CEEMAC and Fire Organ (original) (raw)

Fire Organ was a program I discovered in the early '80s working at my father's computer store in Andover, MA (OnLine Computers, 2 Elm Sq. right across the the street from the library). At the time, I didn't realize that Fire Organ was actually a demo disk for a language called CEEMAC developed by Brooke Boering. I just enjoyed the seemingly endless permutations of the scores as they'd cycle through on the old Franklin Ace's or the Apple IIc's we had on display. I also thought it was cool that some of the music I had just started to get into (e.g.Pink Floyd) was mentioned in the liner notes as motiviations for some of the scores. These were the forefathers of the visualizations made so popular by Winamp and other current audio players.

Here is a pretty good description of CEEMAC I culled from The Apple II Programmer's Catalog of Languages and Toolkits:

Author: Brooke W Boering
Date: Jan 1982
Company: Vagabondo Enterprises

A DOS 3.3 graphics language which is a part of a graphics/sound program.

The basic concept in CEEMAC was the programmer wrote scores of graphics and sounds which were then performed.

The language used tables of values (sin, cos, tan) to create cureves, and it also allowed the programmer to use shapes. There were macros that produced dots, boxes, color, sound, and more. It allowed you to anchor a curve at one end and move the other end around. It also allowed you to set the symmetry of the 'score'.

Here is a sample score:

SCORE: KT :FIRE ORGAN KEY T SPEED [0,0] : - BUT 0 0 CLEAR [0,0] XY1 = 80;80;80;80 : MAIN LOOP F :FORGND SYMMETRY 0-3 VC = RND3 ORA 3 : SAVE FORGND ROTATION VD = ROTEZ :FORGND COLOR COLOR = NXTCOL

Other items related to CEEMAC in addition to Fire Organ were disks called Maestro (a companion tool to CEEMAC) and Sparkee (which I believe contained more sample scores). There was also apparently a CEEMAC newsletter.

So here is my short tribute to Fire Organ. I've taken the liner notes for each score and put them with a small image of that score. (Please excuse the YELLING in the page, I kept the formatting of the notes as close as possible to the original. Remember the days of no lowercase???) These small static JPG files certainly do not do the program justice, but serves as a small reminder for those that would like to reminisce. By all means, if you are interested, I would encourage you to check out the real thing!

If you still have Apple II hardware, you can get a disk image of Fire Organ from asimov or one of the other Apple II disk archives and then transfer that image to a real floppy via a tool called ADT (Apple Disk Transfer) also available on asimov and other locations on the net (googleis your friend).

No Apple II? No problem? There is a plethora of great Apple II emulators available for most current systems. Grab one of these, grab the disk image, and fire (organ) away.

Related Links

• A structured graphics language: Ceemac.
• Here is the disk image I was working from to generate this page. It may be slightly different from the ones on asimov, as the last time I looked, the ones I saw up there did not have the liner notes.

ABOUT BROOKE BOERING'S SCORES

MOST OF THESE SCORES ARE DESIGNED FOR 'SET AND FORGET' MODE OF OPERATION WHILE ALSO PROVIDING A DEGREE OF INTERACTION USING THE PADDLES AND BUTTONS. SETTINGS CAN USUALLY BE FOUND TO SUIT MOST ANY MUSIC. YOU WILL FIND YOUR OWN FAVORITE COMBINATIONS.

THE 'RETURN' KEY WILL OF TEN CAUSE CHANGES TO THE PICTURE WHICH PERMITS A 'BEAT' EFFECT. THIS FEATURE IS SORTA UNSUPPORTED AT THIS TIME BUT ON OCCASION MAY PROVE INTERESTING.

PLEASE EXCUSE THE SPARSENESS OF THESE SCORE NOTES. MOST OF THEM WERE DONE OVER AN EXTENDED TIME PERIOD AND THEIR ORIGINS ARE LOST IN ANTIQUITY.

HAPPY LOOKINGS!

GENERAL:

UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED, THE FOLLOWING APPLY:

PADDLE-0 ALWAYS DETERMINES THE RELATIVE SPEED OF EXECUTION (EXCEPT ON SCORES 1-3)

PADDLE-1 SETS PICTURE TIME AND/OR SIZE

BUTTON-0 EXTENDS THE PICTURE TIME (USUALLY BUILDING VARIETY)

BUTTON-1 ALWAYS RESTARTS THE SCORE EITHER BY A FAST SCREEN CLEAR OR A SOFTER TECHNIQUE.

