ArKaos VJ visual software User manual
Below you will find brief information for visual software VJ. The ArKaos VJ is a powerful software for visual performers to control and play dazzling visuals in real-time, synchronised with music. The VJ user manual provides detailed information on how to install, configure and use the software. The user manual covers all the essential aspects of ArKaos VJ, including Visuals, Effects and Patching, and Performing with ArKaos VJ.
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Documentation by Synkron M&D AB: Ludvig Carlson, Anders Nordmark and Roger Wiklander. Additional documentation by Jeffrey Paul Burger.
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Arkaos S.A. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Arkaos S.A.
All product and company names are ™ or © trademarks of their respective owners.
© Arkaos S.A. 2003.
All rights reserved.
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ABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction, installation and registration
About the ArKaos family of products
Registration process
Configuration – Windows
22 Configuring ArKaos VJ under Windows
Recommended system configuration
Setting up MIDI
Setting up audio input
Configuration – Mac
32 Configuring ArKaos VJ under Mac OS
Recommended system configuration
Setting up audio input
Trying out ArKaos VJ
Playing a Patch
Exploring the Preset Synths
Basic concepts
Managing Synths and Patches
Creating a Synth
Saving, Opening and Closing Synths
75 Making screen settings for a Synth
78 Making MIDI settings for aSynth
79 Specifying a location for movies
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Setting up the visuals
Preparations
The Visuals window
Visuals - general handling
The Visual Info dialog
The effects
Introduction
The Effects window
Effects - general
Factory effect parameters
Performing with ArKaos VJ
Introduction
Preparations
Performing
Controlling ArKaos from a MIDI controller
Controlling ArKaos from the computer keyboard
Controlling ArKaos VJ from a MIDI sequencer
Using Automation
The Event Recorder
Introduction
Recording a “live” performance
Recording a performance from another MIDI source
Importing MIDI files
Playing back a recorded performance
Additional options for playing back and recording performances
Managing recordings
Rendering a Performance to a movie
Index
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ELCOME
!
Congratulations on your choice of ArKaos VJ.
Why just play music when you can immerse your audience in complete audiovisual experiences? ArKaos VJ does for images and video what samplers and synths do for music—and it does it in real time. This means that DJs, VJs, performing musicians and multimedia producers now have the ability to easily create and project dazzling interactive imagery to take live performances, dance events, videos and other media productions to new levels of creative expression.
Displaying, projecting and recording dazzling visuals to accompany your music is just the beginning. Now you can perform with visuals (still images, animations, videos, live video feeds and special effects) just like playing an instrument, by using the computer keyboard, a MIDI controller or a MIDI sequencer. All of the animations are automatically synchronized to MIDI
Time Clock or to audio via advanced beat-matching technology. Program your show in advance, jam live or just let ArKaos VJ generate the whole visual show. Your audience won’t believe their eyes.
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BOUT THE
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There are currently four products in the ArKaos family of software. All are built around the core ArKaos Engine that optimizes full-screen motion graphics.
ArKaos VJ
This is the version described in this documentation. VJ stands for Video
Jockey. This version will allow you to use all of the functions in ArKaos, including movies, MIDI control and live video input.
ArKaos VJ Lite
This is a limited version of ArKaos VJ that comes bundled with other products for the purpose of acquainting people with the ArKaos VJ experience.
It differs from ArKaos VJ in that it does not support movie playback and video input, the number of available effects is limited, and the number of effects that can be used simultaneously is limited to 2.
ArKaos VMP
VMP stands for visual MP3. In this version you can use all of the functions available in VJ, except movies, MIDI control and live video input. There are also some other differences between the versions, mainly in the form of limitations to certain functions in ArKaos VMP.
ArKaos Visualizer
ArKaos Visualizer is a plug-in version of the ArKaos Engine that integrates seamlessly and transparently into several major MP3 and digital media players. ArKaos Visualizer features a beat detection function, which means that it analyzes the spectrum of the music from the player and triggers visuals at each new beat, effectively letting you create stunning visual shows to accompany any audio in perfect sync with the music. This makes ArKaos Visualizer the perfect tool for distributing all the cool visuals you create with
ArKaos VJ. More information about the ArKaos Visualizer is available at www.arkaos.net.
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Minimum system requirements
Below are the minimum system requirements for running ArKaos VJ. If your system meets these specifications, you can run ArKaos VJ.
For information about the recommended system configuration, which will let you work the most efficiently and make full use of all the program’s capabil-
ities, please refer to the chapter “Configuration – Windows”
and the chapter “Configuration – Mac”
.
Windows
• Pentium III / 500 MHz.
• Windows 98se (second edition).
• DirectX version 8.1.
• Apple QuickTime 6.x (included).
• 128 MB of RAM.
• Windows Media Player 7.1.
Mac OS
• A Power Macintosh G3/400 MHz.
• OS 9.x.
• Apple QuickTime 6.x (included).
• 128 MB of RAM.
Installing ArKaos VJ under Windows
1.
Close all active applications.
2.
If necessary, disable any Virus protection software.
3.
Locate and double click the installer file, called “ArKaos VJ 3.0.exe”.
The installer window appears.
4.
Use the Browse button in the Destination Folder section to select a hard disk and folder for installation.
5.
When you have decided on a destination folder, click “Next”.
The installation will include all necessary files and a selection of pictures and movies for you to work with.
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Installing ArKaos VJ under Mac OS
The installer will automatically detect whether you are running Mac OS 9 or
OS X and install the correct version.
1.
Quit all applications so that you return to the Finder.
2.
If necessary, disable any Virus protection software.
3.
Locate and double click the installer file, called “ArKaos VJ 3.0”.
The installer window appears.
4.
Use the pop-up in the Install Location section to select a hard disk and folder for installation.
5.
Check that “Easy Install” is selected, and click “Install”.
The installation will include all necessary files and a selection of pictures and movies for you to work with.
Documentation and help
To get help using the program, you can use the items on the Help menu in
ArKaos VJ. This gives you access to all the documentation in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, a Flash tutorial and links to the ArKaos web site.
To be able to read the electronic documentation, Acrobat Reader must be installed on your system. An installer is included, located in the “Extras” folder inside the program folder.
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L
AUNCHING
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Windows
You launch the program in any of the following ways:
Use the Start menu to navigate to the ArKaos VJ program folder and select the
ArKaos VJ 3.0 program icon.
