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Master Control System

August 6, 2009 – 12:53 pm

What it Is

The Master Control System is a 2-Player Interactive Video Station designed for temporary installation near loud music.

mstr-ctrl-2up

Each player has an array of buttons and sliders, along with a scratch wheel. Every press, slide, scroll and twitch changes the video, which can be simultaneously displayed on the screen and projected as large as you like. The interface has some items which are quite intuitive, and others which require more experimentation and produce nuance through extended play and exploration.

Inside the Box

It’s a relatively simple setup.

  • A 15″ MacBook Pro runs a customized Quartz Composer scene.
  • A MixMan DM2 plugs into the laptop via USB.
  • Two light sources illuminate the box from the inside.
  • One power strip provides power to all devices, so the box requires only one three-prong grounded outlet.
  • A Keyboard and Trackball provide easy access to setup via the hinged door.
By Momo the Monster | Posted in VJ | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Getting MIDI and OSC into Flash

August 2, 2009 – 4:14 pm

Following up on my post about Controlling Flash with a Monome, I’ve done a bit more research on the ways to get controller data in and out of Flash.

My current conclusion: Oscar for OSC, Red5 for MIDI. Read on for the details.

Oscar

In Short: OSC to Flash, one-way, Mac-only.
Details: The slickest of the controller translation apps, this one is great for connecting up the Monome and any other controllers that support OSC natively. Additionally, if none of the MIDI solutions are working for your setup, you can convert your MIDI to OSC using Quartz Composer and then route it through Oscar and into Flash. Perhaps a forthcoming post on this?

Red5 Flash Server

In Short: Open source Flash Server, includes MIDI functions.
Details: This Java server supports streaming audio, video, and lots of extra stuff. It seems like it’s perhaps overkill if you just want to get MIDI into flash, but hey, it works! The newest stable release (0.8) is available for OSX, Windows, or as source to build on your own box. Unfortunately, the Mac 0.8 installable version needs Java 1.6, which was never released for 32-bit Mac systems. Thankfully, you can download the 0.6 release pre-compiled, and it works just fine. Last updated June 2009.
Starter Code: Lukasz Karluk put together a great starting point: AS3 Code for Red5

MidiToFlash

In Short: A Java applet and bridge that enables MIDI input into Flash, including through a webserver.
Details: I really wish I could have gotten this to work. He’s got an online example that worked for me, but I couldn’t get my local version to connect properly. After messing about with it, I can no longer get his example to see my MIDI messages either (though my devices still show up properly). To be fair, I updated my OS in between the working and not-working tries, so it could be that, or something else I messed up. Let me know if you’ve had success with this project – there’s lots of possibility for fun multi-player MIDI games here.

FlashMIDI

In Short: MIDI input and output from Flash, last updated 2005.
Details: Assumed abandoned, this was a plug-in based on some sort of undocumented feature. It allowed MIDI control, as well as playback of MIDI files. It was mostly Windows-Only, though there was an Alpha version of a Mac plug-in made.

FlashServer

In Short: Max/MSP external allows bi-directional communication- last updated 2006
Details: Assumed abandoned, this was an external for Max/MSP (so you need to write a Max/MSP program that would use it). Mac and PC versions still available for download, current compatibility unknown (written for Flash 5).

flOSC

In Short: A Java server that creates a bi-directional channel for communication between OSC devices and Flash.
Details: I did get it working, but Oscar is much slicker. If you’re on a PC, this is a great (perhaps the only) solution for OSC to Flash communication. There’s a new flOSC by tranxete, but like Red5 0.8, it requires Java 1.6, so it’s a non-starter for me.
Starter Code: From tim, based on the fwiidom classes: flOSC As3 Classes.

Tim, of the flOSC classes above, also has a good round-up on using MIDI in Flash.

By Momo the Monster | Posted in flash | Tagged , , | Comments (7)

APC40 Audiovisualism and Corn Dogs

July 28, 2009 – 11:02 am

I’ve had a bit of time now with the Akai APC40, and I’m experimenting with using it in place of my monome 128 / nanoKontrol combination. My previous AV experiments involved a monome-centric plugin called molar – an amazing vst developed by Steve Duda (who also created Lucifer). I wanted to modify the system to use Live-native devices, and found that I could achieve similar results by using Slice-To-Midi and the APC40. Witness below.

