SCOTT DRAVES: Spotworks Dvd

Scott Draves

Spotworks Dvd

© 2004 Scott Draves (881359000008)

DVD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

87 minutes of hypnotic retinal bliss by San Francisco VJ and software artist Spot aka Scott Draves. Five tracks sync with music by Spool, jhno, dj vordo, and mbb. Three tracks sync with music by techno-violin sensation Kenji Williams (ABA Structure).

tracks

1 Kunstformen der Natur Black Dub
2 Kunstformen der Natur White Dub
3 Kunstformen der Natur 2x2 Mix
4 Arabesques Worlds within Worlds Dub
5 Dub Visuals Documentary
6 Electric Sheep: Best of 2002
7 Death & Rain
8 Believeth
9 Sheepumentary
10 Understand
11 Inside the Bomb

notes

With the spiked eye candy and fractal arabesques of Spotworks, Scott
Draves has significantly raised the bar on digital psychedelia and the
broader category of abstract animation. His electric sheep are the
fluttering Gaian spawn of networked computers and genetic algorithms,
while his visual 'dubs' of Ernst Haeckel's fin-de-siecle scientific
lithographs add a resonant historical dimension to trippy
visuals. Mind-melting stuff, and refreshingly devoid of the usual
fungal kitsch. --Erik Davis, author of Techgnosis and contributing
writer to Wired Magazine


This isn't just tripppy wallpaper -- it's not even just art. This is
garage-band artificial life. Draves is cooking up a new species made
of code, decisions and cooperation, and this disc is a petri dish
swimming with the organisms that deserve to succeed us here on
Earth. I for one welcome our new a-life masters. --Cory Doctorow,
Author of Eastern Standard Tribe and co-editor of Boing Boing.

reviews

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  • It rocks!!!
    author: Borris Unmüssig

    Hey Spottworks, I recently came across your DVD and think it is great stuff you made there. For a long time now I know and love the artwork of Ernst Haeckel, but what you have done with it is just great. Moreover it is not only that you use it and make something with it, you connect to the essence of it and use it as a platform to create something new. I was totally pleased to find your making of and explanation videos. The music you underlaid to it is not always my personal choice or my favored stuff, but that doesn't matter at all. Have you heard of developmental trance. It might fit to your frame of mind. Take care, Borris

  • author: Matt Dubjubbley

    a month in the waiting to receive this in the uk then there it was i rushed to put it on ans was very pleased with some of the material the packaging is nice and as i say some of the visuals are nice but there are also some very poor visuals on this dvd that were completly unimpressive the music was ok but not to the standard of shpongle or suchlike but overall if you like a trippy vibe its cool enough to scrape through sound negative but still happy i purchased it

  • gaga
    author: Lonnie Hanzon

    #!$! Genius.

  • Extraordinary stuff
    author: Cosmonaut

    This really is a an amazing DVD. The electric sheep material is a must-see for anyone interested in new visual art forms. Quite simply, the ever-changing intricacies of these sequences could not be achieved by the rendering of one man and machine alone. The combination of thousands of machines acting together to "breed" the electric sheep, (animated fractal flames), produce a stunning complexity, the likes of which your unlikely to see anywhere else in cg-video. Also, the documentary piece at the end gives a fascinating insight into how the bizarre world of electic sheep functions, and how it came about. The only reason i hesitate to give the full 5 stars is that, as a finished piece, the production doesn't always to justice to the material: transitions can be a little abrupt for example. But this is a small point. Overall, Spotworks is a mesmerizing experience and thoroughly recommended.

  • Hypnotic sensations
    author: Aurelien STRIDE

    Such a wonderful mix of easy-listening music and graphicals. Only 4/5 because of the little place of Electric Sheep's part. Great work !

  • CD Baby rocks - the CD, not so much...
    author: Mike

    Good visuals, but not on par with the free electric sheep downloads... Possibly because this content is from 2002 an before, so i guess the application has been greatly refined since then. However, CDBaby provides the BEST purchase experience I have ever encountered. They are absolutely great from sale to after delivery follow up

  • Hypnotic experience
    author: Peter

    Really amazing and phenomenal I love it. I can hold on watch long hours...

  • astounding!
    author: brad burk

    I loved every minute of it! I find the music goes very very well with the visuals. The dub visuals are astounding!

  • author: Bryan Boru

    Lots of repeat patterns placed in a slightly different order,lots of dull/drab color.not very imaginitive is it. I was totally bored after 5 minutes.Overall,dull & boring.

  • Wonderful art based on science and math - if only there were more!
    author: Zane Crawford

    I bought this DVD after downloading the Electric Sheep screensaver, partly to support the artist, and partly to see what the sheepies were like when choreographed to music. It's totally great - especially nice that many of the visual tracks loop seamlessly. Really, I wish he'd come out with a full DVD with the "best of" looped together for each year that the Electric Sheep have been out grazing so we could see their progression over time. I'd buy the whole set!

