EMP - Experience Music Project

A really cool place to spend a few hours is the EMP located in Seattle Center.  They had a special Avatar, Nirvana and Battlestar Galactica exhibition on. They also have a hands-on sound lab to play in, even a left handed guitar! :)

Avatar was really good, showing the various ideas and development that went into each plant, animal, character in the movie. It showed how they filmed and edited the various scenes, and how they made use of the virtual camera. Each scene was filmed with over 100 cameras everywhere, so it is then easy to go back and pick the angle that the director wanted. They had a show clip where you could try to film your own little scene, makes for very hilarious watching as it is not so easy.

The Sound lab was cool, giving you the chance to try and play the guitar, drums and keyboard, with little tutorials on how to use each piece of instrument. They also had little recording booths that you can try and record your own music, with various mixing equipment, just like a real recording artist. Very fun!

The most impressive was the Root and Branches sculpture in the middle,named "If VI was IX" by artist and composer Trimpin. It is made up of 700 guitars all linked in, to make a computer controlled self playing guitar. These sounds are programmed on a specific formula to create music live that you can listen to via headsets. Not surprisingly the creator of that sculpture has musical training and an electrical engineering degree.

-Y-