(Above: Projection mapped bicycle animation, MONA, Hobart, 2015)
Projection Masterclass by Sean Healy (Links : skynoise.net or lnk.bio/jeanpoole )
Polytech, Nov 2023.
Example projects by Sean :
ACMI Cult of the Lamb Ritual – Projection Mapping design for ACMI building
In Between Two – Projection mapped set design for theatre
Trapper – Projection mapped set design for theatre
Sunsetting – Projection mapped objects for music video
Cosmic Two Wheeler – Projection Mapped installation for festival
MOFO at MONA – Projection mapped stage design for festival
Animated concert visuals for Ania Reynolds (piano album tour)
Hermitude concert visuals
Mexican Musicman music video
Curse Ov Dialect Animated music video
Projection Mapping
If you can cut out shapes, and if you can move corners of an image, you can projection map.
Introduction to Cutting Out Shapes in Photoshop
Madmapper can also use a live camera, to help with mapping onto organic shapes.
They call it their ‘spacial scanner’ feature. Simple to use – for example. (YT tute)
Max Cooper (live concert mapped onto Acropolis)
VJ Suave (projections onto environments, and travelling through a city)
Installations by Yannick Jacquet (Legoman)
Installations by Romain Tardy (including this botanic gardens projection in Mexico)
Software:
Madmapper (eg Madmapper 4 demo or Mapping a building or Spatial Scanner demo (how to use a camera to map an organic shape))
Mapping With Resolume (tutorial)
See also – Mapping With QLab, Millumin, HeavyM (And even more.. Disguise, Touch Designer , Dataton Watchout , VPT (free) , Smode , VVVV , Mapmap (free) etc etc)
Pathways to 3D + Architectural Projection Mapping
For 3D – Perspective Matters. 3D tips via VVVV.
Learn 3D software – eg Blender (free), Cinema4D, and learn how to use camera systems inside 3D space, and learn how modelling and texturing in 3D works.
With those foundations, explore how software such as Madmapper, Touch Designer and game engines such as Unity or Unreal Engine can be used to align virtual 3D models and textures, with physical objects and buildings.
Lightforms – Dedicated hardware system for mapping video onto objects. (No longer in production)
LightAct – Hardware + Software system for setting up complex projections.
MiniMad – Standalone portable playback and mapping device by Madmapper
LUPA media players – Portable playback machines for installations, events.
iOS + Android mapping apps: DynaMapper
Concert Visuals
VJ software:
VDMX (mac) (See: The VDMX manual and the tutorial series of ‘Video fundamentals’ )
Resolume (mac/pc)
ipad options? TouchViz, dJay Pro, Colorcode VJ
Other Useful Video Related Links
Programmer’s Guide to Video Systems – explains why video systems have so many quirks!
Video protocols for real-time sending video between apps – NDI, Syphon, Spout
Super helpful reference articles by Blair Neal:
Survey of Alternative Displays (2022 Update)
A Creative Technology Taxonomy
How to make an installation stay up 4evr (MacOS)
Guide to Projectors for Interactive Installations
Guide to Cameras For Interactive Installations
Alternatives to After Effects For Animation + Motion Design (for most aspects of it):
Motion (mac)
Da Vinci Resolve (free for mac / pc – see the Fusion section)
Calvary (mac/pc)
Figma (browser based motion graphic design)
RunwayML (browser based + machine-learning assisted. Monthly subscription, free version available.)
Related Reading
Understanding Comics – Scott McCloud (Not just for comic-lovers, this is a great book for helping to think conceptually about art projects, and exploring different forms of media (eg projection mapping))
In the Blink of an Eye – Walter Murch
Live Visuals – History, Theory, Practice – Steve Gibson, Stefan Arisona, Donna Leishmann, Atau Manaka
Other Video Inspirations
Lucky People Centre International (eng subs), (espanol subs) – Feature film with interesting AV layering.
Sculpture UK AV duo
Soda Jerk – collage artists extraordinaire. Latest feature film – Hello Dankness, and their earlier work.
RunWrake – animator and master at mixing media. RIP (site / YT videos)
Regroup Collective – COIL show in Darwin + Darwin workshop
Nathalie Miebach’s Sculptural storms
Len Lye NZ – kinetic sculptor, scratch film artist / motion obsessive. (Free Radicals / A Colour Box / website.)
What is motion design? Motion Plus Design – have a nice 9 min video answer for this, and they are hoping to “found the world’s first Centre dedicated to the world of motion design”.
Thinking about motion graphic design over time? See The Art of film titles (Esp. A Brief History of Title Design + their list of film title analysis examples )