Double click the shortcut added to the desktop during the installation.
Double click the program icon in the ArKaos VJ folder on your hard disk.
Mac OS
You can launch the program in any of the following ways:
Open the ArKaos VJ folder in the location you specified during the installation and double-click the ArKaos VJ 3.0 program icon.
Double-click the ArKaos VJ alias added to the desktop during the installation.
After you have installed ArKaos VJ and launch the program for the first time, the registration dialog will appear. In this dialog, you can select one of a few different ways to register your copy of ArKaos VJ, should you so wish. See below for more information.
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EGISTERING
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Eventhough you can run ArKaos VJ without registering it (in free mode), you get the absolute most out of the program by purchasing a serial number and becoming a registered user.
About the trial period and running ArKaos VJ in Free or Registered mode
ArKaos VJ can be run in Free or Registered mode. Even if you enter no serial number you are still able to use the full version of the program for a trial period of 20 days, with a temporary license. During this period, all of the functions of the program are available. After the trial period has expired however, you are only able to use the program in Free mode, until you register it. In Free Mode, you can use most of the functions in ArKaos VJ, including saving your work. However, there will always be a banner with the text “www.arkaos.net” displayed in both full-screen mode and in the Preview window, and you can not use MIDI control.
About serial numbers
Before describing the registration process, we need to clarify the difference between the different kinds of serial numbers for registering. There are two categories of serial numbers, temporary and full:
A temporary serial number lets you use all of the features of the software for a limited period of time only, on up to three different computers.
A full serial number lets you use all of the features of the software indefinitely, on one specific computer only.
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EGISTRATION PROCESS
When you have installed and launch ArKaos VJ for the first time, the Registration dialog appears:
From here, there are a few different ways to go, depending on whether you want to register ArKaos VJ or not, and where you obtained the program:
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If you want to buy a serial number on our secured online shop
Use this option if you have downloaded and installed ArKaos VJ from the
ArKaos web site, and want to register the program. For this, you need to have a working Internet connection.
1.
Click the button.
Your Internet browser is launched and you are taken to the online shop on the ArKaos Web site.
2.
On the web site, click “Make Order”.
The ID of your computer is then sent to ArKaos’ secured web shop (when you download
ArKaos VJ, the downloading computer automatically receives a unique ID). The web shop then generates a serial number for that particular ID, and you can use the serial number to register your copy of ArKaos VJ (proceed to “If you have received a serial number for this computer” below for information on how to do this).
If you have received a purchase key from an online shop or on your CD
Use this option if you want to register the program when you have either:
• Downloaded ArKaos VJ from a web site other than the ArKaos web shop.
• Purchased a packaged version of ArKaos VJ on the Internet.
• Purchased a packaged version of ArKaos VJ over the counter in a store.
In any of these cases you will have received a purchase key, which you can use to receive a full serial number (if you have purchased a packaged version of the program, the purchase key is found on a sticker on the CD jewel case). When you click this button, the Purchase Key Usage dialog opens.
This contains three different options for receiving a full serial number (proceed to “Purchase key usage” below for information on these).
A purchase key can also be used as a temporary serial number (as opposed to a full serial number) by entering it instead of a serial number in the ArKaos VJ registration dialog (see “Serial Activation” below).
Note that there is also another, additional way of using a purchase key to obtain a serial number, and that is directly on the ArKaos web site. This is described un-
der “Using a purchase key on the ArKaos web site” on page 16
.
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If you have received a serial number for this computer
Use this option when you have received a full serial number for registering
ArKaos VJ on a specific computer (or if you want to use a purchase key as a temporary serial number). Clicking this button opens the Serial Activation dialog in which you register the program using the serial number or purchase key (proceed to “Serial Activation” below for information about this).
If you want to continue trying the software
Use this option if you do not want to register ArKaos VJ yet. As previously described you can still use the program for 20 days with full functionality even if you choose not to register it. After the 20 day trial period has expired you can still continue using the program in Free mode by selecting this option. You will still have access to all of the functions, including saving your work, but there will always be a banner with the text www.arkaos.net visible on the screen when the visuals are displayed in full-screen mode, and you will not be able to use MIDI control.
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Purchase Key Usage
When you use the “If you have received a purchase key...” option in the
Registration dialog, this dialog opens. Here you specify how you want to use your purchase key. All three options in the dialog can be used for receiving a full serial number with which you can then register the program, as described under “If you have received a serial number for this computer” above.
Note that there is also an additional way of using a purchase key to obtain a serial number, and that is directly on the ArKaos web site - i.e. without having to go via the Purchase Key Usage dialog. This is described under “Using a purchase key on the ArKaos web site” below.
The differences between the options are as follows:
If you are connected to the Internet and want to generate a serial number for this computer
This option is used if the computer on which you have installed and intend to use ArKaos VJ has a working Internet connection. Clicking this button will open the Online Activation dialog (proceed to “Online Activation” below for more information).
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If you want to receive a serial number for another computer (you will need an
Internet connection)
This option is used if the computer on which you have installed ArKaos VJ does not have a working Internet connection, but you have also installed the program on another computer that does have a working Internet connection and you are using that computer (you can install ArKaos VJ on up to three different computers by using a purchase key as a temporary serial number, but you can only register the program with a full serial number on one specific computer). Clicking this option takes you to the ArKaos web site where you will then receive a full serial number.
To be able to receive a serial number in this case you will need to provide the purchase key, and the unique ID of the computer for which you want to generate a serial number.
The computer ID can be found in the Online Activation dialog, the Offline Registration dialog or the Serial Activation dialog.
If you want to receive a serial number for this computer and have no Internet connection
This option is used if you don’t have access to the Internet. If that is the case, you can e-mail or fax your computer ID and the purchase key to
ArKaos, and you will receive a serial number by fax or e-mail. When you click the button, the Offline Registration dialog will appear (proceed to “Off line
Registration” below for more information).
Using a purchase key on the ArKaos web site
If you have a purchase key, you can also access the ArKaos web site and receive a serial number directly on-line. This is similar to the option “If you want to recieve a serial number for another computer...” described above, with the exception that you only need to have ArKaos VJ installed on the computer which doesn’t have access to the Internet. In this case, you can use any other computer that doesn’t have ArKaos VJ installed but does have access to the Internet, and go to www.arkaos.net.
