Animusic

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Animusic is an American company specializing in the 3D visualization of MIDI-based music. Founded by Wayne Lytle, it is incorporated in New York and has offices in Texas and California. The initial name of the company was Visual Music, changed to Animusic in 1995.

The company is known for its Animusic compilations of computer-generated animations, based on MIDI events processed to simultaneously drive the music and on-screen action, leading to and corresponding to every sound.

Unlike many other music visualizations, the music drives the animation. Other animations animate figures or characters to the music, while the animations here are created first, then will follow and play what the music tells them to play. 'Solo cams' in the Animusic DVD shows how each instrument actually plays through a piece of music from the beginning to end.

Many of the instruments appear to be robotic or play themselves using curious methods to produce and visualize the original compositions. The animations typically feature dramatically-lit rooms or landscapes.

The music of Animusic is principally pop-rock based, consisting of straightforward sequences of triggered samples and digital patches mostly played "dry"; i.e., with few effects. There are no lyrics or voices, save for the occasional chorus synthesizer. According to the director's comments on DVD 2 (see below), most instrument sounds are generated with software synthesizers on a music workstation. Many sounds resemble stock patches available on digital keyboards, subjected to some manipulation, e.g. pitch / playback speed, to enhance their timbre.

Contents 1 Compilations 2 Publicity 3 Software used 4 Animations 4.1 More Bells And Whistles 4.2 Beyond The Walls, the first computer animation, made by Vrex 4.3 Animusic: A Computer Animation Video Album 4.3.1 Animusic audio CD bonus tracks 4.4 Animusic 2: A New Computer Animation Video Album 4.4.1 Animusic 2 audio CD bonus tracks 4.5 Animusic 3 5 See also 6 External links 7 References

[edit] Compilations

As of 2006^[update], two video compilations have been released:

• Animusic: A Computer Animation Video Album
• Animusic 2: A New Computer Animation Video Album

Animusic was re-released in 2004 in a special edition DVD. Animusic 2 was released in 2005. The Animusic website has announced that the company is making Animusic 3, and 8 new animations are planned. In a recent newsletter, it was announced that they would also be producing a high-definition version of Animusic 2, but not much more is known.^[1] In another newsletter, they revealed the working titles of 3 animations in Animusic 3: “Sonic Warfare”, “Paddle Ball” and “Super Pipe Dream”.

[edit] Publicity

Animusic has been promoted at SIGGRAPH since 1990, and has been promoted on Public Broadcasting Service and other television networks such as Tech TV's "Eye Drops". Wayne Lytle and his works have also been featured on Fox News and over 30 other local stations in January 2007.^[2] Animusic's 'Pipe Dream' was released as a real-time demo for ATI's Radeon 9700 series graphics cards.^[3] Animusic also rendered 'Resonant Chamber' and 'Starship Groove' in HD resolution for Apple's Quicktime HD Gallery.^[4] There was an internet rumor that the "Pipe Dream" video was recreated at the University of Iowa from farm machinery parts. This has been proven false.^[5]

[edit] Software used

According to the company's FAQ, animation is created procedurally with their own proprietary MIDImotion software, Discreet 3D Studio Max was used for modeling, lighting, cameras, and rendering. Maps were painted with Corel Painter, Deep Paint 3D, and Photoshop. They have also created their own software called AnimusicStudio.

[edit] Animations

• Various animations for SIGGRAPH
• More Bells & Whistles (1990)
• Beyond the Walls (known as Concerto in 3D if watched in stereoscope) (1995) produced for VRex
• Kansas - Device, Voice, Drum DVD (2002)

[edit] More Bells And Whistles

1. Instruments
   • Percussion, including:
     • A xylophone
     • Four wood blocks
     • Four cowbells
     • Five drum synthesizer pads
     • Two "light tower" cymbals
     • A two-part acoustic drum kit (one has a snare and 8 toms, and the other has a bass drum and a hi-hat)
   • A set of pan flutes
   • A circular vibraphone fountain
   • Three church bells
   • Eleven "wow"-effect bass synthesizers
   • Pink electric guitar laser

