Rebelle by RESTATE

[LEVLHED]

Alright, so I finally have mine. I've had it for less than 24 hours.
I plan to do a proper review for VJC, but I know many of you are anxious to know more now.
As of right now, the manual isn't ready for it so I've been just experimenting. I know I haven't figured it all out yet, but I'll try to tell you what I can.
I've been playing a VCD into it, then routing the Rebelle out to a Tenlab TR-10SP to convert to NTSC (rebelle is PAL only) into an MX1.

What is it?
Its a wicked A/V filter. Right half is devoted to video, left half for audio. You put video/sound into it, destroy it in various ways, and send it out. Its 100% analog hardware. .(edit that: I don't actually know that to be true) The (numerous) knobs are nice and solid. There are a bunch of 1/8" jacks for routing the signals around to the various sections (80's analog synth-style).

What does it do?
The video section mostly messes with the horizontal and vertical sync, which effectively adds full-frame motion to your video. You control different properties of the syncs by using the knobs.
Last night I was keying "rebelled" video to "regular" video with very satisfying results. I preffered it on video that didn't have alot of motion in it, because it adds so much motion. Especially video with larger fields of solid colors to key off of. You can also introduce noise into the video stream. And you're supposed to be able to route the audio section into the video section and vice versa.
The audio section is much like the analog synths of yore. Easily producing nice drones and squeals with VCOs, a quad oscillator and hi/lo pass filters. Again, one routes signals through the various parts via the 1/8" cables.
Both the audio and video sections actually have more than one input/output (via 1/8" jacks) with knobs for mixing them and small toggle switches for switching btwn inputs. I can only guess the potential extent of mayhem one can accomplish with these!
Oh yeah, and there's also an audio sampler (20 sec), but I haven't figured it out yet.

Initial verdict:
This won't be for everyone!
It doesn't make "pretty" things (but then beauty is in the eye of the beholder:))
Its nice to have realtime control w/out using a computer/software!
At first it seems limited in function, but very efficient at what it does.
Its obvious that it has hours and hours of exploring/experimenting waiting in it.
Playing with the knobs is fun!
Probably most attractive to someone who hates computers.
Or someone who likes their video fucked up/fast/agressive.
It looks cool as hell. One can't help but look at it and ask "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"

thats all for now.
Please keep in mind that this is a very cursory "review". I've had only a few hours of time with it, and I know I have only scratched the surface of what one can do with it. I plan to post a proper review for it on VJC in the beginning of July.

Ask questions here and I will do my best to answer them for you

[complexvisuals]

Any idea on price?

C.

[LEVLHED]

Oh yeah, 829 EURO.
There are numerous websites that will do the conversion to other currency for you.
She accepts money via paypal and some other online payment service.

If you only use it for video, you're only using half of its capabilities.

http://rebelle.restate.org

[krezrock]

can you use live video input lev?

[LEVLHED]

PAL composite, yes.
I believe you can input via 1/8" jack (3.5mm) too.

[krezrock]

mmm, lucious:nod:

[bigloose]

can't wait to really see what it does

[eXhale]

yep show us a few video samples when you can lev, i give you the authorization to eat my server bandwidth for this ;)

[bigloose]

yeah eat the bandwith for us mmmmmmmmmmmhhhhhh

[LEVLHED]

I'm working on that right now...

[LEVLHED]

lookie here http://www.vjforums.com/showthread.php?threadid=26

don't bitch about how big it is. you wimp.


I took that avi down because it was too big and actually wasn't a good example...

[vandeti]

so .. how is it going with the rebbel ??

I'm becoming to curious about this little machine
the only thing I can find on the net regarding it is its silly site and here on the forum

but guess what .. it ain't making me wiser !

so .. is it worth its money
doe anyone know you can order it in Europe (shipping)

[LEVLHED]

It comes out of Europe, actually...sorry for the lack of updates on my progress...you know how it is...this thing is pretty wicked and mean...it doesn't make anything "pretty"...the audio is brutal...the video is frenetic...the whole thing is a blast to tweak...I'm just now investigating the audio side...yes, I will post more examples...but its going to take a couple weeks now as I'm going on a little trip up north tomorrow (might find time today though)...bringing her with so I can keep investigating...

