Hello!

[Fractex]

I've been lurking on Fractal Forums for a while, but a recent back-channel communication with Bib convinced me that now is the time to join. Fractal Forums has become an integral part of the fabric of my life. I've been impressed as much by the patterns of interaction and collaboration, as by the fruits of the collective labor. I believe the concentration of creativity, generosity of spirit, and genuine mutual respect and admiration, is a unique aspect of this forum.

After viewing many of the videos which have been posted during the last few years on Fractal Forums as well as at other sites, I've noticed how different selections of music can profoundly alter one's fractal video viewing experience. I assume this has to do with both cultural programming, as well as complex neurophysiological factors relating to how our brains integrate audio-visual input. Twinbee's incredible "Into the Heart of the Mandelbulb" was very much enhanced by the dramatically synchronized elements of his accompanying composition.  And Bib's astonishingly varied output of fractal videos achieve at least some of their impact, in my opinion, by virtue of his superb musical choices. This subject could possibly form the basis of an interesting thread. For example, I've discovered that music which does not compete with the visual complexity of the videos, but which instead sets an underlying tone or mood, is most effective for me. And I'd be really interested in hearing other members' perspectives and reactions as well.

Today, due in part to my communication with Bib, I finally decided to take the plunge and download UF. I'm really excited! Inspired by Twinbee, Bib and others' work, I'd really like to "choreograph" fractal videos to specific musical pieces if and when I can attain the necessary skills.

[cKleinhuis]

welcome to the forums, and you are right, a video without music is like french fries without ketchup or salt

[bib]

Glad to see you here dear Fractex!
I'm sure you'll find many people ready to help getting up to speed with UF. Don't hesitate to ask.

[cKleinhuis]

a good starting point for uf5 examples is the wiki:

http://ultrafractalwiki.fractalforums.com

[bib]

To Fractex and those wondering how complex it is to do fractal videos, here is the first fractal video I did, about 13 months ago, and the latest one, to date. It's funny to see the evolution in a relatively short timeframe, thanks to the motivation provided by the people on this forum, especially the discoverers of the Mandelbulb since last october I think, and a few hundreds of hours in front of (should I say inside) Ultrafractal
Note that it was already a 3D fractal cube using an mmf formula for UF
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/iXcTv4q7TRc&rel=1&fs=1&hd=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/iXcTv4q7TRc&rel=1&fs=1&hd=1</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/3h7Rtv9kflo&rel=1&fs=1&hd=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/3h7Rtv9kflo&rel=1&fs=1&hd=1</a>

[Fractex]

Thanks for the encouragement Bib. But that first video looks pretty sophisticated to me! I wonder how long it will be before someone on the forum generates a "feature" length video, say on the order of 30 minutes. I understand that CPU rendering is already pushing the limits, but maybe something using multiple GPUs? Has anyone here seen the excellent fractal video Muhtoomba? There are multiple versions floating around the net, such as at <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/I0wGQaxGg_c&rel=1&fs=1&hd=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/I0wGQaxGg_c&rel=1&fs=1&hd=1</a>

[Nahee_Enterprises]

   I've been lurking on Fractal Forums for a while....

Greetings, and Welcome to this particular Forum !!!    

   After viewing many of the videos which have been posted during the last few years on Fractal Forums as well as at other sites,
    I've noticed how different selections of music can profoundly alter one's fractal video viewing experience.

This is nothing new.  In fact this practice is well over a hundred years old (and probably much more).  Back in the times of the old "silent movies", there usually was an organist that played music to accompany what was going on in the film.  The better the musician and score, the more involved was the audience.

Hollywood knows how much music can have an effect on the viewers.  They spend a lot of money making sure the sounds and music go well with the movie.  Are you really just now becoming aware of such things??          
 

   ....I finally decided to take the plunge and download UF.

There are well over 600 fractal rendering applications available:
    http://www.fractalforums.com/fractal-related-links/finding-fractal-related-software/
And not one of them offers the ability to do everything, each has its own limits.  And since you have already stated seeing fractal videos from multiple sites, then you have already seen videos produced from just a handful of these many applications.

Before getting too involved with a single program, sometimes it is better to find out what type/s of fractal videos you are wishing to produce.  You may find that one is more suited than another for your purposes.

You may even find the following two articles on fractal animation of some interest:

    http://orbittrap.ca/?p=707

    http://orbittrap.ca/?p=717
 

[Fractex]

@Nahee_Enterprises:

Thanks very much for your suggestions relating to different fractal animation packages. I agree that it's probably a good idea to explore other packages in addition to UF. And with regard to the effect of music on fractal video viewing experiences, you are of course correct to point out that music has played a profound role throughout the history of cinema, opera, theater etc. I think the point I was really trying to make was that fractal video visual dynamics could be more closely coupled with auditory harmonic and rhythmical dynamics, beyond simply choosing the best musical selection from a list of Youtube options, for example, and having the outcome be determined largely by chance. In some cases, what I call the "chance synchronization method" turns out wonderfully, such as in Bib's very moving "Dangerous spaceship." In others, such as Twinbee's "Into the Heart of the Mandelbulb" the use of what seemed to be highly synchronized musical rhythms and harmonies, contributed greatly to my experience.