KEY-1 Conology
	PDL-0 DOESN'T EFFECT SPEED!!PDL-1 ALSO DETERMINES HOW OFTEN THE THE BACKGROUND IS SWAPPED BETWEEN BLACK AND COLOREDBUT-0 CANCELS , RETAINING THE SAME BACKGROUND MODEBUT-1 CANCELS SWAPPING BACKGROUND MODE
KEY-2 Space Cutters
	PDL-0 DOESN'T EFFECT SPEED!!THE REST I'M GOING TO LET YOU FIGURE OUT FOR YOURSELF.HINT: BUT-0 DOESN'T WORK LIKE THE OTHER SCORES
KEY-3 Score-3
	PDL-0 DOESN'T EFFECT SPEED !!
KEY-A Mugato
KEY-B Synthony
	BUT-1 ALSO CHANGES COLOR & FLIPS SYMMETRY
KEY-C Sky Paths
	BUT-1 EXTENDS PICTURE, ALTERS SYMMETRY
KEY-D Veacon
KEY-E Foo Cunfoo
KEY-F Spoke-Scope
KEY-G Frences
KEY-H Netswork
KEY-I Group-9
	PDL1 SETS VOICE PITCHBUT-0 EXTENDS TALKING TIME (BUT WE' RE NOT SURE WHAT'S BEING SAID)
KEY-J Flythe"
	PDL-1 ALSO CAUSES SOFT CANCEL AND RESTART

ABOUT JP MCMILLAN'S SCORES

7/30/81
- LINER NOTES -

THESE ARE THE LINER NOTES FOR A NEW TYPE OF VISUAL RECORD. (YOU MAY NOT BELIEVE THAT, BUT I DO AND THEY'RE MY NOTES)

KEYS 7-9 AND Q-Z ARE CONNECTED TO MY VISUAL COMPOSITIONS ("SCORES")

AS I MENTIONED ABOVE, I LOOK AT MY SCORES ON THIS SAMPLE AS "CUTS" ON A VISUAL RECORD WHERE YOUR APPLE IS THE "RECOR D PLAYER"

ALTHOUGH NONE OF THE SCORES IS PHYSICALLY SYNCHRONIZED TO ANY SOUND INPUT, ALL OF MY WORK HEAVILY DEPENDS ON THE PRESENCE OF MUSIC "AROUND" THE VISUALS

WHEN I SIT DOWN TO COMPOSE A SCORE, I USUALLY HAVE SPECIFIC PIECE MUSIC IN MIND AND A GROUP OF PICTURES IN MY HEAD I WANT TO CONNECT TO THAT MUSIC. THE ACTUAL IMAGES WHICH I PRODUCE ARE ALWAYS SOMETHING QUITE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I IMAGINED

THIS IS PARTIALY DUE TO THE LIMITATIONS OF MY ARTISTIC ABILITY AND THE LIMITATIONS IN THE APPLE'S HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

ANOTHER REASON WHY "THINGS NEVER TURN OUT LIKE I PLANNED" IS THAT THERE ARE SO MANY BEAUTIFUL WAYS TO GET SIDE TRACKED

FOR ME THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO RECOGNIZE AN INTERESTING PATH AND FOLLOW IT REGARDLESS OF THE ORIGINAL IDEA

ONCE A THEME HAS IMMERGED, I SPEND SOME TIME "TUNNING" THE SCORE TO THE MUSIC BY TRYING DIFFERENT RANGES FOR LOOP CONTROL VARIABLES, ETC

FOR EACH SCORE, HOWEVER, THERE COMES A TIME WHEN I MUST RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO CHANGE IT ANY MORE AND DECLARE IT FINISHED

-- THE MUSIC --

WHEN I TALK AB OUT THE SCORES A LITTLE FURTHER ON, I'M GOING TO RECOMMEND SOME MUSIC. PLEASE KEEP THE FOLLOWING IN MIND:

* I CLAIM NO ASSOCIATION WITH ANY OF THE ARTISTS MENTIONED. I AM MERELY RECOMMENDING MUSIC WHICH I LIKE VERY MUCH THAT HAS BEEN AN INSPIRATION TO ME. IF ANY OF THE MUSIC MENTIONED HERE INTERESTS YOU, BY ALL MEANS BUY THE RECORDS *

THE MUSIC MENTIONED IS BY NO MEANS THE -ONLY- MUSIC WHICH WILL "WORK" WITH MY SCORES. (PLAY THE MUSIC YOU LIKE). -- BUT PLEASE PLAY SOME SORT OF MUSIC--

-- THE SCORES --

THE FOLLOWING ARE MY IMPRESSIONS OF MY SCORES AS I CAN RECALL THEM TONIGHT. (NEXT WEEK I WOULD PROBABLY SAY SOMETHING ELSE)