Split-Screen


vimeo Direktheight="268"]http://vimeo.com/5779669[/vimeo

Full-Screen

The basic data flow is this – Sliced Audio Tracks play back samples, and Dummy Tracks listen to their MIDI and pipe it out through a virtual MIDI port. An external video program (Isadora, in this case) reads the incoming MIDI and plays back video in sync.

Ultimately, I think people are going to develop some awesome Live AV plugins via Max4Live. At that points, I can probably scrap this system and use one of theirs. In the meantime, I’m figuring out what it is I want in an AV system so I can pass that along to the real developers.

By Momo the Monster | Posted in VJ | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

faderTouch DIY touchscreen

July 17, 2009 – 9:44 am

Just got a video update from VJ Fader, who has recently relocated across the world to Beijing.

His ‘faderTouch’ system is a homebrew rear-projection single-touch screen which he  uses to control custom Processing sketches.

fadertouch

The current version is an aluminum frame with wood legs, and a  10 lumen pico projector bouncing off a mirror.

By Momo the Monster | Posted in VJ | Tagged , , , | Comments (5)

Master Control Station is Shaping Up

June 24, 2009 – 11:20 am

mstr-ctrl-assembleWith SOAK just a few days away, I’m putting the finishing touches on the box for the Master Control Station. This interactive piece will be installed near the Main Stage at the campout, and anyone who wants to have some fun controlling a realtime video projection system is welcome to come on up and press the buttons.

There have been a lot of changes from the original proposal. For one, it was supposed to include a Dance Pad, as seen in my last blog post. Unfortunately, though I did get some fabulous help from Laen (via Dorkbot) installing a new brain, we’ve yet to get it sending out the right signals, and with the event just days away, it’s probably best to just focus on what we’ve got for sure.

So we’ll have this mini-arcade-form-factor cabinet surrounding my MacBook Pro, running a custom Quartz Composer patch, controlled by a DM2. The second coat of Marine-grade sealant is drying on the cabinet pieces now, and then I have only a little final assembly to do. More pics and video after the event!

By Momo the Monster | Posted in VJ | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

DDR Pad Project

June 3, 2009 – 12:48 pm

My proposal to create an interactive installation for SOAK (Portland’s Regional Burning Man event) was approved this last week, and I’ve got just a few weeks to put everything together.

One of the proposed components is a DDR Pad that people can dance on to control visuals. BenD, a local artist and Burner, donated a busted pad that he got at the good ol’ Goodwill bins. Now I have to figure out what’s wrong with it.

ddr-disassembled

The end connecter is Playstation-style, which is fine, since I’ve got a PS-to-USB converter. Unfortunately, none of the buttons produce data when the pad is plugged in. Maybe something is blown out in the brain? I’m guessing that my first step is to get my multimeter back from Brandon so I can see if the buttons are registering on the brain. Definitely open to suggestion on troubleshooting this thing.

Upgrades:

Most of the pads have been replaced with home-made versions. I can certainly cut new ones out of some nice acrylic, and even laser-etch the designs right on to them – that could be fun.

I’ve seen some DIY DDR designs that are much more modular – each pad wires into a screw-on post in its square, and the wires all go to breakout box which then connects to the brain. Since these things are so prone to breakage, that seems like a good way to save on upkeep. Also, the brain is in a terrible place right now, you have to flip the pad over and remove some 20+ screws to access. I think I should keep the brain in an external box so I can just pop that open to troubleshoot/fix problems as they arise.

By Momo the Monster | Posted in VJ | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

Mobile VJ Cart – Step 1

May 14, 2009 – 12:02 pm

walker-on-grass
The idea of a mobile VJ setup has been swirling in the recesses of my mind for a while, inspired by VJ Fader’s mobile rig (based on a stroller, I believe), the rig descriptions in Live Graphics Nightly (review coming soon, I swear), and a suggestion to VJ-Bomb the Last Thursday Art Walks here in the Alberta Arts district of Portland.

For the first step, I went to Goodwill, figuring I’d get one of those cheap silver walkers as a base. They had one of those, but this one immediately caught my eye – it’s a Nova “Cruiser Deluxe”, and it just yearned to be made into a mobile video rig. Have I mentioned how awesome Goodwill is here compared to LA?

