Notes on the film
Capturing an excerpt from one of Stefan Tiefengraber’s live audio-visual performances, AG-MX70plus #2 uses the “no-input” signal processing technique to create a multicoloured manipulation of static feedback. Channeling the inherent noise produced by a digital video mixer (AG-MX70) and a digital audio mixer (DDX3216), sound and visuals are looped and edited live into a strobing symphony of pixels. The visual composition is simultaneously produced and echoed by its sonic counterpart, developing a symbiotic audiovisual field.
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dynamic recurring forms capture the glitch of the feedback loop between video and audio mixers
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dynamic recurring forms capture the glitch of the feedback loop between video and audio mixers
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dynamic recurring forms capture the glitch of the feedback loop between video and audio mixers
No-input mixing involves connecting a device’s input to its output – a process which defies the expected purpose of a mixing device by creating an internal circuit. The inherent noise produced by the device generates recursive feedback, which can be altered and manipulated using the mixer’s embedded effect controls. Tiefengraber expands the technique to create feedback loops between the digital software of an audio and video mixer, allowing sonic and visual components to inform one another. The technical interface of the work is apparent even in the recorded version of the artist’s live mixing performance, as distorted audio interference hisses alongside graphic glitches, reminiscent of television fuzz and malfunctioning projectors. These deliberate glitches are continually produced and modified, as forms disappear and reappear immediately on the other side of the screen, white shadowy traces of shapes overlap erratically. This effect coincides with Tiefengraber’s use of outdated technology, like an irreverent media archaeologist who recovers and repurposes old media for new aims. The multisensory work aims to activate the body of the observer; at times, inducing anxiety, at other times inducing a state of hypnosis.
the setup used for no-input audio-visual mixing
Unpredictability lies at the heart of a glitch, which is particularly pronounced in AG-MX70plus #2, since the piece unfolds live. The animator-as-VJ drives the equipment into unstable territory, welcoming unpredictable feedback and flirting with the edge of technical failure. The recording opens with a continuous static hiss, echoed by stacked black‑and‑white lines. After a tense build‑up, the lines fill the frame, triggering abrupt shifts in volume and pitch. A cyclical pattern of suspense and release recurs throughout, keeping the audience also on edge.
tension is built and broken through the unpredictability of a glitch
A guide to no-input mixing
For more details on the origins and process of no-input mixing
A guide to no-input mixingStefen Tiefengraber’s live audio-visual performances
To see the audio-visual live performances that coincide with this work
AG-MX70 DDX3216
