workshops
UPCOMING
Troika Ranch Live-I Workshop
"Composition for Media and The Stage"
Dates: June 9 - 12 and 15 - 20, 2009
Times: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: 3LD Art & Technology Center, 80 Greenwich St. NYC
Fee: $1000, includes a one-year trial license for the Isadora software
Participants: 12-15 participants will be accepted via application.
Application Deadline: April 10th, 2009
Notification of Acceptance: April 17th, 2009
Fees due to Troika Ranch by: May 8th, 2009
Troika Ranch's Live-I Workshop is an intensive workshop for artists who wish to develop their ability to realize media intensive works for the stage. Each day, Troika Ranch Artistic Directors Mark Coniglio and Dawn Stoppiello will introduce a new compositional problem revolving around the integration of media and live performance, discuss various strategies and approaches towards the problem, and, send the students off to creatively address that problem through the creation of a short study.
Topics to be covered include:
* Effectively integrating live performers and video imagery on stage
* Using live video/audio feeds to amplify or re-contextualize the performer, and the themes
* Applying notions of film grammar to on-stage imagery
* The use of reactive/interactive systems as an intensifier of liveness
* Considering alternative projection surfaces and/or materials
The trajectory of the exercises is designed so that the outcomes can be woven together into a longer study, which the students will present to the other participants and a small invited public at the workshop's conclusion.
Throughout the workshop, students will be introduced to Isadora® -- the user-friendly, real-time media manipulation tool created by Mark Coniglio. Instead of an exhaustive approach, which might overwhelm those new to such a tool, the focus will be on introducing key features that allow the students to address the compositional problem at hand. In so doing, the students will leave with a basic, solid knowledge of the software that can be put into practice immediately.
Coniglio and Stoppiello will work with the students from 10am to 4pm each day. However, the space and equipment is available each day until 8pm. This will allow the students to continue to experiment and work beyond the formal class schedule. The final Saturday will be dedicated to setting up the space and presenting the studies followed by a festive gathering and discussion.
Troika Ranch artistic directors Mark Coniglio and Dawn Stoppiello have taught their Live-I Workshop annually in NYC since 1999. The Live-I (Live-Interactive) Workshop is an intensive seminar designed for performance-based artists to explore the use of interactive computer technology in the creation and performance of live artworks. Using technological tools and techniques developed by Troika Ranch over the past 20 years, the participants learn to use their movements and vocalizations to interactively control computer based media, such as sound synthesizers, video playback devices and theatrical lighting in a performance or installation setting.
Isadora® is being used by hundreds of artists worldwide including the 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.
Application Procedure
To apply, please send an email to info [at] troikaranch [dot] org
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, and whether or not you will be able to bring your own laptop and/or digital video camera Please include your name, address, telephone number and email address.
Applicants must have a basic understanding of using a computer, i.e., opening and saving files, copying and pasting information, basic navigational skills, etc.
The deadline for the workshop application is April 10th, 2009. You will be notified of your acceptance one week later, April 17th, 2009. Note: Early acceptance for those who would be traveling from a country outside the United States may be possible -- please contact us right away if you would like to discuss this! After being accepted, we will ask you to forward us a check in the amount of US$1000 by May 8th, 2009.
IF YOUR PAYMENT IS NOT RECEIVED BY May 8th, 2009 YOUR SPOT IN THE WORKSHOP WILL BE GIVEN TO THE NEXT PERSON ON THE WAITING LIST. NO EXCEPTIONS!
If you are sending a check from outside of the U.S., we will require that you send an International Money Order made out in U.S. dollars or a wire transfer to our bank account (contact us for details). Those submitting their funds via wire transfer will be assessed a US$20 processing fee.
After the payment deadline has passed, refunds will be given for medical reasons only with a letter from a physician. Refunds prior to the payment deadline will be assessed a $25.00 processing fee. Troika Ranch will not provide housing during the workshop, but will be able to suggest some reasonable accommodations at your request.
A Note About the Selection Process
Please know that, beyond your application information, an important factor in choosing the participants 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.
Required Equipment
It is highly recommended that you bring your own laptop computer (Mac or PC) if possible. (See the hardware requirements below.) We have a limited number of computers for use by the workshop participants. If you cannot bring your own computer, you may be required to share a computer with one other participant. In addition, if you can bring a digital video camera, you will find it useful. If you are able to bring your own computer, please let us know the type, speed, and whether or not it has a FireWire (aka iLink) port.
Computers: Students will either bring their own laptops, or computers will be provided to them. For those using one of Troika Ranch's computers, 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) are 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.
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.
Go to Upcoming Workshops to find out when the nexxt Live- I workshop is scheduled.
Troika Ranch Artistic Co-Directors Mark Coniglio and Dawn Stoppiello have been recognized as innovators in the field of dance and interactive media. As our work has become more widely known, and as the use of interactive technology in performance has become more common, requests for a workshop that exposes young artists to the possibilities offered by emerging technology have become more frequent. The Live-I Workshop is Troika Ranch’s signature teaching platform. They have been teaching an annual two-week Live-I Workshop in New York City since 1999. The workshop focuses on creative techniques for constructing media intensive performance works that have been developed over the past 20 years by Troika Ranch Artistic Directors.
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, 3-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.
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.
Introduction to Reactive Media; Using the mouse and keyboard to make things happen in Real Time.
This workshop, taught by Artistic Director Dawn Stoppiello, requires that participants have their own Mac Laptop computer. The session will begin with an introduction to Isadora and will focus on playing and manipulating pre-recorded media as well as the use of live video as a source. The class will use the computer mouse & keyboard to manipulate visual and sonic perimeters in real time. If time permits we will also use the computer microphone and video camera as a simple manipulation tool.
How do I perform with that? Using Projection in Live Performance.
This workshop, taught by Artistic Director Dawn Stoppiello, can be taught with a few Mac computers and a few video projectors, depending on the number of participants. The workshop will focus on the presence of video material in accompaniment with live performers using the Isadora software as a play back device. We will spend the time composing the live and the virtual so that both have a strong presence in a work. Participants are asked to bring in live dance or theater material, and visual (DV) and sonic material (aiff or wav) that they are currently investigating. We will go through the compression process for the best playback.
Using the computer as a choreographic tool.
This workshop, taught by Artistic Director Dawn Stoppiello, will focus on techniques for creating choreography using a Mac computer. Using editing, filters, loops and other algorhythms for generating choreography for the live body. For choreographers only, participants should have their own Laptop computer and DV Firewire camera.
Advanced Isadora Workshops taught by Artistic Director Mark Coniglio (descriptions coming soon)
MIDI/OSC/Networking
Multiple Outputs and Edge Blending
Core Video and Audio
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