The Performer, a music video that explores the curiosity of the human spirit through a powerful dance performance and point-cloud animations.
Michael Gugger has recently created a video using DepthKit, a high-end software that records and visualizes 3D depth data captured on an Xbox Kinect. In perfect harmony with the sound of Brooklyn based electric-acoustic duo Live Footage, the music video explores the curiosity of the human spirit through a powerful dance performance as well as diverse point-cloud animations. The Performer combines numerous artistic disciplines with today’s latest interactive technology. You can find further information as well as some stills and full credits below the video.
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Michael Gugger: “The video took around 2 weeks to conceptualize and prep. We shot it in 1 day. Then I spent 2 months animating/editing in After Effects (and watching hours of youtube tutorials – for the record, I am not a 3D artist, I just taught myself what I needed to know to make this video happen.) It was really amazing working with such a talented team, especially my girlfriend Varvara who spent hours with me developing the concept and tying together the story in post.”
Live Footage is a Brooklyn based electric-acoustic duo consisting of Topu Lyo (electric cello) and Mike Thies (drums + keys). They mainly specialize in refined looping techniques.
Some additional facts about the DepthKit technology.
The Xbox Kinect projects infrared lasers into space through a lens. Another adjacent lens dubbed the “Depth Camera” then measures and records the distance of each laser. DepthKit then records all of this data in the form of thousands of images/depth maps. The software then processes this data and visualizes it into a 3D point-cloud in which one can move around space using a virtual 3D camera. The software allows users to set camera positions and create camera moves (as seen in the video). Essentially it is a motion tracking tool that allows for a very unique look. In the software, one can adjust many parameters in order to achieve the desired look. It is also possible to overlay actual video that then geometrically matches up with the 3D point cloud. DepthKit is currently in beta and is being further developed to incorporate workflow to Unity and other VR and 3D software.
Full credits can be found below the stills. To see more of Michael Gugger’s creative work, please visit his website: www.michaelgugger.com
Any footage © by Michael Gugger.
Music by Live Footage
Directed by Michael Gugger
Choreography by Amy Gardner
Performance by Jon Ole Olstad
Story Development by Varvara Kanellakopoulos
Assistant Brendan Gosse
DepthKit software developed by James George and Alexander Porter
The post The Performer – DepthKit Animation by Michael Gugger appeared first on WE AND THE COLOR.
Source: weandthecolor.com