Friday, December 29, 2006

Time Passages


Time to open up the capsule on the last few weeks:

-Packed up the house, took 6 days, was mind numbing, couldnt have happened without our friends and family. nuff' said.
-Drove 6 days west:
Highlights: council bluffs mall playground, pet friendly motel 6's, audio books with headphones, big box comfort, nap time drives, wal-mart jammy-time, the reliability of starbucks, mountain passes and their eventual outlet, helpful guides, good weather, family determination, arrival.
-2 weeks on a mountain, they dont make "hills" like this back home, which way to the beach?
-New apartment, found on a Tuesday, moved in that Saturday, 1 cat escaped when that evenings pizza guy opened the door, came back 4 days later...hungry!
-Day trips to Pt Reyes Lighthouse, Drakes Beach, Stinson Beach, Muir Beach, Muir woods, Childrens Explore Center, Emeryville IKEA, and Pacifica Beach.
-New job is the bliss, baby. Carving out solutions and bringing the mad noise mayhem.

-Holidays with family near and far, cheers & happy new year!

Monday, October 30, 2006

Movin' right along...dig-a dun dig-a dun

Footloose and fancy free!

Here's the latest run down:

* sold the house (yay!)
* went to cali and met the audio team/ saw the dev studio (yay!)
* quit my day job last day Nov 8th (yay!)
* mass packing and trailer hitching to ensue (meh)
* launching me, 3 ladies, and 2 cats down I80 from MN for 5 days to CA (eek!)
* staying for 2 weeks in a short term furnished apt (wooo!)
* hunting for a rental in fairfax, CA (yarr!)
* starting officiially on Dec 1st (yay!)
* trying to assimilate smoothly into a new climate/ work routine (????)

Be good!
LCL

Friday, October 06, 2006

pickledonion - the new magic

These days it dosent take much to wow me.
Gone are the jaded days of hard to impress stoicism and ragamuffin impishness.
A full on return to beauty everywhere and innocence abounding is just what mother nature calls for on days like these.


Enter pickledonion, a little 3 instrument step sequencer by Andrew Allenson that really delivers on the splendor of spontaneaous bliss.

Once shockwave loads it into your browser the clock starts ticking away and you're free to add/subtract notes & increase/decrease the number of notes played during the loop.

Something about the full on majorness of it that wouldnt allow an off note brought me straight back to rainbow colored xylophones and childhood nostalgia.
A much needed reprive from the recent intecsity around here.

Well done!

Also see: Musical Boxes

UPDATE:
Pretty cool, if you let in run in the background and your computer starts chugging away on something, it will hang up the sequencer in a really cool Aphex Twin stuttering kindof way. Now I just need to get a knob installed in the program to do it on purpose!

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Going to California


"
Made up my mind to make a new start, Going To California with an aching in my heart.

Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams,
Telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems.
"
-Led Zeppelin

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Pedal Board

 11-30-2005 9-49-43 PM
Alot of people who come here like to look at my pedal board (dont ask me why...maybe it's sexy? I have my own reasons for taking piles of pictures of it)...mmm...look at it...sooo pretty, how I miss you since I left you back home in MN.
Built from 5/8" ply-wood, it's got a nifty fold up design that allows fo either a side-by-side configuration or a two-tiered monster stomper that quickly converts into a giant sized self contained case. All self powered with the help of an old Juice Box, and wired directly to all the noise chomping love infested boxes of goodness. When not serving drinks down by the pool, it enjoys long walks in the moon light, warm Californian winters, and feedingback on itself in a squealcher-ific feast of brain damaging sweetness. Hear it for yourself!

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Now Hiring?

The clock is ticking on your chance to employ yours truly as an in-house sound designer/ audio implementor. The house is ready to go, the market is ripe for a sale, the family is poised for a relocation.

If you are looking for an audio guy for your game development, now is the time for ACTION!

Make it happen.

Friday, July 21, 2006

AoC Trailer and Interview

There's a new trailer up over at the Age of Chivalry webiste you should check out, as well as a interview with the team over at Planet Half-Life.

And in case you missed it, a feature in PCGamer UK.
Media Blitz HO!

Shadow of The Colossus - A Sonification Case Study

The significance of establishing pleasure in the sonification of emotionally driven sound effects.

It happens without your knowing, everyday waking up to the sounds of the world. Each step as familiar as it is different. Your day alive with the noise of life constantly updating your auditory experience. Within this environment we come to identify and identify with the various recurring dramatic sound elements during our travels.

Our morning cup and it's brewing, the familiar slam of a car door, the double click of a mouse, engaging the bubbler, stepping off the elevator...each with it's own distinct sound rooting us firmly in the present. With immediacy and a sense of appropriateness, sound helps to support and imbue our sonic landscape with a sense of familiarity/foreignness, pride/shame, and accomplishment/failure.

In Shadow of the Colossus it is this sense of pride and accomplishment that is reinforced through the use of sonification, audio branding, or ear-cons in an attempt to connect the pleasure of an act with a resulting identifiable, and understandable sonic cue. This allows the player to recognize immediately the weight of what has transpired, and emotionally connect though sound.

