key ctrl
 visual performance software by sharif ezzat

key ctrl is a performance software tool developed using Flash. It enables the artist to display a visual sequence composed of still images which flicker and reverberate according to input from simple keyboard commands, and allows mp3 audio accompaniment. Playback requires only the Flash player.

To get started, download the flash application & sample files here:
  • key ctrl v2 for MAC or PC


Extract the files and open 'config.txt'. Here you'll see three basic configuration variables which tell the application where to find the images and mp3 audio file to load:
  • imageFolder - the relative path to the directory where the images are stored
  • imagePrefix - the filename prefix which precedes the integer of the images in the directory
  • audioTrack - the relative path to the mp3 audio file
You may change these variables, but be sure to maintain the ampersands between them, and do not use any spaces or carriage returns in the config file. Also, the application and the config.txt file must be in the same folder for the program to run.

When you launch the application, you'll see a help panel which details the various keyboard commands available to the performer:


In the top left of the screen, you'll see an info panel displaying the variables which drive the image manipulation:


The help and info panels can be hidden and revealed using keyboard commands as shown above.


LOGIC:
Images are displayed randomly within sets of 10, such that 'set 1' displays a random image between 'image_0.jpg' and 'image_9.jpg', 'set 2' displays images between 'image_10.jpg' and 'image_19.jpg', etc. To produce negative space between images, you can create gaps in the integers used in the filenames (i.e. odd numbers only). The random variables are intended to introduce a spontaneous element into the experience, and can be used to achieve unique correlations between sound and image.


IMAGES:
Prepare your images as 72 dpi jpeg files, at a minimum size of 720x480 pixels. There is no limit to the number of images the program may use, though there may be some performance impact depending on the speed of the computer's processor.

Note: many older versions of the flash player have an issue with loading 'progressive' jpegs; to avoid this issue, install the latest version of the flash player, or be sure to save your images as 'baseline standard' or 'baseline optimized' jpegs.

The mp3 clips in the audio archive are compiled from the selection at nuggetsofwisdom.com, used with permission.

This tool is in the early stages of public development, so please let me know if you have any questions, suggestions, or examples of work using the tool to share. Enjoy ;)