[AudioVisualizers]

Just a teaser update: I haven't confirmed with Restate yet, but more than likely, we will be offering a Rebelle unit as one of the prizes in our next VJ contest. Details on the new contest will be posted within 1 week on my site. Thanks! -dave

[elbows]

So does it create anything thats actually useable in a show?

[LEVLHED]

???


Its a totally different style...."useable" is rather subjective, isn't it?


that would be pretty cool, Dave....

[elbows]

Sorry, I meant have you produced anything with it that you would use in a show?

Id actually like to be a fan of this device, I like experimental different stuff, but its still not clear to me what useable output it produces? I mean I looked at that avi, and it just seemed to be a mess to me?

[LEVLHED]

yeah, I have used it in shows.
That AVI I had posted wasn't a great example, but still fairly close...I was trying to run its PAL output thru a Tenlab converter to NTSC and didn't realize the converter wasn't really liking its job so it would drop out...maybe I can get down in the studio right now and whip something else up....but I'm not 100% my capture device isn't freaking out a bit too...having to "format C:" on two different PC's in the past couple of weeks has slowed down my output a bit...still don't have many of my necessary proggies loaded back.....and F.Y.I the rebelle does generally make a "mess" of things...thats what its supposed to do...

[LEVLHED]

K, here I ran the first minute and a half or so of VJ Pixylight's AlphaCode DVD ( www.spacedub.org ) thru her (used w/ out permission, hope you don't mind Jym)...I'm only messing with the video, and sorry if the audio is clipped....wasn't set up to moniter anything really...so I was just kind of twisting the knobs blindly...was monitering the video on the capture program's little slow-refresh window...

www.levlhed.com/rebelle/Alpha1.mpg 18MB

[elbows]

Cool thanks for taking the time to do that, downloading now :)

[konsumgrafik]

I just loaded it and it?s pretty nice, I?m just asking
myself why it?s that expensive to trigger, please correct me if I got it wrong, v-sync and h-sync.
Isn?t it possibile to put this to the fx panel on a software and triggering it with midi :confused:

[LEVLHED]

You could probably program something similar, but it wouldn't be the same...some of the more interesting effects with this is in the fine-tuning of the knobs....you find a "sweet spot"....I don't think one could get the same amount of variety out of software...and you couldn't replace the experience of the interface with any midi controller I know of...those knobs are just too realtime and luscious...and also keep in mind that this isn't JUST for v/h-sync....there's also the analog audio synth side...if you are only using this for video, you're only using HALF of it....

[eXhale]

Originally posted by konsumgrafik
I just loaded it and it?s pretty nice, I?m just asking
myself why it?s that expensive to trigger, please correct me if I got it wrong, v-sync and h-sync.
Isn?t it possibile to put this to the fx panel on a software and triggering it with midi :confused:
no i don't think that a software could emulate such an analog thing. there are some things which just can't be made with a computer, ask any musician :)

[MoRpH]

Hmmm actually there is both h-sync and v-sync in heyVJ (pretty sure you had those functions info), you could control those with midi controllers and emulate that part of the unit.

What audio functions does it have LEV??? they could also more than likely be emulated.

As for the patch functionality i'm sure you could have a wave form analysis software that would feed the h&v-sync filters data from the audio stream to control their effect on the video stream.

Actually come to think of it it could be VERY interesting in both audio and video software to actually convert the data stream back into a waveform and actually perform these "analog" transformations.... hmmmmm..... now that could be VERY interesting

Hmmm this analogue / digital side of the discussion could go very deep.... lets keep it going....

[MoRpH]

LEV I just watched the clip... thanks for doing that and putting it up :)

I think to get full emulation of the unit you would have to actually have to change the video data back into and actual virtual waveform inside the computer as there are a number of both sync and luminosity things happeningto the signal itself, then of course that would intail resampling you virtual waveform back into a data stream to further process, etc...

