Testimonial:
Blending Audiences, Merging Art and Science
Real Pinnacle User Michael Roach
What do you get when you marry a member of Mensa with a passion for astronomy and physics, with an artist passionate for jazz and video animation? TEN 27: The Black Book Project.
The project itself is a multi-media production merging music and science created over a two-year period by Michael Roach and his intellectually gifted wife, Monica. Combining jazz compositions with astronomy and cosmology, the project creates an audio/video experience that presents some aspects of the universe in a way that engages the broadest of audiences.
"My wife and I both come from music backgrounds; however, I also have a visual arts background and wanted to do something that was different than the music projects I had been doing," explained Michael. "The project was first inspired by images from the Hubble space telescope. Later, my wife and I had the opportunity to meet some very influential scientists that work in physics, astronomy and engineering at a Mensa conference that was held nearby. My wife is an amateur astronomer and while she isn't a scientist, she does have quiet an interest in space. During the conference, she met an astrophysicist named Vera Rubin who really motivated her, so the conference definitely inspired us."
Michael Roach – Pinnacle Studio 12 User The Hubble Space Telescope images became their muse, giving Michael and Monica the creative motivation they needed to write seven complete compositions.
"We used Pinnacle Studio software to compile the images and the animations we created, added video effects, and produced a video that we felt would be well-received in a multimedia performance concert," said Michael. "It was very involved. I originally did the project using Studio 11, which I thought was great; but then I got Studio 12 and discovered there is a definite night and day improvement over Version 11.
Michael's experience with video animation and design began more than 10 years ago, when as a child, Michael spent much of his free time experimenting with the family camcorder, making short films and animations.
"I used another video editing software a few years back," recalled Michael. "Eventually, I decided to take the plunge with Studio because I felt it had more of the features that would help me create the video images I imagined. The multi-layer effects that Studio has, like the picture in picture, Chrome-A-Key, and the graphics overlay; those elements are crucial for creating a memorable project. Another biggie for us in terms of usability was some of the plug-ins that are available including Vita-Scene and Moving Picture. They're so easy to manipulate, it's never a hindrance to creativity."
An added benefit for Michael is that Pinnacle Studio gives him the ability to review his project in different ways, making edits quickly and reviewing either the entire piece or just a selected section almost instantly without interfering with his creative flow.
"Tools are placed in areas that make sense," explained Michael. "Like the timeline for bringing video and audio together; it allows me to just drag and drop to place clips, transitions and effects. Studio is just intuitive. To be able to look at your entire project in different ways was also something intuitive that made me wonder why all programs aren't doing something like this. I think I had an easier time with this software than any other creative-based software."
Named after the black book Michael's wife was using to keep references, facts and all the data she had acquired regarding physics properties, measurements, information about space, galaxies, and nebulae, The Black Book Project consists of seven sections and seven compositions. The performance, which made its debut on November 1st at a major performing arts center in upstate New York, was well received by the audience, which was a mix general public, and those who had a strong interest in music and/or science.
"The audience was definitely entertained, and it was certainly an educational experience for everybody," recalled Michael. "Our technical consultant, astrophysicist, Dr. Harry I. Ringermacher, made sure we had all the physics facts straight. He was huge help to us."
Developed to provide both entertainment and educational value, The Black Book Project will appeal to a broad audience, and Michael and his wife are looking forward to presenting it in a wide range of venues.
"After the premier, we immediately realized that people wanted to know more about the elements of space and the cosmos," said Michael. "There is the musical level with the jazz and creative arts, but there is also a strong scientific element. We plan to offer The Black Book Project to universities, museums and science centers in the US, Canada and abroad. I think it could be a great learning tool to teach both children and adults about astronomy and physics in a way that is understandable and enjoyable to everyone."
The text in the screen production is currently only available in English, but the couple has already planned to translate the project into other languages as necessary. The project itself evolved beyond Michael and Monica's original plans--in part because as Michael worked with Pinnacle Studio, he became more familiar with the features and continued to expand his video editing capabilities. As a result, the project's complexity and creativity expanded exponentially. In the end, the final piece offers a familiarity of some of the extraordinary pictures taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, several thought-provoking tidbits of information on the physics behind those images, and seven expressive jazz compositions to send the audience home as inspired as the two artists who created the performance.
"Both the software and the final project definitely exceeded my expectations," said Michael. "My only worries were that the project would be too overwhelming for people because it combines live music with educational material and has the audience read information on the screen simultaneously. That was a major concern for everyone. But the audience took it all in and the place was completely silent during many parts of the performance--even though there were kids there."
According to the Hubble website, Hubble's digital archive delivers 10 to 20 Gigabytes of data a day to astronomers all over the world. Because the telescope is continuously capturing new information while in space, Michael expects their project to perpetually evolve based on the nearly continuous infusion of new data and spectacular images.
"We haven't even scratched the surface of what we're looking to do in terms of part two or other volumes," said Michael. "There are many elements that we would still like the opportunity to present. But this project certainly wouldn't have been possible without a product with this level of video editing capability.
Pinnacle Studio enables people to be video story tellers. I think you might see more of these kinds of things; maybe not music and science, but certainly other disciplines. We hope our projects will inspire other people to do what we've done."
TEN 27: The Black Book Project Live at the Egg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_x8CfbvocI
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