  • great DVD! Super Fast Shipping!
    author: Jason

    Superb visuals! Animated flame fractals rule! The music is so-so, but you can always mute that and use your own ;). The DVD came fast as well. Ordered on a Tuesday, it left Wednesday (to quite a procession, so I hear!), and arrived safely on Saturday! excellent overall experience

  • Awesome DVD. A must-have!
    author: Aaron

    This dvd has some of the sickest visuals I've ever seen. I love it.

  • Mind candy
    author: Yettam Yar

    Really inspiring, excellent editing.Good music. A must for people into sacred geometry.Would love to see more of his works.

  • Incredible visuals at an unbelievable price!
    author: Michael Hernandez

    Simply Amazing! Reminiscent of Larry Jordan's work. A cross section of biomorphic and electronic art. I bought 3! Completely original...you will not be disappointed!

  • author: paul flanzy

    Very wonderfull psychedelic mix of images and sound

  • Highly recommended Electric Sheep starter.
    author: Gavin

    This DVD is a great visual and music experience, epecially if you're into chaos, fractals and the evolution of Electric Sheep.

  • wonderful DVD
    author: Dianna

    The DVD arrived very quickly and it is just wonderful. Thanks

  • Blow your mind
    author: JP Jinglebam

    Thank God for you eyes.

  • Mesmerizing
    author: Criswell The Psychic Weatherman

    The videos with the background information on Haekel, Dub, Bomb, and Electric Sheep are enough to sell this DVD. I use Electric Sheep as my prmary screensaver both at home and at work. After seeing the short low-res "teasers" on Spot's website, I wanted more. Watching Spotworks, I feel like I am watching the birth of universes from the outside. The only word that comes to mind is "mesmerizing."

  • Infinity in a grain of pixels
    author: Christopher Carneal

    Admittedly I was in an induced "receptive" state of consciousness while viewing this DVD, but I don't think that condition invalidates my amazement with these motion graphics. Unlike most computer aided animation, these pieces feel like they could be timeless. As an animator myself, my impression of the first minute or so was cynical and critical and then I "got it". Whatever you get out of viewing this depends on how much attention you pay to the details it triggers in your imagination. If you patiently allow these visuals to unfold (because some are really slow), it can be like kinetic meditation. Well worth the price and certainly worth supporting the hours of work it must have taken to create this art.

  • author: Retina Funk

    This DVD rocks and is a must buy for any lovers of psychdelic visuals. It comines modern techniques with classic art in a great way. And being under a CC license its priceless for any VJs and Visual artist like me ...music very nice too. I bought two copys and dont regret it

  • Wowww, better than you can possibly imagine!
    author: Steve

    I have been a fan of Amazing Seattle Fractals for two years and thought they were the best until I got Scotts DVD.It is like the difference between black & white and plasma TV. You will be mesmerized.

  • YOU MUST WATCH THIS
    author: Grady "spoonbender" Orchard

    I just watched spotworks... all of it... twice I was working a particularly magical gig on texada island, on the coast of b.c. and a d.j. by the name of shakatura gifted me this dvd with the words: "YOU MUST WATCH THIS".... (no shit) we are kindred spirits friend, NICE WORK!

  • cutting edge and futuristic stuff bound to blow your mind
    author: en'trance magazine

    If you're looking for a new DVD full of mind-blowing visuals to play at your next party, or just to go on a personal journey with, check out Spotworks. This is a highly impressive collection put together by Spot Draves, VJ and Software Artist from San Francisco. Not only is it altogether different and unique from the usual visuals produced these days, there is an element of brilliance with these images, as Spotworks has succeeded in creating a new breed of electronic life form. The DVD consists of 5 spectacular pieces, my favourites being the Black and White Dub sections, where Spot has employed the artwork of Ernst Haeckel, and takes you on a mind bending spiralling journey into a strangely familiar world of creatures and life forms. Simple yet complex, you'll have your eyes glued to the screen as the hypnotic journey unfolds. The soundtrack is also worth a mention, featuring the likes of ABA Structure and other talented producers to add to the journey through this strange and wonderful world. The DVD also features Electric Sheep, a collaborative visual project seeded by Spot, involving thousands of participants' work via one website. Imagine images tweaked and developed by thousands of people, and put into one piece, and you've got Electric Sheep---artificial life forms created by many "Shepherds", as Spot would call them. Mind bending and highly intelligent mesmerising stuff, I'd encourage anyone into pushing the boundaries of graphic art/design to check out what Spot Draves has been up to. This is cutting edge and futuristic stuff bound to blow your mind. Becca Dakini musiceditor at entrancemagazine.com

  • Simply Beautiful!
    author: Dr. Hoo MD

    As a VJ this kind of material is wonderful to work with. The organic shapes are simply beautiful and mix very well with other sources. The easiest luma key you'll ever pull. I was also quite impressed with the electric sheep and the story of their genesis. A facinating concept with beautiful results. I highly recomend this DVD for VJs and anyone else who enjoys ambient video.

