[Noisebridge-discuss] Reminder: Max/MSP Class #9, Wednesday April 3rd at 20:00 in Turing

[Sam Tarakajian (C74)]

Hi all,

So. Lots to get to.

First of all, thanks to everyone who helped out with the Max + LED exhibition at the fundraiser party last night. Granted, our control over the space was as limited as our electronics were unreliable, but at the same time I'm thrilled that we had the chance to work together and that we accomplished what we did. I think it points the way to some fun future collaborations. At least, I hope it does.

On that note, I want to start looking at these Max meetups less as a class series and more as an opportunity to make some sexy interactive art. Until we got into Turing and started moving tables around, I never realized that the room is actually a perfect cube. How weird is that shit? Who builds a room that's an exact cube? Did NB know that when they decided to rent the space?

In any case, coming to terms with the geometry of that space got me inspired to put on some kind of installation there. We could do all kinds of crazy stuff. We can fill the room with light and sound. We can create an immersive, reactive performance. Whatever it we do, it will be a great opportunity to pool our genius and to raise money on behalf of Noisebridge. So let's roll our sleeves up already.

This Wednesday we'll split the class into two parts. In the first part I'll do a quick demo on how to build a vocoder, which is a tool for making people sound like robots. That shouldn't take too long, so in the remaining time we can brainstorm about what we want to do in the Turing Room Performance Space. Bring your best ideas and your darkest mania.

As always, I recommend downloading Max before you come, since the NB wifi can get a bit overtaxed otherwise.

----- BEGIN WTF IS A MAX SPIEL -----

Max/MSP is a visual programming language for music and multimedia. The visual part means that instead of representing logic using text and grammar, Max uses blocks and connections. The multimedia part means that Max is especially well suited for working with audio, video and data streams, making it perfect for reactive installations, algorithmic art and all kinds of other stuff. 

This class will assume absolutely no experience with Max whatsoever, except for all the previous classes. You can find example patches from the previous classes (as well as more information) at https://noisebridge.net/wiki/Noise~_Wednesday.

We'll start with getting Max downloaded and installed, and from there I'll move straight to building basic patchers with Max. We can talk about generating simple algorithmic music, sampling recorded sound, working with live video, and whatever else people might be interested in.

If you plan on attending then it would be great if you could write me just to let me know you're coming. Include, if you would, your name, a little bit about yourself and why you're interested in Max. And if there's something you'd like to see covered, let me know about that as well. Or, if you already know about Max and you'd like to participate in leading the class, that would be great as well. I could certainly use the help.

----- END SPIEL OH SO THAT'S A MAX -----

Looking forward,
-S
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