Graphic and sound art performance uses SMODE’s media server and compositing platform to transform maths principles into flowing visual tableaux, and is touring venues in France and Canada
SMODE media server and real-time compositing platform is powering Sensitive Abstraction, a new full-dome graphic and sound art performance by visual artist Yannick Moréteau and electronic music composer Flore, on a tour of venues in Canada and France.
Created within SMODE, Sensitive Abstraction transforms abstract mathematical principles, such as the Fibonacci sequence and Euclidean grids, into flowing visual tableaux, synchronised in real time with Flore’s score in spatial audio. The show has been touring planetaria and digital arts festivals in Canada and France for several months.
The show 
is delivered to audiences using two synced computers – a desktop for video and a laptop for audio – with video streamed at 4K resolution (ideally 4096 × 4096) via NDI to venue servers for projection. The projection set-up varies depending on the venue: usually 4-5 projectors are sufficient, although at the large SAT (Société des arts technologiques) auditorium in Montreal the show used eight projectors along with 157 loudspeakers.
Other unique venues include the planetarium at the Cité des sciences et de l’industrie in Paris, France, and the La Rayonne concert space in Lyon, France..
Yannick Moréteau, founder of the arts collective WSK, developed and runs the performances using a single SMODE media server, from the creation of the visuals to generating and exporting the content, previewing the dome projection, and managing the show live.
Yannick Moréteau explained: “In a dome, working with real-time generative content is essential. You need to be able to adjust perspectives on the spot; drawing a straight line in a hemisphere is quite a challenge!
“The set-up is scalable from one dome to another. We often need to make adjustments depending on the dome’s angle and shape – whether it’s a perfect 180° hemisphere or not. That’s where SMODE is an invaluable tool for live adaptation, avoiding the need for lengthy, heavy re-exports of the video content.
“Aside from generating the content, I used SMODE to preview the dome projection. That helped me anticipate what would or wouldn’t work, without needing access to a real dome every time.”
