SOFT CENTRE is proud to present our very first workshop of 2023 'Composing Visual Music with Videosync' led by the awe inspiring audiovisual composer Tarik Barri.

Despite the growing popularity of visuals at music performances, their true power within musical contexts remains in many ways under-explored. In Barri’s view the problem is that there is a lack of musical sensibility in the visuals themselves – a lack of visual music – which sadly splits the audiovisual experience into two parts, rather than forming a coherent unity. His career has been largely centered around bridging this gap, slowly discovering and overcoming the obstacles found along the way, and in the process stumbling into a huge amount of untouched possibilities. Besides talking about this personal journey of discovery, this lecture will also show how people can themselves open the doors to such possibilities. In particular, Barri will talk about “Videosync”,a tool for realtime visual composition that he is co-developing. It acts as a visual add-on to the music software “Ableton Live”, enabling people to use visual instruments and effects in the same way audio instruments and effects are used. By allowing people to create visuals as if they are music, Barri hopes to spread the realization and exploration of the fact that visuals can in fact be music.

Instructor – Tarik Barri

Tarik Barri is an audiovisual composer and software developer. Programming since childhood, making electronic music since his teens, and becoming fascinated with visuals since his early 20’s, he combined these elements into a single art form, exploring the similarities and differences between sound and visuals as well as the novel phenomena resulting from their synthesis. Barri regularly performs with artists such as Sote, Thom Yorke and Paul Jebanasam, and has previously toured with Robert Henke and Nicolas Jaar.

Videosync

Barri’s part of the team programming Videosync, a software that acts as a visual add-on to Ableton Live, and allows non-programmers to have intuitive, precise control over visuals and their musical timing. It expands the regular array of audio instruments and effects of Live with Videosync's visual instruments and effects. In the visual domain tracks operate as visual layers, with all the signal flow capabilities of Ableton now applied to visuals. This includes track grouping, racks, send and return tracks, etc. The general concept is: if you know Ableton, you will immediately feel familiar with Videosync, and if you don't know Ableton – Videosync may give you a good reason to get to know Ableton.For these reasons, Videosync is ideal for creating and improvising audiovisual works, but also works as a method to create live visuals without any audio component.

Education Goals

Develop a very practical understanding of how to create (audio)visual compositions with Videosync. Learn how play visual instruments, how to manipulate and tweak videos, webcam feeds and self-created generative imagery, how to mix audiovisual tracks, program your own visual instruments and use automation to create your (audio-)visual compositions.

Requirements to participate

A Mac computer with Ableton Live Suite 11 installed. This may also be a demo version. Some knowledge of Ableton Live is very helpful, but not required. Participants are welcome to bring their midi controllers.

Special thanks to our venue partners SHADES for making this possible.