You can then directly on the web site fill in an on-line form with your purchase key and the computer ID of the computer on which you have installed the program, and a serial number will be generated for it.
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After you have received the serial number, you can use it to register the program on the computer with ArKaos VJ installed. See “Serial Activation” on
page 19 for instructions on how to do this.
Online Activation
This dialog opens if you select the first option in the “Purchase Key Usage” dialog. Use this dialog to receive a full serial number via e-mail:
1.
Fill in the fields with your purchase key, name, company (if any) and e-mail.
To receive your serial number, a valid e-mail address must be provided.
2.
Enter a password of your own choice.
This is very important, since it will give you access to a user zone on the ArKaos web site.
3.
Click the “Activate online” button.
The data is sent encrypted to the ArKaos web site. If everything is in order, a serial number will automatically be generated and you will receive an e-mail with a confirmation message and the serial number.
4.
Quit ArKaos VJ and then relaunch the program.
This is to ensure that the Preferences file is saved with the correct information.
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5.
In ArKaos VJ, pull down the Edit menu, and from the Preferences submenu, select
“Registration..”.
The Serial Activation dialog opens (proceed to “Serial Activation” below for information on how to complete the registration).
Offline Registration
This window opens when you click the third option in the “Purchase Key
Usage” dialog. Take note of what it says and send the information required here to ArKaos, and a full serial number will be sent to you. You can either use e-mail or fax. The e-mail address or fax number to use is displayed at the bottom of the window.
Don’t forget to supply ArKaos with a means of contacting you by either e-mail or fax, otherwise we have no means of sending the serial number to you. Please also note that these are the only two ways of communication possible. ArKaos will not provide serial numbers over the phone or by mail.
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Serial Activation
This dialog opens when you click the “If you have received a serial number...” button in the main registration screen, or if you select “Registration...” from the Edit-Preferences menu. If you have a valid full serial number (or a purchase key you want to use as a temporary serial number) you use this dialog to register ArKaos VJ in the following way:
1.
Fill in the fields with your name, company (if any) and e-mail address.
Do not make any changes in the Machine ID field!
2.
Enter the serial number (or purchase key).
If you have received a full serial number from ArKaos and it has been sent to you by e-mail, the easiest way to do this is to simply copy the serial number from the e-mail and then paste it into the dialog.
3.
Click the “OK” button.
The dialog closes.
4.
Quit and restart ArKaos VJ.
You are now a registered user of ArKaos VJ 3.0.
As mentioned, you can also enter a purchase key instead of a full serial number.
The purchase key will then work as a temporary serial number.
There is a significant difference between using a purchase key and a serial number: A purchase key allows you to install and use the full version of the program on up to three different computers, but only for a limited period of time. A serial number allows you to install and use the full version of the program indefinitely, but on one computer only.
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ONFIGURING
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This chapter will guide you through the basic preparation procedures needed to run ArKaos VJ on a Windows machine, and will provide some recommendations for getting the absolute most out of ArKaos VJ.
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ECOMMENDED SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
Below are the recommended system requirements, as well as descriptions of optional equipment and the system configuration that will allow you to make full use of the capabilities of ArKaos VJ.
Recommended system
Pentium 4 / 1.2 GHz or better.
An AGP 4X graphics card or better.
Windows 98se, ME, 2000 or XP.
Running ArKaos VJ continuously for an extended period of time requires an operating system with very efficient memory management. Therefore Windows 2000 or XP is recommended.
These operating systems also feature more extensive support for video devices.
Direct X 9.0 or better.
Apple QuickTime 6.x or better (included).
Windows Media Player 9 or better (allows you to use 5.1 surround WMA files).
256 MB RAM or more.
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Optional equipment
ArKaos VJ will operate with nothing more than a notebook or desktop PC.
However, to take full advantage of the program, you will probably want some additional equipment:
A MIDI controller and a MIDI interface.
This is essential for controlling ArKaos VJ’s visual effects in real-time (you can do this from the computer keyboard as well, but then you will not have access to velocity, pitch bend and modulation wheel). For details about the MIDI equipment and installation, see “Setting Up
MIDI” on
A projector or a second monitor.
The program can display the visual effects on a projector or a monitor other than the main display. The ability to take advantage of this depends on whether your computer can handle more than one monitor or not. Most PC notebooks have a built-in external monitor connection. PC´s need to have two separate graphics cards or a dual-head graphics card. See “Setting Up The Displays” below for more information.
A MIDI sequencer program.
Recording your MIDI control messages in a MIDI sequencer gives you complete automatic playback of the visual effects. ArKaos VJ handles internal MIDI communication within the
computer via ReWire (see page 180 ). Alternatively this can be done using a virtual MIDI
Driver that enables multiple MIDI programs to use the same MIDI device simultaneously (see
page 180 ). You can also connect an external sequencer (either a hardware sequencer or a
second computer running a software sequencer) to ArKaos VJ via the MIDI interface.
A Direct X compatible video device.
ArKaos VJ can grab still images, and also supports streaming video input, from a connected video device. Any device connected through USB, FireWire, acquisition cards etc. can be used, as long as Direct X can handle it.
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ETTING UP THE DISPLAYS
Modern computers offer a number of choices regarding display resolution and color depth. Both of these settings determine the amount of data that
ArKaos VJ has to manipulate. The greater the amount of data, the faster your processor and system buses must be.
ArKaos VJ also offers the possibility of setting the display resolution and color depth separately for each synth (ArKaos document) within ArKaos itself, and this determines the amount of data that needs to be processed by
your system as well. See page 75
for information about setting the resolution separately for each synth.
General considerations
• In most cases, you should use a resolution of 640 x 480 for your ArKaos synths because it is a standard trade-off between resolution and bandwidth. 800 x 600 or higher may work on fast machines, however the increase in resolution is usually not worth the trade-off in throughput for applications such as projecting motion graphics.
• ArKaos VJ’s synths can have a color depth setting of thousands of colors (16 bit) or millions of colors (32 bit).
• ArKaos VJ synths use a default resolution setting of 640 x 480 and millions of colors.
Regardless of what resolution you otherwise use, ArKaos VJ will automatically switch the monitor to the Synth’s screen size (e.g. 640 x 480) when you activate the
ArKaos Engine (the full screen display - see
page 69 ), and then switch it back to your
preferred working resolution when you return to ArKaos VJ. So you don’t need to change your usual system resolution to adapt it to what ArKaos VJ visuals use.