EACH OF THE THREE COMPOSERS CHOSE A SPECIFIC RANGE OF KEYS ON THE APPLE KEYBOARD. I ASSIGNED MY SCORES TO THE KEYS WITH REGARD TO THE PHYSICAL LOCATION OF THE KEY ON THE KEYBOARD RATHER THAN BY ALPHANUMERIC POSITION

FOR THIS REASON I WILL BE TALKING ABOUT THE SCORES AS YOU WILL ENCOUNTER THEM ON THE KEYBOARD

KEY-9 Wal
	UNLIKE MOST OF MY WORK, SCORE "WAL" TRIES TO KEEP THE SCREEN FULL OF OVERLAYING WALLS OF LIGHT. IT IS DONE ENTIRELY WITH SIMPLE STRAIGHT LINES AND SOME SCREEN CLEAR LOGIC WHICH TRIES TO CLEAR OFTEN ENOUGH TO AVOID REPETITION OF INTERFERENCE PATTERNSSUGGESTED MUSIC:"AS FALLS WITCHITA SO FALLS WITCHITA FALLS", PAT METHENY & LYLE MAY, ECM1 -1190, (ESPECIALLY SIDE 1)"TUSK", FLEETWOOD MACK, 2HS3350. ("BEAUTIFUL CHILD")"BELLA DONNA", STEVIE NICKS, MR38139. (ESPECIALLY SIDE 1)
KEY-8 Lup
	THIS IS AN EFFORT TO PRODUCE A FAST MOVING "ELASTIC" SORT OF EFFECT. (ITS A RACE TO KEEP UP WITH THE MUSIC). IT USES A STRAIGHT LINE SHAPE WHICH IS ROTATED AND SCALEDSUGGESTED MUSIC:"MISTAKEN IDENTITY", KIM CARNES, S O17052, (DRAW OF THE CARDS, BETTE DAVIS EYES)
KEY-7 Wav
	THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO PRODUCE A WAVE-LIKE EFFECT. IT WAS ORIGINALLY A PART OF A FREE PERFORMANCE AT "DURTY NELLIE'S IRISH BAR" IN PALATINE ILL DURING THE WINTER OF 1981SUGGESTED MUSIC:"WAVELENGTH", VAN MORRISON, B SK3212,. (TITLE SONG)
KEY-Q CWA
	THIS IS VARIATION ON "WAL" (KEY-9). HERE CURVED LINES (KNOWN AS CEE-LINES) WERE ADDED TO THE STRAIGHT LINES AND SOME TRICKS WERE TRIED WITH "OFF-CENTERED" SYMMETRY.SUGGESTED MUSIC:"LIVE/DEAD", THE GREATEFUL DEAD, 1830, (THE ELEVEN) "SURREALISTIC PILLOW", JEFFERSON AIRP LANE, AYL13738, (COMIN' BACK TO ME)
KEY-W BRD
	THIS IS MY STRONGEST ATTEMPT TO PRODUCE A "REPRESENTATIONAL" PICTURE ON THE SCREENSUGGESTED MUSIC:"CIVILIZED EVIL", JEAN-LUC PONTY, SD16020, (FORMS OF LIFE, ETC)
KEY-R MSZ
	ONE OF MY EARLIEST SCORES. IT BEGAN AS AN EXPERIMENT WITH MULTIPLE SHAPES IN A SINGLE SCORE. IT WAS DESIGNED TO PRODUCE A "CLOUD NEBULA" EFFECT (ALTHOUGH THE RIGORS OF SEVERAL CONVERSION PROCESSES HAVE CHANGED ITS PERSONALITY SOMEWHAT)SUGGESTED MUSIC:"MAKING MOVIES", DIRE STRAITS, BSK3480, (ROMEO & JULIET, ETC)
KEY-T MRY
	ANOTHER SCORE ORIGINALLY PERFORMED AT "DURTY NELLIE'S ". ITS AN EVOLUTION OF "MSZ" (KEY-R)SUGGESTED MUSIC:"NURDS", THE ROCHES, B SK3475, (THIS FEMININE POSITION, ONE SEASON, BOBBY'S SONG)
KEY-Y JWL
	THIS SCORE ATTEMPTS A JEWEL-LIKE EFFECT IN A BLACK SKY. IT WAS PERFORMED AT "DURTY NELLIE'S" LESS THAN 2 HOURS AFTER ITS COMPOSITIONSUGGESTED MUSIC:"CLUES", ROBERT PALMER, ILLP9595, (I DREAM OF WIRES, WOKE UP LAUGHING)
KEY-U SUN
	(INSPIRED BY A VIDEO TAPE OF PINK FLOYD)SUGGESTED MUSIC:"UMMA GUMMA", PINK FLOYD, STBB388, (SET THE CONTROLS FOR THE HEART OF THE SUN) "A NEW WORLD RECORD", ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA, UALA 679 G0698, (MISSION (A NEW WORLD RECORD))
KEY-S BOX
	(ONE OF A KIND)SUGGESTED MUSIC:"FREAK OUT", THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION, V650 052, (HELP I'M A ROCK)
KEY-Z MSU
	ANOTHER "DURTY NELLIE'S" PERFORMANCE PIECE. DESIGNED FOR MAXIMUM MOVEMENTSUGGESTED MUSIC:"A NEW WORLDS RECORD", ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA, UA CA678 G0698,. (SO FINE)
KEY-X MSX
	SIMULAR TO "MSZ" (KEY-R), BUT DESIGNED FOR MUSIC WITH A "SHARPER EDGE"SUGGESTED MUSIC:"WISH YOU WERE HERE", PINK FLOYD, JC334 53, (HAVE A CIGAR) "MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS", BRIAN ENO - DAVID BYRNE, S RK6093,. (ENTIRE ALBUM)
KEY-V MST
	IN THIS ONE THE SIZE OF THE SHAPES VARY QUITE A BIT. SMALL SHAPES TEND TO OVERWRITE A LOT "SLOWING DOWN" THE APPARENT SPEED OF THE PIECE. THIS TENDS TO CAUSE WIDE VARIATIONS IN THE TEMPO OF THE SCORESUGGESTED MUSIC:"FLEETWOOD MAC LIVE", FLEETWOOD MAC, 2WB3500, (FIREFLIES, RHIANNON)