An example would be in the explosion of each colossi statue after their defeat. Each statue explodes with the same reverse-reverbed wind-up, followed by impact, and the inevitable sounds of scattering boulders and spraying debris. Each time the same sound and each time conveying the same dramatic weight, immediately recognizable as the falling of yet another in a long line of ancient creatures. The sound of success boiled down to a single sonification.

It was often a goal at the end of a level in Super Mario Brothers to elicit the most fireworks by jumping on the flagpole at the appropriate time. My reward wasn't the completion of a level, but an opportunity to hear the supernatural sound of the fireworks that came after a successful jump...and the more fireworks, the better it felt...for me because of this sound.

We are swiftly approaching an age where audio will be freed from the current file size/quality restrictions, much to the delight of game audio-philes everywhere. With this increase in space and quality, comes the expectation of diversity in the sounds used to represent the worlds we create. Diversity, often used to increase audio immersion and further the suspension of disbelief through the use of multiple samples, randomized pitch or volume, and dynamic 3D world positioning for real world elements can go along way towards improving the feel of a game through sound.

However, within this diversity we must continue to bring across the impact of emotional reward at times through the use of consistent identifiable sounds.

See also:
icad.org
generatorx.no
we-make-money-not-art.com sound

Friday, June 30, 2006

Site Update 2006

New website has come home to roost for awhile thanks to OSWD for the gateway, Jack for the template, A List Apart and Automatic for the randomizer.

Hand coding HTML & CSS is my new official hobby thanks to y'all!

Hope you're finding everything ok, if not drop me a line!

Monday, June 19, 2006

Grotian | Pianos | Noise | Toys


This is a cool little thingy forwarded to me by mose today.

Grotrian Pianos

Interesting little time based flash music noise making widjit!
I love anything online that maketh tha noize!

LCL

Friday, June 16, 2006

SoniColumn




Jin-Yo Mok and interactive music boxs rules the day with the SoniColumn!

SoniCoumn is an interactive sound installation that can be played by a person’s touch. The installation takes the form of a column-like cylinder, of a height that does not quite reach the ceiling but just high enough for one’s reach. Grids of LEDs installed inside the column light themselves on by the users’ touch and emit unique sounds. When a user cranks the handle, the column slowly rotates itself and plays the light patterns of the user’s touch.


I know what i'll be building this summer.
LCL

Friday, June 02, 2006

The New Noise from Way Out!





I love noise. (Pictured Above)
I love kids who make noise.
I love noise makers that make noise for kids.
I love making noise for kids who love to make noise.

In short, it's all about the noise!
LCL

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Gutenbook - Musicberg

If'n y'all have'nt dropped in on the free ebook Project Gutenberg Website lately, it's worth a stop for a quick search on the word music for some tantalizing nuggets of oddity.

Excerpted from "Music Talks With Children" by Thomas Tapper from 1898:

CHAPTER IV.

THE TONES ABOUT US.


"Scientific education ought to teach us to see the invisible as well
as the visible in nature."--_John Tyndall_.[10]

There used to live in England a famous scientist named Tyndall, who
was interested, among other things, in the study of sound. He studied
sounds of all kinds, made experiments with them, wrote down what he
observed, and out of it all he wrote a book,[11] useful to all who
desire to learn about sound and its nature.

One day, Tyndall and a friend were walking up one of the mountains of
the Alps.[12] As they ascended the path, Tyndall's attention was
attracted by a shrill sound, which seemed to come from the ground at
his feet. Being a trained thinker he was at once curious to know what
was the cause of this. By looking carefully he found that it came from
a myriad of small insects which swarmed by the side of the path.
Having satisfied himself as to what it was he spoke to his companion
about the shrill tone and was surprised to learn that he could not
hear it. Tyndall's friend could hear all ordinary sound perfectly
well. This, however, seemed to be sound of such a character as did not
reach his sense of hearing. One who like Tyndall listened carefully to
sounds of all kinds would quickly detect anything uncommon. This
little incident teaches us that sounds may go on about us and yet we
know nothing of them. Also it teaches us to think about tones, seek
them, and in the first days increase our acquaintance and familiarity
with them.

Men of science, who study the different ways in which the mind works,
tell us that habit and also a busy mind frequently make us unconscious
of many things about us. Sometimes we have not noticed the clock
strike, although we have been in the room on the hour; or some one
speaks to us, and because we are thinking of something else we fail to
hear what is said to us. It certainly is true that very many people do
not hear half of the sounds that go on about them, sounds which, if
but heeded, would teach people a great deal. And of all people, those
who study music should be particularly attentive to sounds of all
kinds. Indeed, the only way to begin a music education is to begin by
learning to listen. Robert Schumann, a German composer, once wrote a
set of rules for young musicians. As it was Schumann's habit to write
only what was absolutely needed we may be sure he regarded his rules
as very important. There are sixty-eight of them, and the very first
has reference to taking particular notice of the tones about us. If we
learn it from memory we shall understand it better and think of it
oftener. Besides that, we shall have memorized the serious thought of
a truly good and great man. This is what he says:

"The cultivation of the ear is of the greatest importance. Endeavor
early to distinguish each tone and key. Find out the exact tone
sounded by the bell, the glass, and the cuckoo."

