First steps with MAX MSP!

[Pablo Esbert Lilienfeld]

So, I finally purchased the 9 month version of MAX thanks to the offer from Dance Tech. Thank you!

The reason I decided to throw my self into this program is a very practical one. I am finishing my new creation, EDIT, which will be premiered in Madrid (La Casa Encendida) the 13 and 14 of october.

For this piece I'm using some technology in a very specific way. EDIT talks about seeing reality with the eyes of a camera, or more accurately, with the possibilities of video material. So what I do in the piece, really, is edit immediate reality as we do with video. So I do actions which are cut in time creating a fragmented narrative. The second part of the piece is a video installation in which the audience can walk around and look at some videos. These videos are reconstructions of the fragmented actions that were recorded during the performance. And here's where MAX gets crucial.

I have five cameras capturing five specific areas of the stage. What I need to do is making every camera capture its content when I'm in its point of view. So first thing I have to learn: activate objects from MIDI. Then, every camera should create a separate video with all the pieces assembled. And here is where I am now: exploring the jit.qt.record object.

First, I've been reading the very useful tutorials. Some of the basic MAX tutorials first and some more from the Jitter section later. I think is just great how logic everything is. And, as a computer nerd dancer that I am, I love discovering the mechanisms of new programs.

Main problems I have: my lack of mathematical knowledge. I wish I had been more attentive in my school days, but I always found better things to do...

Touring in Brazil is a great excuse to learn MAX... :) So when I don't have to rehearse or perform, when I'm not drinking Caipirinhas or walking around HUGE Sao Paulo, I open the MAX tutorials and... voila. Here I am in the hotel room.

Blur and happily exhausted!

Greeting to all,

Pablo