The striking new video for Radiohead's "House of Cards" was constructed entirely from data culled from laser scanning systems -- data that is now available for you to tinker with on Google Code. According to this post from Google Inc. product manager Ola Rosling, the video was shot using 64 lasers in a 360-degree array, pulsing 15 times each second. Google is hosting pieces of the code itself for download, and provides this 3D viewer with which you can toy with the visualizations yourself.
Although the creeping sense of dread in Radiohead's music is sometimes tied to a fear of technological dehumanization, the band has embraced novel uses of technology, including a pay-what-you-want digital distribution plan for In Rainbows, the album on which "House of Cards" appears, upon the LP's release last fall. (CBS-owned streaming radio and social media site Last.fm Inc. added In Rainbows to its library of full-length on-demand album streams early this month). Having already sold many millions of records, the band has something else in common with Google, too: the luxury of experimentation without worrying about making money in the short term. -- Paul Bonanos
See blog post from Google on Radiohead's video
See July 2 post about Last.fm and In Rainbows from Tech Confidential
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