Screen Monkey - Play multimedia items on a second monitor

Take a look at this YouTube video which shows how you can link a Yamaha LS9 to Screen Monkey. Thank you to ceerb for this excelent video. "Just an example of how I make use of screen monkey media playback software and midi when on longer, repetative jobs or theatrical type jobs with set scenes/cues when using a digital mixer (in this case Yamaha LS9-16)."

"Like it or not video has become a huge part of live music production: Video walls, Projections, Pixel Mapped PAR cans!"

Read the full artictle at Savage Sounds

How do you turn an empty shell of a building into an audio visual spectacle to launch the start of a building project to turn old light bulb factories into homes and small enterprises. This was the question faced by lighting designer Bhagat Denijs. His solution was to combine Screen Monkey with an MA2 lighting console and 100 GLP Impressions.>

Gerard Philips started the production of light bulbs and radio’s in 1892. The company grew in a short space of time and with that the collection of villages became joined with worker housing to support the factories. As the light bulb company grew into what we now know of as the multi-national company Philips the original factories became obsolete and unused.

It has now fallen to the City Counsel and their housing corporation Trudo to convert these old buildings into homes and small businesses for the current occupation of Eindhoven. To mark the start of this building project they asked sound and lighting company Hovanaars (http://www.hoevenaars.nl) to produce a light show which was fitting to the buildings original use.

With the windows of the building forming a grid 5 stories high and 10 windows across it offered the perfect opportunity to use the Pixel Mapping functionality within Screen Monkey “I immediately thought of Screen Monkey as a great tool to help me program this, through it's pixelmapping capabilities” (Bhagat Denijs). To create the 6 minute show 100x GLP Impressions, 8x Spacetracers 4000, 10x Martin Atomic Strobes, a bunch of strobe eggs and a few dimmers where used. The Screen Monkey software was controlled from the GrandMA 2 lighting desk. 5 universes of ArtNet where merged with the MA2 to give control of the fixtures from both the lighting desk and Screen Monkey. This meant that they could “mix and match regular programming with clips coming out of SM”. The whole show was synchronised with SMPTE timecode coming from the audio track.
The resulting show was impressive and of particular note is the way the Pan and Tilt capability of the GLP Impressions was combined with the video mapping to produce a surface that felt as if it is was moving. The different video effects both fitted with the soundtrack and used the building to its best potential.

If you want to watch the finished show then you can watch it on YouTube.

This was the first show Bhagat had used Screen Monkey on and he was pleased with the result. “After a few unexpected glitches, which were solved, almost overnight, by Oliver Waits of Screen Monkey, it turned out I made the right choice using Screen Monkey.”

“I thought it was a great job. First of all because there aren't too many gigs like this, secondly because of a personal touch. My grandfather worked for Philips during the war, in these exact factories. My mother, a schoolkid then, lost one of her friends standing next to her, during the bombing. Something I think she never got over. Strangely, although the factories were bombed several times by the allies, and everything around them was flattened, but not the factories.”

As these factories in Eindhoven  move into the next era of there life we celebrate a little of their past with a lighting show fitting of the light bulbs once produced there.

The Varsity Trip invites student from Oxford and Cambridge Universities to head to the Alps and experience snow sports and entertainment. This years trip featured the "biggest lineup"^[1] in the trips history with Calvin Harris, Kele, Jack Beats, DJ Yoda, 3D Disco and Jakwob. With such big names and great snow conditions the week was guaranteed to be huge success.

For an event such as Varsity the LD Tim Smith needed to choose a media server which could cope with the diverse array of video required as well as keep to a tight budget. With the Pixel Mapping functionality and the added control via ArtNet which is found in V3.5, Screen Monkey seemed the ideal solution. "We used two Screen Monkey media servers, one providing content for 12 x pixel line, and one providing content on 4 screens. Both being controlled from an Avolites Titan Mobile. The SM servers both performed amazingly." ^[2]

The Screen Monkey team worked closely with Tim so he had everything he needed to ensure the show went smoothly. We added features such as layer rotation to make the software more flexible when used in a VJ environment. "Handling various content, from sponson videos through to VJ content and live video feeds, the response times were superb and quality of image perfect for the application." ^[2]

The two Screen Monkey servers where being controlled by the Avolites Titan Mobile which proved ideal for this scenario. Both servers could be synchronized from the console and using CITP you could see exactly what clip you where selecting with the clip thumbnails appearing on the lighting console. ”Even the VJ’s preferred using this setup to their usual Arkaos and keyboard shortcuts..”^[2]

One of the major features of the rig was the 4 x 3 array of PixelLine 1044s forming the front of the DJ riser. Haveing these controlled by the media server meant that at all times the content could be synchronised with the two video screens. Add to this the colour scheme control from the lighting console and it was easy to create a fluid look across the video screens, LED battens and lighting rig. The nature of the event required for a mixture of VJ content, custom video and live footage. This was eaily incorporated into the show by simply adding the new content as clips within the software.

To sum up I will leave the final word to DJ Yoda who posted this on twitter. "Can't say I was expecting a crowd of 3000 on a Sunday night in the Alps. But that's what I got!"

Related Links:

1. Varsity Trip Website

2. Tim Smith, Live Technical Services

3. Avolites Titan Mobile

Showcasing the new Pixel Mapper functionality in the upcoming Screen Monkey Pro 3.5, we take a closer look at Birmingham University Freshers 2010.

No fewer than 6 Screen Monkey systems were used, including VT playout systems, effect generators, the new Pixel Mapper harnessing the ArtNet functionality, and video post-pro...cessors for cutting out crazy screen outlines.

Lighting by James Cross, David Johnson and Mark Baslington.
"Screen Monkey" mascot caretaker Adam Mummery-Smith

 The freshers ball at Birmingham University is a chance for new students to discover the night life at the guild of students. The aim is to impress and this year was no exception. The new Pixel Mapping feature in Screen Monkey produced stunning lighting effects along with the shards of glass projection screens. The focal point of the rig consisting of 5 projection screens and 12 LED battens, rigged to create the effect of a visual explosion from the centre of the stage. That's where Screen Monkey came in to control both the screens and the LED battens and give the effect of a visual explosion through video and graphics.

The main act for the night was Mr Hudson, who's album "Straight no Chaser" came to prominance in 2009.

Using Pixel Mapping the lighting designers where able to simply and quickly create effects whilst still controlling colour, speed and intensity from the Avolites Pearl Expert lighting console. This mix gave the best of both worlds. The Effects clip which has been re-vamped in the latest version really came into its own producing custom effects which worked well on LED fixtures.

The powerful display profiles where used to mask video onto the random shaped screens. In a matter of minutes the video was mapped and masked to precisely fit the 5 differently screens.

The rig proved so successful that it was subsquently kept for another 2 events happing at the guild of students.

Other features in use where CITP talkback providing thumbnails of the Screen Monkey clips on the lighting console and ArtNet input and output allowing control from the lighting console and to the LED fixtures. 

 To really see the pixel mapping in operation please check out this video of the night.

Any fashion week requires style and glitz and thats just what Screen Monkey provided recently at the Valencia Fashion Week.

This is what Screen Monkey user Colin Bone from Video and Sound Engineer Grupo Pasarela Audiovisuales, Valencia had to say.

Used screen monkey without a single fault during the entire Valencia Fashion Week.Was used to run dvd´s, photos, powerpoint and audio all with fades etc..