Day 1 / April 25th / TUE / 10 AM :
Day 2 / April 26th / WED / 10 AM
Repost from https://derivative.ca/community-post/touchdesigner-event-berlin-2023/67538
TOUCHDESIGNER EVENT BERLIN 2023
APRIL 25 - 26 | 10AM CET
We are very pleased to announce this two-day TouchDesigner event, the first Derivative-hosted community event in Europe since Berlin 2018 and a long time coming!
It's an idea that came together in less than two months with the hard work and expertise of our partner The NODE Institute's Stefan Kraus and Wieland Hilker who undertook all ground operations.
The daytime programming will consist of five presentations each day from the TouchDesigner community with the final hour of the day spent with five b2b rapid ten minute presentations, which ticket holders will be able to sign up for. This daytime program takes place at the HOLON space with thanks to the support and partnership of MONOMANGO.
The first evening will be a special edition of The NODE Institute's TouchDesigner Roundtable taking place at the Zeiss Planetarium Berlin and will include a program of full dome shows by three of our community's luminaries.
The last evening of the event will be an informal gathering at a bar/venue where we'll be able to spend the evening in conversations and catching up with old and new friends.
As always these events are intended to share new work and ideas, inspire and educate, and simply to gather in person for intensive TouchDesigner community time. Derivative's Greg Hermanovic, Markus Heckmann and Isabelle Rousset are very much looking forward to seeing you all!
_TICKETING & LIVE STREAMING
Ticket prices for this 2-day event will be €120 for regular attendees and €85 for students and will include a simple lunch each day. We are only able to sell 80 tickets due to the daytime venue's size restrictions so this will be a more intimate gathering. For this reason we ask that tickets are reserved for people actively involved using TouchDesigner for their work or art practice.
TICKETS ARE NOW FOR PURCHASE AVAILABLE VIA THE NODE INSTITUTE
Tickets are limited to 80 attendants.
All presentations will be streamed on The NODE Institute's YouTube Channel:
Day 1 / April 25th / TUE / 10 AM : https://youtube.com/live/MJuQRw0EPEw
Day 2 / April 26th / WED / 10 AM : https://youtube.com/live/AfdOxZd4ln0
They will also be recorded for future viewing.
_PRESENTERS
WEIDI ZHANG, USA
WIELAND HILKER, DE
TORIN BLANKENSMITH, USA
ROY & TIM GERRITSEN, YFXLAB, NL
NIMA GAZESTANI, IT
MONOCOLOR, AT
MARTINA ASSUM, POOLGROUP, DE
JOSEF PELZ, DE
HELIN ULAS, DE
GUILLAUME MASSOL, IART, CH
FLORENCE TO, UK
CHRISTOPHER BAUDER, WHITEVOID, DE
ALEX GUEVARA, DE
DERIVATIVE
_DAY 1 | APRIL 25 | DAY PROGRAM | HOLON
Supported by/In partnership with MONOMANGO the day program takes place at the HOLON space. The venue opens at 9:00am with a short greeting from the Derivative team at 9:30am followed by a series of presentations from the community.
Directions to HOLON event space
09:30 | WELCOME, DERIVATIVE, CA
Greg, Markus and Isabelle will give a short hello and a very quick newsflash of important developments.
10:00 | TORIN BLANKENSMITH, USA
SENSORY LANDSCAPES: CRAFTING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY EXPERIENCES AND CREATIVE TOOLS WITH TOUCHDESIGNER
Presenter_Bio_Image_TorinBlankensmith.jpg
Torin is a creative technologist, real-time graphics artist, and educator, with a background in Human-Computer Interaction. He's passionate about exploring emerging techniques in computation, creating restorative immersive environments, and creating open-source creative tools and communities that have the power to positively impact people's lives. Torin is an Adjunct Professor at Parsons The New School in New York where he's been teaching Intro and Advanced Interactive and Immersive Environments with TouchDesigner, Advanced Creative Coding, and Adaptive / Assistive Technology. In collaboration with Peter Whidden, Torin co-created Shader Park – an open-source, web-based community and tool designed for generating real-time 3D graphics and animations using code. Currently, Torin works at Studio Elsewhere creating restorative immersive environments in collaboration with neuroscientists focused on patient and medical workers’ well-being.
In this talk Torin will share his experiences working with TouchDesigner on a variety of immersive, cross-disciplinary experiences. We’ll explore projects like QLab, a neuroscience research lab; the Liquid Archive, an evolving journey through MIT's history; Channels, a multi-sensory performance at the SHED exploring chronic pain and healing; and Flourish, an interactive, multi-sensory installation designed to help medical staff de-stress and re-energize.