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Setting up one display
As mentioned above, ArKaos VJ automatically switches the monitor resolution when activating the ArKaos Engine, and then switches it back again when you return to work in ArKaos VJ. This is because ArKaos VJ uses DirectDraw to communicate directly with your graphics hardware when displaying visuals, and therefore you don’t need to make any settings except for the following:
1.
Open the “Display Properties” dialog from the Windows control panel or by rightclicking on your desktop, and set the number of colors to at least High Color (16 bits).
Note that this does not affect the ArKaos engine, but it does affect the ArKaos VJ work and preview windows.
On most modern PC´s, the video card is connected to a port called AGP
(Accelerated Graphics Port). If the video card in your system is not connected via AGP however, then you also need to do the following:
2.
In ArKaos VJ, select “Preferences” from the Edit menu, and from the submenu that appears, select “Monitors...”.
The Monitor information dialog opens.
3.
In the dialog that appears, click in the “Use Mode X” box to activate this function.
This informs ArKaos VJ that you are using a non-AGP video card.
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Setting up two displays
ArKaos VJ can display the visuals on a second monitor or a projector, leaving the first monitor for the “work windows” and for other program’s windows. If you are fortunate enough to own (and have a system that supports the use of) a projector or two monitors, proceed as follows:
1.
Select Preferences from the Edit menu and then select “Monitors”.
The Monitors dialog opens. The dialog contains a drop-down menu from which you can choose a primary and a secondary display driver to use. It also displays a list of all the graphic modes (resolutions and color depths) they are capable of using.
Note that this list is for reference only, and selecting an option in it does not affect neither
ArKaos VJ nor your system in any way. It can however be used for checking whether your computer can actually handle a certain resolution before switching an ArKaos synth to that resolution.
2.
From the “Select your monitor” drop-down list, select the monitor that you want to use for displaying the visuals.
If your system is set up correctly, both your primary and secondary display driver will be listed for you to choose from. If not, consult the troubleshooting manual for your operating system.
3.
If any monitor is connected to a non-AGP video card, be sure to activate the “Use
Mode X” option for it, as described under “Setting up one display” above.
There may be situations when you are not absolutely sure which monitor is selected for the display. If that is the case, just select “Start Full Screen” from the ArKaos menu and check which monitor the visuals appear on.
See “Setting up one display” above, and consult the help section for your operating system for information about how to set up resolution and color depth for a second monitor.
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ETTING UP
MIDI
While it is possible to operate ArKaos VJ using only the computer keyboard and mouse (see
page 177 ), triggering via a MIDI controller or from a MIDI
sequencer offers much more flexibility.
The following is a description of how ArKaos VJ communicates via MIDI and how to set things up.
Controlling ArKaos VJ from external devices
When you want to control ArKaos VJ from an external “controller” such as a keyboard, a MIDI guitar or similar, or when you want to send MIDI signals to ArKaos VJ from either a stand-alone sequencer or a sequencer running on another computer, proceed as follows:
1.
Connect and set up the MIDI interface as described in its documentation.
2.
Connect a MIDI cable from the MIDI Out port on the MIDI controller to MIDI In on the interface.
3.
Turn on the MIDI interface (if needed) and the MIDI controller.
Make sure the MIDI controller is actually transmitting MIDI data when you play it (refer to the documentation for the MIDI controller).
4.
Launch ArKaos VJ.
5.
Pull down the Edit menu and select “MIDI Setup” from the Preferences submenu.
The MIDI Setup dialog opens.
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6.
If you’re running under Windows, make sure “Microsoft MIDI” is selected.
If you have a ReWire compatible sequencer program running on the same computer, you will also have the possibility of selecting “ReWire”. However, this option is for controlling
ArKaos VJ from other programs (see
).
7.
From the drop-down list, select the MIDI device to which you have connected your
MIDI equipment.
8.
If you have multiple MIDI devices installed in your system and want to use them all simultaneously, check the “Use all devices” box.
9.
When you’re done, Click OK.
You have now set up ArKaos VJ, so that it responds to MIDI signals from the correct device. You must however also make sure that ArKaos VJ is set to receive on the same MIDI channel the external MIDI device transmits on.
This is done separately for each Synth (ArKaos VJ file), and is described on
You can check whether ArKaos receives incoming MIDI signals by observing the
MIDI activity indicator in the top right corner of the ArKaos VJ interface.
When ArKaos VJ receives MIDI signals, the indicator lights up.
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Controlling ArKaos VJ from programs running on the same computer
If you want to control ArKaos VJ from a MIDI sequencer program running on the same computer, the most convenient solution is to use ReWire (this is described on
).
If using ReWire isn’t possible, you need to install a third-party application that enables multiple MIDI programs to use the same MIDI device simultaneously, by providing “virtual MIDI ports”. There are various such programs available as freeware (one of the most well known is called “Hubi´s Loop-
Back Device”).
From here on, the application required will be referred to as “the MIDI application”.
1.
Make sure you have installed and properly set up the MIDI application of your choice.
Please refer to the documentation included with it.
2.
Launch ArKaos VJ.
3.
Select Preferences from the Edit menu and choose “MIDI Setup”.
4.
In the dialog that appears, pull down the drop down menu and select one of the inputs provided by the MIDI application.
If the MIDI application was installed and set up properly, the virtual MIDI ports made available by it should be listed.
5.
Launch the MIDI sequencer program from which you want to control ArKaos VJ.
Make sure that the virtual MIDI ports provided by the MIDI application are available as outputs.
6.
In the MIDI sequencer, set the MIDI Output of each channel containing MIDI data you wish to send to ArKaos VJ to any one of the virtual MIDI ports.
This connects the output of the MIDI sequencer to the input of ArKaos VJ.
7.
In ArKaos VJ, select “Get Synth Info” from the Synth menu and set the current
ArKaos VJ Synth to receive on the appropriate MIDI channels.
See
page 78 for more information about this.
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Testing the MIDI settings
You can verify that the MIDI settings you have made are OK in the following way:
1.
Select a Preset synth from the File menu.
The available Preset Synths are listed near the bottom of the File menu.
2.
Set your MIDI controller to transmit on channel 1.
3.
