Level Up: Interactive Installations with Touchdesigner - Spring 2025

Tuesdays,7pm - 9pm (IRL @ dadaLab in Austin, TX.)
May 6 - May 27, 2025
4 class sessions total + opportunity to exhibit your work at dadaLab on June 20, 2025.
$195

Howdy, dadageeks 💙

We're glad you're here! dadageek is excited to offer this in-person course to the Austin, TX dadageek community. You can learn more about the course below. Feel free to reach out with any questions to kyle@dadageek.com

dadageek is a non-profit community of immersive artists and electronic musicians. Our mission is to offer education and community to those creating at the intersection of art, interactive media, and tech. Our community is filled with talented and creative technologists with a passion for sharing their expertise with others.

What is this course about?

Level up your Touchdesigner skills! This course delves into core concepts for bringing interactivity to your TouchDesigner projects and communicating with other audiovisual and technology control software for next-level installations and experiences. There will be 4 sessions that meet once a week, followed by an exhibition of students' work scheduled for June 20th, 2025.

What will I learn?

Students in this course will walk away knowing:

• Working with cameras and sensors to track presence, faces, skeletons, and more, in real-time
• Programming logic concepts using CHOPs, DATs, and TOPs to enable complex data manipulation and network behaviors
• Using MIDI, OSC, and other tools to create a network of cross-communicating software and hardware with a single unified control interface
• Best practices for creating reusable and shareable components
• An understanding of each of the different operator families in TouchDesigner
• Python basics for deep interaction and integration in TouchDesigner

Who is this course for?

Students who enroll in this course are:

• TouchDesigner beginners and intermediate users who want to boost their skills and deepen their understanding
• Working artists looking to add new technology to their toolset
• technologists and programmers looking to explore creative approaches to tech
• musicians looking to create audiovisual performances
• anyone interested in the intersection of art, tech, and design!

This course is tailored to TouchDesigner users with some experience at a beginner or intermediate level. Even total beginners will be fine if they work through a few tutorials before the first class meeting.

What is the class like?

Each class session will meet once a week at dadaLab; our headquarters in East Austin. The class is capped at 18 students so you will have plenty of opportunities to connect with your instructor and ask questions. Your fellow students in the class will be an eclectic mix of dadageeks from artists, musicians, programmers, and creative humans excited to learn, create, and connect! The class combines lectures, hands-on workshops, and collaborative projects. You’ll start with foundational skills and gradually move toward designing your own laser art piece, which you’ll showcase in a final class exhibition.

Are there any requirements?

• A Windows or Mac laptop
• 3 button mouse (3rd button is a scrolling wheel
• A recent version of TouchDesigner (free download)
  • TouchDesigner can be downloaded here: https://derivative.ca/download

Meet your instructor!

Brandon Stargrave is a creative technologist focused on generative, interactive, and audiovisual immersive experiences. He creates deeply interconnected systems to meld various hardware, software, and protocols into a tangible embodiment of art and technology. Brandon has extensive laser technology experience including acting as the lead laser technician for the Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular national tour.

FYI

Refund Policy: Students can receive refunds up to 7 days before the class start date.

Class Minimums: If the class minimum has not been met, the class will be canceled or rescheduled. Those who have pre-paid will be notified in advance and will have the option to receive a class credit or a full refund.

Media Release: Please note that some events may be photographed or video recorded. Registering for this event hereby authorizes dadageek and dadaLab to use said photos or videos on social media or in future promotional materials.