Zach Poff is a Digital Media artist, educator, maker-of-things.
Chroma Key Live update: Now in HD! posted Nov 03, 2009
I updated Chroma Key Live today (my free tool to generate a live realtime green-screen composite). Now it has HD support and runs about 400% faster thanks to GPU acceleration.
Details and download here.
Printed Matter Book Fair posted Oct 1, 2009
I am selling ten circuit-bent chant boxes at the Printed Matter Book Fair this weekend.
Bring $30 to the free103point9 table to get your buzzing, looping, light-controlled goodness.
Haystack Symposium posted Oct 1, 2009
I was invited to participate in a weekend symposium at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine. We discussed how makers use and experience time, and I used my time to work with my collaborator in Haystack's fantastic studio spaces.
AIRtime Fellowship from free103point9 posted Sept 22, 2009
I have been awarded a fellowship from NY area transmission arts organization free103point9. They are supporting my upcoming project Radio Silence, and arranging several artist talks in the coming months. You can read the details here.
MultiScreener for Windows posted June 29, 2009
I posted a Windows build of MultiScreener 0.95, contributed by Jake Rugino. Thanks Jake!
Details and download here.Video Silence posted Mar 08, 2009
Video Silence is a software-based video piece that harvests an ongoing compilation of silent moments from broadcast television.
Details on my new site in progress.MultiScreener 0.95 update posted Feb 03, 2009
MultiScreener 0.95 has been tuned-up for HD and includes numerous bug-fixes and new features. It is now distrubuted under a GPL license.
Details and download here.Video Trigger: Motion Detection for Artists posted Jan 11, 2009
Video Trigger is a free motion detector application tailored for media artists. Attach a camera and trigger sounds whenever occupancy is detected in six user-defined areas of the video image. You have complete control over the playback logic and the signal routing. Surround is supported.
Details and download here.Chroma Key Live: Free Realtime Green-Screen posted Dec 18, 2008
Chroma Key Live is a free tool to generate a live realtime green-screen composite (AKA "chroma key"). You can see your actors against a digital backdrop on-set instead of just imagining how it will look in post-production!
Details and download here.
"Appropriate Response" at ISEA 2008, Singapore posted Sep 1, 2008
Appropriate Response is a generative audio installation that creates a dynamic conversation between three television sets. It was created during a residency at ISEA 2008 in Singapore, by N.B. Aldrich and myself.
Complete details here.
Installation and Workshop at Auburn University posted Aug 28, 2008
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Auburn University in Alabama. I installed "Parallel Rhetoric: Coming and Going" in the University Gallery and taught a Sound Art workshop. (We made DIY contact mics and synaesthetic devices.)
Photos of the installation here.
MultiScreener 0.93b update posted May 23, 2008
I updated the README file to reveal a way to run a Server and multiple Clients on the same computer. Three or more channels of video on one machine! Details and download here.
The Past is a Ghost @ SPACE Gallery, Portland Maine" posted May 21, 2008
The Past is a Ghost is at SPACE Gallery, in Portland Maine until June 13, 2008.
The idea of existing in, or contributing to, the localized stream of historical progression is at the heart of The Past Is A Ghost. A TV monitor shines out, showing a live surveillance image of passing pedestrians and the surrounding street scene, evidence of the here and now. When a passerby stops to observe the monitor, the background fades away and the viewer is cast into a compressed virtual history, rendered into the ghosted past of the camera's collected observations.
Watch "The Alchemist's Secret Assistant" posted May 20, 2008
I uploaded "The Alchemist's Secret Assistant", commisioned for "Eyes and Ears 2: Sound Needs Image", a live performance of video and film scores co-curated by Joanna Raczynska and Will Redman.
MultiScreener 0.93 update posted May 20, 2008
This update adds support for multiple monitors, so you can play two movies on the same computer. Launcher Applescripts are now included, as well as a handsome new README file. Details and download here.
"Enchanted" circuit-bent chant boxes posted May 11, 2008
"Enchanted" is a series of 10 modified Buddhist "chant-boxes" that I made for New York Foundation for the Arts.
Each one begins life as a digital sound player, often given away by temples throughout Asia to assist in meditation. I have "circuit-bent" each box to enable radical alteration of pitch. Individual notes can be transformed into slowly-shifting textures or the entire phrase can be condensed into an instant.
Details in the newly reorganized Projects section.