Open the Get Synth Info dialog from the Synth menu, and make sure the Preset synth is set to receive on channel 1.
See
4.
If the Preview window isn’t open, select “Show Preview” from the ArKaos menu
(or use the keyboard shortcut [Ctrl]-[P]).
In the Preview window, you can check your visuals and effects while you are working.
5.
Try playing different keys on your MIDI controller.
The MIDI activity indicator in the top right corner should blink, and you should see various images and effects in the Preview window while you are playing. If not, go back and redo the connections and settings. You may also try running other MIDI software to make sure that your MIDI interface is working correctly.
S
ETTING UP AUDIO INPUT
It is possible to synchronize your performances to an audio signal using the built-in “Beat detection” algorithm. Some effects can also be affected by incoming audio in various ways.
How to set things up so that ArKaos VJ receives the correct audio signal depends on your audio card, but generally you need to activate recording of the desired source signal in the audio card’s control panel. Most audio cards come with a control panel or mixer application where you can specify the source signal to be recorded. This could be a signal routed the audio card’s physical inputs, or the output from a built-in CD player for example.
Consult the documentation that came with your audio card for specific information about your audio card and how to select a recording source.
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This chapter will guide you through the basic preparation procedures needed to run ArKaos VJ on a Macintosh, and will provide some recommendations for getting the absolute most out of ArKaos VJ.
R
ECOMMENDED SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
Below are the recommended system requirements, as well as descriptions of optional equipment and the system configuration that will allow you to make full use of the capabilities of ArKaos VJ.
Recommended system
G4 / 800MHz or better.
OS 9.2.2 or 10.2 and up.
Apple QuickTime 6.x or better (included).
256MB of RAM or more.
Memory considerations under Mac OS 9.x
If you are running ArKaos VJ under OS 9.x, there are a few things related to system memory that you should consider.
Virtual memory
ArKaos VJ (like other memory intensive applications) works best with virtual memory turned off.
To ensure that virtual memory is turned off, do the following:
1.
Select Control Panels from the Apple menu and choose Memory.
The Memory panel appears.
2.
If Virtual Memory is turned on, click the Off button to turn it off.
3.
Restart your computer.
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Assigning system memory to ArKaos VJ
Under OS 9.x, every Macintosh program has a memory setting. This is used for telling the computer how much memory to allocate to a particular program. (This is not a consideration under OS X.) This setting can be changed from the Mac OS Finder as described below.
When ArKaos VJ is installed, the memory assignment is automatically set to the optimal value for your type of Macintosh. You can, however, raise or lower this value as you see fit. Bear in mind that the more memory you assign to the program, the more pictures you will be able to use. We therefore strongly advice you not to lower the value.
When the program displays pictures, it tries to preload them into RAM for quick access. However, since preloading all pictures can potentially require quite a lot of memory, ArKaos VJ uses a dynamic memory allocation scheme that works like a “memory cache”. As many pictures are preloaded into this cache as the available memory can accommodate. When a new picture is to be displayed, ArKaos VJ moves it into the cache, while another picture is removed from the cache to make room. This allows you to use a lot more pictures than the available RAM can accommodate.
This transfer of pictures in and out of the cache can cause a slight delay, however. Assigning more memory to the program enables a larger cache, and therefore less transfers and faster performance. So, if you have RAM to spare, don’t hesitate to raise the amount of memory assigned to ArKaos VJ.
Movies are not loaded into RAM unless you specify this in the program for a par-
ticular movie. See page 107 for more information.
To change the amount of RAM dedicated to ArKaos VJ under OS 9.x, proceed as follows:
1.
Quit ArKaos VJ if it is running.
2.
Locate the ArKaos VJ program icon in the Finder and click on it once to select it.
3.
Select Get Info from the File menu.
4.
Select Memory from the pop-up menu.
5.
Change the memory setting by clicking on it and typing in a new value.
6.
Now, ArKaos VJ will use this amount of RAM, if it is available.
If the requested amount of memory isn’t available for the program to “grab” (you might have other programs running which already occupy some of your memory), it will use as much as it can get. If the program can’t even find the “minimum” amount of RAM, it won’t start.
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About the Memory window (Os 9.x and OS X)
If you open this window (located on the Edit menu) and activate the full screen display, the meter continuously displays how much RAM is being used. Since ArKaos uses a dynamic memory allocation scheme (see above), the amount of memory in use will change depending on which visuals are displayed and which effects are activated. You can use the Memory meter to pinpoint effect combinations that are particularily memory demanding.
This way you can determine if you need to alter your Patch or assign more memory to the program (OS 9.x only).
Optional equipment
ArKaos VJ will operate with nothing more than a Macintosh computer.
However, to take full advantage of the program, you will probably want some additional equipment:
A MIDI controller and a MIDI interface.
This is essential for controlling ArKaos VJ’s visual effects in real-time (you can do this from the computer keyboard as well, but then you will not have access to velocity, pitch bend and modulation wheel). For details about the MIDI equipment and installation, see “Setting up
MIDI” on
A projector or a second monitor.
The program can display the visual effects on a projector or a monitor other than the main display. The ability to take advantage of this depends on whether your computer can handle more than one monitor or not. Most Macintosh desktop models have a dual head graphics card to manage a second monitor. Macintosh Powerbooks and iBooks also have a built-in external monitor connection. See “Setting Up The Displays” below for more information.
A MIDI sequencer program.
Recording your MIDI control messages in a MIDI sequencer gives you complete automatic playback of the visual effects. ArKaos VJ handles internal MIDI communication within the
computer via ReWire (see page 180 ) or OMS under Mac OS 9.x and via CoreMIDI or Re-
Wire (see
) under Mac OS X. You can also connect an external sequencer (either a hardware sequencer or a second computer running a software sequencer) to ArKaos VJ via a
MIDI interface.
A QuickTime compatible video device.
ArKaos VJ can grab still images, and also supports streaming video input, from a connected video device. Any device connected through USB, FireWire, acquisition cards etc. can be used, as long as QuickTime can handle it.
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ETTING UP THE DISPLAYS
Modern computers offer a number of choices regarding display resolution and color depth. Both of these settings determine the amount of data that
ArKaos VJ has to manipulate. The greater the amount of data, the faster your processor and system buses must be.
ArKaos VJ also offers the possibility of setting the display resolution and color depth separately for each synth (ArKaos document) within ArKaos itself, and this determines the amount of data that needs to be processed by
your system as well. See page 75
for information about setting the resolution separately for each synth.
