There is an iPhone or iPod app available for free on iTunes for Movement 2010, Detroit’s Electronic Music Festival. It’s actually a great idea and an excellent resource for festival goers. You can check out the entire festival lineup, the entire lineup by stage or the lineup for each day by stage. From the lineup pages you can check out artists bios and visit links to websites, videos on YouTube and music on Beatport and iTunes.

The most useful feature on the Movement app is the ability to add artist’s sets to your own schedule: a better alternative than carrying around an outdated, tree-killing, printed schedule or aimlessly scratching your head while wandering to your next destination. There’s a map of the Movement festival grounds and a list of ‘official’ (aka ‘not interested’) afterparties. Also included is a cool friend finder that allows you to move an “I AM HERE” arrow around pictures of the festival stages and maps to help your friends find you. Sounds corny? Maybe. Have I spent more festival time trying to find people than hearing music? Some years. Will I use it? Come on.

To pass the time in between bass pounding sets the app includes a music note icon in the upper left hand corner which allows you to stream Paxahau radio anywhere.

Fucking technology… and thankfully the wallpaper for the app is not that creepy, emo Plastikman live promo pic of Richie. He looks like the gay younger brother from Wedding Crashers. You know, the one that likes to paint…

Visit iTunes to download the Movement 2010 App.

Digidesign, makers Pro Tools, the industry standard in Digital Audio Workstations (DAW), as well as a slew of plug-ins, consoles and live performance rigs, is retiring… well, the name at least. The end of Digidesign and their flagship software Pro Tools is far from over, but parent company Avid, makers of video and film software, has decided to merge Pro Tools, as well as their other three major companies, M-Audio, Pinnacle and Sibelius, under the umbrella name Avid.

So what does the new company name mean for Digidesign? Not much really; Pro Tools will still be ProTools and staff and support will remain virtually unchanged. The only change customers will notice will be the Avid name and new logo on upcoming packaging and a new website that will be launching on April 12, 2010.

Avid promises the new site will include improved navigation, organization and overall  user experience. The new Avid.com will include all current Digidesign.com pages. At first, the new site will only include Digidesign US, but within a few months the international Digidesign websites will be included as well.

Who will see the biggest advantage? Customers who purchase products from multiple Avid companies; such as ProTools HD for DAW, M-Audio Axiom Pro 49 for a MIDI controller and Sibelius for scoring music. Digidesign.com will be the first company website to integrate into Avid.com, but M-Audio.com, Sibelius.com and Pinnaclesys.com will soon follow suite. This complete transition will begin providing multi product line customers benefits like a simplified product registration, single login ID, and a one-stop source for all product information, support, downloads and news.

The biggest advantage most likely will come by the way of new products and current product integration – like the recent additions Pro Tools M-Powered, Video Satellite between Media Composer and Pro Tools, and Sibelius integration into Pro Tools. Think of Adobe after their acquisition Macromedia – each of the company’s related software now integrate seamlessly, allowing users to flip back and forth, starting projects in one program and polishing in another, using each programs unique benefits to your advantage. Don’t rule out the possibility of suite packages or integrated plug-in packages.

Well, here we are. It’s our final day with Lawrence Daufenbach. Throughout the week we have learned many things about movie making and all the wonderful little things that surround its developers. I for one believe its easy to understate the beauty and genius behind another individuals creative prowess. But this week was perfect in the sense of giving us a variety of thoughts and information, which introduced us to the ethos behind the curtain of a movie, and the mind of one of its players. I was enamored with the answers coming from Lawrence. He knows his business, and reveals an honesty that only comes from someone who is real. He is  the “genuine article” as they say, and I couldn’t  be more pleased as we turn from this wonderful artist to continue to explore the rest of the worlds offerings. Below you will find the last part of our conversation, and this story will conclude with the premiere of Lawrence Daufenbach’s latest reel. Special Note: This piece comes out today in a local Knoxville Art/Culture Magazine called One Eighty.

Twilight Frequencies

What kind of Character are you in a fictional world? Do you fly? Can you read minds?

Lawrence Daufenbach

I fly the morning skies and walk invisibly through the jungle floor.

Twilight Frequencies

I know you’re really into music, what bands are you listening to right now?

Lawrence Daufenbach

Vampire Weekend, Jay Reatard (RIP), Devendra Banhart, Fruit Bats, MGMT, Trampled by Turtles, Head of Femur, Built to Spill

Twilight Frequencies

Lost or Heroes?

Lawrence Daufenbach

Lost.  I haven’t gotten to see too much of Heroes, but Lost is very cinematic and engaging.

Twilight Frequencies

Coffee or Tea?

Lawrence Daufenbach

Definitely Tea, green preferred.

Twilight Frequencies

Chevy Chase or Bill Murray?

Lawrence Daufenbach

That’s a tough one, but Ground Hog’s Day is one of my favorites, so Bill Murray.

