Dead since 1750, Johann Sebastian Bach re-animated for UF webcast interview

October 24, 2009

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida is bringing Johann Sebastian Bach back to life with the help of its College of Fine Arts.

Bach will respond to audience questions and appear in a live video webcast Oct. 29 with the help of computer animation seen in such films as “The Incredibles,” “Toy Story” and “Shrek.” A UF faculty expert off-stage will answer questions as voice signals create amplitudes that are tracked by the motion of the 3D-character’s mouth, which responds to variations in the amplitude.

The Bach interview will be part of “LiveVibeTV,” a 60-minute production being presented by two of the college’s programs, the Digital Worlds Institute and the School of Music. The Bach re-animation is an original program created by Digital Worlds Artist in Residence Arturo Sinclair and student programmer Anton Yudin. Similar technology has been used as the foundation of the computer gaming industry, as well as Hollywood blockbuster computer animation movies such as those produced by Pixar Animation Studios and DreamWorks Animation SKG. The show is also produced specifically for Internet broadcast with television-like segments.

“This is far beyond a concert with a webcam,” said College of Fine Arts spokesman Andy Howard.

“LiveVibeTV” was initiated by the UF School of Music to address changes in music listening habits of students and the global public.

“We were searching for a modern approach to attract, build and maintain a new audience of the arts,” said John Duff, director of UF School of Music. “Considering the future of music’s form and audience, the School of Music needed to adapt its creative vision to engage an audience for the future.”

Anyone with Internet access can watch the premiere episode of “LiveVibeTV,” webcast at 7:30 p.m. EDT Oct. 29 at http://www.livevibetv.com/. Hosting the series will be UF senior English major and Florida Opportunity Scholar Cameryn Justice, and the first episode will feature UF faculty members — cellist Steven Thomas and Brazilian guitarist Welson Tremura, co-director of UF’s Brazilian music ensemble Jacaré Brazil. No Southern Accent, a UF student a cappella group with a growing regional reputation, will also be featured on the Oct. 29 show.

“’LiveVibe TV’ connects contemporary audiences with classical music in a fresh way,” said James Oliverio, professor and director of Digital Worlds Institute and executive technical and creative producer of “LiveVibeTV.” Oliverio and UF Digital Worlds Institute have recently used similar arts and computer technology to create a virtual campus for UF College of Law and virtual environments designed for clinicians to interact with returning veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“LiveVibeTV makes it possible for audience members to enjoy music performances live or from the comfort of their home,” he said.

At a time when many local media markets are experiencing a shortage in classical music radio, “LiveVibeTV” is expected to be a convenient alternative, available to enjoy live or on demand via the Net, MP3 player, or even on certain mobile phones and PDAs.

Thursday’s production will be filmed at Digital World Institute’s REVE facility, 101 Norman Hall on the UF campus. Seating in the studio audience is limited, and can be requested by calling 352-846-1218.

In addition to the live event, “LiveVibeTV” will be accessible online after Oct. 29 and viewers will be able to utilize “share” features, spreading the content virally through personal social networking channels such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Additional LiveVibeTV productions are scheduled for live webcast at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 28, Feb. 25, and March 25, 2010, at http://www.livevibetv.com/.