Using the Color Mixer from Philosophical Tools

Eric Souther (Philosophical Tools on Patreon) has released a new Touch Designer TOX processing network based upon the 8 channel Color Mixer hardware device developed by David Jones.  I initially encountered the color mixer while at my first Experimental TV Center artist residency in 1987 - and I immediately fell in love with the beautiful layering of multi channel video "slices", each of which could be keyed and colorized independently before being summed together on output. Eric's TOX network provides a nice emulation of the original hardware mixer.

The sample footage I'm sharing originates from my original video tape library documenting visits in the early 1990s to several Mayan sites including Chichén Itzá and Cobol in the Yucatan Peninsular of Mexico. Selections have been fed thru the Color Mixer processing network to achieve my desired look and texture. 

Note that edited / selected segments of these raw processing flows will be used in my upcoming River Styx video: the specific section of the program deals with the Journey thru the Mayan Underworld (descent into flames and darkness) and the Voyage to the Ancestors (climbing the sacred mountain into the Sky realms).

Flames Samples 2 - Re:Struktr Processing

 

from the Fire & Flames series

Flames Samples - Re:Struktr Processing

 

from the Fire & Flames series

Wind Chimes Samples - Re:Struktr Processing

 

from the Wind Chimes series

Swimming Sample - Re:Struktr Processing

 

from the Swimming series

Sinking Sample - Re:Struktr Processing

 

from the Sinking series

Floating Samples - Re:Struktr Processing

 

    

from the Floating series

Prayer Wheel Samples - Re:Struktr Processing

    

From the Fire Dance series

Return to posting after a long break...

 It's not that I haven't been making stuff, but I've been unfocused in terms of posting stuff. 

I've done a lot  more Prayer Wheel explorations using the Signal Culture Re:Struktr app. I've also gotten much deeper into Touch Designer processing networks as well over the last few months.  And I've done more work on my River Styx video script - including investigating / testing  various text-to-audio AI services. So far, I'm leaning towards ElevenLabs voices...

So, next I'll be posting sample stuff in a somewhat chronological order next.

Using a Touch Designer Networks: Pixelate

 

The Pixelate tool was originally developed by Eric Souther on his Patreon site Philosophical Tools. (Turn on audio!)

At Work in the Studio

 

While working with the array of Signal Culture apps, one issue that emerges is that the apps do not directly support portrait mode aspect ratios, rather shifting everything into landscape mode. This can be disconcerting and a bit difficult to work with visually - until I remembered that my second monitor (which I use to display final output of the processing chain) can be rotated 90 degrees to be vertical. Bingo! (See above... Turn on audio.)

That coupled with the easy one click video file rotation available in MacOS Finder completes the workflow.

Using Re:Struktr app - Prayer Wheels 2

This new app from Signal Culture allows very interesting wave-form driven flicker-based transitions between two channels of video. In this example, a number of Signal Culture apps were used in tandem: Input Amp -> Proc Amp -> Frame Buffer -> Re:Struktr -> Syphon Recorder.  (Turn on audio!)

Using Re:Struktr app: Prayer Wheels

This new app from Signal Culture allows very interesting wave-form driven flicker-based transitions between two channels of video. Very powerful. In these example, sine/triangle wave driven transitions, frame buffering, and  color tinting features have been utilized. (Turn on audio!)

Using Re:Struktr app (con't.)

Footage of UTE Fire Dance combined with reaction diffusion system patterns.

This new app allows very interesting wave-form driven flicker-based transitions between two channels of video. Very powerful. In this example, sine wave driven transitions & color tinting features have been utilized. (No audio)

Some more sample processing using Signal Culture's new app Re:Struktr -> flicker warning!

 

This new app allows very interesting wave-form driven flicker-based transitions between two channels of video. Very powerful. In this example, sine & triangle wave driven flicker transitions have been increased  to a fast rate and keying & color tinting features have been utilized. (Turn on audio!)

Sample processing using Signal Culture's new app Re:Struktr

 

This new app allows very interesting wave-form driven flicker-based transitions between two channels of video. Very powerful. In this example, sine wave driven flicker transitions have been reduced to a very slow rate - like a cross fade. (Turn on audio!)