General considerations
• In most cases, you should use a resolution of 640 x 480 for your ArKaos synths because it is a standard trade-off between resolution and bandwidth. 800 x 600 or higher may work on fast machines, however the increase in resolution is usually not worth the trade-off in throughput for applications such as projecting motion graphics .
• ArKaos VJ’s synths can have a color depth setting of millions of colors (32 bit) or thousands of colors (16 bit).
Considerations for adjusting display settings
ArKaos VJ synths use a default resolution setting of 640 x 480 and millions of colors. If your monitor is already set to this resolution, then you don’t need to change anything. If you normally use a higher resolution in your other work, however, you need to make some considerations for adjusting display settings for optimum performance with ArKaos VJ.
If you have set your monitor to use a higher resolution than ArKaos VJ’s standard synth resolution 640 x 480, the visuals projected by ArKaos VJ will not fill the entire screen when you activate the ArKaos Engine (the full-
).
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To remedy the above situation, you can do one of the following:
Manually change the monitor’s resolution to 640 x 480.
This works, but will make the letters and windows on the screen look rather big and clumsy, if you use a fairly large monitor. If your particular Macintosh doesn’t support 640 x 480 resolution, you can either select the next higher resolution (this will not do any harm to your system, but it will cause 640 x 480 images to not cover the entire screen) or use one of the other two methods described below.
To change the resolution under OS 9.x, select Control Panels from the Apple menu and choose Monitors. Under OS X, select System Preferences from the Apple menu and choose
Displays.
Set up each Synth that you create to work in the same resolution and pixel depth your monitor is set to.
You then also need to make sure all your visuals are this size. (See
about setting display resolution within a Synth).
Set up ArKaos VJ so that it automatically switches the monitor to the Synth’s screen size (640 x 480 in this example) when you activate the full-screen display, and then switches it back to your preferred working resolution when you return to ArKaos
VJ.
This is ArKaos VJ’s default setting, as it is the optimal solution for most situations. See below for instructions.
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Setting up one display with automatic monitor switching
As mentioned above, you can set things up so that ArKaos VJ automatically switches monitor resolution when activating the ArKaos Engine, and then switches back to your working resolution again when you return to work in
ArKaos VJ. This means that all work windows are affected by your “working resolution” setting, but visuals displayed in the ArKaos engine are not.
To set this up, proceed as follows:
1.
In ArKaos VJ, select “Preferences” from the Edit menu, and then select the “Monitors” option.
The Monitor Preferences dialog opens.
2.
If you have a Power Macintosh with AGP or PCI bus you can simply activate “Auto detect monitor”, and you will get a list of all the monitor modes your Macintosh model is capable of using.
This step is necessary for “informing” ArKaos VJ about which resolutions your particular monitor is capable of using. Note however that the ability to actually use all the resolution modes listed depends on the monitor, the amount of video RAM etc. ArKaos VJ also identifies your current working resolution and displays it in this dialog.
Note that not all brands of monitors support the auto detection function. If you have such a monitor, you will instead have to manually inform ArKaos VJ about which resolutions your monitor can use (see step 3 below).
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3.
If you can’t, or for some reason don’t want to, use the automatic option, you can instead manually build a list of the resolutions available.
To do so, first make sure “Auto detect monitors” is not activated. Then access your Monitor control panel (OS 9) or Display panel (OS X) (without closing the Monitor Preferences dialog in
ArKaos VJ) and click on each available resolution. Then switch back to ArKaos VJ. Each resolution you clicked on now appears in the ArKaos VJ Monitor Preferences dialog.
4.
When you’re done, close the Monitor Preferences dialog.
You have now provided ArKaos VJ with information about the resolutions your monitor is capable of using.
5.
Now select Preferences from the Edit menu and choose “ArKaos Engine”.
The ArKaos Engine dialog appears.
6.
Click the option “Try to set monitor resolution and pixel depth” to activate it (put a checkmark in the box).
When this is activated, the ArKaos Engine will switch to the resolution the currently used synth is set to when displaying visuals, regardless of what working resolution your system is set to.
7.
Most often, you will probably also want to activate “Restore Monitor when deactivating ArKaos”.
If this option is activated, the resolution and pixel depth will be restored to your original
“working settings” when you return from the full-screen display to ArKaos VJ. Otherwise, the resolution setting of the current synth will remain in effect.
8.
Click OK to close the dialog.
You will now experience one of three results, depending on the screen size setting for the current synth:
• If the Synth you are working with is set to operate at the same screen size as the monitor is set to, there will be no change.
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• If the Synth is set to a resolution other than what the monitor is currently set to, and that desired resolution is available in the list in the Monitor Preferences dialog (as described above), the resolution is automatically switched (and optionally switched back when you exit ArKaos).
• If the Synth is set to a resolution other than what the monitor is currently set to, but this desired resolution is not available in the Monitor Preferences list, the resolution is not switched, and the images will only occupy part of the screen.
Setting up two displays with automatic monitor switching
ArKaos VJ can display the visuals on a second monitor or projector, leaving the first monitor for the “work windows” and for other applications.
Automatic monitor switching works basically the same way with two displays as it does with one. There is just one additional step required, and that is informing ArKaos VJ about which monitor you want to use for displaying visuals.
If you are fortunate enough to own (and have a system that supports the use of) a projector or two monitors, proceed as follows:
1.
In ArKaos VJ, select Preferences from the Edit menu and then select “Monitors”.
The Monitor Preferences dialog opens. The settings for the primary monitor is shown, but if your system is set up properly and the program has detected the second monitor, the
“Next” button is available (not greyed-out), allowing you to select the second monitor. If it isn’t available, your system is probably not set up correctly. If so, consult the troubleshooting manual for your operating system.
2.
Use the Previous and Next buttons to select the monitor that you want to display the visuals on,
3.
Follow the procedure described on
page 37 for setting up a list of available resolu-
tions and activating automatic switching for the monitor you want to use for displaying the visuals.
There may be situations when you are not absolutely sure which monitor is selected for the display. If that is the case, just select “Start Full Screen” from the ArKaos menu and check which monitor the visuals appear on.
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ETTING UP
MIDI
While it is possible to operate ArKaos VJ using only the computer keyboard and mouse (see
page 177 ), triggering via a MIDI controller or from a MIDI
sequencer offers much more flexibility.
