Drink a pot of coffee before you read this post. Not so you can blow "Dark Bubbles," because this video for the track by Pennsylvania psych troupe Black Moth Super Rainbow's focuses on trippy trampolining in some dark crystal world, and it works well on a jittery caffeine buzz. It was created by the LA-based Radical Friend directorial team, and took three months and a mix of motion-sensitive technology, time-lapse photography, live-action footage, and animation to complete. I don't know the exact science even after reading the explanation five times, but viewers are able to interact with the finished clip. As we're told:
Using a webcam, viewers can shift the position of the heavenly bodies by
slowly moving their own heads or hands left and right in front of the camera's lens.Moving the cursor will have the same effect if users choose that option.
Watch and move your head and hands around at darkbubbles.com. (Don't fret if you aren't the owner of a web cam: There's also a mouse-ready version.) Also, for the tech minded, we have the specifics of the creative process via Radical Friend'sKirby McClure:
Black Moth Super Rainbow's sound lends itself towards this electronic mysticism that we felt we could illustrate by creating some kind of other-worldly interactive experience. What initially peaked our interest were these tests from 2006 (using Flash) where you wave your hand in front of a web-cam and a red dot on the screen follows your movements ... It's essentially the same technology used in video installations where insane programs like MAX/MSP Jitter are required. However in these tests it was being done using just Flash and a webcam (so anyone with a newer mac laptop could potentially be involved). With the help of some talented friends we were able to take this technology a step further by creating an actual environment using time lapse photography, live action and some animation elements that you are physically controlling by moving your body! So if all goes according to plan this will be a technologically mystical music video app you can touch.
Eating Us is out 5/26 via Graveface Records. You can reserve yourself a copy of the Deluxe Edition, which comes with a 16-page art book and "hairy" jewel case jacket (ugh?), at Graveface. In case you forgot it, take another listen to "Born On A Day The Sun Didn't Rise":
Black Moth Super Rainbow - "Born On A Day The Sun Didn't Rise" (MP3)
