Innovative music video made with a Kinect and modified digital cinema camera

Sept. 29, 2014
San Francisco-based ambient music artist Tycho released a music video for the song "See" from the 2014 album “Awake" that makes clever use of a Microsoft Kinect and a modified RED Epic camera.
 

San Francisco-based ambient music artist Tycho released a music video for the song "See" from the 2014 album "Awake” that makes clever use of a Microsoft Kinect and a modified RED Epic camera.

I should admit, right away, that I was immediately interested in this news not just because of the innovative use of the imaging products, but also because I’m a huge fan of Tycho, aka Scott Hansen, who is also a graphic design artist who uses the moniker ISO50. Tycho, who plays with a live band, has always made use of visuals in their live show, so the idea for this video fits in line with what they do live, from a stylistic standpoint.

Hansen told The Verge that for him, the next big thing on the horizon is video, and that "it’s the closest thing to a perfect mix between music and design." After brainstorming some ideas in developing a music video using infrared technology, director Bradley Munkowitz and his team realized that the infrared emitter in the Kinect projected a starfield-like dot pattern not unlike what a 3D render of point cloud data looks like.

So with a Kinect projected onto the band as they played the song in the dark, a modified 14 MPixel RED Epic camera was used to capture the performance at speeds up to 120 fps. In order to capture the infrared light, the filter that blocks non-visible light was removed from the Epic camera, and lasers and other kaleidoscopic effects were added in to produce the music video.

The result is a striking visual display that accompanies the song that, according to Hansen, is the type of visuals he had been looking to create with his music for some time. As a fan of both Tycho and innovative uses of the Kinect (and other imaging technology); this undoubtedly gets two thumbs up from me.

About the Author

James Carroll

Former VSD Editor James Carroll joined the team 2013.  Carroll covered machine vision and imaging from numerous angles, including application stories, industry news, market updates, and new products. In addition to writing and editing articles, Carroll managed the Innovators Awards program and webcasts.

Voice Your Opinion

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Vision Systems Design, create an account today!