Tim’s Approach to the DEMO Festival Project

I came across Tim Rodenbröker’s process for creating his DEMO Festival submission and found his approach pretty interesting. Instead of going the usual route, he decided to make things deliberately difficult for himself.

Working with Old Hardware

Rather than using modern equipment, Tim bought a used ThinkPad x260 for €129 – one of those laptops that’s considered obsolete but still functional. He installed Linux on it and chose to work with a tiny 72 x 128 pixel resolution, which is smaller than most thumbnails you see online.

The whole idea came from reading about Diogenes, the ancient Greek philosopher who rejected material possessions and lived simply. Tim applied this concept to his creative process, intentionally limiting his tools instead of using the latest software and hardware.

The Creative Process

Using Processing, he created these abstract animations that looked like organic creatures with tentacles. The small resolution and gradients gave them an interesting metallic appearance. But he didn’t stop there – he processed all the frames through a dithering algorithm that converted everything to black and white with a distinctive dotted pattern.

The final step involved scaling these tiny animations up to the festival’s required size (1080×1920) using command-line tools. The result was pixelated, dithered animations that had a deliberately crude but visually engaging quality.

Why It Works

What’s interesting about this approach is how the visual style directly reflects the method. The animations look like they were made on old hardware because they actually were. Instead of trying to hide the limitations, Tim made them part of the aesthetic.

It’s a good reminder that constraints don’t necessarily limit creativity – sometimes they can push you in directions you wouldn’t have explored otherwise. The “worse” tools forced him to think differently about the work.

The project shows that you don’t always need the latest technology to create something worth watching. Sometimes working backwards can lead to more interesting results than moving forward.

You can read Tim’s detailed breakdown at timrodenbroeker.de/diogenes-meets-demo-festival