In the case of movies, the music is highly synchronized with the action. Sometimes movie music anticipates a scene and prepares the viewer, while at other times it serves to reinforce the prevailing emotion. In other situations music can be used to intensify or lessen the overall dramatic impact. All of this could be bought to bear on the production of fractal videos as well. To those who might argue, "Well, fractals are abstract and can mean anything", I would counter that for many of us, fractals can elicit very powerful, if indefinable, emotions as well. Absorption in the visual experience may actually heighten our sensitivity to the music and vice versa.

And beyond this, as I briefly touched upon in my original posting, there is ample research data describing how certain specific areas of the brain integrate audio & visual stimuli. I've been involved in multichannel brainwave analysis for decades, and have been impressed by the spatio-temporal specificity with which one can characterize the brain's response to both auditory or visual stimuli. Although I've long suspected that fractal stimuli affect the visual cortex (and the brain at large) in some very specific and unique ways, a recent literature search turned up very few studies characterizing the brain's response to fractal-like stimuli. Maybe I'll have to look at this at some point. Or maybe someone might be interested in collaborating with me on this very interesting subject?

The bottom line, is that it might be possible through the artful use of musical accompaniment, to more consciously shape a fractal viewing experience in ways which I don't believe have been systematically explored. I can imagine a piece of software which would allow one to "storyboard" a musical/fractal presentation down to the millisecond, something like a combination between Apple's GarageBand and Ultrafractal. It feels like this capability will be both an obvious and an inevitable evolution in the fractal video generation toolkit. Last night I played with Buddhi's wonderful Mandelbulber, and studied his source code in an attempt to imagine how this kind of software might be written. Hopefully I will not have to write it myself since fractals are already consuming much too much time in my life as it is:)

Thank you for challenging me to clarify and then hopefully express my thoughts more clearly. Since this is probably not the best place to continue this discussion, it might be useful to start a new thread if anyone else is interested. Maybe something like Fractals & Music or Fractal Physiology?       

[bib]

In some cases, what I call the "chance synchronization method" turns out wonderfully, such as in Bib's very moving "Dangerous spaceship."  

With your authorization, I'll post it here once again. The more I see it the more I love it
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/m0Yx3h8rvl0&rel=1&fs=1&hd=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/m0Yx3h8rvl0&rel=1&fs=1&hd=1</a>

And if you don't mind, the extract from our back-channel conversation :

[Fractex]
...
For example, I thought that the synchronization between the mood of the music, and the dynamics of the "action" was absolutely brilliant in your "Dangerous Spaceship" video. It was almost like watching an incredibly condensed version of some dramatic Star Wars-like epic. And I found myself wondering if the whole thing had been a "lucky accident" or whether the music had actually influenced your rendering trajectory decisions. The "Dangerous Spaceship" ending was very poignant, as the spaceship slowly rotates end over end, as it recedes into the distance.
...

[bib]
...
Regarding the music : I agree it helps a lot setting up an atmosphere, that's why when I like an animation I take the time to find the right tune on audioswap. A lot of [non-fractal] people have asked me if I synchronize the image on purpose or if the fractal movements synchronize themselves automatically to the music : the answer is no unfortunalely and this is really something I should do, but I'm too lazy! And I know it's totally incredible, but the Dangerous spaceship is a complete coincidence! I think I did not even fully listen to the tune when I chose it in audioswap!! To me, this vid was not important at the beginning. The story is that I launched the calculation the day before I got the usable version of the Mandelbulb for UF, so the video stood in the render queue for several weeks while I was rendering my first Mbulb animations! When I had rendered my first, say, 30 Mbulb animations, I let the dangerous spaceship calculation finish (it was very very long). And now, with the help of good luck with the music, it's one of my favourites!! Like you say, it kind of tells a story, and again, it's an incredible coincidence! The only thing I regret about this video is that there are some clipping issues at the beginning...
...

[Tglad]

Hi Fractex, interesting topic.
I think Bib's latest video of the mandelbox in his previous reply is also a superb use of music. The vibe of the music has a weird surreal feel to it which matches the exploration of the alien passages. The way the first person camera glides so smoothly is also quite trance-like and inhuman, almost like you are viewing from the eyes of a ghost.

I also really like the way the music 'sweeps' in time with the shadow passing left to right as you enter the hall, and I think there it something technological and futuristic sounding about the music which matches the look of the passages, like it might be an abandoned alien space station.

[Fractex]

Hi Tglad. I agree with your assessment. For me, Bib's musical selection for the Mandelbox animation also suggests a sense of ancient grandeur.  This is a good example of why I feel that some of the pronouncements regarding the future of fractal animation are unduly pessimistic.  In the otherwise excellent Orbit Trap articles that Nahee_Enterprises brought to my attention in his previous reply, the author states "I hate to say it, but I think fractal animation is going to be short-lived and merely something of a fad." However, I believe the new architectural elements which your inspired folding technique brings to the table are a great example of how the vocabulary of fractal stills & animation is just going to keep expanding to provide artists with a continuously enriched palette for expression. I keep returning to the idea that software tools which combine time-locked music remixing techniques with specific fractal exploration trajectories and synchronized parameter changes could really unleash a whole new level of creativity.