Mixing, Adjusting and Generating Complementary Color Data-Sources in VDMX

While Quartz Composer is mainly used for creating interactive video sources and FX, one of of the other powerful ways it can be used in VDMX is to create your own custom plugins that can generate values or manipulate data-sources that can be used to drive other parameters in your setup. Another great thing about this feature is that once these compositions are created they can be shared and easily installed on different computers so that other people can take advantage of the new functionality.

For this tutorial we'll be looking at three very simple Quartz Composer compositions can be used within VDMX for manipulating color data-sources in particular.

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How to do a NYE Countdown

One of the biggest nights for live visual performers is New Years Eve and in particular there is responsibility in particular that can be unexpectedly tricky to get right. That is handling the countdown to midnight. Often it can mean coordinating with other performers or workers at the venue. Depending on what is required of you during the show there are a few different approaches you may want to take when setting up your projects. It also helps to have an idea in advance of what your options are for running a visual countdown.

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Introduction to The Timecode Plugin

When designing preplanned shows and working alongside other software, one of the common tasks is keeping the timing of everything in sync. Within VDMX there are two main ways of working with time – the Clock plugin which is used for working in measures and beats and the Timecode plugin which counts in SMPTE time.

In this set of tutorials we'll cover the basics of using the Timecode plugin which publishes several data sources in VDMX, and is capable of both receiving and sending SMPTE timecode in a variety of formats.

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Using VDMX as a Syphon Mixer

One of the best things about being a VJ on the Mac these days is Syphon which makes it possible for all of the different tools that are available to work together in countless ways. Within VDMX it is possible to have as many Syphon inputs and outputs as your computer can handle, which allows for it to be used as a source, mixer, FX processor or final output for other software you may want to work with.

In this video tutorial we'll look at a simple use case for connecting several Syphon enabled applications to and from VDMX by creating a two channel mixer that fades between two Syphon sources and publishes back out for other applications to use.

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Analyzing multi-track audio from Live in VDMX using Soundflower

For musicians working in Ableton Live or other multitrack production software one of the most useful tricks for driving real-time visuals is to output each sound track on a different set of audio channels before they are mixed together to get more accurate results for each sound when performing audio analysis in VDMX.

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Connecting VDMX and Unity3D by Syphon

While mainly designed for cross platform game development many Mac VJs take advantage of the Unity3D engine for the purposes for creating 3D worlds and other real-time generated graphics for use in visual performance. By connecting these environments to other VJ applications like VDMX over Syphon and OSC we can control these worlds and mix, process and output the virtual camera signals from a scene like any other live media source.

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Luma Key Techniques for Layer Composition

One of the most powerful techniques for combining multiple layers of video into an output is the use of masking, also known as luma keying. With this process, two video sources are combined to create a "cut out" layer that can be composited over others image like a collage instead of simply blending them together. This style is commonly found in music videos, graphic design, and by VJs for live performance. Masking is also an important technique used when projection mapping video onto surfaces.

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More Fun Audio Analysis Techniques

Using individual plugins to directly automate the control of different aspects of a video performance or interactive installation can create some pretty awesome results, but one of the most powerful capabilities of VDMX is the ability to connect these plugins to each other to create more complex behaviors and visual effects that can be switched between during live VJ performance.

For this set of tutorials we'll look at a few ways that the Audio Analysis plugin can be used alongside the LFO plugin and standard interface controls as a demonstration of this technique.

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Using a Step Sequencer to trigger media clips

Along with being able to control any standard UI elements like sliders, buttons and color pickers, tracks in the step sequencer plugin in VDMX can be used to automate the changing of the media files playing back on a layer and create visuals rhythms. This general technique can be useful for a lot of projects such as VJ performances and building interactive video installations.

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Connecting the x-OSC wireless I/O board to VDMX

For this guest tutorial we are joined by Will Reardon, a motion designer and artist, currently developing video art objects. Currently Will is using VDMX and the x-OSC I/O board to create a device similar to his previous ‘Compendium’ with added interactive functionality.

We'll start by making a basic test connection between the software and hardware over WiFi, then begin to add a series of sliders and knobs to VDMX that receive values from the I/O board analog inputs.

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Applying Math Expressions to Slider Receivers

Using control data from other applications, external hardware, and internal providers like LFOs or Audio Analysis is a major component of VDMX- every UI element is capable of being controlled via MIDI/OSC/DMX/other data sources. The procedure for doing so is consistent across all UI items- you add a receiver (which receives data from things) to the UI element you're working with using the UI Inspector.

Typically the range of numbers being received can be automatically translated by VDMX to cover the local minimum and maximum envelopes of a slider UI item. However in some situations you may want to override the default number mapping behavior by using the settings in the sub-inspector panel for receivers. In this tutorial we'll look at some of the common cases you may run into and how to handle them.

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Using a mask to apply an FX to only part of a layer

In this guest tutorial we're joined by the Rockwell Group's LAB division who work as an interactive design team within a larger architecture firm where they focus on projects that blend physical and virtual spaces.

For a recent projection mapping installation in NYC, one of the techniques used by the LAB was to apply a real-time video FX on to a specific portion of one of the pre-rendered movies so that part of the image was left unprocessed in the main output while another section was color shifted to match the lighting effects in the room. Today we'll show you how that was accomplished.

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Creating a multi-channel live camera video sampler

For this technique video tutorial we'll be looking at how to use VDMX to create a multi-camera video sampler setup with the ability to record movie clips from a live feed to be immediately remixed and saved for later editing. As movie clips are sampled they will be automatically added to the bin page where they can be triggered for output making this simple example useful either on its own, or added on to an existing project.

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How to make a customized Livid OhmRGB Slim template by eatyourwork

For today's guest post we're joined by eatyourwork who first introduced us to the possibilities of using OhmRGB Slim alongside of VDMX in a blog post a couple of years ago. Since then we've made a few basic templates for new video performers to get started with a simple VJ video mixer setup with the Ohm, but in this video tutorial Simas shows off the extent to which you can customize your layout and MIDI mapping when making your own video performance rig.

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Making three templates for the Livid Base

When getting a new MIDI controller to use with VDMX, or other VJ / music making software, one of the most exciting aspects is finding out the best way to map the sliders and buttons to various controls that you want to use during performance, and along with that coming up with new ways that you can configure your software video generators and FX to get the most out of the layout of your instrument.

In this set of technique tutorials we'll be looking at three new example VDMX setups we've come up with for the Livid Base that take advantage of the controller in a few different ways including its multi-color LEDs and pressure sensitive pads.

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How to build the Waveclock Demo template

In this tutorial we'll be looking a closer look at using automatic BPM detection for syncing up the timing of visual events with music by recreating the core parts of the Waveclock Demo template that is included with VDMX.

The approach we'll take is to create a virtual video instrument in the form of a Quartz Composer composition and animate its interface controls with Step Sequencer and LFO plugins. Presets for patterns in each plugin can then be saved and switched to match the energy level of the music while VJing during a live set. 

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