There is certainly a good hint in this. Let us follow it day by day,
and we shall see how many are the tones about us which we scarcely
ever notice. We should frequently listen and find who of us can
distinguish the greatest number of different sounds. Then we shall
learn to listen attentively to sounds and noises. Bit by bit all
sounds, especially beautiful ones, will take on a new and deeper
meaning to us; they will be full of a previously unrecognized beauty
which will teach us to love music more and more sincerely.


Saucy, indeed!
LCL

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Sound Bombs



From the website:

Soundbombs are New-Media-Accessories. Each one a handmade designobject for interactive transmission. An integrated soundmodul makes it possible to record any given sound and then activate it through a motiondetector.


Now to work on a plan for deserving one!

Friday, May 19, 2006

Chocolate Infinity

Having a relationship with all things chocolate has it's benefits.
Here's a snappy project called chocolate-experience-for-cadbury reported on by the fantastic pasta&vinegar about a project involving interaction and melting chocolate.

Quote:
As you enter the infinity room a giant chocolate bar melts into gloopy puddles beneath you and, when you jump in them, chocolate splashes all over the floor.

While not quite the kindof chocolate experience i'd like to be having, it is an interesting peek behind the curtain at some delicious uses for sugary brown matter.



mmmmchocolate
(bought' time we had some choco repazentin' round here!)
LCL

Friday, April 21, 2006

0 A.D Audio Development

I recently converted a journal that I was keeping at the now defunct SDR onto a personal blog and though I would share the trials and tribulations of the last year or so of development on the project.

0 A.D. Development Journal

Hopefully some good nuggets in there of interest including:

0 A.D. Audio Development - An Introduction to this Delevopment Log
So it Begins - Preliminary discussion
Getting the Ball Rolling - String to pull together threads
Sound Doc v.01 - A first peak at the soon to be sprawling spreadsheet
OpenAL Primer - A quick intro to some functionality
Readable OpenAL Specifications - Like it says
Sound Doc v.03 - The next step with decisions
Q & A - Questions on Design
Audio Implementation - Priority & Intensity A discussion on scaling sounds
Tools & Preliminary XML - A look at the potenial for tools
XML Strategy - Deeper down the rabbit hole
Interface Sounds - A look at interface audio feedback
0 A.D. Audio Summary - A bulleted list of target audio features
Programming Ambient Sound - Topics related to integration
GDC 2006 Wrap Up - Carsten wins big and we both bag a great experience
ISACT Integration - A discussion on ISACT for implementation

I welcome any feedback and/or guidance y'all might have to offer.
Keep em' peeled on the rss feed for updates once and awhile as things continue to progress.


Cheers!
LCL

Monday, March 20, 2006

GDC 2006 - The Dream


I had a dream, and so it begins here in San Jose California at the 2006 Game Developers Conference.

GDC 2006 Photo's

GDC 2006 Wrap up

UPDATE: Conferance was a blast!
Those of you that I met, I wish you the best!
Until Next year!

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Demo Reel 2006 : Packaging my Soul


Here are a few pic's of the packaging for my recently completed demo reel, these are going out to some very important people who I'd like to meet with during my visit to the GDC in March. If you havent gotten one, and think you should...drop me a line!
You can view the completed materials over on my soundFX Page.




Thanks Alexandria!

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

No-Input vs. We <3 Katamari (aka Damian does Damacy)



No-Input vs. We <3 Katamari
(aka Damian does Damacy)
Varsity Theater (DNKYtown)
Friday January 20th 5-8pm (Happy Hour)

Fans of noise, ambience, mindbending, and video games rejoice!

No-Input will be providing and reshaping the sound experience of Katamari Damacy using various stomp box/effect processor/input damaging tools. Using a 2 tiered custom pedal board, fed-back into itself and then cut loose on the Varsity Theater, this re-imagining of the soundtrack for one of the most innovative games to come out in the last 2 years promises to add chaos to what is already a psychedelic hallucinogenic experience on the big screen.

Come get your game on, and let the sonic mayhem ensue!
Let's play!

No-Input is Damian Kastbauer; 1/3 of Improv/Noise/Pop groop Lost Chocolate Lab, and

UPDATE:
You can see a little clip with audio

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Walking (In a Winter Wonderland)



Tis the season around here, and with a fresh foot of snow I headed out into the tundra to gather snow related samples for the library, here's a bit of what I cooked up:

I started off with some fresh snow footsteps
.

Then Moved into some grass & snow footsteps.


As well as some moonwalking in the snow.


With the standards out of the way, I really wanted to try for some good snow impacts, so I dug out an old boat anchor and proceded with the thumping and cooked up a really fine impact in the snow.



I shook the tall grass a bit, for good measure.


And, just to make sure anyone watching on as I labored away in the cold got a good show, I decided to swing some giant sticks around to get a few good swooshes a bit, for good measure.


A very healthy session, that has left me with some good creative bit's to apply!

Good luck to you, on your sound expeditions in the New Year!