On Tuesday, September 1, from 9pm-midnight, theaters and event venues across North America will be asked to light ghost lights on their stages, light their buildings in red, and use hashtag #WeMakeEvents to symbolize the struggle of the industry, which has been shuttered since March 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Alt Ethos is supporting our colleagues, clients, and friends in the event industry by lighting up the mansion at 2345 7th St, Denver. Thanks to Reactiv.io for collaborating on this lighting installation one of their many event rental spaces. Check out the mansion as you drive down I-25 near the Denver Aquarium, or stop by to snap some photos – and tag #WeMakeEvents to raise awareness.
By the Numbers
The live entertainment industry is a cornerstone of the U.S. economy. It employs over 12 million people and provides upwards of $1 trillion in economic impact – more than the transportation, agriculture, and tourism industries. However, due to the global pandemic, the live events industry is in grave danger. A devastating number of arts professionals are currently out of work and will be for some time, with the pandemic having shut down nearly all entertainment functions in all sectors.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry has been completely shattered reporting that:
• 95% of entertainment events have been canceled.
• 62% of entertainment workers are fully unemployed.
• 94% of entertainment workers have lost income.
• The average arts worker reports $23,500 in losses thus far.
• 66% of entertainment workers are unable to access spaces, staff, resources, or supplies needed to do their jobs.
Local Colorado non-profit Conscious Alliance has joined #WeMakeEvents to distribute meals to out-of-work industry workers in the area on 9/1 – DONATE HERE to provide a meal and support the cause.
Join us as Alt Ethos and other immersive creators teach 360° workshops for the digital dome and VR. Our sister organization, Denver Arts + Technology Advancement presents the MORPHOS 360° Workshops. This is your opportunity to learn 360 techniques for the digital dome and VR from some of the top creators in the industry. We deliver a comprehensive hands-on learning experience in spherical design from live capture and virtual integration to live performance and sensor integration. This five-day hands-on intensive training in Colorado runs April 9 – April 13, 2018.
Use code: ALTETHOS360 For a TWO for ONE discount. Register Here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ4g6rsXfAM
List of Courses:
Basic Fisheye Capture
360° Stitching
Dome 101 – Do’s and Don’t
360° Images and Texturing on a Virtual Dome
Blender Basics
Unity Basics
Live Content Demos – Unity3D
Live VJ Real-Time Visualization
3D Audio
Production Pipeline for Fulldome Pre-Visualization
Massive Format Multiplayer Interaction
Rendering Best Practices for 360°
Production Resources
The views, information, and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policy of Alt Ethos and its employee.
We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.
Alt Ethos is honored to be recognized by 303 Magazine as Denver Artists to Watch 2018. We started this company to band together and create art infused with creative technology that is bigger and better than we could have achieved on our own. Together we create engaging environments by transforming physical spaces into shared interactive experiences that meld various forms of light and sound into creative technology. Our goal is to create moments that disrupt, engage, and inspire that help to elevate museums, public places, events, and others. Please see our write-up below.
You can read the entire article here
Light displays are no longer exclusive to live concerts—they are being used to create ambiance, mood and improve engagement to many other facets of social interaction.Alt Ethos is a talented group of artists and computer programmers who spend their time “cultivating memorable experiences that disrupt and inspire.” Ranging in age from early 20s to mid-40s, Ethan Bach, Zac Layman, Eric Davis, Paul Elsberg and Amy Lynn Herman each bring their own set of unique skills to the group. “We are trying to create things that are memorable,” Elsberg explained. “Why create things that are memorable? So they can help people find meaning, they can sneak back up on them. I think of really good conversations months or years later and it resonates with me in a new way. And I think that the desire to create art or technology, but really an experience, is the same. It’s about creating a disruptive moment that gets you out of yourself and comes back to you over and over.”
These experiences Alt Ethos designs and curates come in the form of virtual reality programs, projection mapping, digital dome projection and temporary light displays. Each one is particular to the experience Alt Ethos wants to amplify or draw attention to, which makes their style hard to pin down. Much of their energy this coming year will be focused on digital dome projection, where they are casting images or videos onto a half-sphere ceiling [through] the nonprofit that founding member Bach started called Denver Arts and Technology Advancement, or DATA.
The marriage of technology and art comes more easily to the members of Alt Ethos than it does to most. That’s their biggest obstacle at the moment— convincing people that technological art can be just as reliable as the computers we keep in our pockets every day. What puts them on the path to success is their desire to provide education to those who are skeptical or wary, as well as their eye-catching and engaging installations. Just in the first month of this year, Alt Ethos provided unique experiences at two separate parties— the Meow Wolf artist mixer and Moxie’s Dark Fairytale event. Next month they will represent Colorado at a small business showcase in Washington D.C. and as soon as they return they’ll be working (through DATA) on their annual international artist-in-residency program for digital dome projection.
