Tools by George Brown
George Brown devices
George Brown Video Sequencer
Developed in 1972. The Video Sequencer allowed the operator to switch between two video sources at the field or frame rate of the video signal. Significantly, this allowed for extremely rapid switching, which appeared as the two images combined in various ways. Because it occurred during the vertical interval, the switching was "invisible", so the images were not disrupted by interference. The switching process could also be triggered by external signals, often an audio signal generated by another machine. The machine was the result of investigations by Woody and Steina Vasulka, George Brown and Alfons Schilling, on binocular vision and imagery.
George Brown Multi-Level Keyer
Developed in 1973 and based on earlier experiments. Jeffrey Schier described the Multi-Level Keyer as a digital sequencer which controlled an analog video keyer. The device allowed six video sources, which could be assigned a particular layer of the image. These planes could be manipulated and layered into a single video output. The device was constructed for Woody Vasulka and Steina Vasulka. The sequences were programmed by means of an external keyboard, and the program controlled by external signals. The keyer was a "priority" keyer, allowing the user to design the relative placement of the layers from front to back. In 1977 a computer interface was added.
George Brown also modified commercial equipment, allowing the user greater flexibility over image composition. He worked with Alan and Susan Raymond as a Technical Consultant on "The Police Tapes" (1976), an independently produced verite documentary of police activity in the South Bronx, broadcast by WNET-TV.
Summary
George Brown developed the Video Sequencer (1972), which switched between two video sources at field or frame rate during the vertical interval and could be externally triggered, and the Multi-Level Keyer (1973), a digital sequencer controlling an analog keyer that layered six sources programmable via an external keyboard; the Multi-Level Keyer was constructed for Woody and Steina Vasulka and a computer interface was added in 1977. Brown modified commercial equipment and served as Technical Consultant to Alan and Susan Raymond on The Police Tapes (1976), broadcast by WNET-TV.
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Last modified 20 January 2022