ABOUT W. MICHAEL BENDIK'S SCORES

DOCUMENTATION FOR KEYS:
4, 5, 6.
K, L, M
N, O, P

CONTENTS:

ARTIST'S NOTES
GENERAL INFORMATION
SPECIFIC SCORE DOCUMENTATION

ARTIST:
W. MICHAEL BENDIK

ARTIST'S NOTES:

THE SCORES (4,5,6,K,L,M, N,O,P) DOCUMENTED HEREIN UTILIZE SOME OF THE MORE POWERFUL TOOLS PROVIDED BY THE LANGUAGE

THESE TOOLS, HOWEVER, WERE USED IN A SIMPLISTIC FASHION. HENCE, I RELYED ON THE POWER OF THE LANGUAGE AND MY CREATIVITY TO ACHIEVE THE DESIRED EFFECTS

MY CREATIVE FEELINGS, THROUGH, THIS LANGUAGE, CAN BE STATED AS: "THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE CONTINUOUS FLOWING MOVEMENT OF A RANDOM NATURE WITHIN A STRUCTURED ENVIRONMENT"

GENERAL INFORMATION:

EXTERNAL SCORE CONTROLS
PADDLE 0 = LOCKED OUT
PADDLE 1 = LOCKED OUT
BUTTON 0 = NON-EFFECTIVE
BUTTON 1 = RESTART SCORE
RETURN = NON-EFFECTIVE

TV SETTINGS RECOMENDATION

ADJUSTMENTS TO YOUR TV SET ARE PRIMARILY PERSONAL PREFERENCES. HOWEVER, DUE TO COLOR SELECTION BEING A PROGRAMABLE FUNCTION, AND AESTHETICALLY IMPORTANT, I WILL STATE MINE. EXCEPT WHERE UNIQUELY SPECIFIED WITHIN A KEY'S DOCUMENTATION THE BELOW DEFAULTS ARE PREFERED

BRIGHTNESS = EXTREME DARKNESS
CONTRAST = VERY SHARP
TINT = EITHER EXTREME

TO OBTAIN THE BEST RESULTS SET THE CONTROLS IN THE ORDER STATED, WITH A SCORE RUNNING, AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL LIGHTING AT ITS LOWEST TOLERABLE LEVEL

