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The seven works on this collection represent Dennis Miller output over a nine-year period, from 1999 to 2008. From the earliest work, Residue, to the most recent, Lines of Force, he has been exploring ways in which the techniques of musical composition can be applied to sequences of visual images. In some cases, these techniques were applied in deliberate and almost systematic ways, while in others, a more intuitive approach was adopted.
| Catalog Number: MC-457 |
Type: Shorts Compilation |
Genre: Animation |
| Copyright: 2005 |
Length: 65 minutes |
Format:
DVD Region: 0 (All) |
| TV System: NTSC |
ISBN: |
UPC: 837101052610 |
| Label: |
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Films In Compilation
Residue directed by
Dennis
Miller
USA,
Visuals / VJ,
1999,
Color,
Magnetic Stereo,
00:09:30
Residue was written in 1999 and unlike earlier works by its composer, the animation and music were created simultaneously. The technical and artistic challenges this created were immense, but the necessity to carry both elements forward, each with some meaningful continuity, plus keep the two in sync from an aesthetic viewpoint, provided the author with a stimulating and provocative experience. Several “referential” elements recur at various points throughout the work, which helps establish a degree of overall unity. For example, the spinning cube at the opening is immediately developed over the short term, and then recurs in various transfigurations later on. Textures, colors and even camera perspectives are also used to order the work, and often, elements in the music are simultaneously receiving similar developmental treatment. Regarding technical aspects of the work: All visual images were rendered using the POVray scene description language, while the main sonic sources included the Kurzweil K2500 and the Symbolic Sound Kyma System. Final scheduling and compositing were done in Adobe Premiere, and final output was done via a DPS Perception video system. For the record, the work consists of 16,200 individual Targa (graphic) files, which live a precarious existence on the composer's hard drive.
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Second Thoughts directed by
Dennis
Miller
USA,
Visuals / VJ,
2000,
Color,
Magnetic Stereo,
00:08:20
Second Thoughts was composed in 2000 and is intended for performance in a concert setting. The work is in three sections, the first two of which dominate the form. The opening section explores the inside of a virtual object and depicts many of the surfaces and textures found therein. The second section moves into 3D space and presents different perspectives of the initial object, as well as adding a number of new elements that derive their form from the elements in the opening. The short, third section is a recap of the first and adds several minor variations to it. The music contributes an emotive element as well as an added layer of continuity to the piece. Like previous works by this author, all visual elements were scripted using the POVray scene description language; no special effects or plug-ins were used. The musical material derives from both synthetic and acoustic sound sources.
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Vis a Vis directed by
Dennis
Miller
USA,
Visuals / VJ,
2002,
Color,
Magnetic Stereo,
00:09:10
Vis a Vis (2002) is a mixed-media artwork that combines synthetic music and images. The two media share a number of governing principles, both technical and formal. For example, the technique of convolution, in which two sounds or images are “blended” in imaginative ways, is used throughout the piece. The work is structured through the varied repetition of elements of both media that are introduced at the opening. Vis a Vis is in three distinct sections of approximately equal length. Each section introduces its own unique elements while developing material that preceded it. The POVray scene description language was used to generate the images, and the Acoustic Mirror plug-in was used for the music. Final compositing of the music and pictures occurred in Adobe Premiere.
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Faktura directed by
Dennis
Miller
USA,
Visuals / VJ,
2003,
Color,
Magnetic Stereo,
00:09:20
faktura (2003) is a work that explores a series of virtual environments, focusing on the infinite variety of forms and textures one might find. Morphing, evolving abstract objects appear against a backdrop of evocative music that sets the tone and affect of each scene. The piece develops over a 9-minute time frame, yet presents a timeless, shifting and (perhaps?) disorienting experience to the viewer. The visual material of faktura was created with the POVray scene description language. Specific techniques include the use of morphing isosurfaces and the application of control parameters extracted from preexisting sequences of bitmap files, specifically to control the motion of new, synthetic images. Sonic Foundry Acoustic Mirror and the Symbolic Sound Kyma System were used for the music. The Russian term faktura has a variety of meanings, including one published in the 1923 Constructivist manifesto: manner of construction. Other definitions include surface quality and texture.
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Moving Target directed by
Dennis
Miller
USA,
Animation,
2004,
Color,
Magnetic Stereo,
00:09:24
Moving Target (2004) is a series of three short works that combine original animation and music. The works explore various textures and objects and different methods for musical and visual correspondence. All images were generated using the POVray scene description language. Musical sources include the Kyma System from Symbolic Sound and the Kurzweil 2600 sampler.
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Circles and Rounds directed by
Dennis
Miller
USA,
Animation,
2006,
00:09:22
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White Noise directed by
Dennis
Miller
USA,
Animation,
2007,
00:07:45
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Lines of Force directed by
Dennis
Miller
USA,
Animation,
2008,
00:07:45
Bonus Track!
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2009-01-09 Film Threat
By David Finkelstein
Dennis H. Miller's superb animated videos utilize the technology of computer-based 3D animation software to create abstract compositions which thrill the viewer with their kinetic drama, visual complexity and beauty, as well as their sophisticated musicality. Miller's avowed goal is to apply musical
structural devices to animated videos, and the original scores he creates form a solid basis for his work. Miller writes electronic music which, eschewing conventional harmony, melody and rhythm, is essentially about texture and therefore about space, and so is perfect to accompany these spatial abstractions. Distinct sound events such as pops and plings are typically heard over background washes of hissing and droning sound. The animations follow the general outlines of the music and seem at times to be actually explaining the music to the viewer, changing visual texture each time there is a major change in the sound texture. However, individual visual gestures are less likely to be timed precisely with sonic gestures, except at special highlighted moments.
