Putting yourself in a feedback loop — doing, observing results, adjusting — is how artistic skill with a tool develops

Daniel Sandin (creator of the Image Processor video synthesizer) articulated a practice philosophy that Olivia Jack cites as foundational to her live-coding approach: place yourself in a feedback loop where your actions are processed and visible, enabling constant tuning and refinement. The loop is: do something → observe results → do another thing → observe results again. This contrasts with planned, design-up-front workflows. In live coding this manifests as hot-reloading code during performance: the code is always running, changes are immediately visible, and the practitioner learns by iteration rather than specification. Jack describes this as why live coding resonates with her even as the tool’s creator: she still doesn’t know what will happen when she puts things together.

Examples

Pointing a camera at a screen and adjusting its angle in real time — feedback as the learning interface. Hot-reloading Hydra code in a browser during a performance so every change is immediately observable.

Assessment

Describe the feedback-loop practice method in your own terms. Give one example of how you could apply it deliberately when learning a new visual tool.