Their largest project so far this year will culminate in November in old town Fort Collins,, where they will continually project images and light onto an exterior mural. The mural artist will work with Alt Ethos to envision a collaborative design in the hopes that Alt Ethos’ projections may illuminate the mural in an enriching manner as well as light it up at night when mural art is not appreciated as much. “We want this to be a one-of-a-kind experience for people,” Layman commented, “and the challenge of making it permanent is part of the joy of doing it.”
The views, information, and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policy of Alt Ethos and its employee.
We reserve the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner we see fit blog entries or comments that we, in our sole discretion, deem to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, of an express commercial nature, or otherwise unacceptable.
Alt Ethos: Experiential Design Studio will represent Colorado at America’s Small Business Development Center showcase to share how they meld various forms of light, sound, interactivity and creative technology into memorable interactive experiences. Alt Ethos was nominated by the Denver Metro Small Business Development Center and will represent the State of Colorado at America’s SBDC Showcase in on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on February 13, 2018.
Alt Ethos was awarded a trip to the Nation’s capital to showcase the innovation and success in the Colorado business community. This honor comes after Alt Ethos was named Denverite’s Company to Watch (2016) and selected by the SBDC’s Leading Edge™ program to compete in the Colorado Small Business Development Center’s statewide business plan competition (2017). As part of the A-SBDC’s Showcase, Alt Ethos will share their company with legislators, DBDC leaders, and other selected SBDC clients from around the country.
Alt Ethos creates engaging environments for events and permanent exhibitions. They transform physical spaces into memorable experiences by combining creative technology with compelling stories. Alt Ethos helps organizations amplify brand awareness, meaningfully connect with loyal customers, and differentiate their products and services in competitive markets.
America’s SBDC represents America’s nationwide network of Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) – the most comprehensive small business assistance network in the United States and its territories.
Alt Ethos is honored to be selected to represent Colorado at this year’s America’s Small Business Development Center Showcase on Capitol Hill in Washington DC and will use the trip as an opportunity to explore relationships throughout the nation’s capital. Join Alt Ethos on social media (Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, Twitter) to keep up to date on the Showcase trip as well as other highlights as the company continues to grow.
At the beginning of June, I went to Montreal for the first time. I was invited to spend the week at the IX Symposium, immersed in a culture of techno-nerds, 360°-geeks and audiophiles. Just my type of people.
The IX Symposium is a conference of sorts, discussing and blurring line between technology and art, hosted in a place called the Society for Art and Technology (known and referred to in this article as the SAT). According to the SAT’s website, it is;
“A gathering place for diverse intelligence, curiosity, knowledge and talent, … a live[ing] creative laboratory whose unconventional experiences bring together the tangible and the unexpected.”sat.qc.ca
Located on the third floor of the SAT and pertinent to this article is what is known as the Satosphere, a fully immersive 80 foot digital dome. I’ll let them explain;
“Within its 4,400m2 premises one can find the Satosphere, a permanent modular dome, dedicated to the development and presentation of 360° immersive experiences. With a diameter of 18 meters and height of 13 meters, filled with 157 speakers, this unique equipment complements the studios and workshops housed inside the SAT.”sat.qc.ca
What follows is my experience. Spoiler alert – it was amazing.
Quick facts about the Symposium itself:
A five day event, focused this year on the audio aspect of creating immersive content.
An assortment of hands-on workshops, lectures, and panels in the day, followed by screenings of curated art pieces, demos, and performances at night.
Anytime throughout the day, one could stop in at the VR Lounge, a space dedicated to displaying newly released virtual reality content on an array of different devices.
This blog will cover three themes: The culture, the art, and the technology.
PART I: THE CULTURE
The first thing I noticed when I stepped off the Metro in downtown Montreal was … graffiti. A beautiful mural, carefully composed to cover a three story wall with skillful imagery. I would come to know that wall very well. That, and the probably near one-hundred other equally beautiful and equally composed other murals that pop out of nowhere in Montreal.
If you look closely, the art around Montreal will tell you of a city that is engaged, open-minded, and truly centered around its art, in all its forms. There are multiple museums, more public displays than I could care count, and even a dedicated complex underneath the streets of the city (named Place Des Arts) that was seemingly built because there wasn’t enough room above ground for all of the art.
Henry David Thoreau wrote that “this world is but a canvas to our imagination.” If that’s true, the citizens of Montreal have a vivid, deep and colorful and twisted imagination.
One of the most imaginative things about Montreal is the Society for Art and Technology. For the last 20 years The SAT and the devout people who call it home have been researching, experimenting with, and generally exploring the deepest waters of digital art.
I sat down with the President and Founder of the SAT, Monique Savoie, as well as Luc Courchesne, artist and Co-Director of Research at the SAT, to talk to them about the history, culture, and ideals behind the facility.
By happenstance, it seems that the Society for Art and Technology was created out of a whim. More than twenty years ago, after attending ISEA, the International Symposium of Electronic Arts – which is hosted in different cities around the globe – Monique and Luc arrived back in Montreal with a desire to create a permanent home for the kind of thinking going on at that conference. So, the prehistory of the SAT came about in 1995, when they hosted the ISEA ‘95 Montreal, and crammed more than 1,000 people and 140 interactive installations together for a week of discussion and exhibition. When they pulled the plug after the conference ended, they decided to keep the energy from it going, and morphed into the Society for Art and Technology.
