VC | EP7 -Tommy Etkin/T3KT , Pardon me, are those Rays Marching?

Welcome to Episode 7 of our podcast! Today, we're thrilled to have Tommy Etkin aka  @tekt0  Tommy is not only an incredible VJ and co-founder of Immerse Studio, but he's also the mastermind behind RayTK, a powerful toolkit within the beloved software,  @TouchDesignerOfficial  . In this episode, we dive into Tommy's journey, from his time at Google to his exploration of creative mediums like MaxMSP,  @vvvvTv42  and eventually learning TouchDesigner. We explore his passion for creating art, crafting interactive experiences, and his venture into raymarching with the development of RayTK. Plus, stick around after the set as we chat about topics ranging from spirituality to shaping a better future. During Tommy's"SET" we get an exclusive look at RayTK in action within TouchDesigner and Tommy showcases an awe-inspiring interactive installation created for Mind Palace, an exhibition by Immerse Studio. Tommy's insights are truly enlightening, and it was a real lovely time having him on. Don't forget to subscribe, like, and share this conversation and showcase with anyone who loves immersive art and insightful discussions! Go check out Tommy's socials, his killer patreon, his amazing toolset RayTK and his media production company Immerse Studio: https://www.instagram.com/t3kt https://www.patreon.com/tekt https://www.t3kt.net/ https://www.raytk.net/ https://www.immerse.studio/ Chapters: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:15 - RayTKpril & the origins of Tommy 00:11:06 - From Computer Science & Google to Visual Art 00:22:00 - Touch Designer: Lowering the Barrier of Entry 00:33:13 - Creating User-Driven Designs 00:38:30 - The origin of immerse studios 00:47:00 - Tommy's Paintings 00:55:49 - Exploring Ray Marching with TouchDesigner 01:06:54 - The Open Source Nature of RayTK 01:10:19 - SET - intro to RayTK 01:18:17 - SET - The benefits of Raymarching 01:29:03 - SET - View Dependent Rendering & 4D 01:39:40 - SET - Challenges of Long-term Installations and Maintaining Projects 01:50:45 - SET - RayTK inspection tool and TouchDesighner OP Snippets 01:53:40 - SET - Memory Palace Exhibition - interactive & immersive installation 02:01:26 - SET - Using Touch Designer as a Complex Media Server 02:11:59 - SET - The Challenges of Update Compatibility & how TouchDesighner helps 02:17:30 - RayTKpril examples and showcase 02:22:51 - Dreadlocks and Identity 02:33:21 - Different Perspectives on Reality 02:43:25 - The Importance of Understanding fellow humans and Empathy Please like and subscribe and join us next week for another episode! Also follow us on social media (@thevisualcast) to find out who the next guest is! We also have an audio version on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so head on over and give us a review!! The Visual Cast Podcast is a weekly, recorded live visual podcast, were we interview some of the best, most influential and most talented visual artists from around the world! We break up the interview with the "set", a interactive portion of the cast where the guest chooses what they want to share with us!! It can be anything from a live generative visuals set to a show and tell of a past project, or in this case a in depth look at a toolset by the developer Thank you so much for watching and again a massive thanks to Tommy for coming on! Intro/Outro music by Mantismash https://www.instagram.com/mantismash Follow the Cast https://www.instagram.com/thevisualcast https://www.facebook.com/thevisualcast Follow Alon Hammer/REM https://www.instagram.com/remvisualart https://www.facebook.com/remvisualart https://remvisuals.com