[edit] Beyond The Walls, the first computer animation, made by Vrex

1. Instruments
   • Bubble Machine
   • Gong with Chinese writing on the surface
   • Trumpets
   • Tuba
   • Drum kit, with 5 parts: first part with only a pair of clash cymbals, second with a bass drum and a hi-hat, third with a snare and a cowbell, fourth with only a single crash cymbal, fifth with 8 airplane toms and a pair of helicopter clash cymbals
   • Bass Synth
   • Sawtooth Synth Lasers
   • Synth Brass Lasers
   • Synth Chorus (treble and bass)

[edit] Animusic: A Computer Animation Video Album

Track listing:

1. Future Retro
   • Instruments in the order they're presented:
     • Three-Necked Electric Guitar - a combination of a
       • 2-stringed bass guitar
       • Synth Bass pulse ring
       • Violet bass lasers
       • Pan Flute
       • 3-stringed electric jazz guitar
       • 4-stringed electric guitar (overdriven)
       • Green power chord laser
     • Percussion instrument including a drum kit, vibraphone and gong
     • Four Red synth Sawtooth Lead Lasers
     • Violet Chorus Beams
2. Stick Figures
   • Instruments in the order they're presented:
     • Fretless hammered Bass Guitar (Known as "Mr. Stick", in reference to the Chapman Stick)
     • Percussion instruments, including a Drum Kit, triangle, Slapstick, Gong, and Metallophone
     • Trumpet and baritone horn tower
     • Sawtooth Lead red synth laser
     • 3-stringed acoustic guitar
     • Pan Flute
     • Backup Sawtooth pink synth laser (acts as the "echo" to the red laser)
     • Double bass (fretless; one string is a plucked acoustic and the other is a bowed string)
     • Three 1-stringed Violins
3. Aqua Harp
   • Instruments in the order they're presented:
     • 26-stringed Harp
     • Pan Flute
     • Tubular Bells
     • 1-stringed Cello
     • 1-stringed Violin
4. Drum Machine
   • Instruments in the order they're presented: (various gear-driven percussion devices)
     • Background gear-grinding noises (synced to the tempo of the music)
     • A drum kit with hi-hats, a snare drum, a bass kick drum, a small crash cymbal, a cowbell, and a large crash cymbal
     • Twelve toms in a 3x4 arrangement (the largest four are presented near the beginning of the video; the next smaller four along with the first four are shown near the middle, and all twelve are shown at the end)
     • A second drum kit with four timbales, four timpani, four wood blocks, a vibraslap and two agogô bells
     • A third kit with three church bells and two tamtams
5. Pipe Dream
   • Instruments in the order they're presented:
     • Acoustic Guitar/Bongo double instrument
     • Banjo/Bongo double instrument
     • Percussion, including:
       • A drum kit
       • A circular vibraphone fountain
       • Tubular bells
       • A Slide-bar Marimba
6. Acoustic Curves
   • Instruments in the order they're presented:
     • Acoustic guitar (strummed)
     • Acoustic guitar (hammered)
     • Bass Guitar (strummed and hammered)
     • Drum kit, including a snare, bass drum, cymbals, and toms
     • Vibraphone
     • Tubular bells
7. Harmonic Voltage
   • Instruments in the order they're presented:
     • Background synth strings (emitted from plasma wisp)
     • Pink synth laser (beginning in blue, then change into pink, then change into red for times)
     • Percussion instruments, including electronic drum set
     • Taurus Bass Pedals with bass chorus
     • Slide Circles
     • Green electric guitar laser
     • Yellow pulse dischargers
     • Bass Guitar synth in the "tower"

[edit] Animusic audio CD bonus tracks

There were also 3 other music pieces only available on the Animusic audio CD.

1. Seventh Alloy (Click here to hear a sample)
   • Instruments
     • Electric Guitar (overdriven)
     • Percussion with Gong (at the beginning)
     • Bass guitar
     • Synth Chorus
     • Synth Sawtooth Lead Laser
     • Tubular Bells
     • Calliope
2. A Slight Delay (Click here to hear a sample)
   • Instruments
     • Marimba
     • Mute Guitar
     • Bass guitar (finger, pick and slap)
     • Percussion with a cowbell and cabasa
     • Harmonica
     • Reed organ
     • Rock Organ
     • Lute
     • Tuba
     • Electric Guitar
3. The Harvester (Click here to hear a sample)
   • Instruments
     • Cello
     • Electric Guitar
     • Acoustic Guitar
     • Percussion
     • Trumpet with Mute
     • Bass guitar
     • Synth Sawtooth Lead Laser
     • Harpsichord

Since they were never animated, it is difficult to determine the shapes of the instruments, although they may strongly resemble many seen in the two Animusic albums.