But when it comes down to it you could prolly emulate the basic look (gawd knows why you would want to..... but i'm not getting into that again :p) with a luminece filter, a vertical black line, horizontal black line, and a general spaz mode (where the signal gets all wavey when it really loses sync hard) what the clip for the example its near the end....... so although it wouldn't be quite the same, if you say had these functions and all the parameters for them on controllers or being fed by an audio analysis you could get pretty damn close.

[LEVLHED]

finally got around to making some audio output from the rebelle...
http://www.levlhed.com/~rebelle/LEVLrebelle_Track01.mp3 (3MB)(straight rebelle)
http://www.levlhed.com/~rebelle/LEVLrebelle_Track02.mp3 (4.5MB) (as an effect on a beat, using a MoFX for delay/depth)
http://www.levlhed.com/~rebelle/LEVLrebelle_Track03.mp3 (5.4MB) (no beat, running thru MoFX)

just squiggling about on 'er...completely improvising

[LEVLHED]

messing a bit with running two video sources into the rebelle...one on the main input (tv samples), the other via 1/8" on the AltIn (amiga feedback blobs)...also running in a basic audio beat, the "straight" beat is on the left, the "rebelled" beat is on the right, I wasn't playing with the knobs at all...there is some degree of music responsiveness, but I'm not sure if I've got it setup right...also, when putting it into this mode, you seem to lose ability to tweak on the video knobs:

http://www.levlhed.com/rebelle/Switch4.mpg (10.7MB)

[murph]

I like the latest video - also an idea for you, split a source signal with a distro, send one to the rebelle, one to the amiga, and maybe one to another computer for fx, and one straight to the mixer. Send them all to the mixer, and use the MX-1's fun tiling effects with it, showing 4 different fucked up versions of the same signal. I'd think that'd be real cool with the unique hardware you have.

Keep rockin! (Halloween? hit me up!)

[LEVLHED]

just got a different recording setup..now lookit what it looks like (disregard the audio)


*hey eX, how about allowing .wmv attachment extension?

[MoRpH]

Hmmmm I've said it once, I'll say it again, that thing really ain't my cup of tea.

[burstingfist]

I like the style. It aint what I am into right now, but I have envisioned something along those lines. Keep it up, especially the intermixing of politcal rhetoric with consumerism...

[MoRpH]

Did a guest set @ an undergound hardcore party and saw some work by a gent called 7u? Incredibly intense footage smashed, cruched and destroyed with a crunch box and 2 VCRs (who said you can't put rewinding video on the screen..... was quite impressed, not wot would be expected when playing with international club DJs but PERFECT for the music and the vibe. I gave him my card and put the URL for VJC and a recommendation to check out the rebelle unit for him.... so hoping to see him here soon :)

[LEVLHED]

yes, it seems the Rebelle is better suited to a more "hardcore" style....I'm interested to see what others do with it...

as for the example I'd just posted, that sort of stuttering/scratching effect is a result of running the rebelle into a Terapin VCD recorder...the terapin does that "effect" when it loses track of the sync...also worth noting, the terapin effectively acts as a PAL-to-NTSC converter as it moniters off the encoded video, not the input...

[eXhale]

The upcoming AudioVisualizers contest will have a Rebelle for the first prize :D

http://www.audiovisualizers.com/contest.htm

[LEVLHED]

Just came across a rebelle clip I had forgotten about..I wasn't entirely happy with it, but it does a good job of showing what the rebelle's output looks like.
The clips are from the Dandelion Collective singles @ www.electronica-optica.com which are run thru www.resolume.com and output to VHS via Matrox G450. The VHS mix was run thru the rebelle with a jump up DnB DJ mix from my buddy DVSD. The output was captured to HDD via a Pinnacle Systems Studio MP10 (piece of shit that works well) The audio doesn't come in until 20 seconds in and I was too lazy to edit it. Also the underscan makes me want to puke.
www.levlhed.com/~rebelle/DVSDjumpup.mpg (75MB, mpeg1@VCD, 7 minutes long)

[LEVLHED]

I've been getting more inquiries about the rebelle in the past few days, thought I'd give this thread a bump....

