User:ASH MDX/sandbox

My Contribution A
Animated GIFs had recently become a huge part of social media as they have taken over many online platforms to be used as a meme or responding reaction using no words. Its simplistic use and form have made GIF art play a huge part in our current generation as GIF art allows you to express your thoughts through a combination of colours and moving images. There are countless possibilities of GIF art form which is why people find it so captivating. Some GIF art can display an expression of relatable emotions of the person and some GIFs are used to display psychedelic art or trippy visuals that are constantly on a loop making it appealing to look at. GIF Art seems to be continuously evolving and becoming more known in its own form. Back in 2014, on April 17th Saatchi Gallery and Google+ had 6 winners awarded with Motion Photography prize for having the most creative use of gif animation technology. Saatchi Gallery participation was quite distinct, however, Google+ had stood out for their way of generating GIFs by uploading images to Google+ drive which is what has made them suitable for the award.

Use of GIF Art

Term GIF stands for ‘Graphics Interchange Format’ which is known to be a silently moving image that is not a video however, it has its own loop and can be used in any art form. GIFs are usually taken from films, or video clips but can also be made using still images or even paintings and transformed into continuous loops that develop an aesthetic movement making it difficult to understand the beginning and end of the image. GIFs are known to be specific for their features such as no use of sound or ability to manipulate them through pressing buttons. They have a palette of 256 colours and a specific size that can not be too large. When creating a GIF, the artists should consider their topic and make a plan as only a tiny part of the story ends up being animated into a low-quality format file of moving image. The reason it needs to be compressed into a smaller format is so that people can easily share it online and the GIF can be uploaded quickly without using up a lot of megabytes. With the use of art GIFs, people have a lot more freedom rather than with images. With the digital use, we have today, almost anyone can become a GIF artist and with the help of advanced software improve their skills of creating GIF art. Many different types of GIFs have multiple movements for various purposes and although these are just some of the examples, the list is continuously evolving in the arts industries and social media world. Some of the GIF types are Fluid Movement, Montage, Bite-size Narrative, Metamorphosis, Transformation, Isolated Movement, Text, Collage, Mashup and Supercut GIFs.

My Contribution B
Live Coding Performance Algoraves have become a movement of culture in the electronic music underground rave scene. By running algorithms through live coding, a performing artist is able to create a unique music listening experience for the crowd. By continuously triggering new sounds with each keypress, live coding is pushing capitalism to its limits beyond and further which is something that was not possible two decades ago. It creates an original sound that is normally different from other forms of playing music like piano or using synthesizer and such, as it is all about writing code in a programming language. By doing so, an artist can create algorithms that are not dependent on the combination of hardware and the software however, the sound being created is usually similarly sounding to a real-life musical instrument. Software such as TidalCycles can be used to help achieve this through running it on macOS or windows. The process of live coding can be achieved easily for those who have experience in programming. The music played at algoraves is usually interesting because of it being produced live and, on the spot. When attending algorave, people are always in for a surprise as they do not know what sounds to expect during live coding performance, this makes the audience feel engaged in their experience by using performer’s ideas which they can observe on the screen however, sometimes the music can come out sounding quite dull for the same reason which is why people find algoraves so different from a usual DJ live performance. By hosting many events and workshops through the years, algoraves remain to be a resemblance of experimentation, however, the most important part is that it is interesting and fun.

Community

Live coding performing music artists and their community kept expanding across the world over the years and algoraves are now being hosted in places as far as Australia, Japan and the USA. Some audiences have told that they enjoy the atmosphere of algoraves because they can connect with the music and feel its progression as the codes are slowly unravelling themselves. Algoraves and live coding music is known to be particularly liked by the underground music culture because of their distinctive sounds and people have described it to be like an art performance with dancing involved. However, some people have shared their personal experiences of algoraves, and they have mentioned that the music being formed through algorithms could have a negative impact on society and the electronic music culture and could be facing issues around the world. It could also be said that such music form is not up for everyone’s preference.

Response to my peer's Contribution A
Music Visualization

Music visualization is a form of digital art that involves the interpretation of electronic music and moving visuals that are generated in real-time with the use of a computer software. Using a music visualizer shapes the qualities of a record being played or composition being used that interprets with digital signals. The visuals are synchronised with whatever sound is being played or changed and the way they respond can depend on different elements such as volume intensity or the frequency spectrum.

The user would need software that is capable of rendering in real-time. There are many types of software to chose from such as ‘Renderforest’ or ‘Synthesia’ as each of them have their own special set of visuals or factors such as audio reaction or green screen removal. Additionally, using a more complex software would involve completing multiple tasks through extracting data from the audio recording that is being played. Depending on the software being used, the user would receive the desired output by transferring data into a format that is then animated in 2D or 3D form.

Having said that, music visualization can sometimes be challenging because the sounds that we hear could be completely different from what we experience therefore, the software that is used should be able to translate the emotional experience into a programmed one which can help to enhance your performance. Although this method of music visualization is only displaying a slide show of moving images it is different from other forms such as music videos.

Response to my peer's Contribution B
NFT in the music industry

Initially, NFT was used to sell digital art, however, as many more digital objects ended up being implemented with NFT, the music industry started using the NFT system too by having various producers and artists sell their music production and collections.

Space Yacht was one of the first in the dance music industry to get into NFT and they have managed to sell out multiple collections in a matter of minutes. Space Yacht started as small music industry and today they are some of the most relevant brands in underground dance music. Having to put their music events on hold due to COVID-19, they have decided to release a new record label and get involved in using crypto- art. With the release of their new collection on the Nifty Gateway, Space Yacht has sold over 230 pieces within just over 2 minutes making them the fastest-selling NFT at the time. They believe that NFT is a new form of storytelling and expression for their brand.

World’s famous musician and producer 3LAU who is known for his outstanding DJ performances and top chart hits has launched a special campaign to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of his ‘Ultraviolet’ album placing only 33 NFTs’ in the market it was also the first album to be tokenized. Each winner had access to unique prizes such as vinyl or unreleased music. With the NFT system, Justin has made a record-breaking $11.6 Million worth of sales with the highest bid placed for a single NFT and the highest overall sales for a single collection release.