broadcast-research

broadcast-research is a data project that explores the potential of analog video synthesis as a new content source for research and for generating new tools for artistic endeavours. The purpose of the project is to use data-mining to create an open-source data pool and learn more about the psychological trends of the creative process by applying Machine Learning and NLP.

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Project Background

When I started using analog video synthesizers in 2015, I actively decided I wanted to record video content each time I sat down for a studio session or live performance. Each piece is a first-hand documentation entry that provides insight about subconscious trends and conscious trends. Documenting daily experiences evolve into a library of emotions that extend the potential of video art as a psychological research topic. Below is an example of the folder structure I've been using since 2015.

Framework v1

• edits: Edited source content for public consumption
• raw: Raw source content

year-#OfMonth-monthName
-- year-#OfMonth-Date
---- edits
---- raw

in reality

2015-04-april
-- 2015-04-01
---- edits
---- raw

Using tools I've created for this project, I've expanded the scope of the initial framework to include png, jpg, histograms and analysis files.

Framework v2

• year-#OfMonth-monthName-FFProbeAnalysis-V4.csv: Monthly content analysis document containing the output of FFprobe for each video in the edits directory.
• year-#OfMonth-monthName-png-imagemagick.csv: Monthly content analysis document containing the output of ImageMagick identify for each video in the edits directory.
• gifs: Gifs generated using FFmpeg from content in edits and using .png files as a reference.
• histo: Histograms generated using ImageMagick from the .png reference files.
• jpg: Extracted .jpg frames from content in edits
• png: Pngs generated using FFmpeg and the filter palettegen used to generated gifs.
• stills: Stills manually extracted from raw files

year-#OfMonth-monthName
-- year-#OfMonth-monthName-FFProbeAnalysis-V4.csv
-- year-#OfMonth-monthName-png-imagemagick.csv
-- year-#OfMonth-Date
---- edits
---- gifs
---- histo
---- jpg
---- png
---- raw
---- stills

in reality

2015-04-april
-- 2015-04-01
---- edits
---- gifs
---- histo
---- jpg
---- png
---- raw
---- stills
-- 2015-04-april-FFProbeAnalysis-V4.csv
-- 2015-04-april-png-imagemagick.csv

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Intention

Design data-mining programs intended to generate content and analysis files using source content from the edits folder from 2015 - present. Source content (.mp4) information is acquired using FFprobe and ImagickMagick's identify program and saved as monthly .csv files. Then, use cat to concatenate all of the .csv files into a singular master file.

Note: CSV files have no headers. The data headers for .csv files are located in the README.md file of the specific data set

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Data Points

Data extracted from content in the edits folder will be in the form of .csv or .txt.

FFprobe (csv)

Filename	FolderDate	Folder Month	Folder Day	Folder	Year	Edit Date	Edit Month	Edit Day	Edit Year	Edit Day Number	Timestamp	Timezone	Duration	Size	Bitrate Format	Formant Long

ImageMagick (csv)

Image	Format	Mime type	Class	Geometry	Resolution	Print size	Units	Colorspace	Type	Base Type	Endianess	Depth	Red	Green	Blue	Alpha	Pixels	red min	red max	red mean	red standard deviation	red kurtosis	red skewness	red entropy	green min	green max	green mean	green standard deviation	green kurtosis	green skewness	green entropy	blue min	blue max	blue mean	blue standard deviation	blue kurtosis	blue skewness	blue entropy	alpha min	alpha max	alpha mean	alpha standard deviation	alpha kurtosis	alpha skewness	alpha entropy	imagstats min	imagstats max	imagstats mean	imagstats standard deviation	imagstats kurtosis	imagstats skewness	imagstats entropy	Colors	Rendering intent	Gamma	chromaticity red primary	chromaticity green primary	chromaticity blue primary	chromaticity white point	Matte color	Background color	Border color	Transparent color	Interlace	Intensity	Compose	Page geometry	Dispose	Iterations	Compression	Orientation	Prop date create	Prop date modify	png:IHDR.bit-depth-orig	png:IHDR.bit_depth	png:IHDR.color-type-orig	png:IHDR.color_type	png:IHDR.interlace_method	png:IHDR.width,height	png:pHYs	png:sRGB	Prop signature	Artifacts verbose	Tainted	Filesize	Number pixels	Pixels per second	User time	Elapsed time	Version

Titles (txt & csv)

Title-raw	Title-spaced

Histograms

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Requirements

• Go
• FFmpeg
• FFprobe
• ImageMagick

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Program Types

1. Generation -> Programs used to generate new content sources (i.e. .png, .jpg, .gif)
2. Analysis -> *Programs that use FFprobe or ImageMagick to create analysis files (.csv) based various source content.

Generation Programs

png-recursion.go

Create a .png file from an edit (.mp4 source) using FFmpeg and the palettegen filter.

gif-recursion.go

Use the .png file and the .mp4 source to create a new .gif file using FFmpeg.

jpg-recursion.go

Extract individual frames as .jpg files from the .mp4 source using FFmpeg.

Example output of frame extraction to dedicated jpg directory.

Analysis Programs

histogram-recursion.go

Using a .png file as the source, generate a .txt histogram file using ImageMagick

Example histogram .txt file

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About

Who am I?

My name is Christopher Konopka and I'm a video artist with a focus on modular analog video synthesizers.

Artist Statement

Christopher Konopka specializes in painting one-of-a-kind visual textures with analog video synthesizers. Evolving organically, each design is an encapsulated moment of experience used to terraform new planes of understanding. Humans store the experience of time in their own unique format by generating a memory and compiling all the internal and external senses. During the archival process of creating new memories, there is a significant amount of discarded nuance. These free-floating threads of minutia hold the potential choice of mindfully engaging unaltered emotional abstractions through creating personal coincidental attachment.

What analog video synthesizers do you use?

• LZX Industries
• Brownshoesonly
• BPMC
• Dave Jones Design