Monthly Archives: October 2013

Pure Data File Killer

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On one of my frequent journeys on the information superhighway I stumbled across Little-Scale’s Mass JPG Killer. This handy little patch allows a user to load any binary file and “glitch” it by overwriting some of the original data with a repeating pattern of user-defined data.

Mass JPG Killer by Little-Scale

The only problem (for me and people like me) is that I don’t have Max/MSP and can’t install it on Linux, meaning I’ve never actually used it!

Little-Scale very kindly provided the internet at large with screenshots of the inner workings of the patch. I was able to to use a whole lot of science and maths to rewrite and reinterpret this patch of mass destruction in Pure Data, which is more easily available.

Pure Data File Killer

Click to download

Click to download

Usage

Usage of the patch is very simple and can yield some quite interesting results!

  • Click open to load a binary file. Pure Data may freeze for a moment if you’re loading in a large file. I don’t recommend loading in a file over 100MB
  • Set the byte offset. This number represents the starting point at which the patch will start “corrupting” the file. If you’re a glitchspert (glitch + expert) you’ll remember that you should avoid modifying the header. To avoid modifying the header set the offset to the 1000s.
  • Set the period value. This can be hard to understand, so here’s an example: If the period is set 1378 then at intervals of 1378 bytes from the offset it will modify the data.
  • Set the data value. This works in conjunction with the period value. Using the previous example, if the data is set to 102 then at intervals of 1378 bytes it will replace the current byte value with 102.
  • Press either random period or random byte data to populate these values with random values.
  • Press glitch it!. Guess what that does.
  • Write the files to save them to the same directory as the source file. The original file will not be overwritten.
  • To start again press the reset button. It will load the original byte data.

This patch is very similar to Little-Scale’s with a couple of exceptions:

  • The offset cannot be set for each instance. This is by design as I felt it was a bit redundant.
  • You no longer need to copy the hex data to a new file in order to view the results
  • It’ll work on any platform that can run a full version Pure Data Extended. This should include the Raspberry Pi version as GEM is not required.

Output

Although it was originally inspired by the JPG Killer you can get some very interesting results if you use other file formats and set the period data to a number less than 20.

Pure Data File Killer - Bliss (sgi)

Pure Data File Killer - Bliss (jpg)

Pure Data File Killer - Bliss (pix)

Pure Data File Killer - Bliss (pix)

databit.me #3, 2nd November 2013

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databit.me #3, the awesome festival in Arles, France that I took part in last year, started again on 23rd October. I’ll be there on 31st October for a small guest performance at the party on 2nd November.

databit.me #3

Myself and Axel Debeul will be creating a lot of funk, soul, noise and mess by utilising almost anything that makes any sound. If you happen to be in Arles you should check it out! And if you’re not in Arles already, go visit! It’s a beautiful place.

BYOB Birmingham 2013

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BYOB Birmingham 2013

FRIDAY 29 NOVEMBER | 7PM – LATE
Revolution 33 // Bring Your Own Beamer

Vivid Projects’ acclaimed 33 REVOLUTIONS programme concludes this winter with Bring Your Own Beamer..

Armed with projectors, artists are invited to beam responses to Vivid Projects’ eight-month opening season, 33 REVOLUTIONS, onto the walls of the space.

Launched in February 2013, 33 REVOLUTIONS asks the question, can art and popular culture act as a catalyst for social change? The programme has taken audiences on a journey through film, print, performance and song, celebrating personal acts of protest and resistance from the anti-institutional spirit of 1960s-70s Britain right up to the simmering Arab Spring and Occupy!

Thought provoking encounters between new works and archive from 1950s to the present have addressed ways in which filmmakers and artists from a diverse range of cultural situations and societies have protested. For details on the full programme visit: www.vividprojects.org.uk.

You can bring your own beamer too – if you would like to make a response to 33 Revolutions and you have a projector, please fill in the form below.

Deadline is Tuesday 29th October at 23:59. If you’re successful we’ll let you know soon after the deadline!

For further information about taking part please email byobbirmingham@gmail.com or contact us on Facebook.

Bring Your Own Beamer (BYOB) is an international series of one-night exhibitions inviting artists, armed with films and projectors, to convene and explore the art of projection in an immersive environment of moving light, sound and performance. BYOB is an idea originally conceived by Berlin-based artist Rafael Rozendaal.

BYOB Leicester 2013

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On Saturday 12th October I’ll be in my home town of Leicester once again for the second BYOB Leicester.

6

It’s in Leicester

 

This year’s event will have workshops in VDMX, Arduino and other things from 12pm from the likes of Minuek, Sean Clark and Tony Coleman, with the main event kicking off from around 6pm or 8pm. I’ll just be showing various work. Perhaps you can still bring your own beamer if you ask them 😉 More info on the Facebooks and Tumblrs.

Fierce Festival 2013

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This year’s Fierce Festival starts on 4th October and I’ll be taking part in two ways:

Live Art in 2113

From 11ish on October 4th I’ll be taking part in a discussion at the mac where we give our thoughts on what we think live art will be like in 2113

Gif Party!

A gathering exploring the future and live art’s relationship to chance across various spheres in our lives as part of 2113, the Live Art UK Associated Gathering 2013. The public part of this day will involve self-organised clusters of conversations picking up on themes explored earlier in the day.

I’ll be focusing on internet culture, whatever the heck that means!

Get your FREE tickets for this event here.

Paper Stages

The previously mentioned Paper Stages book will be making its Birmingham launch as part of Fierce Festival.

Paper Stages is a project which saw its first edition launched as part of the Forest Fringe in 2012, and has two elements. One is the physical artefact, a book of texts and instructions written to inspire the public into performing their own works without the need for a clearly defined physical space.

This nationwide edition of the book has invited contributions from a selection of artists including Birmingham based artists Code Lee Barbour and Antonio Roberts.

The Guardian also wrote a nice bit about the book on their website.

Pick up your FREE copy of the book from STRYX throughout the festival. Also, take an old camera 😉