How To: Create audio-reactive effects for GrandVJ with Quartz Composer
Feb/100
In GrandVJ 1.2 we have introduced the support for Quartz Compositions, either as visual or as effect. Note that MediaMaster 1.2 will also support Quartz Compositions, so you can use this with MediaMaster 1.2 too (the beta can be found on our forums)
Quartz Composer is a free graphics and imaging tool on the Mac platform which is available as an optional install that can be found on your Mac OS X DVD since version 10.4.
It allows very easy creation of complex audio-reactive animations or effects which can now be played in GrandVJ (read the previous article about GrandVJ and Quartz Composer). As I’m writing these lines, the last version of Quartz-Composer is 4.0 on Mac OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard).
In this article we will demonstrate how to quickly create a bass-reactive Zoom/Blur effect like the one you can see below:
Important: This tutorial requires that you have some basic knowledge of Quartz Composer: if you have never used it, you really should first go through the “Getting Started”. You will also find some helpful readings at the Apple Developer Connection web site about Quartz Composer.
To create our effect we will simply edit Quartz-Composer’s default template named “Image Filter” to make it audio reactive. Basically, we will connect bass levels of the computer’s audio input signal to the “Amount” parameter of our Zoom/Blur filter. (Read more below..)
Working at ArKaos
Feb/100
As you may know or not, we currently have an open position for a Graphics Software Engineer at ArKaos. It’s always exciting when our situation and coming projects allow us to grow our team and make some room for new employees in the company.
But as Chief Software Architect behind the ArKaos real time video mixing engine and also CEO and founder of the company, I feel the need to explain today a little more about how we develop software here and more wider, about the company’s philosophy, as this is something that can’t really be expressed in the Job Description.
ArKaos MediaMaster 1.2 beta1 with audio
Jan/101
Here’s the first beta version of MediaMaster 1.2.
It comes with support for audio and a few other new features.. more will come in further betas.
Please test it and report any problems you might encounter.
The download links are at the end of this post.
Update: The beta went fine, thanks for your feedback: we have made available the RC1 on the forums
GrandVJ and Livid’s Ohm64.. Even better
Jan/100
Back in October we blogged about the guys from Livid blogging about GrandVJ 1.2 beta natively supporting their Ohm64 controller out of the box through Generic MIDI Feedback. Since then, we have been exchanging ideas with them by e-mail and we even met them at the NAMM a few days ago, and indeed we share the same view about how our products should be: open and expandable.
Meanwhile we have released GrandVJ 1.2 and we took the time to include a special template for the Ohm64 in this release. As we did for the Akai APC40, this new dedicated template allows even more bidirectional communication between both products and takes advantage of all the control and feedback possibilities offered by the device.
It’s just like if your GrandVJ was made for your Ohm64.. and vice-versa :)
And thus, below is a new video from Livid showing their controller in action with GrandVJ:
GrandVJ 1.2 RC1 with a final audio engine
Jan/103
Here’s the last step on the road to the final version, this is the first (and hopefully the only) Release Candidate of GrandVJ 1.2 (RC1). It comes with the final audio engine, several bug fixes and includes every features that will appear in the final version.
Read more for changes and download links..
Most popular articles in 2009
Jan/100
First let me start by wishing you all a happy new year and a lot of success for 2010, on behalf of the whole ArKaos team!
Now why not start this brand new year by looking at what were the most popular articles from this blog in 2009 (second half of 2009 that is, since we started this Blog in May..).
This way we can better understand what kind of posts our dear readers like the most…
Using the right decoder for your video content
Dec/090
One thing that appears obvious to us after more than 10 years of working with the various solutions that can be used on Mac and Windows to decompress video is that not all solutions are equal.
We believe that our users should be able to play almost any kind of media with the ArKaos software and at the same time we do everything a team of developer can to get the best performance on the platforms supported.
Practically the ArKaos software can play media files through the following decoders: QuickTime, FFmpeg, the Flash plugin, Quartz Composer and Windows Media Player. Currently (December 2009) we don’t allow the user to decide through which solution a media will be decoded, instead we try to make the best decision based on our many years of experience and tests. In the case where several video codecs (such as Mpeg4) can be played through different decoders like QuickTime, FFmpeg and Windows Media Player, we always prefer, no matter the platform, to first try to handle those codecs with FFmpeg as we have always had the best results with FFmpeg during our tests, and here’s why..
GrandVJ 1.2b4 with support for audio
Dec/090
We’ve been a bit quiet lately but we’ve been working hard trying to move sound support from the old system (based on QuickTime) to an implementation using FFMPeg. This is because the QT support is getting worse and worse and we think it’s important we move to a more controllable medium.
The Beta 3 released last week on our forums contained the first result of this implementation but wasn’t very smooth or even stable especially with backward/forward playback.
The Beta 4 fixes the backward playback bug and relies on a new FFMPeg build that supports AC3. This means you can now drop VOB’s & MKV and get proper audio running… If the vob is 5.1, we also do stereo mixdown.
Surf to the forum post for more details about this Beta and the download links..
Light Show Miami to Atlanta at Mix Club
Dec/090
Things have changed at Mix Club in Paris after Lighting Designer Sebastien Jurkowski has left to embrace a very successful international career (tour with Joachim Garraud, Zouk Club Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, Hennessy Artistry party to mention a few..), they have now replaced their ChamSys MagicQ console with GrandMA Full Size and hired Nicolas Bailly as new Lighting Designer.
If the consoles have changed the club continues to trust the 3 ArKaos media servers installed by Sebastien to display visuals on the LEDs of the DJ / LJ booth and on the various Plasma screens around the place. And apparently, Nicolas Bailly put these to a good use: here’s a video from a light show he set up at the club on Pryda’s track “Miami to Atlanta”.
Nicolas also has a very interesting blog (in French) about lighting design, check it out if you want to know more about him.
Quartz Composer integration in GrandVJ 1.2
Nov/095
GrandVJ 1.2 now allows to use Quartz Composer .qtz files directly, both as sources and effects. In older versions it was necessary to save them as QuickTime movies with the big drawbacks that it was slow and it did not allow to change compositions variables.
We have optimized the Quartz Composer integration in GrandVJ 1.2 so that the compostions are rendered natively through the fastest available interface.
Finally, when using a composition as an effect the application will scan the published inputs and map them as effect parameters, if the format is compatible with the engine. GrandVJ can automatically map parameters that are float values, indexes, colors and booleans and there’s one visual input of the composition that receive the cell visual.
Now let’s have a quick look at how you can use Quartz compositions with GrandVJ..
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