Torin will also discuss some of his experience teaching TouchDesigner, making it accessible to students ranging from high schoolers to master's students. In addition, Torin will launch a new motion-based component for the TouchDesigner community at the event.
https://www.instagram.com/blankensmithing/
https://twitter.com/Blankensmith
https://www.youtube.com/blankensmithing
https://www.torinblankensmith.com/
11:00 | FLORENCE TO, UK
INTERWEAVE: SUBSTANCE & MULTIPLICITY
Presenter_Bio_Image_FlorenceTo_2.jpg
Florence To (b. 1985) is an artist and director creating generative motion graphics, scenographies, sound, and light installations with an emphasis on architectural spatial design. The Scottish-born Hong Kong artist, originally specializing in textiles and tailoring, merged her skills with digital technologies to develop installations in abandoned and disused spaces, using their defects as an advantage. Working in various disparate architectural environments guided her further into investigating the implications of cognitive and emotional triggers and how diverse sensory arrangements are experienced within space. To uses information in relation to vibrations, including psychoacoustics and phonetics to develop multidimensional processes in her practice. She has established residencies and commissions with organisations such as the Berliner Festspiele, STRP Eindhoven and Mass MoCA in Massachusetts. In 2019 she worked with the Photonics group at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory in Portugal, exploring the science behind light detection, generation, and manipulation, and understanding how wavelength propagation processes can enable humans to rationalize the behaviour of their internal optics.
Artist and director Florence To produces visceral experiences by understanding the perspectives of sensory information and arranging elements into visual and auditory scenographies. She will discuss her design methodology and research on spatial environments and semantics, as well as how she constructs narratives with digital tools.
http://florence-to.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Florence.T0/
https://twitter.com/FlorenceTo
https://www.instagram.com/florence.to/
12:00 | MARTINA ASSUM
TOUCHDESIGNER AT POOLGROUP
Presenter_Bio_Image_MartinaAssum_0.jpg
Martina Assum is head of motion design & interactive development at POOLgroup. She started with a bachelor thesis in the lighting department, worked on-site as a video technician for several years and created motion graphics 'as a side-product' during this time. After specializing more and more in content production, she added the motion design department to the portfolio of the company and soon discovered TouchDesigner as her favorite interactive tool. Due to her experience her focus today is being the link between creatives, programmers, technical departments and stage directors.
This presentation is a quick tour through some of the projects realized with TouchDesigner at POOLgroup, one of the leading event production companies in Europe. It gives an overview on the variety of applications ranging from small tools to big productions. Experiences and insights will be shared.
[13:00 - 14:00 | LUNCH WILL BE SERVED ON SITE]
14:00 | ROY & TIM GERRITSEN, Y=F(X), NL
RESEARCH-DRIVEN
Presenter_Bio_Image_ROY+TIM_0.jpg
Roy and Tim Gerritsen embarked on their digital journey in the early 1980s when their father acquired a Commodore 64 computer. This allowed them to gain familiarity with computers in a playful manner, sparking their interest in digital arts. During the 1990s they further developed their passion for digital arts in the pre-internet demoscene era. Their interests diverged at this point, with Roy gravitating towards graphics, while Tim pursuing programming.
In the early 2000s, the brothers began leveraging their skills professionally. Tim pursued a career as a backend web developer with a primary focus on larger web systems, while Roy founded Boompje Design together with Rogier van Ostaijen, a company specializing in VJing and motion graphics. Over a decade later the brothers reunited to establish y=f(x) lab, a research lab and studio that blends motion graphics with code, utilizing the TouchDesigner software.
y=f(x) is a creative technology studio based in Amsterdam, focused on the creation of overarching multimedia experiences, with specially crafted software and design. Striving to fully embrace the capabilities of contemporary technology, so that every project is as innovative and informed as possible, y=f(x) takes a research-led approach applied to experiences of every scale. The lab is a major component of their practice, where they investigate the possibilities of building and controlling complex systems and algorithms, without losing the ability to manage, adapt and design.
y=f(x) creates versatile interactive experiences, dynamic content and audiovisual installations, powered by the language of generative design and parametric thinking.
In the talk "Research-driven", the brothers Roy & Tim will take you through some of their recent projects. Join them as they discuss their research-driven approach and how it has helped them navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of technology and creativity.
https://www.yfxlab.com
https://www.instagram.com/_yfxlab
15:00 | WIELAND HILKER, DE
BEHIND THE CURTAIN - A LOOK AT SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
Presenter_Bio_Image_WielandHilker.jpg
The Berlin based creative developer Wieland Hilker is a fellow at the The Node Institute and is well-known to the community as AlphaMoonbase.Berlin – a steady source of useful tools and components with that special Python sauce. His OLIB is the biggest free resource of TouchDesigner components. As a certified stage technician Wieland has acquired a wide range of experiences. From working behind the scenes at the opera to designing massive multiscreen system architectures for trade fairs, he knows how to make shows of all sizes work.
