MIDIPoet (Mexico)
A project by Eugenio Tisselli (Mexico)
Presentation:
Kiasma seminar room // Fri 31 March 15:00 // free entrance
MIDIPoet is a software tool for manipulating images and text in real time. It uses its own visual language to allow users to create their own pieces, which can react to either computer keyboards and/or MIDI inputs.
The first version of MIDIPoet was developed in 1999, a time where software for VJs was not very common. Since then MIDIPoet has stood its ground, and has been used in many different situations: poetry festivals, VJ sessions, interactive installations, classrooms. Its most recent version is available for free, at http://www.motorhueso.net. The web includes also a complete documentation, examples and tutorials.
MIDIPoet’s approach to real-time image and text manipulation is simple, yet powerful. It has an easy-to-grasp programming language that lets you create quite complex pieces. The language is based on the creation of “cause and effect trees”, where a specific input or internal condition has to be met in order for a connected event to happen. A MIDIPoet piece is formed by a set of trees, or “forest”.
By using MIDI, MIDIPoet connects directly with many devices and applications. It has been used with musical instruments, sensors, and other weird devices.