Twilight Frequencies

Hiking or Bouldering?

Lawrence Daufenbach

Hiking

Twilight Frequencies

Morning or Night?

Lawrence Daufenbach

The morning motivates me and I get things done, at night I think, listen, and create.

Twilight Frequencies

The Velvet Underground or The Rolling Stones?

Lawrence Daufenbach

The Velvet Underground

Twilight Frequencies

Before you go, is there any advice you can give to aspiring filmmakers?

Lawrence Daufenbach

It all comes down to the story. You can have a beautifully shot film, but if there is no story, it won’t matter in the end. Focus on your characters first, then let the creative energy flow wild.

Lawrence Daufenbach is the founder of Daufenbach Camera, and can be contacted through www.daufenbachcamera.com. He’s a Director of Photography.

Twilight Frequencies

You own a production equipment company. Can you give us an idea of what that entails, and how you incorporate that in your work on the set of a film?

Lawrence Daufenbach

I started up Daufenbach Camera, LLC in June of 2009. After finishing college and working for a year in the industry, I quickly began to grasp the inner and outer workings of how the business works.  Aspiring to be a narrative DP, I looked into camera equipment that could potentially bring in both jobs and a side income.  I had been following the Red One (made by Red Digital Cinema, founded by Jim Jannard of Oakley sunglasses) camera in its production stages, and when it was released in 2007, I realized filmmaking would forever be changed in the years ahead.  The Red One was the answer as an affordable, yet top of the line camera for filmmakers alike.  It has not only helped me start a business, but has given me a professional tool to create art, tell stories, and move lives.

Having a camera rental business also allows me to stay connected and network within the film industry, as I work amongst people day in and day out.

Twilight Frequencies

Recently, Daufenbach Camera received really good news about sponsorship. Tell us a little about what you will be doing for the “Midwest Film Festival.”

Lawrence Daufenbach

The Midwest Film Festival is a non-for-profit organization and is the only film festival in the country solely dedicated to the Chicago and Midwest filmmaker.  It’s a year long festival that takes place on the first Tuesday of every month, showcasing independent film. We (Daufenbach Camera) will be helping sponsor this event; promoting the independent filmmaker as well as our affordable equipment options for filmmakers alike.

Twilight Frequencies

Since the whole world is enamored with James Cameron’s Avatar, what was your impression of the film?

Lawrence Daufenbach

It is a huge achievement on many levels, but most particularly, in technology.  A film of this caliber would have cost many hundreds of millions of dollars more if this was attempted ten years prior.  3D technology has come along way since its birth, and Avatar does justice revealing this feat.

James Cameron was able to look through a camera, which on set consisted of actors in front of a green screen. He was able see the entire environment that surrounded them, all in a live feed. To me, that just sounds insanely complicated, and absolutely incredible.  Your seeing actors in real life and on the monitor they’re Na’vi and in the Pandora environment.

The Simulcam, a process that takes two different cameras both at different viewpoints, allowed the film to replicate what the human eye views in 3 dimension.  It allows us to feel like we are there, and a part of the film, it becomes a reality.

From a story element, I found it very creative and engaging.  The world the Na’vi live in is extraordinary, and as noted in the news, it seems only natural that many Americans are depressed after seeing it.  Who wants to leave such a captivating world?  I also enjoyed the very Starship Trooper esque militant force.  There were a few one-liners I didn’t exactly care for; however, I think generally speaking, it was balanced to appeal to a diverse grouping of audiences.

to be continued…

Information has recently been leaked that law enforcement agencies have been provided an open portal to track the location of sprint cell phone users. There was 8 million requests within an 18 month period. Not necessarily 8 million customers, but 8 million pings; which Sprint has admitted, but has not clarified how many actual individuals nave been tracked. Law enforcement was able to use this information without the use of a warrant.

Now available for download is the TwitterDJ application. DJ pioneer/Producer/Label Owner Richie Hawtin and his Minus label helped develop this application that tweets each track a DJ plays during a set in (nearly) real time. You can see the application in action @ his twitter account, www.twitter.com/rhawtin. The app utilizes an updated version of Traktor’s standard broadcasting technology and the popular social site twitter.com. Traktor being the Djing software that allows you to mix digital music internally within the software or externally with a standard mixer, turntables or CD decks and timecoded vinyl or CDs; depending on the software version (just in case you’ve been locked in a padded room flippin old tresor wax for the last decade and finally decided to conform).

TwitterDj is currently only available to run on Intel based Macs running OS X 10.5 and Xcode software. You will also need Native Intruments Trakt5o Pro 1.2 and Icecast 2.3.2 or higher.