In times of social media and flashy documentations, many people do not see what makes a good interactive or immersive installation run. Behind every large screen array or interactive floor stands an array of computers, protocols , connection and systems. With my experience as a stage-technician, I found myself deep in the world of system design. From a hardware point, but also a systematic design for the software. In this presentation I will lift the curtain of flashy particles and animations to highlight some of the technical aspects in planning, production and deployment of larger and smaller projects.
16:00 | QUICKFIRE PRESENTATIONS
For the last hour of each day, we are planning to have participants present topics in a 10-minute quickfire format. This is the ideal place to showcase projects, developments, or techniques that you feel are of interest to the community. Ticket holders will be able to sign up to present.
_DAY 1 | APRIL 25 | EVENING PROGRAM | ZEISS-GROSSPLANETARIUM
The program for the first evening will be a special edition of our event partner The NODE Institute's TouchDesigner Roundtable and will take place at the Zeiss Planetarium, Berlin and include a program of full dome shows.Organized by The NODE Institute, the TouchDesigner Roundtable Berlin is the meeting point for creatives and developers who work with the visual development platform TouchDesigner as well as everybody who is curious about the world of interactive media art and the people behind it.
Address: Prenzlauer Allee 80, 10405 Berlin
19:30 | WELCOME
19:40 | ISABELLE ROUSSET & GREG HERMANOVIC, DERIVATIVE, CA
COMMUNITY NEWS FOR PLANETARIUM
Presenter_Bio_Image_IsabelleRousset.jpg
A quick catchup of some interesting (stellar) projects from the community.
https://www.derivative.ca/community
https://www.instagram.com/touchdesigner/
20:00 | ALEX GUEVARA, DE
REVERIE
Presenter_Bio_Image_AlexGuevara_1.jpg
Moving between digital and physical worlds, aiming to create immersive landscapes, Alex Guevara's works have been presented at international festivals, art centers, and exhibitions worldwide such as Berlin Art Week, Mutek Montreal, CTM Festival, Asia Digital Art Exhibition in Beijing, Art+Science in Belgrade, CCCB: Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, Lunchmeat in Prague, and National Taichung Theater in Taiwan, among others.
Reverie is an immersive audiovisual exploration that takes inspiration from the concept of reverie, with its focus on introspection through an abstract approach. From lucid dreaming to digital nightmares, the experience seeks to explore subjective experiences that are tied to the perception of time.
https://www.alex-guevara.com
https://www.instagram.com/alex.g.u.e.v.a.r.a/
21:00 | MONOCOLOR, AT
ENTANGLED STRUCTURES
Presenter_Bio_Image_monocolor_0.jpg
MONOCOLOR alias Marian Essl is a Vienna-based audiovisual artist. He explores the interrelations between sound and image in both performance-based and installation-based works. His fully generative, algorithmically created imagery oscillates between fluid, organic textures and rigid structures. He focuses on the relation between sound, image, light and space aiming to create highly immersive audiovisual universes. He holds a degree in media technology and experimental media and is currently studying Digital Arts at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. His work has been shown in various contexts around the world. In 2020, he was awarded the Japan Media Arts Festival New Face Award for his audiovisual fulldome performance "Latent Space" that was created during a residency at the Société des Arts Technologiques (SAT) in Montréal.
Entangled Structures is an audiovisual fulldome performance by MONOCOLOR. It generates a virtual, abstract sculpture, consisting of monochromatic strings that continually change their interrelations to one another, constructing architectural elements that are at times rigid and stable, at other times ephemeral and fleeting. The performance proposes a virtual space within the dome that allows for reflections on the entanglement of our virtual and physical selfs that inhabit code/spaces that are both corporeal and disembodied.
