Applications

Because of Isadora's fast video processing, flexible interface and easy learning curve, it has become an essential tool for artists and educators worldwide. Isadora has been used to help realize

• Dance Performances
• Theater Performances
• Interactive Installations
• Video Effects for Post-Production
• Video for Club Environments ("VJs"")
• Interactive Environments for the Learning and Physically Disabled

Below you will find a description of how Isadora is being used in these areas. The Links page features web sites of artists using Isadora in a wide variety of fields.

Dance Performances

Isadora was first created by composer and media artist Mark Coniglio for use with the dance theater company Troika Ranch, which he co-directs. In the company's most recent, Bessie award winning performance Future of Memory, Isadora performed three important functions.

1. Isadora's allowed real-time MIDI data from Coniglio's MidiDancer movement sensing system to manipulate sound and video in real time, allowing the dancers to interactively control the media.
2. Isadora's Scene feature facilitated the sequencing of numerous, complex interactive setups. The computer operator could instantly change from one Scene to the next as the performance progressed.
3. Action seen by onstage cameras was recorded directly to the computer's hard drive, making this captured material immediately available for playback and manipulation.

But this use of sensory systems and real-time manipulation is perhaps the one of the more sophisticated uses of Isadora. Other groups are simply using the software to interactively sequence video clips for precise cueing during the performance. Still others are manipulating live video from onstage cameras, integrating the live performers with their processed image.

Theater Performances

The uses of Isadora for dance and theater are similar – from instant real-time cueing of video and/or audio sequences, to creating virtual sets that can respond to a computer operator's cues (or even a performer's movement), Isadora provides a flexible and reliable environment for integrating new media into theater productions.

Important features for use in theater include:

• Real-time, instantaneous cueing of video and/or audio clips
• Multiple video outputs on a single desktop computer – send up to six video outputs to six individual video projectors
• Multi-channel sound playback with ASIO and/or CoreAudio ready audio output devices

The most notable user in the theater world is New York City's famed avant-garde theater ensemble The Wooster Group. They are be using Isadora in their most recent theater piece Hamlet.

Interactive Installations

Because of the many ways Isadora can receive input from the real-world, it is a great choice for creating interactive installations. Its real-time video and audio manipulation modules can be controlled by:

• MIDI – Isadora supports a complete set of modules for MIDI input and output. Trigger an action based on a Note On message or warp a video in response to a Continuous Controller message – the mapping is limited only by your imagination.
• Video Tracking - Isadora's Eyes module can report the position of an object in the video frame
• Audio Input – Interactively respond to both amplitude and frequency of live sound
• Mouse & Keyboard – Use the computer's mouse and keyboard to control the interaction.

Video Effects for Post-Production

Some users use Isadora specifically to create imagery to be used in film and video. Because any number of video manipulation actors can be linked in any order, Isadora provides a powerful tool for creative video manipulation. The most important features for these users include:

• Record Output – You can easily record Isadora's output to a QuickTime movie. The resulting clips can then be imported into your favorite video editor or other video production tool.
• Non Real Time Rendering – When passing full-resolution (i.e., 720x480 DV) video clips through several video manipulation actors, Isadora may not be able to render at full frame rates. To overcome this, you can choose to render at slower than real time rates when recording Isadora's output. Because all real time based functions in the program slow down proportionally when you choose this option, it means that you can create and test your setup in real-time, rendering the final full frame-rate, high-resolution video later.

Video for Club Environments

A high percentage of current Isadora users are VJs that create real-time video for club environments. Perhaps the biggest draw for these users is the fact that Isadora is so flexible . Because each user creates his or her patches from scratch, they will be as unique as their creator. In addition, Isadora offers these VJ specific features:

• Custom Control Panels – create a custom control panel specific to your needs. Sliders, Buttons, Text and more.
• Powerful Bin Picker Control – one of the most important controls for VJs is the Bin Picker. It makes it possible to organize hundreds of clips so that you can select them by thumbnail, file name, or both.
• Individually Activated User Actors – User Actors allow you to encapsulate several Isadora actors into a custom designed module. VJs often populate their Scenes with literally hundreds of actors. Because each User Actor can be activated or deactivated individually, you can tailor your patch for maximum performance.

Take a look at the custom Control Panel created by Isadora user Giorgio Olivero:

An Isadora Control Panel / Created by Giorgio Olivero @ softlykicking.com click here for the full sized image...

Interactive Environments for the Learning and Physically Disabled

An unexpected but profound use of Isadora is to create interactive environments for the physically and learning disabled. The are a handful of Isadora users who have created environments for:

Children with PMLD (Profound Multiple Learning Disorders) – Children with this condition have a range of difficulties, from Autism to Downs syndrome. One user in England has created a set of Isadora patches that use the Eyes video tracking actor to allow small movements to trigger short musical phrases and manipulate a virtual world shown to the child being treated. See www.sensoryinstallation.com for more info.

The Physically Disabled – A user in France has been working with quadriplegics and others with severe physical disabilities. In one instance, an infrared pointer attached to the patient's head functions as a mouse on a his or her wheelchair mounted laptop. The Isadora patch allows these users to interactively generate visuals and music in response to small movements of their head.