Reverse Pattens (2002)

In this interactive telematic performance, an Active Space system at the Bing Theatre in Los Angeles generated video imagery in response to the movements of dancers located at University of California, Irvine. The two locations, 40 miles apart, were connected by Internet2, a high-bandwidth research network. The performance was co-sponsored by the Internet2 Arts & Humanities Initiative.

The Active Space system used video-based motion tracking technology to continually measure various characteristics of the dancers' movement. The system performed real-time analysis of these measurements to detect "visual timbre" and "motion envelope" information, creating visuals that presented a mediated view of the dancer's performance, continually changing and evolving. The system also displayed video clips from a library of pre-processed dance animations, also in response to the dancers' movement. The dancers were accompanied by a musician at UC, Irvine who responded to their movement and to the video imagery.

Reverse Patterns performance, courtesy Internet2

Gesture and movement always have the potential of reaching or expanding into new expression. Reverse Patterns relates to identifying aspects of gesture and body movement that expand beyond the physical body and metamorphose from one artistic form to another: body → music > imagery > back to the body — appearing, disappearing, returning.

The dance animations in Reverse Patterns originated with movement sequences recorded from dancers in the Motion Capture Studio at UC, Irvine. These motion-captured sequences have a variety of physical qualities and characteristics, ranging from pedestrian actions to stylized dance phrases. We used the resulting 3D motion data to create computer animations: combining, manipulating, and compositing the captured motion into a series of video clips with a range of visual treatments and themes.

Reverse Patterns refers to the concept of recycling, rethinking the current state, and how the physical positioning in space and time serves as a point of departure for communication and the reversing of patterns. The piece is intended to embody an ongoing rebirth of visual perception, action and sound, distributed through space and time.

View stills from Reverse Pattens in the Animation Gallery and the Performance Gallery.