VIDEO GAMES LIVE!- With the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra-An immersive multimedia event.

Video game music is in the background of life in the lives of many people, and might be the "comfort food" music of the younger generations, given the number of hours videos are played homes in the U.S.


VIDEO GAMES LIVE will be performed in conjunction with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, February 19, 2011, at 7:30 PM at Ovens Auditorium.  I'll be there!


"Video Games Live! is a multimedia concert experience featuring the best music and exclusive synchronized video clips from the most popular games from the beginning of video gaming to the present. Performed with the Charlotte Symphony, the show combines exclusive video footage and music arrangements with synchronized lighting, solo performers, stage show production, special FX, electronic percussionists, and unique interactive segments.

Whether it’s the power and passion of the more recent blockbusters or the excitement of remembering the sentimental classics, it will truly be a special night to remember for the entire family." -Charlotte Symphony Orchestra website



Promo video from VIDEO GAMES LIVE! (Brazil)



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VIDEO GAMES LIVE website
VIDEO GAMES LIVE tour dates

Information about VIDEO GAMES LIVE from the "About" page of the website:

Video Games Live™ is an immersive concert event featuring music from the most popular video games of all time. Top orchestras and choirs perform along with exclusive video footage and music arrangements, synchronized lighting, solo performers, electronic percussionists, live action and unique interactive segments to create an explosive entertainment experience!


This is a concert event put on by the video game industry to help encourage and support the culture and art that video games have become. Video Games Live™ bridges a gap for entertainment by exposing new generations of music lovers and fans to the symphonic orchestral experience while also providing a completely new and unique experience for families and/or non-gamers. The show is heralded and enjoyed by the entire family. It's the power & emotion of a symphony orchestra mixed with the excitement and energy of a rock concert and the technology and interactivity of a video game all completely synchronized to amazing cutting edge video screen visuals, state-of-the-art lighting and special on-stage interactive segments with the audience.


If you or someone you know is into video games you won't want to miss this highly acclaimed one-of-a-kind concert experience. Or maybe you are looking for something cultural and exciting that the whole family will enjoy? Video Games Live™ is not just a concert, but a celebration of the entire video game industry that people of all ages will adore.


Video Games Live™ is created and produced by industry veteran and world famous video game composer Tommy Tallarico.


Video Games Live™ features the best music and exclusive synchronized video clips from the most popular games from the beginning of video gaming to the present. Game franchises include:


Mario™ 
Zelda™ 
Halo® 
Final Fantasy®
Warcraft®
StarCraft®
Diablo®
Sonic™
Metal Gear Solid®
Kingdom Hearts
Chrono Trigger™
Chrono Cross™
Mega Man™
Myst®
Tron
Castlevania®
Metroid®
Interactive Frogger
Interactive Space Invaders
Interactive Guitar Hero™
Interactive Donkey Kong™
Medal of Honor™
God of War™
BioShock™
Civilization IV
Tomb Raider®
Beyond Good & Evil™
Advent Rising
EverQuest® II
Mass Effect™
Shadow of the Colossus
Silent Hill™
Crysis®
Monkey Island
Earthworm Jim
End of Nations™
Afrika™
Assassin's Creed™ II
Uncharted™ II
Portal™
Lair
Conan
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Headhunter
Splinter Cell®
Ghost Recon™
Rainbow Six®
Jade Empire
Contra
OutRun
Gears of War
Need For Speed®: Undercover
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix™
Classic Arcade Medley featuring over 20+ games from Pong® to Donkey Kong® including such classics as Dragon's Lair, Tetris, Duck Hunt, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Gauntlet, Punch-Out, OutRun and MANY MORE!"

Via Stefano Baraldi's On the Tabletop Blog: Concept-mapping and Shared Sketching on a Multi-touch Table with EDiT, at 21minutes..

