written by ORIGIN STØRIES (ØS) Founder, Sean Bradford
It was the kind of rainy night they warn you about when you move to Amsterdam.
But it was Saturday and so there were still people out, just like us. Inside a theater at the Nieuwe Achtergracht canal we were preparing for the second premiere of our live music x AI co-creation concept.
An AI generator and a musician walk into a theater...
We broke some "theatre rules" last Saturday night, instead opting for an informal and hands-on experience, also leaving room to ask questions. Theatre has a lot brilliant methodology including Viewpoints and Alexander Technique and is rooted in imagination. So what better place to play with artificial intelligence? Here's a recap :
We used Guts to handle ticketing, and every person attending was given access to the custom artist generator created just for the show. They were also given time during the show to submit their prompt, by answering a question related to each musical act.
We started with an acoustic duo singing holiday songs allowing people to use the holiday remixer. The initial image generations made with Stable Diffusion, I then re-made some of the top images with Midjourney and turned them into video. The below was made with the input of an audience member.
During the second act, we also played with juxtaposition, mixing images together in an experiment with Stable Video Diffusion.
Our pre-show and between acts activity was letting people play with the videoSD project from Backdrop on the big screen! Really cool project.
An important note: we never use artist names, film references, or existing IP in our content engineering.
Category is: Co-creation
While we tested co-creation with all three acts, the visuals created for Cherry Makes Waves was simple but effective way to include and engage the audience. Here is how we did it.
The first AI visual worlds from our premiere show in Helsinki are live on Zora. We are also testing revenue share with artists from both the Helsinki and Amsterdam shows.
Collect the Label (Local Designer Spotlight)
We aim to spotlight local designers and brands in our shows. For the Amsterdam show we collaborated with Collect the Label, which has two stores in Amsterdam. I wore two pieces from their collection which are also AR-enabled. This will go in our ensō collective board, as part of our idea to build the musician's closet and give audience and community member's access. We previously added designer Rolf Ekroth in Helsinki.
What's Next?
ØS worlds launch on Zora 12 Dec ⚡
️We're continuing to build custom g-tools and experiment with how blockchain and emerging tech can positively impact creatives.
We're planning shows and experiences for the beginning of 2024. Have a city you want us to come to? Send us a message
Want to talk partnerships, fundraising, collaborations? Email me: sean@originstories.live
ØS Artist Spotlight: Markomallow
We created a visual world for "Alien" by Finnish artist Markomallow. Since premiering the song at Forum Box 1 December, the song has been featured on Spotify editorial lists, including New Music Friday Suomi (Finland). A great feat for an independent artist Markomallow is definitely one to watch. Listen to "Alien" on our ORIGIN STØRIES playlist, featuring some of the artists we've collaborated with.
