The Black Room

THE BLACK ROOM

Watch the Video >>> The Black Room

When I first heard "Breath Control" by Recoil I was driven to do a routine around it but I had no idea what form it would take or even when I could perform it as it was rather dark and more suited to an "After Dark" audience.  Then, a couple of months ago, Imajica asked me if I would join her and Zed do a one-off show at a BDSM club.  I had another old routine in store but I wanted to see if I could pull this new one off in a couple of weeks. 

The set and costume were no real problem but it was the essence of the song and its cut-up sections leading me to want to do something more than just a dance.  It became more cinematic in my mind and so the idea of having a fade to black in certain places made sense.  Easily achieved with a simple fade screen timed to the breaks in the song.  

It was only a small step from there to imagining cutting the action up into segments and making them very different to suggest the passing of time while the protagonist is running through these memories.  

I decided to use sit-2-sit from one area to another masked by the black out.  
Originally this was going to be about 6 palettes as I was going to move her around more than I did. It also got me thinking about economy again.  Palettes can be used to do so many things and they don't have to be used discretely as one thing in a routine.  

For example, in this routine the first palette (Pal A) is by the window for the smoking stand.  She then moves to the palette in front of the chair where she walks back and forth (Pal B). Then comes the palette on the day-bed (Pal C).  I used tiny moves up and down to accommodate the height difference in poses (one of these days we will have poses that don't fling you around while changing from one to another).  

The next sit is to the chair. In my original idea I would have needed at least another two palettes to complete the routine. In fact I used only three. While she is sitting on the bed, the first palette (Pal A) moved to the chair to become the sit there.  I then moved her back to Pal B for the rest of the routine (which I simplified from my original idea as I thought it was too much).

so Pal A > Pal B > Pal C > Pal A >Pal B

Using one palette for all the moves might have been asking too much, but the whole thing could actually have been managed by alternating two.  

All the animations were in the Sequence notecard and the moves were directed from there as well.  Only the screen fades and the sit-to-sits were directed from *autofx.
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Example of Autofx:

3,r=p%BFS%FadeShow%ALL
4,r=p%07_B%forcesit$r=p%BFS%FadeHide%ALL
5,r=p%BFS%FadeShow%ALL
6,r=p%07_C%forcesit$r=p%BFS%FadeHide%ALL

Corresponding Events:

3,"showSC",31.0
4,"jump2Bhide",34.0
5,"showSC",51.0
6,"jump2Chide",54.0
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The resulting video has had some post-production but the routine is pretty much as it was performed live and I am sure with some judicious use of autocam we could have gotten those delicious "through-the-fan" shots!

ECONOMY

I know I bang on about this all the time, but the key is simplicity and planning. I was up against the clock to get a routine done start to finish in 2 weeks when I had so many other things going on in SL and RL.  You can't do that and assure quality if you don't plan sufficiently well.  Draw your ideas out, map them, put them on sticky-notes, draw them in mashed potato..what ever helps you sort them out into a coherent form.  Then pare it all down to the simplest way of doing it.   

RECYCLING

Don't just think about recycling palettes as movers.  Could the mover you used 3 minutes ago move to the other side of the stage and be a particle generator?

Could it appear on stage as something else? Can it just sit where you left it and direct another palette to do something else...or even speak?  There are many ways in which they can use their chameleon talent to swap from one role to another. Think outside the box.

Makes one less thing you have to add to your rezzer...and hey, that can only be a good thing, right?

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Yummy here.

Great advice! 

I really missed the nuance of this routine when I saw it live. Here is a case where the post-production really brought home the understatement and subtley of the routine. Amazing against-the-grain thinking: lyrics, pace, non-dance, and perfectly-placed nuance.

Lat "Yummy" Lovenkraft

Alas, the End is Near - July 6th 2016

July 6th will be the last day to purchase one of the entry level Artiste Performer Series systems.

The A-50 (5,000 k), A-75 (7,500 L) , and A-100 (10,000 L) will no longer be available. I did extend the offer an extra 6 months past the intial shecudled deadline of December 2015.

The only package available will be the A-250 GOLD at 25,000 L until the PLATNIUM is released.  It now boasts nearly 200 featurs up from 150 when the system was 1st released...but now all for the same price initial price.

Lat "Yummy" Lovenkraft

Girl(s) On Fire

Hi Everyone,

How are you all doing?  I’m very well thanks.

The reason I post this is to comment on the recent performance and the making of the Girl On Fire video that will be linked in this brief summary and edited by Lat.

Ffirst, the making of the routine was a lot of fun. The hat-throw itself was an SL dance at first, not from the adorn point-of-view but the throw itself.  Lat (Yummy) has done it before for the demo videos for everyone to learn from.

It was a subtle change from the original sword throw, to actually use it in a routine performed live at The Wolf Theater.  Lat will cover all the aspects which I used in this routine so I won’t go over them as I know she is quite eager to do it.

Learning new things can be time consuming and to implement them into something thats original or that has not been done before is even harder to do at times while at the same time associating it with dance.

