test pattern [live set]

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test pattern is a system that converts any type of data (text, sounds, photos and movies) into barcode patterns and binary patterns of 0s and 1s. Through its application, the project aims to examine the relationship between critical points of device performance and the threshold of human perception.

test pattern is presented as an intense, 30-minute performance with a live mix of both sound and image. Via a real-time computer programme, the audio signal patterns are converted into eight barcode patterns, which are tightly synchronised. The velocity of the moving images is ultra-fast, some hundreds of frames per second at certain points, providing a performance test for the devices and a response test for viewers’ perceptions.

As part of this project, and driven by the same concept, test pattern CD was released on German label raster-noton in February 2008.

Produced by Forma

Photos: Ryuichi Maruo, courtesy of Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media (YCAM)

Further information for presenters of Forma projects

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