Multi-display video mixing with VDMX on a Retina MacBook Pro

April 20, 2013

Along with being able to work with more layers at higher resolutions, faster computers and more powerful graphics cards make it possible to output to multiple projectors or monitors from a single machine. In particular, the new 15" Retina Macbook Pro features a combination of a fast SSD hard drive along with two Thunderbolt and one HDMI port making it possible for a VJ to power 2 or 3 different HD displays from a single Mac laptop.

In this video tutorial we'll walk through the basic steps of preparing VDMX projects with a double-wide and triple-wide design to output with separate source layers for each display.

Passing DMX Universes into Quartz Composer from VDMX

April 18, 2013

Along with being able to directly control any UI item in VDMX, such as sliders and buttons, with the value from a DMX channel, when using Quartz Composer compositions it is possible to pass in an entire DMX universe (512 channels) of data all at once as a list of DMX values (ranged 0-255). Once inside the patch, the control information can be parsed programmatically to control real-time visuals or virtual lighting elements inside the patch, or to pass back value into VDMX by published outputs as control data.

Making Custom Quartz Composer Text Players for VDMX

April 16, 2013

Text layers are similar to other video generators in VDMX, with a few additional UI items for working with strings of words and letters. Behind the scenes, special Quartz Composer compositions are used to render the text as video and it's easy to create your own.

Creating Video Feedback Loops on a Mac with VDMX

April 14, 2013

One of the most powerful techniques used to create real-time visuals and computer graphics going back to the early days of video is the use of feedback loops - the method of taking the current output and using it as a source frame in part of the next rendered frame. This incredibly useful process is particularly useful for Mac VJs and other graphic artists looking to find a unique look or style for their visuals, and is easily simulated within VDMX by using layer groups.

Two Channel Video Mixer template for Livid OhmRGB Slim

April 11, 2013

The OhmRGB is a hardware MIDI controller from Livid Instruments for DJs and VJs with a nice mix of faders, knobs and buttons for triggering clips or FX. It's an especially useful controller to use with VDMX because it has a versatile layout which can be adapted for a variety of different setups ranging from simple DJ style two channel video mixers to advanced multiple layer compositions.

VJ Spain Guest Tutorial Part 3 - Usando Quartz Composer en VDMX

April 10, 2013

Today we are once again joined by guest poster Marcos Prack with part three of his series of Spanish video tutorials for a lesson on using Quartz Composer iterators and using compositions inside of VDMX: "En este tutorial os muestro como crear una composición en Quartz Composer y publicar parámetros que controlaremos luego en VDMX."

Auto loading media from a Dropbox folder to VDMX.

April 8, 2013

In this video tutorial we'll look at using the popular file sharing service 'Dropbox' to transfer images from an iPhone to a Mac, and then have those images automatically loaded into VDMX where they can be triggered and remixed. This same basic idea can be used with any folder on disk, whether the media files are manually moved, copied over a network, or downloaded over the Internet.

The Quartz Composer Interaction object and VDMX Preview Windows

March 12, 2013

One of the newer features added to Quartz Composer is a new 'Interaction' object which allows for mouse clicks in the QC Viewer, as well as Preview Window plugins within VDMX, to be detected when billboard and sprites are clicked, making it possible to control patches in a variety of ways not possible with standard input splitters.

For this tutorial we'll first create a basic Quartz Composer composition that makes use of the 'Interaction' object and then import it into VDMX where it can be manipulated directly from a Preview Window plugin.

Making and Installing GLSL Composition Modes for VDMX

March 6, 2013

To get the best performance out of using the Hap codec within VDMX we also recently added another new feature making it possible to use GLSL shaders to perform composition between layers. While the standard 'OpenGL- Add' and 'OpenGL- Over' modes are the absolute fastest when it comes to rendering, when more complex composition modes such as 'Difference' or 'Multiply' are needed shaders are the best alternative when playing back movie files, particularly when you're not using CoreImage or Quartz Composer based FX on the layer.

In this two part tutorial we'll look first at the basics of adding new 3rd party shaders to the assets folder, and then move on to the intermediate level step of creating new custom blend modes.

The 9 Layer 3x3 HD Video Wall

February 13, 2013

In this intermediate level tutorial we'll be taking 9 standard definition movies (640x360) and combining them in a 3x3 grid layout to make a single 1920x1080 HD output image in the style of a video wall on your Mac.