A new app has been launched which has exciting implications for creators, performers and venues. ‘Generate’ is an audio-visual smartphone app which has a unique selling point – reacting to sounds in the user’s environment to create custom visual effects for images and video. The distinctive technology, dubbed “audio reactivity”, creates a filter which transforms and shifts in time to music and sound which is then layered onto smartphone footage.
The creative possibilities this opens up are huge and are not just limited to casual users of the app. The developers have acknowledged this by releasing a version of the app specifically targeted at professional creators – Generate Pro. The Pro version allows for live projection of app-generated content which has potential not only for visual artists but as an exciting enhancement to live music performances as well.
This was exhibited at a recent show at London’s KOKO, where audio-visuals created using Generate were used to accompany performances by internationally acclaimed DJs Derrick May, James Lavelle [UNKLE] and A Guy Called Gerald. Video footage from the night is to be used in an upcoming Netflix series, Sense8, created and produced by the Wachowskis – the force behind such films as The Matrix Trilogy and V for Vendetta. The footage used by the Wachowskis heavily incorporates the audio-visuals created by Generate, giving us a glimpse of the potential the app has to cross disciplines; in this case marrying film, music and performance.
The KOKO performance also highlighted a further original use for the app, audience immersion and participation. The audio visuals for the night were created live by audience members, using their smartphones to film and edit footage using Generate, which was then projected onstage. This is just one example of an innovative way the app can be used and more will no doubt come to light as the app gains momentum. Despite being only a recent release to the market, Generate has already been shared by over 100,000 creators in 132 countries and this number looks set to increase as word of the app spreads.
Generate is available for download now on both iPhone and Android.
Written by Zaz Ali