This type of technology is an excellent step in promotional advancement for digitally released music. This gives an artist, and typically their independent label, the opportunity to gain further recognition for their music as its being played by a performer. How many times have you heard a track at a party, then again at another, frantically needing to add it to the collection but every pain-staking effort to find it on the small information you have is entirely fruitless? Yes, it may take a little something away from those diligent heads who scour through dusty crates and scan thousands of samples before finding those gems; only to broadcast your find to the world so it can be soaked up by some brat who lets his software beatmatch for him. But there are inventive ways around such things. Maybe counterproductive, but there’s always a way… Or, like a good friend pointed out to me, how annoying will it be with a bunch of techie-hipsters standing around at a club, too cool to dance, face lit up from the warm glow of their iphones, anxiously awaiting the next track tweet.

But (after years of denial and sly looks in the mirror) I excepted the fact that you must embrace technology and the information trade. The faster technology is adopted and the more it is exposed leads to faster development. It’s just the way it is, you can either your turn your back on it in denial… or except it. It will still continue to exist either way.

Gust of Wind # 3

Sin Fang Bous, Clangour

Morr Music

This gust of wind stays busy establishing a coupled sound of gadgetry, strings, and broken tonality, which moves freely through  familiar instrumentations of pop.

The ability of this album to change with a flick of a switch is apparent with the first listen. It feels like a science fiction movie is playing along side a band, bridging the gap between mediums. The busy feeling of this album works, but can also lose the listener, b/c it’s entirely full of sounds, both quirky, and sublime – you have to catch yourself from drifting off into space.

Sin Fang Bous is not waiting around for trends, or for the rest of us to figure out where the world is heading, it’s waiting for us to catch up, and jump on. The track “Sunken Ship” is a great moment on this beautiful record. It has amazing cadence, vocal depth, and really moves the listener throughout the tune – sounds sort of creep up in places where you might not expect, essentially being consistent throughout this ambitious affair.

Clangour gives an epic story impression, something that trilogies are made of. It’s cohesive and fun, but deeper then just an everyday listen. This record could very easily be considered before its time. I picture new technology, and kids hovering on skateboards, while they remember their parent’s stories about the days when grass was still green, and close enough to touch and feel – a bitter sweet memory, if you will.

This album doesn’t leave traditional music at the door; rather it gives it an upgrade, while maintaining the abilities and talents of great musicianship. It would seem the human has been kidnapped to sing and play, while the robots back him perfectly, waiting to be lost in something organic.

Did I mention its one guy on this record? Sin Fang Bous is Sindrie Mar Sigfusson from the band Seabear, out of Iceland. Get this album soon; it’s an amazing work of art, and a complete package of emotion.

- Ryan Boos, August 21st, 2009

I doubt it was any internet backlash that got the nin:access app back on the approval list… but it makes geeks with egos feel good, so let’s just leave it at that. Still can’t use special characters for passwords, but hey, a simple password change and I’m up.

Who is N2IT? It’s an Amsterdam-based company which holds patents for technology that led to the first digital vinyl system (DVS), FinalScratch, waaaayyy back in’98. N2IT’s CEO also happens to be John Acquaviva. You remember, the guy that would hang around and look like Richie Hawtin when Richie was on this continent? Just kiddin John, we know he stole the minimal look and lifestyle from you anyway.

Now N2IT has filed a patent infringement claim against M-Audio in regards to it’s Torq/Connectiv live of digital DJ products. But not without first offering to license M-Audio the technology first. This isn’t the first time N2IT has filed a simliar claim either. In May 2007 they went down the same path with Native Instruments and NI’s Traktor Scratch. A year after that complaint, NI aanounced they would be licensing the N2IT technology. 

It looks as if M-Audio may take the same course of action. Who’s next Rane/Serato? Probably not far.

The recently released free app nin:access for the iphone and ipod touch has been rejected because it contains “objectionable” content. Technically the app (v1.0) is still live, for now. Apple rejected the v1.0.3 updated which was submitted for approval 24 hours after the release of v1.0 to fix bugs for international users (and hopefully those login issues?). Oddly, nothing changed in the “content” of the app; which technically doesn’t really contain the objectionable content, it just accesses the content on the internet (no, no objectionable content anywhere there). Apple named the content as “The Downward Spiral;” not sure if they’re talking about the entire album or the song but the nails crew has removed the song from the sever (available on itunes and on a free podcasts on itunes, no objections there) in hopes of future approval. The greatest part is the extremely vague description of the content and complete lack of suggestions for resubmitting the approval. Read the full rejection and Trent’s thoughts. 

Grow up Apple, what year are you living in anyways…I’ve had more objectionable content come through on my fax machine. Stop letting the computers make decision’s from algorithms and get some nerd with taste on the project. I’ve heard nothing but praise for Apple from Reznor in the past. He even released his first public remix content (wow, has he come a long way since then) strictly in Garage Band, shortly after it’s conception, just to encourage people to use Mac. Now look what they’ve done… you don’t wanna fuck with a stone-sold sober rock star who’s been pumping iron instead partying for over 4 years just waiting for a chance to take out some aggression. Your move Apple.