  • Beautiful and mind-boggling.
    author: Rudy Rucker

    Beautiful and mind-boggling. The endless zoom into the weird polyps of Ernst Haeckel is stunningly original. Rudy Rucker, father of cyberpunk

  • Beautiful (Visually and Musically)
    author: dep

    This was fantastic. I was hooked on electric sheep from their screensaver, and a link led me here to the DVD. I bought it on a whim, hoping it would be cool. I was blown away by the visuals, the way they were synced with the music (which was ALSO surprisingly good!). I would recommend this to anyone who can appreciate the work that goes into music/visual harmonic blending.

  • simply amazing
    author: steve mason

    simply put, scott draves is one of the best algorithmic/generative artists. while the fractal flame software is available for download, and you can make your own strange attractor renderings, owning this dvd saves you potentially thousands of hours of rendering time, it's from the artist himself, and it's all tied together with music and other work. with all of the hack job "Art dvd"'s out there, this is one of the few truly original and groundbreaking pieces.

  • stunning and unique
    author: B Reuter

    Spotworks is remarkable not because it is unique, but because it is unique three times over. Spot has produced three entirely different bodies of work, each of them stunning, but it's hard to believe they came from the same genius. You should buy two copies so you can mix compositions with each other....

  • Beautiful
    author: Brian K.

    There's a lot of beautiful stuff on this DVD. Scott starts with gorgeous source material and throws it together in a way that complements and at times transcends the original. I especially like the arabesques: persian (I presume) tiling patterns that slowly rotate and infinitely zoom.

  • totally mesmerizing ... a unique visual analog to psychedelic music
    author: Shakatura

    Spotworks is a totally mesmerizing display of etheric color and form. Projected at a party , I've seen the fractal flames utterly engross people on the dancefloor. It's a unique visual analog to psychedelic music. --Shakatura, DJ and Music Producer, SF

  • It's ALIVE! ALIVE I tell you!
    author: Kevin Marshall

    Although abstract, the videos have a wierd kind of alive quality to them, even though a lot of the stuff just moves in straight lines and circles.

  • Spotworks is a VERY entertaining DVD collection and feast for your eyes and ears
    author: Intelligent Agent Magazine

    ...Spotworks is a VERY entertaining DVD collection and feast for your eyes and ears...

  • A must for any audio/visual artist.
    author: Shawn Faherty

    I've been using Scott's Electic Sheep screensaver for sometime now and I finally bought his DVD. The quality is 1000 times better than the screensaver as it helps brings to life the surreal, abstract forms of light that bounce and curl from one perspective to another. Even as I sit here and watch it from an animators point of view, I'm wondering how he does it. Check out his website for more pictures and some clues to how spotworks was derived. ~Shawn www.massta.com

  • Great! Fabulous!! Super!!!
    author: LeakyD

    Truly brilliant, mind twisting adventures for any environment. I just used this DVD at a weekly gig and everyone was blown away. Truly brilliant. What are you waiting for?!?! ;-)

  • Mind-altering. After watching for a few minutes, I swear all the other windows on my desktop were swirling and pulsating.

  • He provides not only mind-blowing hardcore psychedelics, but also a visual theor
    author: Earplug Electronic Music Newsletter

    As a literal focal point at raves, parties, and clubs, video mixing and composition has become almost as integral a component of the experience as the music itself. Some VJs function like graphic designers, cutting and pasting layers of prefabricated imagery along with the beat, while others act more like scientists creating pixilated cultures that evolve according to the rules of complex algorithms. Count San Francisco VJ and software artist Spot, aka Scott Draves, among the latter. Spot surely looks at the synthesis of art and science as source material for his ornately mutating and highly organic video ecosystems. With Spotworks, his new compilation DVD containing over 87 minutes of video art and commentary, he provides not only mind-blowing hardcore psychedelics, but also a visual theory of evolution applicable to a manufactured artificial life (A-life). "Dub Visuals" brings the resonant world of exoskeletal aesthetics to the screen as if an electron microscope was hardwired to a video projector, while "The Bomb" represents a coded software system that produces, as Draves notes on the DVD, "organic visual music creating a video stream that is fluid, textured and rhythmic." Although much of the heady theory behind these complex pieces may seem more suitable for a doctoral dissertation than a night out, the intricacy and artistry of Draves' work is something that will delight both sets of NASA enthusiasts — those who work for the governmental space organization and the others who reminisce about the legendary New York party. (SM)

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