Hi - one of my favourite modules is Multiscreen by JeSs.
Using this module the other night my fevered brain hatched a thought for a module which would be able to divide up just one layers output, ideally a camera layer, into say 9 tiles - a 3x3 screen, where each division or 'tile' could be moved manually, somehow, rather like 'Sam Lloyds Fifteen' here -
http://www.cut-the-knot.org/pythagoras/fifteen.shtml
(another edit - the idea I have would be more like Lloyds Eight not his fifteen of course!)
- It would be perfect if the movement of each 'tile' could be constrained to either horizontal or vertical movement and as there wouldn't be a 'missing' tile like in 'Fifteen' then when one tile was moved to a new location the displaced 'tile' might be auto moved to the moved tiles empty square.
There is a Korg Entrancer effect that has also fed this mad inspiration, no. 83 if memory serves, for those of you with access to same. (edit - no it's not 83, but that is one of my favourite crowd pleasers!)
The idea for this was prompted by a collaboration I am doing with a fine artist, painter friend where he makes 'live' paintings in black, white & lumagreen, I film tight onto his canvas as he works and project the output next to him, a reflection, same size; then I 'paint' and work with lots of keyed layers in M8 and also manipulate the sounds he makes via a contact mic we have located in the centre of his canvas fed out in quad sound. This moving 'tile' idea cropped up chatting the other night.
As soon as I can I will get clips up of the live painting as it is interesting in its own right. We restrict the set to 30 mins, chat whilst we work and move around as if the audience wasn't there and so far can keep 60 or 70 people interested and wonderfully silent for a half hour, no problem.
I am no programmer and I notice that JeSs is no longer on the forum but if any of you programming gurus could shed light on the feasability of this idea that would be great, thank you. If it is not at all feasible that would be useful knowledge also.
The main problems I guess are to be able to move the tiles manually not have them move automatically and to be able to restrain them to a horizontal or vertical movement only?
I just found this http://snippets.dzone.com/posts/show/414 whilst looking for the Sam Lloyd reference which may contain some python light.
Thanks for reading.
Peace.