These astonishing animations are constructed with a dizzying precision which keeps us poised on the edge of our seats. Their shifting spaces reveal momentarily stable configurations which immediately break down and reform themselves into radically new spatial relationships. The constantly shifting point of view creates a sensation that one is always flying, floating or falling onto an ambiguous surface which one wouldn't know how to land on, even if one were to touch down for a moment. These highly detailed landscapes exhibit a complexity which is always near but not over the edge of legibility. Many of the textures in these works simply defy verbal description, and must be seen and heard in order to be believed.
"Vis a Vis" (2002) features crisp, constructivist compositions in which black and white shapes are tinged with color, while sharp-edged forms are tinged with noise, and flat compositions suddenly rotate into enormously deep spaces. "Circles and Rounds" (2006) is a study in which curly gold filaments, winding around a central pole, form a bewildering variety of twisting spatial configurations. (And that's just in the prologue.) In "Cross Contours" (2005) multihued strips of paper, floating in a vast space, come together to form a variety of unlikely shaped planetoids, then float apart again. "Residue" (1999) derives tremendous excitement by manipulating cubes whose facets are made from smoke.
"Moving Target" (2004) features a more "populist" version of Miller's talents: three short pieces, set to more familiar sounding tonal/minimalist music as well as pop music. The images are easier to digest as well: an impressionist color palette applied to a riot of paint strokes, and a simple 3D composition of a sphere which emits colorful rectangles from it's surface in time to the music. No less interesting or less well-made than the other pieces, but less demanding to decode, these pieces may prove an easier entry point for viewers unused to the highly sophisticated spatial and visual demands of Miller's other work.
Virtually impossible to describe in it's visual and aural complexity, "Faktura" (2003) evokes whole planets and universes of molten metal and rock. Perhaps the most finely detailed evocation of tactile sensation I have ever seen in a film, "Faktura" takes a world of texture, normally apprehended through the fingertips, and makes it visible to the eye and audible to the ear. This is a film which is simply astonishing.
Miller's fully mature, sophisticated artistic sensibility creates a kind of drama and visual delight rarely found in abstract films. His rate of output, which seems to be about one 9 minute video per year, gives a clue to the degree of thoughtfulness and skill which have gone into creating these works. For pure visual and musical pleasure which will wake up your brain while pleasing your eyes and ears, run as fast as you can to your next opportunity to see Miller's work.
| 2007-06-25 Film Threat
By David Finkelstein
Dennis H. Miller's superb animated videos utilize the technology of computer-based 3D animation software to create abstract compositions which thrill the viewer with their kinetic drama, visual complexity and beauty, as well as their sophisticated musicality. Miller's avowed goal is to apply musical structural devices to animated videos, and the original scores he creates form a solid basis for his work. Miller writes electronic music which, eschewing conventional harmony, melody and rhythm, is essentially about texture and therefore about space, and so is perfect to accompany these spatial abstractions. Distinct sound events such as pops and plings are typically heard over background washes of hissing and droning sound. The animations follow the general outlines of the music and seem at times to be actually explaining the music to the viewer, changing visual texture each time there is a major change in the sound texture. However, individual visual gestures are less likely to be timed precisely with sonic gestures, except at special highlighted moments.
These astonishing animations are constructed with a dizzying precision which keeps us poised on the edge of our seats. Their shifting spaces reveal momentarily stable configurations which immediately break down and reform themselves into radically new spatial relationships. The constantly shifting point of view creates a sensation that one is always flying, floating or falling onto an ambiguous surface which one wouldn't know how to land on, even if one were to touch down for a moment. These highly detailed landscapes exhibit a complexity which is always near but not over the edge of legibility. Many of the textures in these works simply defy verbal description, and must be seen and heard in order to be believed.
"Vis a Vis" (2002) features crisp, constructivist compositions in which black and white shapes are tinged with color, while sharp-edged forms are tinged with noise, and flat compositions suddenly rotate into enormously deep spaces. "Circles and Rounds" (2006) is a study in which curly gold filaments, winding around a central pole, form a bewildering variety of twisting spatial configurations. (And that's just in the prologue.) In "Cross Contours" (2005) multihued strips of paper, floating in a vast space, come together to form a variety of unlikely shaped planetoids, then float apart again. "Residue" (1999) derives tremendous excitement by manipulating cubes whose facets are made from smoke.
"Moving Target" (2004) features a more "populist" version of Miller's talents: three short pieces, set to more familiar sounding tonal/minimalist music as well as pop music. The images are easier to digest as well: an impressionist color palette applied to a riot of paint strokes, and a simple 3D composition of a sphere which emits colorful rectangles from it's surface in time to the music. No less interesting or less well-made than the other pieces, but less demanding to decode, these pieces may prove an easier entry point for viewers unused to the highly sophisticated spatial and visual demands of Miller's other work.
Virtually impossible to describe in it's visual and aural complexity, "Faktura" (2003) evokes whole planets and universes of molten metal and rock. Perhaps the most finely detailed evocation of tactile sensation I have ever seen in a film, "Faktura" takes a world of texture, normally apprehended through the fingertips, and makes it visible to the eye and audible to the ear. This is a film which is simply astonishing.
Miller's fully mature, sophisticated artistic sensibility creates a kind of drama and visual delight rarely found in abstract films. His rate of output, which seems to be about one 9 minute video per year, gives a clue to the degree of thoughtfulness and skill which have gone into creating these works. For pure visual and musical pleasure which will wake up your brain while pleasing your eyes and ears, run as fast as you can to your next opportunity to see Miller's work.
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