UK - The Backstage Academy has announced a new training partnership with software developer TroikaTronix, the company behind the visual control software Isadora.

The companies united to demonstrate the capabilities of the software to peers and industry professionals as part of the Education and Learning Programme at the PLASA exhibition at Earls Court, London.

Backstage Academy specialises in training for the live events production industry and will be offering courses on Isadora, an award-winning graphic programming environment that facilitates interactive control of digital media and real time manipulation of digital video.

Isadora expands on the traditional media-server concept by offering interactive control over video and audio. Isadora's easy-to-learn user interface and reliability has led to its rising adoption by designers, artists and performance groups across the globe.

Notable users include the Royal Shakespeare Company and America's leading experimental theatre company The Wooster Group. Most recently, legendary director Francis Ford Coppola announced that Isadora would serve as the media engine for a live, interactive version of his new film Twixtthat will tour America late this year.

These users are drawn to Isadora's smooth learning curve, reliability and the ease with which one can improvise and sculpt the media during rehearsals or performance.

Isadora offers a wide range of functionality, ranging from simple cueing of video clips in a live performance to wild interactive manipulations. Powerful sensory input options allow the movements and vocalisations of performers to have a direct, real-time impact on all of the media under Isadora's control.

The software offers more than 100 building blocks that can be linked in countless different ways, allowing the user to tailor how the media is presented to best suit their specific needs. It has the ability to output on up to six different video projectors simultaneously and it has input and output protocols that facilitate sensory input or control over external devices, including MIDI, Serial [RS-232], TCP/IP and Open Sound Control [OSC]).

The Academy will begin rolling out Isadora courses to be delivered at its training facility in Wakefield from September. The range of courses available is set to include introductory training as well as more advanced training for experienced operators.

Robin Watkinson, chief operating officer at the Backstage Academy, said, "We're looking forward to working with TroikaTronix and create the best possible Isadora courses to run at the Academy.

"Isadora is a fantastic piece of software. It gives video designers the tools they need to create wonderfully creative projections with the peace of mind that it will run reliably."

Mark Coniglio, founder of TroikaTronix and Isadora's creator, is an internationally recognised media artist. He developed the programme in 2001 because there was simply no other software in existence that allowed him the creative flexibility and reliability he required for his own practice.

"Isadora is the product of more than 20 years' experience of real time interaction," he said. "Because every performance and installation is unique, it was designed to offer building blocks that can be combined in a limitless variety of ways, rather than as a restrictive 'plug and play' programme.

"We're very excited that the Backstage Academy will be offering courses to show users how to get the most out of Isadora."

(Jim Evans)


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