23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yoichiro Kawaguchi Showreel, February 9, 2000
This review is from: Odyssey In the Mind's Eye: Luminous Visions (DVD)
The computer animation shorts of Yoichiro Kawaguchi have been a feature of the ACM SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater for over 10 years. Some of the shorts are available on VHS through the Association of Computing Machinery, however, this DVD features an extended selection of the Kawaguchi material, that is hard to find anywhere else. The technical quality far exceeds that found on VHS and all the material is presented continuously rather than scattered among various SIGGRAPH tapes. For fans of abstract computer animation and electronic music, it does not get much better than this.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must for Tangerine Dream fans, February 28, 2000
This review is from: Odyssey In the Mind's Eye: Luminous Visions (DVD)
Since another reviewer has already dealt with the visual half of this release, I thought I would review it from the perspective of a long-term Tangerine Dream fan.
This release has several attractions for the TD fan:
- A chance to hear TD write in a more rhythmic, "techno" style. Some of the rhythms are reminiscent of their 70s sequencer material, but with 90s polish and sensibilities. While I doubt we will ever hear any of these tracks on the dance floor, some of it does have that feel. However, the material has quite a bit of variety, with classical elements (a la White Eagle), and a "progressive" feel as well at times. Overall, I rank this at the top of their recent music that I have heard (although there are many recent TD releases that I haven't heard, they are quite prolific!).
- A relatively short but dense interview with TD, including brief clips of a recent concert (I wish they would release a whole DVD of that!), as well as Edgar talking a little bit about everything.
- There really is a full-length CD thrown into the DVD box, which contains about 75 minutes of soundtrack music for this film (thereby providing an additional 30 minutes of music for which there was no corresponding footage). Thus you can listen to the music away from your DVD player (I'm listening to that CD while writing this).
Thus, I can say that any TD fan that has a good number of their releases will want this one as well, especially if their musical taste runs to a bit of techno as well.
By the way, I did find the animation quite enjoyable as well (similar to some of the more abstract videos seen on MTV's "AMP" program).
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cool music, cool animation!, November 6, 2001
This review is from: Odyssey In the Mind's Eye: Luminous Visions (DVD)
This video is a great introduction to the animation of Yoichiro Kawaguchi. Unlike many other animations, this one has structures that appear very fluid and organic. Some appear to be modeled from actual organisms (e.g. hydra, manta ray). Everything is moving, growing, changing. Coloring may be subtle or bold, and the viewpoint is often moving as well. All in all, quite entertaining to the eye. When combined with the scintillating music of Tangerine Dream, you have something that can keep you in rapt attention (or just sit back, zone out and enjoy it as 'eye candy'). Included with the DVD is a CD of the music used in this video but with full-length cuts: several (not all) have driving techno-dance rhythms and pulsing bass lines. All have interesting synthesizer and piano melodies and patterns. Too bad the DVD wasn't mixed for Dolby Digital 5.1. Nevertheless, the stereo mix is good, and the tunes kept playing in my head days later, which is rare for instrumental music. If you like Tangerine Dream's music, you'll LOVE this DVD, and the CD is a great bonus!
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