Paper waves cluttered the riverbanx like endless unfolding origami. A last goodbye, and she stepped into the paper boat. Then photoreal in the waves of paper, she grew giant like, or maybe I found where my zoom lens’d bean hiding. Asked if I was coming too, and we were sailing before I could explain our destination wasn’t coastal. Was it mere coincidence Belgians make some of the world’s best chocolate *and* video triggering software? Taste buds of Jean Poole this week you see, be checkin’ out da Arkaos VJ sophtwarez.
While most of us are used to hard and software that allows audio choppin’ N changin’, manipulatin’ N mutatin’, sequencin’, distortin’, and scratchin’ – in realtime y’hear, it’s only in recent years that tools have become more widely available which allow the same treatment to vidi-yo. Of the code-based pixel-tweekers, VJ by Arkaos now stands as the best dual platform piece of realtime vidi-yo software, havin’ bean recently ported from mac to PC.
The Basic Concepts
Ye bee turnin’ yer putah into a vidi-yo / imagery sampler with this software, to be sure to be sure. With a databank of quicktime movs for mac, avis for PC, and jpegs for both, you can use yer silicon chipped beasty to trigger and effect clips or pictures in real-time. This works by assigning your samples to particular keys on screenshots of your computer or MIDI keyboard, a simple drag and drop operation from your VJ library. You can save 128 sets of these keyboards or patches, within what they call a synth, and have up to 5 synths open at a time. Ram and computer speed may limit how much you stretch this, but performance is then as simple as selecting your patches and pressing keys in sequence. This is then outputted to another monitor or directly to your vcr / projector.
Real-Time FX
VJ FX can also be assigned to each key, either on the same key as a sample meaning the sample will be loaded pre-effected, or on a separate key, meaning you can use that key as say a blur effect on whatever sample is currently loaded on screen. Response time is surprisingly fast on the mac, utilising it’s built-in quicktime effects, and the effects range from downright tacky through to dat=delicious. Each of the effects can be double clicked on and it’s parameters altered, and the effects can be layered on top of each other as well, so let it be said >> this baby can customise your clips on the fly, with style.
Beat Detection & MIDI Input
VJ allows audio input or MIDI based beat detection to trigger events, sample or effects automatically, and with a MIDI keyboard you can control sample parameters such as the transparency of images by how hard you hit your MIDI keys. The arkaos engine is integratable with any MIDI sequencer, which can be run internally on your computer, on another, or on an external MIDI keyboard.
Udder Features
Neet option numero uno, is the recording of your key presses, which you can then process as a movie file, meaning you can mash up some of your files, save as a movie, then reload this newly created and remixed movie into the program and keep playing with this process to create visuals as multi layered or abstract as you like. You can also record your key commands as files which can be used within the free arkaos MP3 visual plug-in available from their site, which plugs zap bang into various MP3 players.
Pros: Quick responsive sample loading and effects. Simple to use and very adaptable, especially with access to a MIDI keyboard. Pretty stable too.
Cons: Some effects are quite tacky. Doesn’t have a simple ability to scroll through, pause / restart clips or control their speed in real-time. Unsurprisingly slow with 640 x 480 clips. 320 x 240 clips work fine though a projector though.
What You’ll Be Needin’
A pentium II with windoze98 as minimum, preferably win2000 with quicktime 4 installed, or a mac Power PC with 32mb of ram, though they recommend a g3/64. And moola, US$299 of it in fact, though there’s a free demo for download at arkaos.net which is fully functional but keeps arkaos written in one corner of the screen. All in all, it’s one of the best overall vidi-yo real-time manipulation programs currently available, and so the demo’s well worth a download for vid-peeples, even just to have a peek.
Pros: Quick responsive sample loading and effects. Simple to use and very adaptable, especially with access to a MIDI keyboard. Pretty stable too.
Cons: Some effects are quite tacky. Doesn’t have a simple ability to scroll through, pause / restart clips or control their speed in real-time. Unsurprisingly slow with 640 x 480 clips. 320 x 240 clips work fine though a projector though.
Other ideas for development?
Chroma keying! 🙂
Being able to turn fx on and off with one button? fadeable? ie fade fx in or out..?
Being able to switch between image sizes, so a full screen video could shrink to half and quarter size and be centred, left or top according to key presses?
Text on screen?
Importing gifs so u can have transparent backgrounds, and be able to import strange shapes and silhouettes… guess chroma keying’d fix this…
sidebars:
www.arkaos.net
Download a demo of VJ / VMP for mac or PC and see what it be made of.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eyecandy
Biggest list of people discussing video triggering software, with a range of apps for mac, PC, atari & even Linux!
www.audiovisualizers.com
Da biggestestest list of vidi-yo triggerin’ und manipulatin’ software der is.