Analyzing multi-track audio from Live in VDMX using Soundflower

April 24, 2015

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.

Using Video Game Controllers With VDMX

October 25, 2014

While many VJs and musicians use equipment designed to look like a traditional instruments for running their visuals, another great way to have gestural control during a live performance is by using setups normally used for gaming.

In this tutorial we'll look at three different types of game controllers that you can use with VDMX.

More Fun Audio Analysis Techniques

August 14, 2014

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.

Visualizing Audio Analysis FFT and Waveforms

August 8, 2014

Along with the produced control values that are used to directly automate interface controls like sliders and buttons, the Audio Analysis plugin in VDMX provides its input waveform and FFT values encoded as grayscale video streams that can be used to create real-time music visualizers and advanced sound reactive effects.

Using a Step Sequencer to trigger media clips

June 24, 2014

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.

Overview of Available Data-sources in VDMX

December 8, 2013

A big part of using VDMX is taking advantage of the ability to automate any of the standard interface controls (sliders, buttons, color pickers, pop-up menus) which are used to control everything including things like the opacity of a layer, the volume or rate of a movie, the intensity of a blurring FX being applied, or even the settings of any of the automation plugins themselves.

For this quick reference tutorial we'll look at all of the available data-sources that VDMX publishes internally for automating controls. These can all be used on their own, or together, and in some cases you may have multiple providers of each type.

Introduction tutorials translated to French

September 6, 2013

Introduction aux Plugins LFO et Sequencer à pas, Recevoir un Time Code MIDI SMPTE (MTC) dans VDMX, et Création de Presets Espace de travail

VJing with a WiiMote game controller in VDMX

June 20, 2013

While MIDI devices and OSC enabled applications tend to be most commonly used instruments by VJs when getting away from the computer during a live visual performance, another extremely powerful controller that can be paired with VDMX is the WiiMote game pad which can be connected to a Mac wirelessly over Bluetooth.

The basic configuration only takes a few moments to set up and then we can begin to put together a sample project that is designed to get the most out of the possibilities of the combining accelerometers with game style buttons for performing live visuals.

Making custom face tracking video FX and data-sources for VDMX with Quartz Composer

June 13, 2013

For this quick technique tutorial we've made two basic Quartz Composer compositions using the “Detection” object that can be loaded into VDMX to perform basic face capture and replacement FX that can be connected in a variety of ways. You can also use these example patches as starting points for your own patches that perform more complex behaviors like tracking multiple faces within a single frame or publishing additional control information.

Using Waveclock to send MIDI clock to VDMX

March 28, 2013

One of the most powerful tools available for Mac VJs is Waveclock, a beat tracking application designed to listen to music from a microphone or line input and convert it to standard MIDI Clock that can be used as a master to drive VDMX and other VJ software.

Setting up Media Bin Sync with TouchOSC

March 13, 2013

One of the first and most popular apps on iOS for remotely controlling the visuals running on your Mac is TouchOSC from Hexler which allows for customizing which controls are accessible from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, and configure their layout. In this tutorial we look at the 'Sync UI' option in the Media Bin for updating the display of buttons and button grids in TouchOSC as movies are triggered in VDMX.

Setting up Media Bin UI sync with the APC20 / APC40

January 25, 2013

This tutorial covers the steps needed to set up UI sync with the APC20 and APC40 controllers, and the technique is very similar for other hardware devices such as the Launchpad and Ohm-64, as well as touchscreen apps like TouchOSC. Read More

Step Sequencer Color Tracks

December 30, 2012

In addition to standard number values, VDMX supports the special OSC color type for quickly passing around packed RGBA values between data senders and receivers. This is particularly useful in the Step Sequencer plugin which has a color option for tracks, making it easy to automate changes and fades between colors for generators and FX that use color swatch UI items. Read More

Quantized Triggering with the Media Bin

October 30, 2012

A short video tutorial covering quantized triggering (trigger movie or media files "on the beat" of a clock) in VDMX. Read More

Making Plugins from Quartz Composer Patches

September 19, 2012

Making custom data-source producing plugins for VDMX using Quartz Composer.

Introduction to the LFO and Step Sequencer plugins

September 19, 2012

The LFO and Step Sequencer plugins are both used to generate control data that changes over time. This tutorial is an introduction to using them to control the opacity of a layer.

Creating Workspace Presets

September 19, 2012

For more complex projects that have lots of scenes, Workspace Presets can be used to change the entire layer / plugin setup at once. This tutorial covers the basics of creating and restoring these presets.

Customizing the Layout of a Control Surface Plugin

September 19, 2012

The 'Custom UI' option in the Control Surface plugin allows for disabling the standard automatic layout of the user interface items.

This option is also available in many other places where automatically generated user interfaces are found, such as the source controls for Quartz Composer patches.