https://www.mnclr.com
https://www.instagram.com/mnclr
https://www.facebook.com/mnclr
https://www.youtube.com/@monocolor
https://www.vimeo.com/mnclr
22:00 | WEIDI ZHANG, USA
A SPECULATIVE ASSEMBLAGE
Presenter_Bio_Image_WeidiZhang_1.jpg
Weidi Zhang is a new media artist based in Los Angeles and Phoenix. She is an Assistant Professor of immersive experience design at Arizona State University. Her artworks investigate A Speculative Assemblage at the intersection of immersive media design, experimental data visualization, and interactive AI art. Her works are featured in international awards, museums, and conferences, such as the Best In Show Award in SIGGRAPH (2021,2022), Red Dot Award (2022), Honorary Mention in Prix Ars Electronica (2022), Japan Media Arts Festival(2020), Lumen Prize shortlists (2020, 2021), ISEA, Times Art Museum (CN), Society For Arts and Technology (CA), SwissNex Gallery (USA), IEEE VISAP, V2_Lab (NL), Zeiss-Planetarium Jena (GE), Planetarium 1 (RUS), and others. She holds her Ph.D. degree in Media Arts and Technology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
This presentation introduces A Speculative Assemblage, practice-based research at the intersection of interactive AI art, immersive experience, and experimental visualization. It will highlight a series of art projects including "Cangjie's Poetry," "RAY," and "Astro“ using TouchDesigner that integrate machine vision and human perception through design experiments and future scenarios, resulting in human-machine co-created art experiences.
https://www.zhangweidi.com
https://www.instagram.com/w.e.i.d.i
_DAY 2 | APRIL 26 | DAY PROGRAM | HOLON
10:00 | NIMA GAZESTANI, IT
INTERACTIVE SOLUTIONS FOR BRANDS AND A BEGINNER'S APPROACH TO TOUCHDESIGNER
Presenter_Bio_Image_NimaGazestani_1.jpg
Nima Gazestani is an interaction designer, visual artist and creative tech expert. He worked for brands and companies such as Flos, Ferrari, Tod’s, Moleskine, SkyArte, Netflix, Toyota and many others. His work is focused on developing digital physical projects for interactive exhibitions and set design solutions addressed to augment customers experiences with digital media. Nima is former course leader of the MA in Interaction Design in Domus Academy and still lecturing for the most prestigious Italian and European Design Academies. His keen interest in new technologies intertwined with a well-rounded knowledge of design enables him to generate innovative and unique design solutions.
Nima will be showcasing a series of selected projects, ranging from innovative experiences for retail to video mapping and interactive installations for temporary events. Focusing on the advantages that TouchDesigner offers, he will also present some examples from his educational program: addressing how some simple TD networks could lead to interesting interaction paradigms and design solutions.
https://www.instagram.com/nimagazestani/
11:00 | HELIN ULAS, DE
REALTIME MEDIA SPACES: ARTISTIC & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Presenter_Bio_Image_HelinUlas.jpg
Helin Ulas (b. 1990, Turkey) is a Berlin-based art director, designer and visual artist. Her artistic approach concentrates on practice-based research, creating real-time media spaces for performance pieces and installations. Currently, she explores embodied technology and collective memories. She is a founding member of the collective Automaton, which aims to create platforms for community building and knowledge sharing. Within the collective, she investigates the social impacts of technology and its representations in performance and new media arts. Ulas conducts artistic research and teaches real-time media as a creative expression tool at HfG Karlsruhe.
The focus of the talk will be on using TouchDesigner as a research-based creative expression tool in educational contexts, particularly in academic and artistic research practices. Examples from experimental performance pieces incorporating sensory data and artificial intelligence applications will be drawn upon. Additionally, insights on using TouchDesigner as a higher educational tool will be shared, including its potential as a creative STEM tool for promoting empowerment in underrepresented communities.
https://www.helinulas.info
https://www.instagram.com/helinulas/
https://www.automatonlab.xyz
https://www.instagram.com/automaton.lab/
12:00 | GUILLAUME MASSOL, CH
TOUCHDESIGNER AND MEDIA ARCHITECTURE PROJECTS
Presenter_Bio_Image_GuillaumeMassol.jpg
Guillaume is a designer who works with code at iart. Before joining iart, he was a UX consultant for several companies and co-founded a design studio in Beijing. As an independent UX and interaction designer, he has also participated in a variety of interactive projects. Guillaume develops art and design projects using code, with a special focus on machine learning techniques. Since 2017 Guillaume has been a guest lecturer at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts where he teaches generative computer graphics, machine learning and UX. He is interested in open-source development, art, design and technology.
https://iart.ch/
https://twitter.com/iart_basel
[13:00 - 14:00 | LUNCH WILL BE SERVED ON SITE]
14:00 | JOSEF PELZ, DE
A SPOTLIGHT ON 3D-TEXTURES
Presenter_Bio_Image_JosefPelz_.jpg
Josef Pelz is a generative artist and creative coder with a background in mathematical visualization and computer science. Inspired by physics, emerging behavior and algorithms, he links his passion for problem-solving and aesthetics. He pursues real-time implementations to develop intuition through interaction.