The following is a description of how ArKaos VJ communicates with MIDI devices and programs, and how to set things up.
Configuring MIDI under OS 9.x
Under OS 9.x, ArKaos VJ can use one of three possible systems for communicating via MIDI: OMS, ReWire or Direct Driver. The difference between these systems and how to use them is described below.
OMS
OMS (Open Music System), co-developed by Steinberg and Opcode Systems Inc., is a free system extension that standardizes MIDI communication both with MIDI interfaces and between programs. It also lets multiple MIDI applications communicate and share resources, such as instrument Patch names and timing information.
OMS supports multi-port interfaces and can be used for receiving MIDI data both from external MIDI devices and from other (OMS-compatible)
MIDI programs.
ArKaos VJ requires OMS 2.3.7.
Set things up as follows:
1.
Make sure you have installed and set up your MIDI interface and OMS correctly.
See the OMS documentation for details.
2.
Connect a MIDI keyboard or other controller to the MIDI In on your interface and set it to transmit on channel 1.
Refer to the hardware documentation if necessary.
Note that ArKaos VJ must also be set to receive on the same MIDI channel that the MIDI controller is transmitting on. This is done individually for each
ArKaos VJ Synth. For instructions on this, see
.
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3.
Launch ArKaos VJ.
4.
Pull down the Edit menu and select “MIDI System” from the Preferences submenu.
The MIDI System dialog opens.
5.
In the MIDI System dialog, select “OMS” and click OK.
6.
Quit ArKaos VJ and launch it again for your settings to take effect.
Direct Driver
Direct Driver specifies either the Printer or Modem serial port for connecting a
MIDI interface. Hence, newer Macs equipped with USB ports cannot use Direct Driver.
Direct Driver can be used when you wish to use MIDI signals from an external device, connected to a regular (as opposed to multi-port) MIDI interface, in its turn connected to either the Modem port or Printer port on your computer. This could for example be an external MIDI controller such as a keyboard, a stand-alone hardware sequencer or a MIDI sequencer program running on another computer.
Direct Driver can, unlike OMS, not be used for multi-port interfaces or pro-
grams running on the same computer (see page 43
).
Set things up as follows:
1.
Connect and set up the MIDI Interface as described in its documentation.
A standard “single” interface can be connected to either the Modem port or the Printer port.
Which one to choose depends on if you have any other equipment (such as a printer or a modem) already connected to one of the ports.
2.
Connect the MIDI Cable from the MIDI Out port on the MIDI controller to MIDI In on the interface, and set the controller to transmit on channel 1.
Refer to the hardware documentation if necessary.
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Note that ArKaos VJ must also be set to receive on the same MIDI channel that the MIDI controller is transmitting on. This is done individually for each
ArKaos VJ Synth. For instructions on this, see
.
3.
Turn on the MIDI interface (if needed) and the MIDI Controller.
Make sure the MIDI controller is actually transmitting MIDI data when you play it (refer to the documentation for the MIDI controller).
4.
Launch ArKaos VJ.
5.
Pull down the Edit menu and select “MIDI System” from the Preferences submenu.
The MIDI System dialog opens.
6.
Select “Direct Driver”, if it isn’t already selected, and click OK.
7.
If you changed the MIDI driver setting in step 6 above, quit ArKaos VJ and restart it for the changes to take effect.
8.
Pull down the Edit menu and select “MIDI Setup” from the Preferences submenu.
The MIDI Setup Direct Driver dialog opens.
9.
Select the port on your computer (Modem or Printer) to which you have connected your MIDI equipment, and click OK.
If either MIDI port is not available, this is because it is occupied by some other software. For example, if you have a printer which uses AppleTalk connected to the printer port, the printer port can not be used for MIDI.
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Controlling ArKaos VJ from programs running on the same computer
If you want to control ArKaos VJ from a MIDI sequencer program running on the same computer under OS 9.x, the most convenient solution is to
).
However, if you want to control ArKaos VJ from another program running on the same computer via OMS, proceed as follows:
1.
Launch the other program and make sure it uses OMS.
2.
In ArKaos VJ, select Preferences from the Edit menu and choose “MIDI Setup”.
The MIDI Setup OMS dialog appears.
3.
Pull down the pop-up menu and select the desired OMS input.
The name of the MIDI program you launched and made settings for in step 7 above should now be available on the menu, and you can select it as an input. If that application is not available on the pop-up menu, choose the IAC driver. This serves as a “virtual MIDI cable” connecting applications within your computer. (See the OMS documentation for more info).
4.
In the other MIDI program, set the MIDI output you want to use to the same value as the input you set in ArKaos VJ - the program name or IAC.
This connects the output of the MIDI program to the input of ArKaos VJ.
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Configuring MIDI under OS X
Under Mac OS X, ArKaos VJ uses the CoreMIDI protocol to communicate with MIDI devices.
When you want to control ArKaos VJ from an external “controller” such as a keyboard, a MIDI guitar or similar, or when you want to send MIDI signals to ArKaos VJ from either a stand-alone sequencer or a sequencer running on another computer, proceed as follows:
1.
Connect and set up the MIDI interface as described in its documentation.
2.
Connect a MIDI cable from the MIDI Out port on the MIDI controller, to MIDI In on the interface.
3.
Turn on the MIDI interface (if needed) and the MIDI controller.
Make sure the MIDI controller is actually transmitting MIDI data when you play it (refer to the documentation for the MIDI controller).
4.
Launch ArKaos VJ.
5.
Pull down the Edit menu and select “MIDI Setup” from the Preferences submenu.
The MIDI Setup dialog opens.
6.
Make sure “CoreMIDI” is selected.
If you have a MIDI sequencer program running on the same computer, you will also have the possibility of selecting “ReWire”. However, this option is for controlling ArKaos VJ from other programs running on the same computer (see
).
7.
From the drop-down list, select the MIDI device to which you have connected your
MIDI equipment.
8.
When you’re done, Click OK.
Note that ArKaos VJ must be set to receive on the same MIDI channel that the
MIDI controller is transmitting on. For instructions on this, see
.
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Controlling ArKaos VJ from programs running on the same computer
If you want to control ArKaos VJ from a MIDI sequencer program running
on the same computer under OS X, ReWire is used (see page 180
for instructions on how to set up ReWire).