[optoyz]

After all i am quite shocked,
that there's a product, that produces pretty much what we thought of as our original style ( as far as i can tell from the samples on the page )
We do strictly distorted visuals by combining panasonic MX10 Mixers and some very cheep HAMA Products,
so we can get them out of sync pretty controlled. The Advantage of such method is - the style, and the playability of the Setup
that can be run without any footage, so it's more like playing a synthesizer, than to fade between clips.

but that also means i don't have to spend any money on it...
.. well exept for the Sound part of it ...

http://www.genericpreset.com/sms/images/sms_01.jpg

video still taken from a DnB show.
all rights reserved, genericPreset.com, 2003

[LEVLHED]

no worries...if the samples on your website are indicitive of your style, then the rebelle doesn't "recreate" what you've got going on.....I can see some similarities, but its not the same...the Rebelle doesn't produce any video on its own, it merely acts as a filter/destroyer to video sent in...
so again, don't sweat it..you're still unique (as I am too):)


sync-destruction is fun though, eh? you can PLAY it

[poopsie]

Hi Levlhead
I am pretty new to this game. I have so many questions actually. but I think this restate rebelle will be a good place for me to start as thats what I was gonna try to build myself (but have no experience with electronics building or cicuit bending).
1)Firstly, I was wondering how you actually got a hold of one. I guess the info must be on that crazy site somewhere, but I couldnt find it.
2)Secondly I was going to ask you a longer question if you have time.
Basically, I am trying to generate moving fine textures and have realtime control of as many elements of the actual signal to enhance, pull out, accentuate nuances of that texture. from what I have seen with audio mixer feedback, it is possible but chaotic, and requires finding that special spot and riding it. Im assuming its similar with this. Do you think the restate rebelle would be a good tool in creating and manipulating this?
3)also, for extra control I was thinking of involving about 2 computers to run HD video from, and run it back into for further manipulation. is this a doable thing?
much appreciated...
poopsie

[poopsie]

4)oh yeah, and also I was wondering if you knew about other similar options that are worth looking into. is this the best of its kind in your opinion?
optoyz. those effects you are getting are wicked.
I need something for more minimal isolation of textures, noise, colour.
I dont need shapes moving around, just texture (which I create as the video source anyway) and manipulation of that.

[LEVLHED]

I got my Rebelle by being very stubborn and fearless. I was the first person to actually buy one, I couldn't tell you how many others have. I know the maker has maintained that they will be in very limited production.
honestly, I don't think a Rebelle is the right tool for what you wish to do.
IMO, you should look into MaxMSP/Jitter, which is going to give you the ultimate control over all the raw aspects of video you need.
or possibly one of the other modular-based apps
A rebelle is an analog a/v distortion/synth. you send audio and video into it, it destroys it and sends it back out. the control it provides via the knobs and switches and jacks amounts to variations on the same theme of destruction.

[holly]

Or just make your own!
http://images.tigerdirect.com/SKUimages/medium/C184-03158-main-mg.jpghttp://www.jewelry-making.com/pics/jmtt61.JPG
step 1: cut half-way through the video cable with the wire cutters until copper is exposed and fraying.
optional: Also try chewing, pulling, and closing wires in door or airtight case lid.

step 2: jiggle the wires to try to get a clean picture. Enjoy!

