I am so excited to be taking my first computer programming course An Introduction into Interactive Programming in Python. I enrolled through Coursera at Rice University and this is my first week. This online class will teach me how to make a video game! I will be learning the basics about programming in the python language which includes importing a gui, a graphical user interface and event handling which includes what happens after the button is clicked. What will you see if you join this class? Video lectures, course material, code skulptor which allows you to code online through your browser and online forums to ask questions or discuss issues with other students. I found the sytatical shortcut '+=' to be an interesting feature. Here's an example: if a = 3
a += 2
The answer is 5 because we added 3 + 2.
I also found modulus math interesting, especially the remainder which is a form of division.
Here's an example: 4 % 4
The answer results in 0, because although 4 divided by 4 equals 1, the remainder is zero. There are no left overs in this equation.
Click here to read more about this course. Hurry class begins October 15, 2012.
Did I mention the class is free!
I drew my second vector drawing with inkscape. I think Lucinda is ready for Halloween and I call this drawing Lucinda's First Bite.
Lucinda's First Bite by ~ravensartshack on deviantART
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Friday, October 12, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Candy Box Guitar Thoughts
You eat, bang it and pluck it. What post consumer product is this? Answer: the candy box guitar.
What inspired you to make a candy box guitar video? I had eaten some Mike and Ike candy and when it became 3/4 empty I discovered its musical possibilities. I also enjoyed Good and Plenty and found the boxes had a slightly different set of notes when I hooked it up to my chromatic tuner.
What did you want to express in your video? I wanted to say you can make music with just a rubber band and an empty box. The simplicity and affordability of the instument does not make it any less fun. Think about the possibities. If you were stuck in an airport and had a rubber band and a candy box you could make some music. Your children could play their own candy box guitars as I did in this video.
Can you really play a candy box like a guitar? Yes and some extra techniques you would not be able to do with a guitar. The squeeze box method creates a ragtime sound when you place your thumb over one or two bands and squeeze. The instrument forms a chord when you squeeze and release. I have two candy boxes and I banged then together like I would a pair of erasers. This bang method sounds like a drum with the added bonus of rubbing rubber bands together to strike random sequence of notes. Plucking an open string produces a soothing bass sound. I could slide my finger on the band and bend the notes.
Did you have fun making the video?
Yah, it was fun, but there were challenges. I recorded the video clips seperatly from the audio. Let's be honest, the video was not synchronized. It took a while to set up the microphone and the audio equipment. While I recorded I had fun and treated it as seriously as I would any instrument. I focused on the techniques seperatly which I recorded in Audacity. I transferred my samples to LMMS and and added effects and combined the audio tracks. I tranferred my music back to Audacity and add a few tracks to layer then converted it to an mp3 format. I was amazed how many sound files I recorded to select a few for my tune. If you would like to make your own candy box guitar you can visit my instructable for more tips.
What other post consumer items you have had a chance to work with? Well, I collected a few empty tins which make decent shakers after I add some beads and shake it. One of my large cookie tins makes makes an interesting drum giving it a bouncy resonance. My windsor chair makes a decent cajon impression. A cajon is a box that the drummer sits on and spanks with the palm of her hands.
What inspired you to make a candy box guitar video? I had eaten some Mike and Ike candy and when it became 3/4 empty I discovered its musical possibilities. I also enjoyed Good and Plenty and found the boxes had a slightly different set of notes when I hooked it up to my chromatic tuner.
What did you want to express in your video? I wanted to say you can make music with just a rubber band and an empty box. The simplicity and affordability of the instument does not make it any less fun. Think about the possibities. If you were stuck in an airport and had a rubber band and a candy box you could make some music. Your children could play their own candy box guitars as I did in this video.
Did you have fun making the video?
Yah, it was fun, but there were challenges. I recorded the video clips seperatly from the audio. Let's be honest, the video was not synchronized. It took a while to set up the microphone and the audio equipment. While I recorded I had fun and treated it as seriously as I would any instrument. I focused on the techniques seperatly which I recorded in Audacity. I transferred my samples to LMMS and and added effects and combined the audio tracks. I tranferred my music back to Audacity and add a few tracks to layer then converted it to an mp3 format. I was amazed how many sound files I recorded to select a few for my tune. If you would like to make your own candy box guitar you can visit my instructable for more tips.
What other post consumer items you have had a chance to work with? Well, I collected a few empty tins which make decent shakers after I add some beads and shake it. One of my large cookie tins makes makes an interesting drum giving it a bouncy resonance. My windsor chair makes a decent cajon impression. A cajon is a box that the drummer sits on and spanks with the palm of her hands.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween mon amies! I made this video just in time for All Hallowed's Eve.
Info: photos taken with Nintendo DSi and digitally painted.
Music composition: with LMMS software, DSK Overture and Audacity.
I find deep inspiration with artists and I think people who make virtual instruments and virtual studios are uniquely talented people who share their inspiration and help artists create. Thank you.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
The Excitment Behind This Video
There was some excitment and controversy involved in the making of this video. The music was highly controversial due to its aleatorial nature and virtual chairs were thrown across the cyber room, but not by me. I am an absolute angel. Can't you see my wings? (winks). Just kidding. When I submitted my innocent little song for a critique I was surprised by the firece battle that took place among the critics. So in the video you see a private joke when the word music rests under the cottony soft batton.
I had so much fun making this video about an exciting group of people called Universal Salon which you can find on Facebook. I hope people see this video come and join us. We are artists, poets and deep thinkers.
Changing the subject, I am excited that my personal UFO account got published today in Pamela Grundy's "The Paranromal Detective" which you can read at Eye on Life magazine. Yeah!
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