But the point is, it can be done.  And the more complex you make a routine the quicker you feel gratification in the work you have accomplished,

If someone asked me to sum up the complexity of it, most is pretty easy.  The hat, being the trickiest part of it all, really didn’t take long to do, building on the previous sword-throw.  So, as the thrower is now, a few hours is all I need to make something throwable. That includes rotation, velocity, and distance.  Anyone can do it but it takes time to learn so best of luck to everyone!. Oh I forgot the link

Watch the video: Girl(s) on Fire

SarahRho Huntress

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Yummy here.

The preparation, creation,  live-performance thru the making of the video conjured up a books-worth of ideas, thoughts, and emotions, but I will try hard to pare down my thoughts and be as concise as I can.

First and foremost this is the first effort and results from a person not only new to the Artiste but new to SL show-dance as well.  This routine prioritized learning and using features of the Artiste  over any other routine-creation-criterium.  It is also the 1st live-show ‘throw’.

This effort shows some of what CAN be accomplished when a person:I think we have 

isolated key factors  required to become proficeint in the Artiste way of life.

1) sets aside a LOT OF TIME to learn,

2) PRIORITIZES learning and mastering tool-skills over performing and other distractions,

3) acquiring almost DAILY ONE-ON-ONE tutoring, and

4) really WANTS IT and BELIEVES in the RESULTS

***

Is all the effort worth it? I often ponder and wonder that.  And even when answered, I realize the answer will be personal. What is worth it to one might not be worth it to another.

So, that is a question I cannot answer. Only a person like Sarah who has gone thru the ordeal can answer.  I can never be “new” to the Artiste experience.  I repeatedly asked her on several occasions and she always answered in the affirmative.  Proof may well be in the pudding as she seems to have an unending craving for more Artiste feature-knowledge, experience, mastery, and practical application. Her enthusiam remains at an all-time high always trying to top her previous endeavors..

The focus on what has been done here should be placed on the mastering  of intermediate and advanced Artiste skills in a relatively short span of time by a relative new-comer… more so than polish of a final product as she is new and should be allowed the time to grow and mature like all of us have had.

Tha Artiste is not an easy product to learn much less master but now I know that even with a new person and a reasonable amount of time…it CAN be done...with extreme sacrifices

Many of the accomplishments are visually apparent.  Many will have significance only to those familiar with the internal machinations of the Artiste. 

I will list the techniques that I identified in this performance:

1 – Dance-Sequencing
2 – Group-Dancing
3 – Cane-Adorn
4 – Group-Cane Adorn
5 – Hat-Swap (head-to-hand)
6 – HatThrow (Thrower) (1st live use in a show)
7 – Compound-Palette design (Fire Particle and Thrower)
8 – Sit-2-Sit
9 – Group Sit-2-Sit (Relay)
10 – Multiple Movers
11 – Lower
12 – Raise
13 – Extendibles (Extractions) (Phoenix) (1st live use in a show)
13 – SetRez
14 – SetSwap  (HUD-sequenced control
15 – AutoCam design  (1st live use in a show)
16 –  HUD sequenced Curtain Control
17 -  Rez Object  (Palette)
18 - Kill Object (Palette)

18 down, only 182 more to go.

Lat (Yummy) Lovenkraft

Artiste Complex & Compound Rotations: Artiste Answers Its Second Challenge

See the Video >>> Artiste Complex Compound Rotations

I have had about 4 people in my ear recently over the topic of independent compound linked rotations 

So, I have added 2 simple new Palette instructions to help facilitate implementation of more interesting and challenging rotation scenarios

I don't claim this to be rocket-science from a scripting pov. Just an added convenience for performers..

The following video, first-half, shows the Artiste's rotation-while-moving ability first presented to the public at the Extravadanza Exodus event when I turned a 25-seat barge into a Palette.

Then in the second-half, I incorporated that feature (rotation-while-moving) ability, first presented to the public at the Extravadanza Exodus event, into the new link-specific spin features. I show a side-view and an overhead-view so you can see the relationships.

In the video:
There are 4 linked prims linked to a root for total of 5 prims.
Each link is started and stopped independently
The half-dome spins around its Z axis
The rectable spins around itz Y axis
The cylinder spins around its X axis
The yellow blimp on top spins around X, Y, AND Z axis.
The root Palette slowly rotates around its Z axis while moving along a diagonal path.

A few things to note:
1 - You can control local axis of spin per link
2 - You can control speed of spin per link
3 - While spinning, the linked items ALSO rotate around the root-palettes chosen axis of rotation. You could look at it as local-spins combined with a global rotation.

4 - Each linked prim can be started independently
5 - Each linked prim can be stopped independently
6 - Not only are the linked prims rotating around their own axis and around the root prim axis but they are all moving along a path with the root while it is rotating.

7 - These actions are controlled via autofx from the Artiste Performance HUD.
8 - And yes, you could increase complexity by adding particles effects to the links

9 - The linked prims in the example are scriptless BUT...they could be Palettes in and of themselves and have their special abilities...almost 100 Palette features. (a few would conflict).. this would be where your creativity could come into play. Sky is the limit. 

And on a related note, the Artiste Thrower already has the ability to move while rotating that adds additional functionality in the way of gravity-based as well as target-based movement with rotation: as seen in this video: The Artiste Thrower