KEY-4 An Ice Cube for Brooke
	ARTISTIC NOTES: THIS SCORE, LIKE MOST OTHERS, REPRESENTS MY MOOD AT THE TIME OF WRITTING. YOU WILL PERCEIVE A COLDNESS WITH CRISP MOVEMENTS. THUS, THE ASSOCIATION WITH AN ICE CUBE TECHNICAL NOTES: THE SCORE USES STRAIGHT LINES FOR THE PURPOSE OF SPEED. IT IS A CONTINUOUS LOOP WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TRIVIAL PROGRAM INITIALIZATION. A TOTAL OF 14 MACRO STATEMENTS WERE USED
KEY-5 The Sound of Fleetwood Mac
	ARTISTIC NOTES: THIS SCORE WAS DESIGNED TO THE SOUND OF FLEETWOOD MAC. THE HURRICANE OR SPIRALLING AFFECT LENDS ITSELF TO THIER TYPE OF ROCK MUSIC TECHNICAL NOTES: THE SCORE USES 20 MACRO STATEMENTS
KEY-6 Visions into Pink Floyd
	ARTISTIC NOTES: THIS SCORE WAS DESIGNED WHILE LISTENING TO THE MUSIC OF "PINK FLOYD". A DEFINATE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE MUSIC AND ITS AFFECT ON ME CAN BE SEEN. I TOTALY RELIED ON THE CONCEPT OF "TRIAL AND ERROR" IN ORDER TO PUT INTO VISUAL FORM THE FEELINGS I FELT FROM THE MUSIC TECHNICAL NOTES: THE MAJORITY OF THE PROGRAM STATEMENTS WERE USED IN ORDER TO RESTRICT THE CURVED LINES THUS, PRODUCING BROAD CURVED LINES. A TOTAL OF 19 MACRO STATEMENTS WERE USED
KEY-K 21st Century Man Rushing
	ARTISTIC NOTES: THIS SCORE WAS WRITTEN TO THE ALBUM "21ST CENTURY MAN" BY BILLY THORPE. IT'S PURPOSE IS TO RELATE TO THE FASTER SOUNDS
KEY-L Lori's Thrill
	ARTISTIC NOTES: THIS SCORE IS THE RESULT OF AN EXPERIMENTATION I SHOWED A FRIEND SOME OF MY SCORES AND THEN ASKED HER WHAT SHE WOULD LIKE TO SEE OR CREATE ON THE SCREEN. AS WE DISCUSSED WHAT SHE WOULD LIKE, I TRANSLATED IT INTO MACRO STATEMENTS AND RAN THE SCORE. NATURALLY SHE WAS NOT SATISFIED WITH THE RESULT. HOWEVER, AFTER A SERIES OF APPROXIMATELY 20 TRIAL AND ERROR CHANGES & RE-RUNS, SHE WAS VERY HAPPY AND SURPRISED WITH THE RESULT. SUBSEQUENTLY, WITHIN THREE HOURS, TWO BOTTLES OF WINE, AND A LOT OF FUN, THIS SCORE WAS FINISHED TECHNICAL NOTES: A COLOR MONITOR IS VERY IMPORTANT. A TOTAL OF 15 MACRO STATEMENTS WERE USED
KEY-M Hi-Space Abstractions
	ARTISTIC NOTES: THIS SCORE REPRESENTS MY CONTRIBUTION TO ABSTRACT ART THROUGH THE USE OF THIS LANGUAGE WHILE CREATING THIS SCORE MY MIND WAS FREE OF MOST EXTERNAL INFLUENCES. YOU COULD SAY I WAS IN A STATE OF TRANQUILITY. HI-SPACE IS NOT FINISHED (IT MAY NEVER BE). HOWEVER, IT IS MY FAVORATE SCORE AND I FEEL COMPELED TO SHOW IT TECHNICAL NOTES: THE SCORE IS A CONTINUOUS LOOP INCLUDING PROGRAM INITIALIZATION. A UNIQUE PULSING STATEMENT IS USED AT THE END OF EACH SLIDE. A TOTAL OF 20 MACRO STATEMENTS WERE USED
KEY-N A Led Zeppelin Explosion
	ARTISTIC NOTES: THIS SCORE WAS WRITTEN TO THE MUSIC OF YOU KNOW WHO. MY PRIMARY INTENTION WAS TO CREAT CONTINUOUS MOVMENT THAT WOULD APPEAR TO BE AS FAST AS THE BEAT OF HARD ROCK MUSIC TECHNICAL NOTES: THERE WERE PRIMARILY TWO FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THE APPEARANCE OF SPEED:-LINES WERE RESTRICTED TO THE CENTER HALF OF THE SCREEN-CONTINUOUS CHANGING OF COLOR WITH EACH LINE DRAWN
KEY-O (ALPHA) 21st Century Man Slowing
	ARTISTIC NOTES: THIS SCORE WAS WRITTEN TO THE ALBUM "21ST CENTURY MAN" BY BILLY THORPE. IT IS INTENDED TO RELATE TO THE SLOWER MUSIC
KEY-P The Fire in Sophie
	ARTISTIC NOTES: THIS SCORE'S SOLE PURPOSE WAS TO UTILIZE CURVED LINES FOR THE CREATION OF BEAUTIFUL SLIDES