Webcam videowall

So - a new project. Actually an old one (circa 2008) that I'm making a new start on - a webcam videowall:

When I saw Radiohead at Victoria Park as part of their In Rainbows tour, I was quite taken by their visual show - a big rig of LED columns, and video screens. "It'd be cool to do something like that for a Witches gig", I thought.

I'd messed around a bit with freej, and made some progress, but the interface was a bit of a hassle (or rather;I was too lazy to learn it), and I only had one webcam, so that stalled.


Fast-forward to a couple of weeks back, and using the magic of the GStreamer framework on Linux, a couple of cameras borrowed from work, and some essential help from the GStreamer mailing list, I can feed four webcams into one video stream, using this command:

gst-launch-0.10 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! video/x-raw-yuv,width=320,height=240,framerate=30/1 ! alpha ! queue ! videomixer name=mix ! ffmpegcolorspace ! \
  xvimagesink sync=false \
  v4l2src device=/dev/video1 ! video/x-raw-yuv,width=320,height=240,framerate=30/1 ! alpha ! videobox left=-320 border-alpha=0 ! queue ! mix. \
  v4l2src device=/dev/video2 ! video/x-raw-yuv,width=320,height=240,framerate=30/1 ! alpha ! videobox top=-240 border-alpha=0 ! queue ! mix. \
  v4l2src device=/dev/video3 ! video/x-raw-yuv,width=320,height=240,framerate=30/1 ! alpha ! videobox left=-320 top=-240 border-alpha=0 ! queue ! mix.

All the programs needed to make this work are available through Ubuntu's package management, so it was dead easy to install.

The Scene:

The Stream:

The cameras producing the top two corners are much older than the bottom two, hence the poorer quality picture.

I found GStreamer to be a bit of a pain to get started with - it's easy to get something simple running by following examples in the documentation (like showing one webcam), but more complicated pipelines are tricky for the newbie as it can be hard to work out why a pipeline won't run.

Still, that's what learning is all about, and there is plenty of documentation, and a very helpful mailing list (thanks!) - it's just quite complex, so don't expect to pick it up straight away.

Next steps will involve looking at:

• Performance (some cameras are very laggy, which might be due to the cameras, or might be GStreamer - I don't know yet)
• Different layouts
• Filtering the videos to make them look more interesting.

Anyone Can make a music documentary - but it won't be cheap

How To Wake Up

Oxford is mostly known for the University, it's buildings, and Morse - but it has produced some important bands over the years, with probably Radiohead and Supergrass being the most widely known.

Anyone Can Play Guitar is Jon Spira's independent documentary film about 30 years of the Oxford music scene - bands who made it to international stardom, bands who didn't (and why), and the unique music community in Oxford that fostered them. The international impact of (at least) Radiohead warrants a look at Oxford's people, bands, scene - and how they faired with the music industry, so I hope you might see your way to help fund it!

I met Jon through my own small part in the scene, and know him as a scriptwriting teacher, short film and music video director, and owner of the late great Videosyncratic video rental shops - but more importantly here, as a passionate fan of music and film, and I can't imagine anyone better suited to a film about Oxford music than Jon.

Joy Through Work

Around May 2007 local venue The Zodiac closed, prior to AMG converting it into The Carling Academy. The demise of this key fixture of the scene was Jon's prompt to interview band members, film gigs, and collect as much other footage of the diverse bands as possible - so he could tell the story behind it all.

Three and a half years on, the film is yet to be released - even though the main content of the film (sound & video edit, narration) has been finished for a while - it still needs some capital to finish it:

• a cash injection of £10k for the sound mix and picture grade before it's actually a finished film, and
• about 30k to legally clear all of the music and footage.

(Initial quotes were £20k for the sound and picture, and up to £60k for music clearance - ouch! Happily, other work Jon completed since finishing putting the film together has attracted interest from people who then saw the film and wanted to help get it finished.)

Jon is pursuing crowdfunding at indiegogo (please visit and contribute some funds!) for the £10k to finish the film ($15k on indiegogo), and once that's done he'll have something he can actually sell to cover the £30k for clearances.

As usual for this sort of crowdfunding there's a range of funding options you can choose from; starting at a credit on the DVD for $15, up to $800 for Executive Producer credit, vip tickets to the premiere, a copy of the dvd, and a poster signed by Jon and some of the bands/artists featured.

Got It Made

Crowdfunding permitting, the film is approaching completion. I would like to have a closer look at the finances but if I spend much longer on it, this post will never be finished. I'll just quickly mention the some key aspects...

Funding

A rough breakdown:

• Jon and others' personal investment
  
• Camera, lights bursary from OFVM
• Sound mix - crowdfunding
  
• Picture grading - crowdfunding
• Rights clearance - to be funded via distribution rights

Of course, at an estimated £30,000 to £60,000, the big cost is music clearance, which has a whole mess of copyright issues to itself.

