Animusic is an American company specializing in the 3Dvisualization of MIDI-based music. Founded by Wayne Lytle, it is incorporated in New York and has offices in Texas and California. The initial name of the company was Visual Music, changed to Animusic in 1995.
The company is known for its Animusic compilations of computer-generated animations, based on MIDI events processed to simultaneously drive the music and on-screen action, leading to and corresponding to every sound.
Unlike many other music visualizations, the music drives the animation. While other productions might animate figures or characters to the music, the animated models in Animusic are created first, and are then programmed to follow what the music "tells them" to. 'Solo cams' in the Animusic DVD shows how each instrument actually plays through a piece of music from beginning to end.
Many of the instruments appear to be robotic or play themselves using curious methods to produce and visualize the original compositions. The animations typically feature dramatically-lit rooms or landscapes.
The music of Animusic is principally pop-rock based, consisting of straightforward sequences of triggered samples and digital patches mostly played "dry"; i.e., with few effects. There are no lyrics or voices, save for the occasional chorus synthesizer. According to the director's comments on DVD 2 (see below), most instrument sounds are generated with software synthesizers on a music workstation. Many sounds resemble stock patches available on digital keyboards, subjected to some manipulation, such as pitch or playback speed, to enhance the appeal of their timbre.
Compilations
As of 2006[update], two video albums have been released:
Animusic: A Computer Animation Video Album
Animusic 2: A New Computer Animation Video Album
Animusic was re-released in 2004 in a special edition DVD. Animusic 2 was released in 2005. The Animusic website has announced that the company is making Animusic 3, and 8 new animations are planned. In a recent newsletter, it was announced that they would also be producing a high-definition version of Animusic 2 on Blu-Ray, to be released sometime before Animusic 3.[4] In another newsletter, they revealed the working titles of 3 animations in Animusic 3: “Sonic Warfare”, “Paddle Ball” and “Super Pipe Dream”.
Publicity
Animusic has been promoted at SIGGRAPH since 1990, and has been promoted on Public Broadcasting Service and other television networks such as Tech TV's "Eye Drops". Wayne Lytle and his works have also been featured on Fox News and over 30 other local stations in January 2007.[5] Animusic's 'Pipe Dream' was released as a real-time demo for ATI's Radeon 9700 series graphics cards.[6] Animusic also rendered 'Resonant Chamber' and 'Starship Groove' in HD resolution for Apple's Quicktime HD Gallery.[7] There was an internet rumor that the "Pipe Dream" video was recreated at the University of Iowa from farm machinery parts. This has been proven false.[8]
Software used
According to the company's FAQ, animation is created procedurally with their own proprietary MIDImotion software. Discreet 3D Studio Max was used for modeling, lighting, cameras, and rendering. Maps were painted with Corel Painter, Deep Paint 3D, and Photoshop. They have also created their own software called AnimusicStudio.
Beyond the Walls (known as Concerto in 3D if watched in stereoscope) (1995), the first animation made under the name of Animusic, produced for VRex (a manufacturer of stereoscopic glasses and projectors)
The robotic drummer (surrounded by a percussion set) has four arms and one bass drum mallet foot; two of the arms hold 2B Drum sticks while the other two hold the Glockenspiel mallets.
Twelve toms in a 3x4 arrangement (the largest four are presented near the beginning of the video; the next smaller four along with the first four are shown near the middle, and all twelve are shown at the end)
Since they were never animated, it is difficult to determine the shapes of the instruments, although they may strongly resemble many seen in the two Animusic albums.
These instruments are played by the starship robots. In the commentary, Wayne Lytle states that the robot that plays the red lead synth pad set looks like a female. She is also capable of actions and body language.
Pogo Sticks(pictured at right)
File:Pogo Sticks.jpgA screenshot from "Pogo Sticks", the second video on Animusic 2.
Instruments in the order they're presented:
Two hammered guitars (one lead, one backup)
Hammered bass guitar (an updated version from 'Stick Figures'; the bass now has two strings and is in motion)
It has been revealed that the stick bass has "cousins," which are the hammered guitars. His "friends" are the drum kit playing sticks and the stick xylophones.
Towards the end of this piece's commmentary on the DVD, Wayne Lytle remarks that the music in the Ratchet & Clank series, written by David Bergeaud, may have had some influence over this piece.