"Will playful and natural technology/design help people towards a better communication in order to understand each other? I do hope so, and the research continues." -Stefano Baraldi


Stefano Baraldi is the author of the On the Tabletop blog.  He recently blogged about 21 minutes, an open project event that involves 21 speakers discussing important passages in their lives in an attempt to share the essence of their research towards excellence. Stefano's post:  21minutes: a live interactive sketching experience



"EDiT has been used for shared sketching and note taking during the 21min event. Gilead Sher, the former Israeli negotiator was one of the guests, showed great interest in the technology and application."
Note:  Some of the video is in Italian.


Stefano was asked to produce an interactive sketching experience using multi-touch technology to assist the speakers and the chairman of the event (Patrizio Paoletti) in drawing knowledge structures.Pierpaolo Vittoria, a mind mapper, used Stafano's application to record the ideas shared during the 21 minutes event.
More about Stefano:
Stefano Baraldi's Ph.D. research topic was "TableTop Interaction for the Management of Cognitive Structures", in which he investigated 'the emergent world of TableTop devices and interaction techniques applied to groupware, knowledge management, enhanced meetings and constructive learning."


I am especially looking forward to reading his chapter in an upcoming book:
S.Baraldi, “Making the Classroom a play-ground for Knowledge”. Chapter in book “The Classroom of the Future”, curators M kitalo-Siegl, Kaplan, Zottman & Fischer. Pages 30-60 in section “Knowledge building in physical and virtual learning spaces”. Sense Publisher.

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The video below is a mixed-reality project Stefano worked on during his graduate studies. This project was a collaboration between the University of Florence, the University of Bologna, and other researchers, using a tangible user interfaces:
TANGerINE Inspirational Cube

For a smile - T-Mobile & Flash Mobs: Dancing and Singing in the UK

T-Mobile: Dancing at the Liverpool Street Station

This viral ad from T-Mobile gives a glimpse of how music in a public space, a small crowd of dancers, and YouTube, can bring a smile to over 11,771,896 viewers. (My guess is that many of video's views were repeat views, because I immediately pressed "replay" after the first go-round.)

Apparently a real flash mob congregated at the Liverpool Station a month after the T-Mobile ad was filmed:


I guess this concept has been spreading in the UK. The following video was taken in Trafalgar Square, with 13,000 people singing karaoke:

 

The flash-mob dancing and singing in public places brought back a memory of a video clip I came across a few years ago of a "faux" dance happening at a mall during the late 1990's. The video was set to Fat Boy Slim's "Praise You".
It turns out that Spike Jonze, the man behind the upcoming film of Maurice Sendak's story Where the Wild Things Are, was involve in the creation of the video.
 
Enjoy!

RELATED:
Spike Jonze Unmasked

Arizona State University's ArtsWork Arts Education Center Website: 
Interactive Gateway: Dance, an 8-unit curriculum for high school students that explore the art and culture of the 1960's.

"Students will improvise and choreograph dances structured by chance methods, sports, games, political issues, surroundings, everyday gestures and the manipulation of objects. Through these investigations students realize that in the 1960’s, dance was redefined to include everyday people, everyday movement, indeterminacy, and alternative spaces"

Lesson 7. Anytime, Anywhere, Anything
Unit of Study: Interactive Gateway
Theme: Redefining Dance As Happening Anytime, Anywhere, Including Any Movement
Sub theme: Happenings
Grades: 9-12th grade

Cross Post: Microsoft Research SenseCam

From the Microsoft Research SenseCam Website:

"SenseCam is a wearable digital camera that is designed to take photographs passively, without user intervention, while it is being worn. Unlike a regular digital camera or a cameraphone, SenseCam does not have a viewfinder or a display that can be used to frame photos. Instead, it is fitted with a wide-angle (fish-eye) lens that maximizes its field-of-view. This ensures that nearly everything in the wearer’s view is captured by the camera, which is important because a regular wearable camera would likely produce many uninteresting images."

Technology Review Article

The SenseCam application has the potential to be a resource for people who have developmental delays, traumatic brain injury, severe attention deficits, and autism spectrum disorders. It would be a great tool for special educators, occupational and speech/language therapists, and rehabilitation specialists.

Images from Microsoft Research: