Tuesday 17 August 2010

Melodala at the Tate Britain Saturday 21st Aug 2010

So far, everything is running smoothly for the Loud Tate event this Saturday. Melodala will be part of a day of music, art and performance - one of a handfull of installations playing with scale, hierarchies and power through art, music and architecture. There will be open workshops throughout the day from midday-5pm. Gil and I will be facilitating a workshop where members of the public are invited to explore Melodala. Three ipads with 2 plasma screens and a wall projection will be set up for use. The images produced will be printed and exhibited in the gallery as a growing tiled mosaic throughout the course of the day.

Loud Tate website

App of the week

Mark Harris has written a great review of Melodala on his Stuff Magazine blog, very timely with our upcoming installation at The Tate Britain on Saturday. The installation plans are all running smoothly

Read review

Thursday 10 June 2010

Dala Montage

Click image to enlarge

Video: Black Dala



Animation video of Dala images.

Animation/Edit by Mark McEvoy
Music by Gil Cang

ipad Bliss


Melodala is now out and available for the ipad. Chris didn't waste anytime adapting it for the 28th May ipad launch. It's a completely different experience. The large screen adds so much more to the user experience, also allowing for much more detail and intricacy in the drawings. Compared with 250,000 apps for the iphone, with only approx 12,000 ipad apps, we are a bigger fish in a smaller pond. Strike while the iron is hot...

Thursday 20 May 2010

Dala of the Day

Friday 14 May 2010

Dala of the Day

Tuesday 11 May 2010

Identity Crisis


All was running smoothly - the app was approved and available for purchase on the app store. The press release was nearly there and we were just about ready to promote SOUNDALA. Then, when a friend was buying it he mentioned there were two Soundalas! Another app had been approved with the same name. To add insult to injury, after further research we found out that the other developers had trademarked the name. So it was back to the drawing board for rebranding... damn! A step backwards, but thankfully it was early on before the big promotional push. We didn't waste any time and chose MELODALA as the new name. After updating the website and Youtube video we were back in business.

Thursday 6 May 2010

Technomania


We struck gold when we found ace programmer Chris Walters. A search online followed by a phone call with a little intuition thrown in and we knew he was our man. He put the pieces together with style and creativity (and always a smile on his face). Several builds later and after endless emailing back and forth- assets, questions, beta versions to download etc. we were ready to roll. SOUNDALA was the name we had decided on after endless head scratching, and £1.79 was our price. The next stage was an alien world for Gil and myself (and our non-tech heads!) - testing and distribution through Xcode, simulators, certificates, analysis etc . at times mind numbing and just a tad frustrating! Luckily we had Chris to help us through it.

Wednesday 5 May 2010

The Birth of MELODALA


It's been a long, hard labour not without it's share of complications and diversions, but all in the spirit of gained experience and knowledge. MELODALA is finally with us, 11 years after her conception. The whole journey has been pure pleasantries, shared as it was with my good friend Gil (who very early on identified her potential as an iphone app) and master programmer Chris Walters. Originally conceived when I was studying for my MA in Interactive Media at Middelsex University, her embryonic beginnings were formed in Director - we were assigned a mini project to design an "object of delight", an interactive ditty with which to pass the time while waiting for something to download. The idea was based on the ancient Mandala, a concentric diagram used by Tibetan Buddhist Monks as a creative aid to meditation, healing and trance induction. Often constructed from sand, they are unique to Tibetan Buddhism and are believed to effect purification and healing. Monks construct Mandalas as a form of meditation over a number of days, weeks or even months. When completed, the Mandala is consecrated, before being swept away and dispersed into flowing water to symbolize the impermanent nature of existence.