:devilwink :yep:

[poopsie]

thanks for the advice.
I agree that max/jitter will do what I want in a certain way, and I plan to emerse myself in that aswell. I guess my concern with that is for the detail and resolution and real-time-ness and organic complexity I want, I dont think any computer I could possibly afford will give me what I want. I am so sick of stuttery crashy bullshit. one day I will get a kickass powerful computer when the technology is ready for me, but until then, I have a feeling that analogue technology is going to be what I need.

holly. yeah. that was my plan. I have had some luck with "y-cable" rcas and such. just wiggling the connections is fun. take apart old vcrs and mixers and synths and re-wire them. I guess Im just intimidated as my visions are kind of high and at this moment I know nothing about what part does what and what cables go where etc. I can screw around but without the knowledge about technicalities I think I will be very limited in my success. I still want to do my own experimentation and building, but as it is expandable, it seems like the restate will give me a good starting tool to build apon with all the basic ins and outs already working, and a format which I can copy with other parts I might want to add. but, if its impossible to get one, then I will make one myself. it will probably take me about a year locked in my closet tho. :)

So, In esscence, I agree with both of you, and that is my plan to do both of those things,... but I still want it, even if it is only a starting tool.

so, levlhead, would you be able to give me any information reguarding where I might start talking to rebelle.
I also understand that being such a precious and unique thing you might be worried about me undermining the uniqueness of your style. but, although I guess in the nature of the thing, I might end up having some similarities, i have a very specific goal in mind and Im not just going for a "glitch" or letting the tool be the only aethetic value in play. my visuals are super minimal so Im pretty sure you wont have a problem with that.

what about other circuit bent stuff available. I have seen a few people do cool stuff. you are probably familiar with most of it. how do you think the rebelle compares to this other stuff out there?

also, what about loss of signal to the projector (i.e. blue screen interruptions) ? any problem with that?

[holly]

Bluescreen interuptions might be unavoidable depending on the projector..., but another solution might be to find a reliable way to record the signal and create samples from those recordings. I'm not sure if that is "cheating" in benderworld or just saving the best experiments for performance.... IMO it might be prudent to have a bit of both at live performances. (LEV has recorded some of his performances so he might have advice for you there.)

The excellent 1947 soundtrack for Forbidden Planet was assembled (music concrete- stylee) from recordings of circuits that were burning out, not just bent. They called it "organic" since you experienced the life/death of the circuit. I had a Tamagotchi that burnt out and it made the most encredible glich'n'rhythms the day before it died.
:fish:

[KillingFrenzy]

One way to get around the bluescreen issue is to do all your seriously messed up sync stuff with a nice fat old analog monitor as your "output". Then, shoot the analog monitor with a camera and feed that to your projector. You projector input will remain stable (you won't send anything scary to your projectors sync) and you can even do some feedback fooling if you feed the camera back into your mix.

This is also your last ditch choice if you ever get in a situation where you can't output from a device like a laptop for some reason. Shoot the screen with a camera. Better than going home angry.

[LEVLHED]

some projectors can handle more than others, but none that I've encountered yet can handle the full onslaught of the Rebelle. They all lose sync and fart out blue or black, most with a setting of no more than "1 o'clock". I have tried many different remedies, none of them work perfectly. KF's method may be the only way around total sync-loss. I remember having it hooked up to a proper PAL TV @ AVIT-Brighton w/sleepytom and was stunned by the output. I was actually thinking about this last week and was wondering how one would get around the sync-roll/shutter speed thing..which I guess is kind of funny considering what I'm talking about.
I also just noticed that you are in Canada. Rebelle is PAL only, which introduces a whole other set of problems for people in NTSC land.
I'm still not sure a Rebelle is what you want. I'm not saying this based on any kind of ego or self-style-preservation. Its based on my own experience with what the thing is and is not capable of and what you've described as your goals. I can appreciate your desire for hardware and knobs, but I just don't think you'll be happy with a Rebelle.

if you still insist that you need a Rebelle, the only way is by being persistent and honest with the maker. She is very quirky but in my experience is very honest..you just have to be able to interpret that hack-speak. Understand that it is handmade and takes a lot of time to make. There is no way she will invest the time in making another one unless she knows you are completely commited to paying for it and worthy of having one. And even then, I'm not even sure you will be able to get one. might just be all done making them.