Next, I need to actually design the thing. My current requirements:

  • All pieces should be easy to attach/remove from the walker for portability/modularity.
  • It needs to be able to house my laptop, Oxygen 8 MIDI Keyboard, one or two Korg nanoKontrols, my Monome 128, a Keyboard and Trackball, Power Conditioner and Deep-Cycle Battery.
  • The cords should all be neatly enclosed and tucked out of harms reach.
  • The unit should be able to be closed up quickly in case of rain (and be water resistant enough to make it a few blocks to a car/shelter).
  • It should look awesome.

Is that too much to ask for? We’ll find out. I’ve got a membership to TechShop Portland, which should help mightily in building this thing. I can laser-cut wood, acryclic and plexiglass – so if I can figure out how to make it from those materials, I can precision-design it in Adobe Illustrator and print it out of final materials. I expect I’ll be doing a lot of cardboard-lasering to test sizes and whatnot, first.

walker-firstsketches

Here’s my first idea, thanks to Google SketchUp (hot dang does it make this sort of thing easy). Basically, I’ve got shelves that hold my various devices at easily-playable angles (creating an overall sweep). The Keyboard and Mouse are tucked away underneath the Oxygen 8 – I should only need these every once in a while, but I’ll want to have them easily reachable when I do. There’s a lot not pictured here – the Battery and Power Conditioner would be housed lower on the cart, I’ll worry about those later. Also, I’m planning that the shelves would be a bit wider, and I’d have a faceplate of sorts (probably multiple pieces) that would create a unified sweeping level on top of everything, and help hide the cords. This box was created to scale, and currently fits very nicely on the ‘seat’ of the walker.

Have you seen any mobile rigs like this? Got any tips?

By Momo the Monster | Posted in VJ | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Monome Controlling Flash – First Results

April 27, 2009 – 11:58 am

monomosc-cropped

Last night I stumbled across Oscar (via Ben Chun, the creator of flosc). It’s a simple Cocoa app that listens for OSC messages and converts them into messages you can access via an XMLSocket in Flash (using Actionscript 3).

I started working on a simple proof-of-concept Flash project last night, and got it all finished up this morning! It creates 128 boxes in a multidimensional array and allows me to trigger their Alpha on and off by pressing my monome buttons.

I’ve got to get back to client work now, but I hope to clean up the code soon and release it in two parts – one will be a generalized class for getting data from the monome (via Oscar) and the other will be the above implementation where you trigger boxes by pressing buttons.

Also, good news on the Flash-for-VJing front: if you run your flash docs from a directory which you’ve whitelisted in your security settings, you can absolutely control your Flash Movies from within VDMX!

By Momo the Monster | Posted in flash | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (5)

New Beeple, Coachella Article Coming

April 24, 2009 – 7:54 pm

First, major props to Beeple for his new animation, Subprime.


Thanks for the heads-up, Mike!

I’ve been making good progress on getting myself re-integrated into a work schedule. I’m 90% finished with the Flash game I’ve been working on (though it will be under NDA for some time, sorry), wrote my Coachella VJ round-up for Create Digital Motion (should be published soon), got an outline together for the redesign of the Farm to College website, and wrote another chapter for my upcoming Quartz Composer book.

Hopefully I’ll have some time to put together a new AV remix this weekend – I want to show something at the Watershed BBQ next Tuesday.

By Momo the Monster | Posted in Personal, Video | Tagged | Comments (0)

Return to Portland

April 21, 2009 – 11:36 am

pear_blossoms

Finally got back home yesterday. Arrived to 70 degrees with a slight cool wind, and our backyard pear trees in full blossom – Portland is in its prime, folks.

Took a nice long nap and then went to see Adventureland at St. John’s Twin Cinemas. There’s another good example of a film whose trailer undersold it – the one I saw pushed the movie as a load of hot girls & slapstick, and that really doesn’t do it any sort of justice. It’s witty and sweet and yes, a little ridiculous. Also found Living Room Theaters – looks like a cool setup, will have to go to one of their $5 shows soon (maybe next week).

Jumping back into all my work projects today – will flesh out Coachella round-ups within the next few days, but my clients need some attention after the two-week break to prepare for the festival.

By Momo the Monster | Posted in Personal | Tagged , | Comments (0)