Going over some of his recent project, Josef Pelz discusses the potential of 3D-Textures in TouchDesigner and how to ease their usability. Representing 3D scenes as signed distance functions or density fields, they are a versatile tool for custom renderings and much more.
https://www.josefpelz.com
https://www.instagram.com/josefpelz
https://www.twitter.com/josefpelz
15:00 | CHRISTOPHER BAUDER, WHITEVOID, DE
CREATING LARGE-SCALE LIGHT AND MEDIA ART INSTALLATIONS
Presenter_Bio_Image_Christopher_Bauder_0.jpg
Christopher Bauder is a German artist and designer who creates large scale art installations and performances to explore the effects of light and sound on human perception and emotion. After studying media arts at the Berlin University of the Arts, he founded the interdisciplinary studio WHITEvoid in 2004. There he collaborates with an international team in the fields of architecture, design, software and engineering. Bauder is best known for his citywide light art installation "LICHTGRENZE", which he created with his brother Marc in 2014 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Christopher Bauder will talk about his large-scale light and media artworks and the team behind them. From engineering to planning, installation and programming, there are plenty of challenges and obstacles to overcome until the works seem to float weightlessly and poetically above the audience. Behind this is months of hard work by a highly specialized and dedicated team. Christopher will also give some insights behind the scenes and into his collaboration with musicians and composers. Expect a little journey from the first idea to the finished work of art.
https://www.facebook.com/christopher.bauder
https://www.facebook.com/whitevoid.studio
https://www.facebook.com/kineticlights
https://www.facebook.com/darkmatterberlin/
16:00 | QUICKFIRE PRESENTATIONS
For the last hour of each day, we are planning to have participants present topics in a 10-minute quickfire format. This is the ideal place to showcase projects, developments, or techniques that you feel are of interest to the community. Ticket holders will be able to sign up to present.
17:00 | DERIVATIVE, CA
_DAY 2 | APRIL 26 | NIGHT EVENT
The last evening of the event will be an informal gathering at Alter Roter Löwe Rein where we'll be able to spend the evening in conversations and catching up with old and new friends.
Address: Richardstraße 31, 12043 Berlin
_OUR PARTNERS
We would like to thank our partners who have made this event possible. We started planning the TouchDesigner Event Berlin 2023 about a month and a half before it was scheduled to happen and it could not remotely have happened were it not for our friends and collaborators in Berlin who graciously shared their time, expertise and resources with us.
THE NODE INSTITUTE
First of all we are enormously indebted to the hard work put in by The NODE Institute's Stefan Kraus and Wieland Hilker who undertook all of the operations on the ground including the sourcing of venues, the procurement of equipment and setting all of that up, live streaming, ticketing on our behalf and countless other tasks.Furthermore we would like to thank The NODE Institute for letting us share their monthly TouchDesigner Roundtable Berlin which adds so greatly to the program we can offer our community.
TouchDesigner Roundtable Berlin
Organized by The NODE Institute, the TouchDesigner Roundtable Berlin is the meeting point for creatives and developerswho work with the visual development platform TouchDesigner as well as everybodywho is curious about the world of interactive media art and the people behind it.
The NODE Institute empowers the creative software community to share knowledge and growth.By hosting user meetups, workshops, webinars and online courses, the Institute functions as a hub for creatives at the intersection of art and technology.
The NODE Institute is run by designers David Brüll and Stefan Kraus with the mission to empower the visual programming communities.
https://thenodeinstitute.org
https://www.facebook.com/thenodeinstitute
https://www.instagram.com/thenodeinstitute
MONOMANGO
It's not easy to find the perfect space (on very short notice) to stage an event like this and we are very grateful to MONOMANGO for accommodating us with their wonderful event space HOLON and for their warm hospitality in hosting the TouchDesigner Event Berlin 2023
HOLON is an interdisciplinary format for research and play. It uses virtual instruments to support knowledge transfer, collaboration, and connect people between the virtual and physical spheres.
MONOMANGO is a Berlin-based creative agency and production studio, comprising of visual designers, music composers, and creative technologists. Founded by Lois Kainhuber, Jan Weber and Olivier Fröhlich in 2006, the company has since realized international showcases for major brands. More recently, they established HOLON, an interdisciplinary event format, and immersive instruments, which combines real-time visualization with tactile human interfaces to navigate virtual spheres.
https://www.holon.berlin/
https://monomango.de/
https://www.immersive-instruments.de/
STIFTUNG PLANETARIUM BERLIN
Having the opportunity to visit a space such as this and furthermore to spend an evening watching the work of our community on this massive dome is the icing on the cake so to speak. We'd like to thank Georgios Mavrikos at the Planetarium for helping to organize the use of this of their facility.
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