Between Two Points

Every now and again – rarely though – a music video comes along that not only hosts a great piece of music but pushes the boundaries of animation, making people sit up and take notice. Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer from the way back when springs immediately to this old mind.

Here we have another one of those rare beasties. It is a track called Between Two Points and the artists are The Glitch Mob featuring Swan. I have to admit rather shamefacedly to not having heard of the artists involved here but to my ears they sound like a cross between the Cocteau Twins and Portishead – which gives them an unusually large thumbs up from this quarter.

The video is about the weight of dependency and is exquisitely done by the Motiphe team, who describe themselves as the four-headed collaboration of Katja Flachberger, Florian Juri, Sven Skoczylas and Rafael Mayrhofer, who came together each one throwing in some passion, talent or skill to create animations.

This is the first ever video for the LA based band The Glitch Mob (pictured left) and is taken from their album Drink The Sea.

The gorgeous voice you can hear is that of Swan. Since 2004 she has worked within the San Francisco Bay Area and West Coast underground music scenes, writing, recording, and performing her own original music as well as joining forces with many independent producers and bands.

Wonderful sound, wonderful video. Perfect!

Prague Astrological Clock Tower - Video Mapping 600 Years of History

This is one of the most, if not the most, visually stunning examples of video mapping that I have seen.  It was created by The Macula to celebrate the recent 600th anniversary of the building of the astrological tower clock in the Old Town Square in the heart of Prague in the Czech Republic.

The mapping tracks the history of the astrological tower clock.  It is not important whether you know anything about Czech history – just sit back and take in the visual treat that you are about to experience. 

I think my own favorite part of this is when the clock appears to swing backwards when the bell strikes – I think I actually swung forwards in unison.

All of this magic was done with two Christie projectors (2x18000 lumens in HD). No additional lights were used in its composition.

But what is video projection mapping?  Put simply it is an exhilarating innovative projection system with the ability to turn nearly any exterior plane into a vibrant video show.

Specialized software is used to distort and disguise the projected representation to make it fit flawlessly on unevenly shaped screens – such as astrological clock towers.

When done correctly, the final effect is a dynamic projection installation that transcends your run of the mill video projection.   I think you will agree that this is somewhat transcendental!