Website modifications posted May 11, 2008
I cleaned up some nasty old positioning code and reorganized the categories a bit.
MultiScreener software released (...and UPDATED) posted May 9, 2008
MultiScreener is a set of freeware applications that synchronize the playback of Quicktime movies on multiple computers, using a local network to tie them all together.
It is intended for multi-channel video art, video walls, etc. I designed it as an artist-friendly low-budget alternative to the expensive combo of industrial DVD players (Pioneer DVD-V7400, DVD-V5000) and Dave Jones Design sync boxes. Those systems are fantastic, but if you have a few computers and a network hub, give this a try.
Details and Download in the Software section. (May 09, 2008: Version 0.92 released)
Eyes and Ears 08 posted March 31, 2008
My video "The Alchemist's Secret Assistant" will appear in the Eyes and Ears event at Hallwalls Contemporay Arts Center in Buffallo NY. The evening features commissioned moving image works by artists Bruce Checefsky. Sara Hornbacher, Caroline Koebel. Hollie Lavenstein, Stephanie Maxwell, and myself with performances by the Open Music Ensemble and special guests. Sat. April 5 @ 8:00 p.m
Recently on the web posted Feb 15, 2008
- My installation, Parallel Rhetoric was recently featured in the long-running Italian online magazine neural.it.
- The joint artist statement by myself and N.B. Aldrich was featured in Media-N, the journal of the New Media Caucas.
- A great arts organization called folly in Lancaster UK featured our piece "Baltic Sea" in their ArtCast podcast series in November.
Residency in Singapore at ISEA 2008 posted Feb 15, 2008
N.B. Aldrich and I are honored to be invited to Singapore this summer to work on a new installation called "Appropriate Response" during a 5-week residency at the biannual International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA).
Interactive Soundscape Designer 1.0 Released! posted Jan 22, 2008
The Interactive Soundscapes project is an opportunity for communities to develop a profile, or self-portrait, in audio recordings. The Interactive Soundscape Designer software provides an interface where visitors can explore the archive, combining and altering the sounds with the option to save their compositions for revisitation and reuse by others. Learn more at www.interactivesoundscapes.org.
SingleFramer 2.4 update: Applescript and more. posted Oct 1, 2007
Download it in the Software section.
New documentation: Aural Ecosystem at AI posted Sept 29, 2007
Photos and sounds in the Collaborations section.
Artist Talk at SOUNDMARKS posted July 1, 2007
NB Aldrich and I will discuss our work on Thursday, July 19, 6:30 - 8:00 pm at Art Interactive in Cambridge, MA.
SOUNDMARKS in Cambridge, MA posted July 1, 2007
NB Aldrich and I have 3 new pieces in this show.
Documentation of the new work can be found on his site:
Aural Ecosystem
The Past is a Ghost
Sentiment Machine
I'm a Jolly Good Fellow posted June 1, 2007
I'm honored to be the recipient of a fellowship from New York Foundation for the Arts. Thanks!
Film-O-Sync software posted March 11, 2007
I made some software that synchronizes digital sound to 16mm film projection. It's called Film-O-Sync and you can download it in the software section.
"Fixed" this site for Internet Explorer. posted Jan 30th, 2007
I figured I might as well make it work better for the 94% of users who have Internet Exploder for Windows. It's a Javascript hack to cover one of the big holes in Microsoft's code. This "web" thing is kind of a big deal these days, so save yourself tons of future grief and get Firefox or some other browser that supports the worldwide standards that define how the web works.
MEDIA WORKS Pictures posted Jan 15th, 2007
Here are some images from the show. What show? Read below...
Upcoming show posted Dec 22nd , 2006
"Explosions & Reactions", " Parallel Rhetoric: 2001 + 2005" and "11:00 News" will be part of MEDIAWORKS at the Perimeter Gallery in Belfast Maine from January 9th - February 19th 2007.
MEDIAWORKS is a group exhibition of media and New Media based work which recomposes "meaning" by reworking the context of media artifacts, and then explores the collateral metaphors created in the process. It features work by N.B.Aldrich and the Marswalkers and myself, as well as texts by Sharon Hayes, Margaretha Haughwout, Jon Ippolito, Chris Mann, Read Mercer Schuchardt, and Liz Skelton Sheehan.
See the MEDIAWORKS flyer for complete information.