Not funding:

• UK Film council
  
• Screen South
  
• European arts funding
  

Jon's blog describes some of his less than satisfying experiences with funding of film and TV projects, and the UK Film Council, in particular.

Tango Borracho

To wrap up - I'm really looking forward to seeing the film (and gutted that I didn't see the OX4 preview as I was already busy), and you should support it. Shame I don't have a spare $800 lying around - it'd be nice to have an Executive Producer credit!

This post was all put together from chats with Jon, reading his blog, and general Oxford music stuff on the web. Anything wrong in it is probably due to me mis-remembering - or plain imagining - conversations. If you spot something wrong here, please let me know in the comments.

Finally - it's cheesy I know - but the headings are all names of tracks from some of my favorite Oxford bands; go and listen to some great music!

• How To Wake Up -From Light To Sound
  
• Joy Through Work - Borderville
• Got It Made - Family Machine
• Tango Borracho - Les Clochards

How to tell if your representative represents?

When I previously emailed my MP, I hoped that he would try to learn about the subject.

Today I received his response:

Dear Mr Balch

Thanks for the email.

I have written to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills taking up your concerns.

I will also liaise with other MPs concerned about this,

Best wishes,

Yours sincerely

Rt Hon Andrew Smith MP

Now it may be that the Rt Hon Andrew Smith MP actually has tried to learn about the issues I raised, and has formed an opinion about them. You certainly can't tell from that letter though.

Hopefully I'm just being cynical and he actually is pursuing the issue...

This was very cool

Plaid + Southbank Gamelan Players

Just emailed to my MP...

Here's what I just emailed to my MP:

Dear Andrew Smith,

Following on from our contact in March this year regarding the Digital Economy Bill (now Act)[1], it transpires [2] that consumers - via ISPs - will be expected to prop up the business model [3] of a devious, manipulative, and profiteering music industry [4].

Asides from the insult to democracy that was this ridiculous Bill's journey to an Act [5], I find the plan of spending money on bureaucracy and lawyers for no public benefit utterly disgusting, and expect you to work toward the repeal of sections 11-18 of the DEA.

Unfortunately your previous responses have given me no confidence that you have any understanding of the damaging results the DEA will have for individuals [6] and the information economy - I hope that you will read the referenced articles, and further hope for an enlightened response...

Yours sincerely,
David Balch

References:
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Economy_Act_2010
[2] http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/business-sectors/docs/o/10-1131-online-copyright-infringement-government-response
[2] http://www.zeropaid.com/news/90729/uk-isps-unfair-consumers-must-pay-to-protect-entertainment-industry-profits/
[4] http://www.theroot.com/views/how-much-do-you-musicians-really-make?GT1=38002
[5] a shocking lack of understand was demonstrated. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/apr/08/digital-economy-bill-passes-third-readinging
[6] e.g. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/apr/12/digital-economy-bill-households-piracy

I heartily recommend everyone else do something similar with their MP.

Final finish

Everything thus far unpainted gets a coat, and the visible bits of the shelves get a second coat, and are left to dry.

A quick sand down the top and front (drawers and fascia), and then a second coat of paint for a smoother finish (apparently).

It might turn out that the insides of the drawers will need a second coat, or the commonly visible parts need a third - but I can always go back to it if that's the case. Probably not though.

So that's the cupboard done - de-shelved, re-shelved, and drawer-ed:

Of course, the cupboard is now mostly full with all the tools I bought in order to fit it out!

Job's a good'un :-)

Completing the chest

With the drawers in the framework, there are a few holes to fill - namely the top, and the gaps on either side of the drawers at the front. That involves getting more wood though, as I'm lacking single pieces big enough to cover the wider gap on the front right side. I figure I'll try and get a suitable off-cut from the DIY store,

The top might be filled with a piece of plywood from one of the old shelves, unfortunately it's not long enough to reach the front of the drawers - and (because the cupboard is not square) will need to be at an angle. The pic below shows the sheet of plywood square with the back and sides, but the front has a gap larger on the right than the left:

I have a couple of options here: either get a new piece of wood for the top, or fill some space at the back so the existing sheet can come forwards.

Whilst considering that, I drill, saw, file, and sand handles into the front of each drawer - just a beveled hole about the width of my hand. That's the last major cutting for the drawers, and by this point I'm a little bored, so they're probably a bit rougher than they should be. Never mind, the project is getting pretty close to completion - I can now do some finishing work: filling nail holes and gaps with wood filler, then painting using the same paint used on the cupboard (which was left over from the previous owner's DIY). It's beginning to look presentable.

A trip to my brother's to lend him a tent revealed that he had a load of offcuts from his shelving project (definitely a family trait). I found a suitable piece and nabbed it, and it took very little to cut them to site and nail them in place. With the completely flat front it looks ok - not neat enough for the modernist masterpiece I originally envisioned, but pretty fair.

I decide to go with re-using the materials I already have for the top, and with a bit of sawing and fiddling, it sits quite well:

Next up, final painting...