The culture that flourished around it is and was one with a foundation of open sharing, collectivism, exploration of new mediums, and a purposeful collision of the worlds of art & technology.
One thing I learned about Monique Savoie is that nothing stands in her way. Rumor has it she is going to be the first mayor of the first virtual city. I guess technically she’d be a virtual mayor.
PART II: THE ART
The tricky thing about immersive and virtual reality media is that if you aren’t actually experiencing it, it is almost impossible to visualize. In this next section however, I will try my best.
Imagine if you will, what the great abstract artists of history – Pablo Picasso, M.C. Escher, Salvador Dali – would have had dreams about. Walking around in one such dream would be similar walking around in the art pieces presented in the Satosphere at the IX Symposium.
And literally, you can walk around in them. The 60 ft diameter dome known as the Satosphere, even when full to capacity of people, leaves plenty of room to move, and even when they roll out floor seating for more artistic and introspective pieces, people still explore. In my observation, it’s a great social experiment; encouraging people to interact within and experience an altered state of reality, and in fear of sounding overly cliché, shift their perspectives way outside the box.
OO or Ocular Oscillation by Alain Thibault (CA), Patrick Trudeau (CA) and Jean-Sébastien Baillat (CA)
Chronophage by TiND (CA) and Création Ex Nihilo (CA)
Morphogenesis by Can Buyukberber (TR) and Yagmur Uyanik (TR)
Inertia (live) by Desaxismundi (FR) and Terminal Wolf (CA)
Versus by Nonotak (Noemi Schipfer + Takami Nakamoto)
Sig.Int by Julien Bayle (FR)
PART III: THE TECH
The art of immersive and virtual reality has certainly progressed a long way in twenty years, as the technology has evolved. It is analogous to video games in that matter. In 1995, we had Donkey Kong, along with the Virtual Boy and the Virtual IO Glasses. In 2016, we have No Man’s Sky, alongside the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. These two industries seem to be intimately linked.
That link, it seems, is the art of storytelling. The goal is to convey a message, to share an experience, to place an observer into an event. And as technology advances, the more immersed and engaged the observer can become. Enter both the fulldome/virtual reality AND video game industry.
Throughout the symposium, a number of new and emerging technologies were showcased that just may innovate the industry. Below are a few of the more notable and exciting software developments. Be on the lookout for these innovative solutions in the coming months and years.
StellarX – OVA
StellarX is an brand new platform for creating virtual and augmented reality applications. It is similar to game development platforms such as Unity 3D or Unreal Engine, but optimized and designed for virtual reality. Where traditional platforms focus on video game integration, StellarX drives home the notion of virtual reality interaction.
Check out their website at http://www.stellarx.io
Enzien Audio – HEAVY
github.com/enzienaudio
HEAVY is an amazing audio tool for anyone with experience using the open-source platform known as Pure Data, and is wanting a better solution for reactive sound in their Unity 3D project. What HEAVY can do seems to be only limited by your imagination. Simply by adding a few objects from their library to your Pure Data project allows a developer to convert the project into a workable Unity 3D component. Easily add interactive sound to your video game or digital environment.
Get the toolset now at https://github.com/enzienaudio
Splash – (Open Source Video Mapping Software)
Splash is an application developed at The Society for Art & Technology by Emmanuel Durand, and is how they map their live visuals to the Satoshpere. It is an open-source video mapping software that is built to handle any number of outputs (projectors), features semi-auto calibration, and automatic color blending. As well, Splash has been tested successfully with a 6144×6144 at 30Hz video mapped through 8 outputs. The fact that this software is free blows my mind.
Eric Davis is an audio/visual artist, focusing on real-time interactive and immersive applications and experiences. He co-founded and is the COO of Alt Ethos Ltd., and is also a co-founder and executive member of the nonprofit organization Denver Arts and Technology Advancement (D.A.T.A.). He lives in Denver, Colorado.
to many other facets of social interaction. 
The marriage of technology and art comes more easily to the members of Alt Ethos than it does to most. That’s their biggest obstacle at the moment— convincing people that technological art can be just as reliable as the computers we keep in our pockets every day. What puts them on the path to success is their desire to provide education to those who are skeptical or wary, as well as their eye-catching and engaging installations. Just in the first month of this year, Alt Ethos provided unique experiences at two separate parties— the Meow Wolf artist mixer and Moxie’s Dark Fairytale event. Next month they will represent Colorado at a small business showcase in Washington D.C. and as soon as they return they’ll be working (through DATA) on their annual international artist-in-residency program for digital dome projection.
images and light onto an exterior mural. The mural artist will work with Alt Ethos to envision a collaborative design in the hopes that Alt Ethos’ projections may illuminate the mural in an enriching manner as well as light it up at night when mural art is not appreciated as much. “We want this to be a one-of-a-kind experience for people,” Layman commented, “and the challenge of making it permanent is part of the joy of doing it.”