Explosions & Reactions posted Dec 14th, 2006
I just added documentation of the "Explosions & Reactions" video installation in the installations section.
Pictures Up! posted Nov 21st, 2006
I finally made a link to my Flickr photos in the photos section.
New Documentation posted Aug 18th, 2006
Text, photos, and video from "Parallel Rhetoric: Coming and Going" is online in the installations section.
Upcoming shows posted Aug 18th, 2006
Observational Soundscape IV (with N.B. Aldrich) will be part of Perform.Media at Indiana University Sept 29th-Oct 14th.
I will be part of a multiscreen multispeaker film/sound performance called "City Salvage" at Monkey Town in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on November 2nd. It is a collaboration with filmmakers Lynne Sachs and Mark Street, as well as another soundmaker, Bosko Blagojevic. Complete info soon.
New Documentation posted Mar 16th, 2006
Text, photos, and video from "The Observational Soundscape III: Bates" is online in the newly remodeled collaborations section.
Upcoming show posted Feb 25th, 2006
Documentation of my work, as well as collaborations with N.B. Aldrich will be included in the archive portion of "When Artists Say We" at Artists Space in New York City. The opening is Saturday March 11th. Busy weekend! (see below)
Upcoming show posted Feb 25th, 2006
Parallel Rhetoric: 2001+2005 will be featured in the upcoming show "Dynasty" at Gallery MC in New York City from March 9th to April 5th. The opening is Saturday March 11th 6-10pm. Details are here and here.
Interactive Soundscape Designer posted Jan 14th, 2006
A description of The Interactive Soundscape Designer (with N.B. Aldrich) has been added to the Software page page. It will be available as a free download soon.
Upcoming Shows posted Jan 10th, 2006
The Interactive Soundscape Designer (with N.B. Aldrich) will be part of 2 exhibitions in the next few months. Resolutions '06 at Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center in NY Jan 27/28 and Plugged-In Fest III at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art.
Upcoming Show posted Jan 10th, 2006
A new version of Parallel Rhetoric will be part of an exhibition called "NOW AGAIN THE PAST" at Carnegie Art Center in NY Jan 20 - March 20.
Upcoming Show posted Jan 10th, 2006
Observational Soundscape III (with N.B. Aldrich) will be part of an exhibition called "Activator" at Bates college in Maine Jan 20 - March 20.
Christmas Eve in Roger's Forge posted Dec 24th, 2005
I added 3 Recordings of crazy caroling from the yearly gathering at Jeanette Thomas's house in Roger's Forge, MD. Listen on the Recordings page.
Software Update: "SingleFramer 2.1" posted Nov 17th, 2005
I recompiled the app for friendlier network installations and added an icon. (It's a standard Mac OSX "bundle" now in case you were wondering!)
Download it on the Software page.
New Software: "SingleFramer" posted Oct 28th, 2005
I put up some free (Mac only) frame-capture software I made for students at the Cooper Union. It captures single-frames from any DV camera. Use it for stop-action animation or automatic time-lapse recordings. Download it on the Software page.
New Installation posted Oct 6th, 2005
A new sound installation is on its way to Michigan. It's called "Parallel Rhetoric: 2001 + 2005" and you can check it out on the Installations page.
Observational Soundscape: videos online posted Oct 4th, 2005
You can finally "observe" the Observational Soundscape in its most recent habitat, Cooper Union NYC. Check out the videos on the Collaborations page.
Observational Soundscape: NYC photos online posted Sept 19th, 2005
After a 3 week run at Cooper Union, the installation is gone but you can see documentation on the Collaborations page.
Screening Coming up!! posted Sept 16th, 2005
Check out "Movement Reflection", a collaborative video/sound piece (by nbaldrich and myself) at Micro Museum in Brooklyn NY. It's showing as part of the Not Still Art Festival on Sept 24th at 7:30. $10 general admission, $5 students.
Installation in NYC posted Sept 14th, 2005
The Observational Soundscape (test 2) is installed at the Cooper Union in NYC until Saturday, Sept, 17th. The 3rd version is scheduled for Bates College in Maine in February.
Website Born posted Sept 13th, 2005 (*corrected Oct 28th)
My new site was born today! I've been asked to do an installation for Carnegie Art Center in Tonawanda, NY this February. The theme of the show is "remakes" and I'm working on a multichannel video/audio piece that automatically re-edits political speeches. More will follow in the Installations section as the work evolves.