2006 CNMAT Summer Workshops

CNMAT announces our 2006 Summer Workshops:

* Jitter Night School, July 21-23, 7-10 PM
* NEW! Sensor Workshop for Performers and Artists, July 24-28, 9 AM - 5 PM
* Max/MSP Night School (for intermediate to advanced users), July 24-28, 7-10 PM

For reservations, contact:
Richard Andrews
CNMAT, 1750 Arch Street, Berkeley, CA 94709
Email: richard@cnmat.berkeley.edu
Telephone: (510) 643-9990, ext. 300

* Jitter Night School
July 21-23, 7-10 PM
CNMAT, 1750 Arch Street, Berkeley, CA
Instructor: Joshua Kit Clayton (developer of Jitter)
Fee: $200

Jitter is an extension to Max that allows flexible generation and manipulation of video, matrix, and 3D graphics data. Jitter is all about matrix data -- any data that can be expressed in rows and columns, such as video and still images, multidimensional geometry, as well as text, spreadsheet data, particle systems, voxels, or audio. Jitter is useful to anyone interested in real-time video processing, custom effects, 2D/3D graphics, audio/visual interaction, data visualization, and analysis.

This three-day sequence of evening classes covers Cycling 74's Jitter environment and is designed for students with at least a basic understanding of Max programming. (Graduates of the Max/MSP Day
School will be adequately prepared for the Jitter night school.)

Topics will include the following:
- Jitter's data structures: matrices, planes, dimensions, video
- Jitter's programming model: scheduling, interaction with other Max/MSP processing
- Interactive real-time video processing
- Using Jitter with live camera input
- Sound programming with Jitter

After completing this course, a student will be able to write Jitter programs that generate and/or process video in response to real-time control and/or simple algorithmic processes. Graduates of this course will also have the skills to read and understand larger Jitter programs and the foundation for exploring more advanced features of Jitter via tutorials, help patches, and online documentation.

* NEW! Sensor Workshop for Performers and Artists
July 24-28, 9 AM - 5 PM
Instructors: Adrian Freed, Michael Zbyszynski
Guest lecturers and field trips: TBA
Fee: $1000 (limited to 15 participants)

This new workshop offers a hands-on introduction to sensors, sensor interfaces and integration software and hardware for use in musical performance, dance, video, sound and art installations. Students will build complete working systems from the ground up using proven devices and accessible, rapid and robust construction techniques. The fee covers all requisite parts, so students can take their projects with them for future refinement. The practical core of the workshop will be complemented by guest presentations and field trips to see interesting new technologies, survey existing controllers and explore the latest works of interactive art and music.

Sensor types covered include: resistive, inertial, capacitive, RF, ultrasound, magnetic and optical. PD and Max/MSP/Jitter will be used for music and image synthesis. Many sample programs for these environments will be provided to test and calibrate the sensor projects and contextualize them in viable artistic contexts. Participants will learn easy construction techniques with readily available materials including various plastics, elastomers, wood and metals. We will learn how to dismantle and adapt affordable consumer devices such as game controllers and graphic tablets.

This workshop is intended for:
* Artists interested in exploring new possibilities in interactive media in a hands-on and technical way
* Anyone seeking the fast path to basic analog and digital electronics skills, with a focus on getting things built reliably without extraneous theory
* Engineers, computer scientists, or product designers interested in exploring artistic outlets for their talents and collaborating with performers and composers

The format will be short morning lectures and demonstrations and late morning and afternoon supervised lab sessions, plus several local evening field trips. There will be plenty of scope for discussions and private access to instructors for guidance and mentoring. No prior knowledge of programming, electronics or mechanical construction techniques is required. You will need a recent laptop (Windows or Mac) with a USB port to test devices and create complete systems. You are encouraged to bring any art-making software/hardware you already use.

* Max/MSP Night School (for intermediate to advanced users)
July 24-28, 7-10 PM
CNMAT, 1750 Arch Street, Berkeley, CA
Instructor: Ali Momeni
Invited lectures by: Adrian Freed, David Wessel, Matthew Wright, Les Stuck, Michael Zbyszynski
Special Guest Appearances by: key developers from Cycling '74.
Fee: $400

This intensive week of evening classes features instruction in Max/MSP programming by a cast of highly experienced Max/MSP programmers. This year's night school will not cover the basics of Max/MSP programming -- students should already be experienced with Max/MSP.

The course focuses on the use of Max for control of complex interactive systems. Emphasis is placed on areas of active research and interest at CNMAT, including:
-real-time performance with computer based instruments
-probabilistic approaches in interactive instruments
-gestural controllers (e.g. Wacom, Continuum, Tactex, Thunder, Lemur, etc.)
-rapid prototyping of gesture based instruments and accompanying real-time software in Max/MSP
-complex gesture-to-sound mappings techniques including interpolators, neural networks and physical models
-gestural controllers
-many approaches to treatment of time and rhythm
-data-management
-advanced list and matrix processing
-advanced network applications with Max (e.g. ftp, http, POST/GET, ....)
-inter-system communication with OpenSoundControl
-intra-patch communication with OpenSoundControl
-analysis/resynthesis using additive and resonance models
-the SDIF file format
-complexity management in Max/MSP/Jitter
-reliability and robustness of concert-ready patches
-connecting Max to other software environments (e.g. Java, JavaScript, VST, MySQL, python, Ableton, Native Instruments...)

A variety of materials and resources will be provided to course participants, including copies of all the programming examples provided in the course, references to large sets of 3rd party externals, references to a wide range of research topics in the field. After completing this course, a student will have been exposed to most of the uses of Max/MSP in current CNMAT music production and research. Graduates of this course will have a variety of techniques for avoiding trouble while developing large-scale, concert-ready Max/MSP programs.

For more information on Max/MSP and Jitter, visit the Cycling74 web site (https://cycling74.com/).

For reservations, contact:
Richard Andrews
CNMAT, 1750 Arch Street, Berkeley, CA 94709
Email: richard@cnmat.berkeley.edu
Telephone: (510) 643-9990 extension 300

To learn more about previous Max/MSP Night Schools and CNMAT's ongoing Max work, visit the Max page on our web site (http://cnmat.cnmat.berkeley.edu/MAX/).

For information on housing, contact the UC Berkeley Summer Visitor Housing office for information on availability of rooms on campus: (510) 642-4444 (http://conferenceservices.berkeley.edu/summer_visitor.html) .