Animusic

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A still from "Pogo Sticks", one of the animations from "Animusic 2"
A still from "Pogo Sticks", one of the animations from "Animusic 2"

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 animations, 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

[edit] Compilations

As of 2006, 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, but not much more is known. In the same 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.[1] Animusic's 'Pipe Dream' was released as a real-time demo for ATI's Radeon 9700 series graphics cards.[2] Animusic also rendered 'Resonant Chamber' and 'Starship Groove' in HD resolution for Apple's Quicktime HD Gallery.[3] There was an internet rumor that the "Pipe Dream" video was recreated at the University of Iowa from farm machinery parts. [4]

[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

[edit] More Bells And Whistles

  1. Instruments

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

  1. Instruments

[edit] Animusic: A Computer Animation Video Album

Track listing:

  1. Future Retro
  2. Stick Figures
  3. Aqua Harp
  4. Drum Machine
  5. Pipe Dream
  6. Acoustic Curves
  7. Harmonic Voltage

[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)
  2. A Slight Delay (Click here to hear a sample)
  3. The Harvester (Click here to hear a sample)

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
  2. Pogo Sticks
  3. Resonant Chamber
  4. Cathedral Pictures (based on selections from Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky)
  5. Pipe Dream 2
  6. Fiber Bundles
  7. Gyro Drums
    • Instruments in the order they're presented:
  8. Heavy Light

[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. [5]

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wayne Lytle TV interviews. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
  2. ^ Pipe Dream video used as a Radeon demo. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
  3. ^ Animusic featured in Apple's Quicktime's HD gallery. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
  4. ^ 'Farm Machine Music' on Snopes. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
  5. ^ Animusic 3's Release Date to be Announced. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.