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Typical video files, such as MP4 files with H.264 compression, are usually small in size and with high visual quality. Such files are suitable for visual inspection but do not work well for video analysis. In most cases, computer vision software prefers to work with raw data or other compression formats. The Musical Gestures Toolbox for Matlab works best with these file types: Video: use.jpg (Motion.jpg) as the compression format. This compresses each frame individually....

After several years in the making, we finally “released” the Musical Gestures Toolbox for Python at the NordicSMC Conference this week. The toolbox is a collection of modules targeted at researchers working with video recordings. Below is a short video in which Bálint Laczkó and I briefly describe the toolbox: https://youtu.be/tZVX\_lDFrwc About MGT for Python The Musical Gestures Toolbox for Python includes video visualization techniques such as creating motion videos, motion history images, and motiongrams....

For the last couple of days, I have participated in the NordicSMC conference. It was organized by a team of Ph.D. fellows from Aalborg University Copenhagen, supported by the Nordic Sound and Music Computing network. UiO is happy to be a partner in this network, together with colleagues in Copenhagen (AAU), Stockholm (KTH), Helsinki (Aalto), and Reykjavik (UoI). Choosing a conference format When we began discussing the conference earlier this year, it quickly became apparent that it was unrealistic to meet in person....

Quotation marks are used for different things in texts. Sometimes they are used to mark actual quotations, things that people have said and written. Other times they are used to mark a word, such as this is “funny”. Some people also use them to Single vs double quotes There is not a right or wrong when it comes to using single (’) or double (") quotes. Different style guides say different things, so use whatever is suggested....

Here is another FFmpeg-related blog post, this time to explain how to rotate a video using the command-line tool FFmpeg. There are two ways of doing this, and I will explain both in the following. Rotation in metadata The best first try could be to make the rotation by only modifying the metadata in the file. This does not work for all file types, but should work for some (including ....

I have previously written about how to trim video files with FFmpeg. It is also easy to crop a video file. Here is a short how-to guide for myself and others. Cropping is not the same as trimming This may be basic, but I often see the concepts of cropping and trimming used interchangeably. So, to clarify, trimming a video file means making it shorter by removing frames in the beginning and/or end....

After nearly three years of planning, we can finally welcome people to MusicLab Copenhagen. This is a unique “science concert” involving the Danish String Quartet, one of the world’s leading classical ensembles. Tonight, they will perform pieces by Bach, Beethoven, Schnittke and folk music in a normal concert setting at Musikhuset in Copenhagen. However, the concert is nothing but normal. Live music research During the concert, about twenty researchers from RITMO and partner institutions will conduct investigations and experiments informed by phenomenology, music psychology, complex systems analysis, and music technology....

I have presented my thoughts on Open Research at many different institutions and for various groups over the last few years. One question that tends to come up repeatedly in various forms is: “Isn’t it much more time-consuming doing Open Research?”. The short answer is yes. It does require more of a researcher (or research group, lab, centre, department, or institution) to work openly. For example, sharing data openly typically requires cleaning and documenting it so others can understand it....

Earlier today, I presented at the national open research conference Hvordan endres forskningshverdagen når åpen forskning blir den nye normalen? The conference is organized by the Norwegian Forum for Open Research and is coordinated by Universities Norway. It has been great to follow the various discussions at the conference. One observation is that very few questions the transition to Open Research. We have, finally, come to a point where openness is the new normal....

Sometimes, there is a need to convert an audio file into a blank video file with an audio track. This can be useful if you are on a system that does not have a dedicated audio player but a video player (yes, rare, but I work with odd technologies…). Here is a quick recipe FFmpeg to the rescue When it comes to converting from one media format to another, I always turn to FFmpeg....