[LEVLHED]

just realized while reviewing this thread that none of my samples are up anymore.
will have to remedy that this weekend

[LEVLHED]

Here's (http://www.noiseav.com/video/RebelleApex.wmv) a 2minute/60mb high quality a/v WMV of output from the Rebelle. I did this specificly to test out one of my latest ideas to tame the nasty sync. This is nothing more than a DVD players screen saver run into the Rebelle to a pro Panasonic PAL VHS recorder. I thought maybe something more "analog" could handle the signal better, and it does. but you'll see the green screens and when the output seems to loop a very short half second over and over is the VHS crapping out on the signal. The audio is just the Rebelle with no audio being sent to it and I wasn't focusing so much on the audio..but it is representative of what it does.
This is the very crudest of examples, there can be more modualtion of the video via the audio possible if run differently, but the video output still is basically the same...destruction destruction destruction...

poopsie, I was thinking more about what you are after and I would suggest you start picking up cheap video mixers and video EQs to run in complex feedback loops, this would give you the abstract output that has control over color and texture and whatnot...just a suggestion (I've always wanted to do it myself anyway)

[pixelform]

one thing that will prevent the loss of synch when going out to projectors is a time based corrector. I encountered these things in a professional video graphics studio out here in LA. You can pretty much put anything into it and it will give you a solid video signal on the other end.

[LEVLHED]

do you remember what the TBC was?
I'm not convinced it would work though since every TBC I've put in the path to date has freaked out....

[pixelform]

Yeah the TBC is a was basically a variable delay used to correct errors in a video signal that resulted from mechanical issues. The TBCs I was using could regen synch from an external source. One thing to look for would be a video synch decoder and encoder pair. I've been looking into analog ICs that I believe would allow for the regeneration of synch for some of the most distorted of signals. Now that I have a steady job for the summer and several large scale projects outside of the video world, this research/experimentation may have to wait until the fall.

[poopsie]

Thank you all very much for entertaining my questions. very helpful.

I have emailed "her" and so I will see what she can do. I do still want one. but if she cant she cant.

It seems that there are solutions to the sync problem even if problematic so thats great.

Lev: Thanks for the tip on the cheap mixers and eqs. that sounds interesting. I was thinking of fucking with that kind of stuff anyway too. I wanted to try to find a bunch of old hardware off ebay and take it apart.

Lev. the pal problem you mentioned: is that a problem because of ac/dc voltage differences etc.? can pal not be used at all here? I think computer prgrams like aftereffects can put out a pal quicktime, and if it can run on a computer, it can then go back to a projector as projectors are designed to work with computers, no?. or is it just that it probably wont work with any other gear I buy here?
you said youd gotten over the pal problem. why was that?

sorry for all the questions. you are very helpful. thanks.

[poopsie]

Lev: oh yeah and thanks for the new vid. it is sweet. I can really see the potential for me when I run my stuff though it. combined with all the other home-made stuff. Im very excited.
you are welcome to see my stuff if you like. I am just uploading one with similar sound to your video too. (although you need heavy bassy speakers to hear anything otherwise it just sounds like a mistake)just go to the "videos" button under my photo.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=41674305

so thats the other thing, that I would love to get this for the sound element too. anyway we'll see what happens if I can get it. thanks again for your help : ) Let me know if your over in vancouver any time.

[LEVLHED]

PAL is a different video standard/format than NTSC. The problem is you can't run PAL signal into an NTSC device/vice versa (well, you *can* but it doesn't look right)
projectors can be switched to display PAL. many DVD players will output PAL. a V4 can be switched to PAL. your computers TV-out can be switched to PAL
however video cameras generally won't switch and any other video mixer/etc won't switch. nor will TVs or VCRs

one of my dreams is to move to Vancouver. its one of the sunniest places in the world, and its not in the USA. and since I'm a wedding DJ maybe I can get work on Vancouver Island.

[robotfunk]

putting a TBC after a rebelle would probably destroy the effect, or at least lessen it