Eyebeam’s Education Lab, Production Lab and R&D OpenLab kick off 2007 Winter/Spring Office Hours next Tuesday. The public is welcome to drop in on the fellows, residents and staff working in the labs during this time to see what new work is under way, ask questions and try out new projects. Throughout Winter/Spring 2007 Eyebeam’s OpenLab and Production Lab open their doors from 2-4pm Tuesdays and the Education Lab will open its doors from 4-6pm.

Next Tuesday the Education Lab will kick-off their Office Hours from 3-6pm with a live video-making/mixing session, led by Benton-C Bainbridge, Eyebeam’s 2006-2007 Education Fellow. Eyebeam will supply the A/V mixing system (inc. a/v mixer, cameras, DVD players, FX devices, etc.), projectors and PA, and some props. Participants should come prepared to be creative, and should feel free to bring any props, costumes, gear, and/or media. The event is free and open to the public. All skill levels (0-expert) are welcome and encouraged to join and experiment!!!

The three hour improvised audiovisual jam will be recorded and edited to make the pilot for “VJ-U @ Eyebeam”, a new cable access TV series on MNN. ” Hit the Air Running” will become an on-going weekly one-hour event, during the Education Open Lab Hours (Tuesdays: 5-6pm). The A/V jams will be facilitated as live happenings in Eyebeam’s space, online streams, and via the MNN cable access show.

The Education Lab’s regular Office Hours will begin at 4pm at which point the public can learn about the happenings in the Lab, help set up for the jam, and learn about the gear and some of the techniques to be used during the VJ session.

VJ-U is the research project of Eyebeam’s Education Fellow, Benton-C Bainbridge, designed to be a hands-on course to learn the tools and techniques of the Video Jockey, including computer and standalone hardware tools for audiovisual clip production, live performance and screening. Participants in the research and his workshops will help to develop custom tools including “Vidymis”, a digital interface for analog video synthesis Benton-C is creating with Stephan Moore. Guest artists will include VJs, musicians and programmers. Weekly live performances and broadcasts will showcase the students’ work and accelerate the studies.

Key “VJ-U” concepts, philosophies and exercises include:
-making content (“clips”) with low-cost and easily available tools
-thinking of moviemaking in musical ways
-electronic “graffiti”
-video as a medium of personal expression and dialog
-equipment errors and software bugs as opportunities for unique ‘looks’
-plugging audio into video for synchronous visual FX
-getting “looks” cheaply with obsolete a/v tools found on the internet
-turning passive Media Consumers into active Video Makers