Microsoft's Visual Special Effects for Washed Out, the Musician, and DJ Alison Wonderland Riffs Off Brion Gysin's Dream Machine.

By Laura Medina

Way before any of today Electronic Music Artists were even conceived, The Beats, the precursors to Hippies, like Brion Gysin invented the "Dream Machine."  Basically, it's a very primitive flashlight shining inside a cylinder with slats, spinning on a turn table.  The spinning cylinder can be insert with animation cells or film.  The images projecting out of the slanted cylinder was meant for the viewer to experience "out of body" experience, that was further enchanted by psychedelic drugs.  Yes, LSD.

Well those days are over. 

Microsoft's emerging music visual special effects has put the end to that.

You don't need to fry your brain cells, to experience the visualization of music.

This is no mere music videos, even though they're a cool way to chill and relax.

Nope.  Microsoft's improved old-fashioned painted-on film cells of rotoscoping through advanced rotoscoping, applying all sorts of textiles and patterns on Washed Out himself, the musician, in his music videos.

To get the crowd more riled up, Microsoft did interactive rotoscoping for former cellist/DJ Alison Wonderland.

The Microsoft guests oh and awed when the motion-capture rotoscoping match Alison move by move.  The same special effect flames, from "Game of Thrones," was used on Alison, motion capturing every arm move and head banging.

Microsoft's interactive, motion-capture special effects and animation is the grandchild from Brion Gysin's Dream Machine.