Isadora’s special blend of real-time video processing, its ability to send and receive video to and from other applications, and its programmable logic make it the perfect tool for creating remote performances.
The global pandemic has forced many of us to attempt the creation of remote performance. Isadora’s core ability to manipulate numerous channels of video is complimented by special modules that help you interface with video conferencing tools like Zoom and Skype by pulling out individual video feeds from the participants and to pump composited audio and video back into the call via virtual audio routing or our free Syphon Virtual Webcam application respectively. Combined, these features turn Isadora into a tool that facilitates artful, robust explorations of remote performance scenarios.
For example, Isadora’s Screen Capture actor allows you to turn any portion of any window on your computer screen into a live feed and can be used for capturing individual performers from a Zoom gallery view. More recently we’ve seen this function performed by combining Isadora with the software ZoomISO. A staff member of ours has also worked on multiple projects that used Isadora with the software ZoomOSC to interactively and programmatically affect Zoom, create custom control panels for it, and create chatbots for Zoom’s chat. Thanks to Skype’s NDI integration, our NDI Watcher actor can be used to bring each Skype participant into Isadora as an individual live feed. Need to livestream using OBS/Open Broadcaster Software? No problem: Just turn on Syphon/Spout output for your Stage and route it into OBS using OBS’s Syphon/Spout plugins. You can even use OBS’s OSC plugin to allow you to control OBS directly from Isadora. Alternatively, you could bypass OBS and use our RTMP Streamer actor for streaming directly to Twitch, YouTube, or Facebook Live from Isadora.
When you combine actors like those above with Isadora’s programmable logic and ability to output its Stage via Syphon, Spout, or NDI, you end up with an incredibly powerful tool that enables the experimentation with as well as the discovery and exploration of new methods for remote performance.