For Immediate Release:
Bliss Paint used in Grateful Dead concerts

Albany, California--15 Dec 94: In the December 1994 concerts at the Oakland Coliseum, Bliss Paint debuted as a live performance video light show tool with the Grateful Dead. In a complex video and light mixing system, Greg Jalbert used Bliss Paint to create animated paintings that pulsed with the music, rich with expressive color. Breaking new ground in the field of interactive multimedia, MIDI data coming from the musical performers on stage was used to trigger color and animation effects in the computer animations of Bliss Paint.

With it's "liquid" color animations, Bliss Paint is reminiscent of the oil and color dye visuals used in the light shows of the 60's and 70's. A large library of animated shape generators, the interactive color synthesizer, and a collection of image processing effects make Bliss Paint a powerful tool with countless combinations of amazing psychedelic visual effects. The ability to paint and animate in real-time, while interacting with Imaja's innovative color synthesizer.

Greg Jalbert says, "We're at the edge of a new world of interactive living computer art, with desktop computers like the Macintosh leading the pack. The computers are now fast enough to create engaging, dynamic, and expressive animations in real-time. The Bliss Paint software is like a guitar, and learning to play and perform with it is an intriguing challenge. Anyone can strum a few chords, but to really engage the audience takes practice. One can set a mood with the expressive performance capabilities of the color synthesizer, and the nature of motion of shapes across the screen."

The lighting direction by Candice Brightman and the video direction by Bob Hartnett were both integral to the high aesthetic quality of the overall show. Brightman's exquisite use of color and texture in her lighting effects, and their artful combination with the video, makes the Grateful Dead shows one of the most interesting live visual experiences. Because of the spontaneous nature of the Grateful Dead musicians, where the set list of songs for each show is improvised, the power of Bliss Paint's interactive performance features make it a perfect instrument for creating "visual music". The Grateful Dead video production crew is highly regarded for its constantly evolving visual shows and use of cutting edge technology.

Greg Jalbert frequently performs in this new medium in the San Francisco Bay Area. Jalbert will be doing live computer animations at the D'Cuckoo dance concert at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on January 5, 1995, and at the Digital Art Be-In at the Maritime Hall in San Francisco on January 6, 1995. Both performances will surely be attended by many MacWorld Expo attendees, which runs concurrently from January 4-7, 1995.

Bliss Paint can also be used for multimedia production with it's QuickTime movie recording feature.

Note: PICT files or EPS files are available from Imaja for use in reviews, product announcements, and other publications.

Imaja, founded in 1985, publishes a variety of graphic design, music, and educational software.

Contact:
Greg Jalbert
Imaja, 1244 Hearst Ave. #7, Berkeley, CA 94704 USA
Tel: (510) 526-4621
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