New Video Circuits Website Coming Soon

I have not updated this blog for a long time, concentrating instead on Vector Hack, the VC discussion list and various long term projects including research into some artists missed or neglected by the current histories. However I am now working towards a new site. I will post the link here when it is finally up. 

VECTOR HACK 2018

I haven't updated in a while (there is still a write up of my amazing signal culture trip last year coming)

But this is too good not to leave a short post about. I am helping Ivan and Derek with their amazing Vector Hack Festival project. Vector Hack is a festival centred around experimental vector graphics using oscilloscopes and lasers. It's happening in over two sites starting in Zagreb on 01/10/18 and ending in Ljubljana on 07/10/18. I will be attending so if you decide to come see you there!

Ivan and Derek have worked tirelessly to make this happen and it's going to be amazing.

vectorhackfestival.com
instagram.com/vectorhackfestival
facebook.com/vectorhackfestival


Vector Hack festival 2018. trailer I from i.m. klif on Vimeo.

Photos From The Video Workshop

The video workshop Alex and I gave was one of the best I have delivered, all 15 attendees got to take home a working CHA/V module they built in the class, it's a hacked VGA signal generator that basically allows you to build a simple video synth by adding some home brew or off the shelf oscillators. We had a great mix of attendees and they were all from really interesting backgrounds and super engaged. Alex as usual did a nicely paced video synthesis tutorial and I then lead the theory and building part of the class. We rounded up with Alex leading a discussion around historical video synthesis work and then proceeded to enjoy the evening concerts that were also part of the fantastic Brighton modular meet. (Pics 3+9 here are from Fabrizio D'Amico who runs Video Hack Space) Thanks to Andrew for organising the amazing meet which hosted the workshop, Matt for making our panels last minute, George for helping us out on the day and Steve from Thonk for supplying some components for the kits.

Video Circuits Workshop 01/07/17

Alex and I are running another workshop, this time at Brighton Modular meet book here:
https://www.attenboroughcentre.com/events/902/video-synthesis-workshop/
We will also be running a video synthesis room all Sunday.
http://brightonmodularmeet.co.uk/brighton-modular-meet---about.html

Come hang out and enjoy the rest of the meet.

Some pics of the panels we had made by Matt for Jona's CH/AV project (which we will be making on the day). There is also a shot of some audio oscillators driving the CH/AV to a VGA monitor.

Video Performance this Friday the 12th of May at IKLECTIK

I will be providing video alongside the lovely sounds of Tom Richards

http://iklectikartlab.com/xname_tomrichards/ 

Edge of Frame DIY Space For London

I am performing on Thursday the 14th at DIY space for London.
Edge of Frame  very kindly asked me to play. There will also be a fantastic selection of films by other artists including some of my favourite people operating in the world of experimental electronic image making.

Brighton Modular Meet Photos

Video Circuits Room at Brighton Modular Meet

Alexander Peverett and I will be looking after a Video Synthesis room at Brighton Modular Meet this weekend. Come down to chat about video synthesis and our strange love for CRT tubes :) there will be at least 6 sony PVMs on display! along with a few systems and unusual bits of video gear. I am super excited that Nitin AKA Bradford Bahamas will be bringing his incredible playable CRT rig.

brightonmodularmeet.co.uk
Invited to be part of the 2016 International Conference on Live Interfaces (http://www.liveinterfaces.org/) at the University of Sussex, this years Brighton Modular Meet takes place in the newly renovated Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts (formerly the Gardner Arts Centre). We will be taking over a number of rooms in this Grade 2 listed building designed by Sir Basil Spence.

In addition to a large open access space where you can set up your synth and mingle with others, this year we will have a room for manufacturers and shops, a space for talks and live performances, and a video synthesis room.

Raven Row Vasulka Talk

Here is a shot from the talk, hopefully will have some more images and audio to share soon.

Telechrome Special Effects Generator

This is an interesting video effects system from 59, to put it into context quad video was only developed in the mid 50s, colour quad became available in 58, Telerecording/Kinescope film recording systems were still in use by the broadcast networks and the earliest machines to be discussed as "video synthesizers" were still a few years off.

Whats interesting about this system is it's relatively open modular nature, something that became less common as the technology became more advanced. The Telechrome system (not to be confused with Baird's early colour tube experiments) contains a waveform generator, a switching amplifier and a control unit for selecting effects. The waveform generator would be used to generate electronic mattes analogous to film mattes and the switching amplifier would place two distinct video sources either side of the geometric form.

Here is the control panel

 you can see each of the systems modules here

And here is the advertisement in full.

I also dug up a later system with a similarly modular aproach.

Sources here:
http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1959/1959-10-05-BC.pdf
http://saltofamerica.com/contents/displayArticle.aspx?19_393

Video Synthesis Techniques

So I am doing a talk at Raven Row as part of their very lovely exhibition of Steina & Woody Vasulka's work, will be demoing some of the techniques they used to make their work. Hopfully it will be interesting.

"Chris King: Video Circuits
Thursday 2 June, 6.30pm

Artist Chris King leads a live demonstration of early media art and video synthesis technologies, working with a selection of different techniques used by the Vasulkas and other video artists during the 1970s and 80s.Chris King: Video Circuits
Thursday 2 June, 6.30pm

Artist Chris King leads a live demonstration of early media art and video synthesis technologies, working with a selection of different techniques used by the Vasulkas and other video artists during the 1970s and 80s."
http://www.ravenrow.org/events/chris_king_video_circuits/

DIY Colouriser

Here are some snaps of the colouriser I built for my DIY system based on the board from the Visualist

Seeing Sound

Here are some shots from my talk, the video circuits screening, Alex's piece and Andrews performance at Seeing Sound, It was great fun. 

Seeing Sound

I will be giving a talk on some research I have been doing into early British video synthesis and  electronic video work at this years Seeing Sound. I will also be screening some work from some contemporary Video Circuits Regulars as part of the conference.
www.seeingsound.co.uk Sign up here!

Glass House (1983)

"Video by G.G. Aries
Music by Emerald Web
from California Images: Hi Fi For The Eyes"

Live Show

I played a show recently thanks to The Surround, Rose took this shot.

RTL TV 40 ANS - Le Hit- Parade, Featuring EMS Spectron

A little snippet here of classic TV graphics from an anniversary on RTL, which includes some video mixer feedback effects and some very familiar EMS Spectron/Spectre shapes, blink and you will miss them!

"La télévison Luxembourgeoise a célébré ses quarantes ans en 1995.Voici un extrait de la soirée qui c'est déroulée à la Villa Louvigny."

Experiments using the Rutt-Etra Analog Video Synthesizer and Siegel colorizer, 1975

Video Synthesis Experiments, excerpts from  Edin Velez on vimeo.

A rare example of the Siegel Colorizer in use in this short excerpt.
http://edinvelez.com

DIY video VCO

Here are some shots of early XR2206 based video VCO experiments, the important thing with video is getting sync pulses from your SPG in to a format that your oscillator circuit wants to sync to, some are fine with narrow pulses some want a nice clean saw wave or for the pulse to hit a certain voltage threshold. This means if you don't have the skills to attempt at modifying whatever SPG or VCO you have chosen you will need sync conditioning circuits to sit in between getting the two to talk nicely.