Antipositivist
2004-09-11 15:16:59 UTC
I haven't been to this, but it got me thinking back to a seventies
phenomenon - the laser rock planetarium show. Remember those? The ones
at the Hayden Planetarium in NY used to draw stoned teenagers (many of
whom used Central Park as their party site) and then enthrall them
with trippy light shows accompanied by hard rock. There was "Laser
Floyd," "Laser Zeppelin" and some others. Someone should write a book
about this phenomenon.
Tom
HIPSTERS SAMPLE SOUND & 'VISION'
Moby reprograms laser show
by LILY OEI | Nov 17 '03
Sometimes, music and technology can collide without anyone complaining
about piracy.
This time, the pair works in literal concert at the Rose Center for
Space and Science at the American Museum of Natural History in the
guise of "SonicVision."
A 38-minute digitally animated alternative rock show, "SonicVision"
was programmed by DJ/ musician Moby and features music from artists
including David Byrne, Coldplay and Prodigy. It cost roughly $600,000
to produce.
The audience is heavily comprised of black-clad teens and
twenty-somethings, and even a few out-of-towners who, not
surprisingly, learned of the show on the Internet. Filing out of the
show, they eagerly deconstruct the layers of meaning in the show as if
they just saw "Memento."
Older members of the crowd may recall the weekly Laserium shows held
at Hayden Planetarium, most notably "Laser Floyd." And while Sonic
Vision creative director Chris Harvey concedes that those shows
developed something of a stoner rep, he believes this latest
incarnation demands a different sort of contemplation.
"We wanted to distance ourselves, and present something on a higher
level conceptually and artistically," says Harvey. Rather than rely on
standard narrative techniques of music video, Harvey's team of
designers veered toward something more abstract.
The result is a Coney Island of the mind displayed on the curved dome
run by a cluster of supercomputers. Picture the most ambitious
screensaver imaginable in 3D, featuring everything from fractal
geometry to dancing robots. Low-frequency shakers under the seats
evoke the rumble of takeoff and landing.
The show's catchphrase --- "How do you see your music?" --- never rang
more true.
Sun Microsystems helped out with some hardware and co-sponsor MTV2
lended street cred essential for securing music licensing. (MTV
chairman Tom Freston is an active board member.)
Video artist Benton Bainbridge and local commercial production house
Curious Pictures are among the segment producers who had to create and
customize content for a curved screen 69 ft wide and 38 ft high.
"Traditional editorial storytelling tells you how to feel," says
Harvey. "TV and film are about time and impact, that kind of
percussion of edited storytelling. Music works so well because it's a
very immersive experience.
The venue seats more than 400 and there are four shows every weekend.
Each has sold out.
The museum has also launched a local print and radio campaign to keep
seats filled since "SonicVision" will run indefinitely at the venue,
and eventually be refreshed.
For the museum, anxious as any other content provider, it has brought
back that ever-elusive 18-34 demo not otherwise likely to saunter in.
"A whole section of life lost contact with us, and this brings them
back," says Anthony Braun, exec producer of the Rose Center.
Copyright 2000-2004, Reed Business Information
phenomenon - the laser rock planetarium show. Remember those? The ones
at the Hayden Planetarium in NY used to draw stoned teenagers (many of
whom used Central Park as their party site) and then enthrall them
with trippy light shows accompanied by hard rock. There was "Laser
Floyd," "Laser Zeppelin" and some others. Someone should write a book
about this phenomenon.
Tom
HIPSTERS SAMPLE SOUND & 'VISION'
Moby reprograms laser show
by LILY OEI | Nov 17 '03
Sometimes, music and technology can collide without anyone complaining
about piracy.
This time, the pair works in literal concert at the Rose Center for
Space and Science at the American Museum of Natural History in the
guise of "SonicVision."
A 38-minute digitally animated alternative rock show, "SonicVision"
was programmed by DJ/ musician Moby and features music from artists
including David Byrne, Coldplay and Prodigy. It cost roughly $600,000
to produce.
The audience is heavily comprised of black-clad teens and
twenty-somethings, and even a few out-of-towners who, not
surprisingly, learned of the show on the Internet. Filing out of the
show, they eagerly deconstruct the layers of meaning in the show as if
they just saw "Memento."
Older members of the crowd may recall the weekly Laserium shows held
at Hayden Planetarium, most notably "Laser Floyd." And while Sonic
Vision creative director Chris Harvey concedes that those shows
developed something of a stoner rep, he believes this latest
incarnation demands a different sort of contemplation.
"We wanted to distance ourselves, and present something on a higher
level conceptually and artistically," says Harvey. Rather than rely on
standard narrative techniques of music video, Harvey's team of
designers veered toward something more abstract.
The result is a Coney Island of the mind displayed on the curved dome
run by a cluster of supercomputers. Picture the most ambitious
screensaver imaginable in 3D, featuring everything from fractal
geometry to dancing robots. Low-frequency shakers under the seats
evoke the rumble of takeoff and landing.
The show's catchphrase --- "How do you see your music?" --- never rang
more true.
Sun Microsystems helped out with some hardware and co-sponsor MTV2
lended street cred essential for securing music licensing. (MTV
chairman Tom Freston is an active board member.)
Video artist Benton Bainbridge and local commercial production house
Curious Pictures are among the segment producers who had to create and
customize content for a curved screen 69 ft wide and 38 ft high.
"Traditional editorial storytelling tells you how to feel," says
Harvey. "TV and film are about time and impact, that kind of
percussion of edited storytelling. Music works so well because it's a
very immersive experience.
The venue seats more than 400 and there are four shows every weekend.
Each has sold out.
The museum has also launched a local print and radio campaign to keep
seats filled since "SonicVision" will run indefinitely at the venue,
and eventually be refreshed.
For the museum, anxious as any other content provider, it has brought
back that ever-elusive 18-34 demo not otherwise likely to saunter in.
"A whole section of life lost contact with us, and this brings them
back," says Anthony Braun, exec producer of the Rose Center.
Copyright 2000-2004, Reed Business Information