[edit] Animusic 2: A New Computer Animation Video Album

Track listing:

1. Starship Groove
   • Instruments in the order they're presented:
     • Violet Bass synth
     • Two-part drum kit
     • Red Lead synth
     • Light Speakers
     • Yellow Plucked synth
2. Pogo Sticks
   • Instruments in the order they're presented:
     • Two hammered guitars (one lead, one backup)
     • Hammered bass guitar (an updated version from 'Stick Figures'; the bass now has two strings and is in motion)
     • A two-part drum kit, including:
       • 3 bass drums and a snare drum
       • 2 cymbals, 3 hi-hats and a cowbell
     • Xylophone
     • Metallophone
3. Resonant Chamber
   • Instruments in the order they're presented:
     • Eight-stringed Classical guitar
     • Seven-string Autoharp
     • Two-string Bass guitar
     • Four-stringed tapped/muted Guitar
     • Two-string Ukulele
     • Three-stringed Lute
4. Cathedral Pictures (based on selections from Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky)
   • Instruments in the order they're presented:
     • Trumpet
     • Percussion instrument, including a drum kit and gongs
     • Pipe Organ
     • One-string electric bass
     • Harpsichord
     • Light-emitting Clarinet
     • Large xylophone
     • Tuba
     • Pipe organ expression louvres (synthesized tone)
     • Electric arc sound (synthesized tone)
     • Light-emitting Flute
     • Pyrotechnics
5. Pipe Dream 2
   • Instruments in the order they're presented: (the set is used in Pipe Dream in Animusic 1, but is aged and dented here)
     • Acoustic Guitar/Bongo double instrument
     • Banjo/Bongo double instrument
     • Percussion, including:
       • A drum kit
       • A circular vibraphone fountain
       • Tubular bells
       • A Slide-bar Marimba
6. Fiber Bundles
   • Instruments in the order they're presented:
     • Green Bass Chorus Synth
     • White Echo Synth Pulses
     • Violet Synth Bass
     • Electric Percussion set
     • Red Synth Lead
     • Yellow Chorus Synth
     • Green Synthesizer Flash Pulses
7. Gyro Drums
   • Instruments in the order they're presented:
     • Drum kit
       • Four snare drums
       • Four bass drums
       • Four hi-hats
       • Seven tom-toms
       • Six bongos
       • Eight buzz synthesizers (concealed at first)
       • Eight cymbals - four crashes, two rides, one splash and one China
     • Second Drum kit
       • Eight hi-hats
       • Two cowbells
       • Two woodblocks
       • Two timbales
       • Four bongoes
       • Eight tom-toms
       • Four cymbals - Two rides and two splashes
     • Third drum kit
       • Four gongs
       • Four ride cymbals
       • Four bass drums
       • 52 tom-toms
     • Fourth drum kit
       • Eight maracas
       • Eight cabasas
       • Four bass drums
       • Eight snare drums
       • Four Crash Cymbals
       • Four Hi-hats
     • 171 drums, cymbals, etc. in total.
8. Heavy Light
   • Instruments in the order they're presented:
     • Blue Chorus synth Lasers
     • Violet synth Bass Guitar Beams
     • Yellow Lead synth Lasers
     • Percussion instrument including gongs
     • Orange synth string Lasers
     • Red synth sawtooth Lasers
     • White Chorus Floodlights
     • Green Chirp Laser

[edit] Animusic 2 audio CD bonus tracks

The bonus audio tracks on this CD consist of reduced versions of Heavy Light and Fiber Bundles:

1. Heavy Light - Drum/Bass Submix (Click here to hear a sample)
2. Fiber Bundles - Drum/Bass Submix (Click here to hear a sample)
3. Fiber Bundles - Synth/Ambient Submix (Click here to hear a sample)

[edit] Animusic 3

Animusic is currently producing the 3rd volume of the animusic series; its release date is not known. ^[6]

[edit] See also

• Synesthesia

[edit] External links

• Animusic official website
• 'Pipe Dream' real-time demo
• 'Resonant Chamber' in HD Resolution at Apple's Quicktime HD Gallery
• 'Starship Groove' in HD Resolution at Apple's Quicktime HD Gallery
• 'Pipe Dream' at Archive.org

[edit] References