Live Visuals, Open Mind Festival 2015 (2 min. 2015) Video projections by Lester Alfonso. Stage construction and design by Scott Guy.

Archive Showcase

This one-minute excerpt illustrates what I mean by “a live performance of visuals.” To clarify, I’m controlling the images behind the DJ and I’m spontaneously reacting to the music that he’s playing without knowing what he’s going to play next at any moment. I manipulated the image of the ouroboros (the snake eating its own tail) to speed up its spin to match the tempo of the new track. Check it out.

The ouroboros is an ancient symbol of a snake or serpent eating its own tail, variously signifying infinity and the cycle of birth and death.

Dictionary.com
Different visuals are required for a variety of musical styles.
Open Mind 2015 map (folded)

Flashback: Day 69 — follow the map and wander down the Cosmic Glade Stage at Open Mind 2015. I remember thinking about using the ouroboros very soon after Scott Guy shared his plans for the stage with the VJ crew. Scott is a tech wizard and has been a friend and collaborator for many years. He designed and constructed the staging and projection surfaces. In clip #2, you can glimpse the projections that he provided for the dome ceiling. Also, notice the change in my visuals, a vast arsenal of video sources are required for a variety of musical styles. More soon! —LA

Open Mind 2015 fold-out map of the festival site

Update: (Posted March 12, 2020)

Scott Guy: Thank you, brother. That is a great one to remember. Just a quick clarification I must share cred with Mr. Sun (George Fractal Arvanitis) for the stage build and I think my first-time co-creating with VJ BunBun (Chelsea Liggat). I brought and set up the video systems tech and managed the VJ team. One of my favorite things about leading and co-creating on this kind of events like OpenMind and Solstice is bringing together a group of awesome artists and giving them something amazing to play on. Always a pleasure to vis with you buddy.

Glossary

VJ – Video Jockey. Traditionally, a professional media skill involving mixing video sources in real-time. Modern VJ’s often use projection mapping as a key part of their sets.

Surface – The object that is being projected onto during a projection mapping display. This term is very broad, and can include buildings, screens, objects, constructed staging, and more.

3D Projection Mapping Glossary

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