch, which was formed as a means to support the artists' engagement in this process. During their initial years, Coniglio, Stoppiello and their company Troika Ranch were among the pioneers in the field that came to be known as Dance and Technology. They performed in festivals and venues internationally and were greatly sought after as guest artists, teachers, and lecturers. In response to the desire in the international arts community to understand this emerging genre, Coniglio and Stoppiello began developing educational programs. Their primary public outreach activity is their Live-I Workshop. They have been teaching the Live -I Workshop annually in New York City since 1999.

Troika Ranch has performed throughout the United States and Europe, at venues including the Laban Center (London), Monaco Dance Forum (Monaco), The Forum Neues Musictheater (Germany), The Duke on 42nd Street, The Kitchen and Eyebeam Art & Technology Center (New York), among others.

They have taught the Live-I Workshop at numerous institutions in the United States and abroad. European hosts have included Contredanse (Brussels, Belgium), FACT (Liverpool, England), and Dartington College (Devon, England). In North America, the workshop has been taught at Brown University, Oberlin College, University of Maryland, the Santa Fe Art Institute, and InterAccess in Toronto.

Coniglio and Stoppiello both received their degrees from California Institute of the Arts, where Coniglio was a student of electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick. After graduating, Stoppiello danced professionally for the Bella Lewitzky Dance Company. Coniglio has taught Interactive Music Composition at CalArts and New York University and Stoppiello has taught on the dance faculties of Loyola Marymount University, Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts, and Universtiy of Maryland, Baltimore County.

A list of recent and upcoming performances can be found on their web site.

Contact Information

Mark Coniglio or Dawn Stoppiello
Troika Ranch
321 Graham Ave. #4R
Brooklyn, NY 11211
phone: +1.718.218.6775
email:
web: http://www.troikaranch.org