Event Date and Time:

January 22, 2010 – February 22, 2010
6:00pm to 7:00pm

Location:

Black Box Theatre, Level 2

by Morgan Barnard – New Media Designer, Film-maker, Lecturer

Presentation Summary: “As a composer, I feel that visual elements, organized using structural techniques commonly associated with musical architecture, provide exciting possibilities for conceptual exploration”. - Frank Zappa

In music, improvisation can be seen as a real-time composition tool using principles and structures of musical theory. Often seen as unstructured or completely random, improvisation relies on skill, training, and a deep understanding of music theory. Live Cinema is the practice of performing cinematic content live, as a real-time composition, rather than a fixed form. A Live Cinema work is a live visual performance, a real-time edit, assembled and mixed live before an audience with variations that occur only at the time of the performance. This ephemeral, momentary aspect of Live Cinema is a unique way for audiences to experience content and for new kinds of stories to emerge. This talk will focus on a survey of the Live Cinema field and show project examples that explore linkages between live visual performance and musical improvisation.

Morgan’s Bio: Morgan Barnard is a new media designer, filmmaker, and lecturer from Los Angeles California. For the past 12 years digital media and newtechnologies have been a core element that has informed his practice as an innovative artist and designer. From the early days of interactive digital media production at the California College of the Arts to film & video industry experience in Los Angeles and New York, he has worked with media through digital technologies to tell stories, create experiences, and engage audiences. In 2005 Barnard received a master’s degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program in New York University creating a thesis project that explored interactive storytelling and immersive narrative experiences. After graduating from NYU ITP, Morgan stayed on as an adjunct faculty member teaching courses in new media video  production and interactive media. In 2006 he was awarded a Production fellowship at Eyebeam Atelier where he worked with artists creating documentaries and designed interfaces for live video performance. His background in documentary, music video, motion graphics, and post-production informs his artistic and academic practices. He is currently working on interactive installations, locative narrative and live visual performance.