Split Screen

Sid Laverents dead

James — Tue, 19 May 2009 11:59:37 -0400

Sid Laverents passed away on May 6. He made one of my all-time favorites, Multiple SIDosis. An inspiration who never stopped making films. I hope to be able to see his other works in the future as they are in the process of being preserved.

Rest in peace.

In Bb 2.0

James — Tue, 19 May 2009 11:32:22 -0400

In Bb 2.0

In Bb 2.0 is a "collaborative music and spoken word project" from Darren Solomon. With just the native YouTube playback interface, multiple clips can be played and controlled to create your own soothing musical mix.

Related:
MetaFilter thread on In Bb 2.0
Bb Buddha Machine, a randomizing version for continuous playback (Via MetaFilter Projects.)

My Favorite Movie (Star Trek vs. Star Wars)

James — Tue, 19 May 2009 11:03:48 -0400

My Favorite Movie (Star Trek vs. Star Wars) (Flash Video)

Following on the heels of last week's Star Wars and Star Trek clips, here is a comparison in the style of The Curious Case of Forrest Gump.

Tosca - My First

James — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:46:43 -0400

Tosca - My First (YouTube)

Music video from Tosca seems to be an anime scene with all the people and action taken out.

Star Trek: Voyager Singularity

James — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:29:58 -0400

Star Trek: Voyager Singularity (Fast version) (Excerpt) (Flash Video)

"Every episode of Star Trek: Voyager playing at once in a grid", made by Artie Vierkant.

Via Information Aesthetics.

Star Wars and Star Trek: TNG in Dallas (Opening title sequence)

James — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:15:02 -0400

Star Wars in Dallas (Opening title sequence) (YouTube)
Star Trek: The Next Generation in Dallas (Opening title sequence) (YouTube)
Dallas (Opening title sequences, seasons 1-7) (YouTube)

Funny reimaginings of Star Wars and Star Trek: The Next Generation as episodes of Dallas.

Via Boing Boing.

Question: Open source tools for web-based split-screen media

James — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:53:45 -0400

A reader writes:

I am an artist, who is not very technical, looking for any existing open source code that would enable a web site to pair two videos on a split screen for simultaneously play. The video artist uploading his/her video would simply note which video he or she wanted to appear opposite his or her own video on the split screen and "viola", the videos would be play side by side.

YouTube Doubler and You3b provide the functionality described above, but the reader informed me that she is looking for an open source software package that can be installed on a given site and presumably customized. If you know of such software, or would be willing to work on something similar, please leave any info in the comments.

Feeder - Tracing Lines

James — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:47:34 -0400

Feeder - Tracing Lines (QuickTime)
Feeder - Tracing Lines (YouTube)

Music video by director Robin Schmidt for the band Feeder.

Thanks to Robin Schmidt.

YouTube-based tools for split screen

James — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:25:06 -0400

This post is an ongoing collection of YouTube-based tools for making split-screen media. These web-based tools allow you to select the YouTube clips that you want to use as part of your own multi-channel mashup. I'll update this list as I find more; newer additions are nearer the top of the post.

YooouuuTuuube

YooouuuTuuube lays out the frames of a YouTube clip within a grid. The frames can be scrolling by as the clip plays, or be shuffled around the screen. Examples: Alice and Auto-Tune the News #2. See the related MetaFilter thread for more samples.

YouCube

YouCube creates an interactive 3D cube whose faces are composed of YouTube clips. You can rotate the cube to control the visible faces and the audio mix. See the demo video for YouCube.

You3b

You3b allows you to make YouTube triptychs. For good examples, see this You3b collection by Artist Meeting.

YouTube Doubler

YouTube Doubler displays 2 YouTube clips in the classic split-screen layout.

Question: Mystery film

James — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:31:48 -0400

A reader asks:

I've recently seen a film I think where there were several split screen boxes - I think it starts off with one guy, his phone rings, intro the guy on the other end - someone else then either gets intro'd or one of the previous guys hangs up and dials someone else - whatever, in the end there are several people on screen either interacting or have just interacted with each other via phone. I can only liken it to this (YouTube) but done as a split screen.

Wall Street? Charlie Sheen calls someone with an insider stock tip, who then calls someone else, who then calls Oliver Stone appearing in a cameo, and so on.

Please leave possible answers in the comments.

UPDATE: The answer is indeed Wall Street.