Testing the MIDI settings
You can verify that the MIDI settings you have made are OK in the following way:
1.
Select a Preset synth from the File menu.
2.
Set your MIDI controller to transmit on channel 1.
3.
Open the Get Synth Info dialog on the Synth menu, and make sure the Preset synth is set to receive on channel 1.
4.
If the Preview window isn’t open, select Show Preview from the ArKaos menu (or use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[P]).
In the Preview window, you can check your visuals and effects while you are working.
5.
Try playing different keys on your MIDI controller.
The MIDI activity indicator in the top right corner should blink, and you should see various images and effects in the Preview window while you are playing. If not, go back and redo the connections and settings. You may also try running other MIDI software to make sure that your MIDI interface is working correctly.
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ETTING UP AUDIO INPUT
It is possible to synchronize your performances to an audio signal using the built-in “Beat detection” algorithm. Some effects can also be affected by incoming audio in various ways.
How to set up so that ArKaos VJ receives the audio signal depends on your
Mac OS version and whether the Mac is equipped with audio inputs.
Setting up under Mac OS 9.x
There are three possible ways to select sound input under Mac OS 9.x:
• By selecting the built-in CD player as the source in the Sound Input control panel.
• By selecting the signal fed into the Mac’s audio inputs as the source in the same control panel.
• By selecting an installed audio card as the input source in the same control panel.
It is not possible to internally route the output from a MP3 player or similar running on the same Mac to ArKaos VJ.
Setting up under Mac OS X
There are two possible ways to select sound input under Mac OS X:
• By selecting the Mac’s built-in audio inputs as the source in the System Preferences
Sound Inputs dialog.
• By selecting an installed audio card as the input source in the same dialog.
It is not possible to internally route the output from a MP3 player or CD player running on the same Mac to ArKaos VJ.
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This chapter provides a simple tutorial designed to give you a brief overview of how you work with ArKaos VJ. The tutorial assumes the following:
That your monitor is set to at least a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels in thousands of colors.
That you have a MIDI interface connected to your computer, and a MIDI keyboard
(or other controller) connected to this interface.
If you don’t have a MIDI controller however, you can use the computer keyboard instead
(see
for instructions).
That you have made the basic preparations for using ArKaos VJ on the PC or Mac
as described in the chapter “Configuration – Windows” and the chapter
Interactive help
The ArKaos VJ interface offers several ways for you to get help using the software:
Contextual help.
You can position the cursor over any element in the ArKaos VJ interface and a description will pop up after a short period of time.
Electronic help.
The items on the Help menu provide several on-screen documentation options for ArKaos VJ.
Web access.
The ArKaos web site features a wealth of valuable information for ArKaos VJ users. You can reach the ArKaos web site via a direct web link in the program, accessible either via the Help menu (the “Check ArKaos Web Site” item) or the ArKaos VJ interface (the ArKaos VJ logo in the upper left corner of the Synth window). Just click either of these to launch your Internet browser and access the ArKaos web site.
The Help menu also contains a direct web link to the ArKaos Support web site, where you can receive help should you run into problems with the software.
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The above mentioned interactive help options contextual help and web access can be activated and deactivated at your own leisure, as follows:
1.
Pull down the Edit menu, and from the Preferences submenu select “Interface...”.
The Interface Preferences dialog opens.
2.
Check or uncheck the items “Show interactive help” and “Use web link on synth window” in the dialog to activate/deactivate the corresponding help option.
You might for example want to deactivate the web link option so as not to accidentally launch your Internet browser if you happen to click on the ArKaos VJ logo on the program interface.
Note however that deactivating the web link option does not affect the “Check ArKaos Web
Site” item on the Help menu, but just the web link on the interface.
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P
LAYING A
P
ATCH
In ArKaos VJ, the main document is called a “Synth” file, and has the file extension “.kos”. A Synth contains all of the visuals used in a performance and stores one or more Patches containing the keyboard assignments for visuals and effects.
1.
Launch ArKaos VJ.
The factory Preset Synth “Adventure.kos” file loads automatically. If not, just select “Adventure.kos” from the File menu.
This is one of the Preset synths, complete with visuals and effects, included in the ArKaos VJ installation.
The Synth window
The Patch window The scrolling control
You will see several windows. The one at the top is the Synth window. It displays the current Patch name and provides access to other Patches stored in the Synth, as well as shortcuts to some fundamental functions in
ArKaos VJ. The window at the bottom with the keyboard is the Patch window,
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showing which visuals (pictures, movies, video feeds or flash text animations) and effects are assigned to the different keys in the current Patch.
The MIDI keyboard also contains a scrolling control to allow you to access the full range of keys.
2.
Decide whether you want to play the Patch via MIDI or via the computer keyboard, and click on the corresponding icon in the Patch window.
The Patch Window changes appearance accordingly when you click an icon.
3.
Pull down the ArKaos menu and select “Start Full Screen”.
This starts the ArKaos engine, the “heart” of ArKaos VJ, which displays the visuals in fullscreen mode.
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Alternatively, you can click the “Start Full Screen” button in the Synth window.
4.
Try playing different keys.
You will see different visuals and effects as a result. Some of the effects are apparent almost instantaneously, while others require that you hold the key for a while.
Note that if you’re using a second monitor or projector dedicated to displaying the visuals, you can also audition the images and effects by clicking on the onscreen keyboard on your “work window” monitor.
5.
Exit the full-screen display.
If you only have one monitor, simply click the mouse button (Macintosh) or the left mouse button (PC). If you have two monitors, select “Stop Full Screen” from the ArKaos menu on your “work window” monitor.
Switching Patches
A Patch contains settings for each key on the keyboard, as displayed in the
Patch window. A Synth can contain up to 128 Patches.
Next, we’ll switch to a different Patch within the same Synth:
1.
Click on the Synth window at the top of the screen to activate it.
2.
Click on the “Next Patch” (up arrow) button. This selects the next Patch, entitled
“Empty: 1”.
Patch name Next Patch Previous Patch Show Patch window
3.
Click on the “Show Patch Window” button to the right of the selection arrows.
A new Patch window opens for this Patch.
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If you now activate the ArKaos Engine as previously described, you will play the new Patch, with the effects and visuals laid out as shown in the new
Patch window. However, as you can see, the keyboard of the new Patch is blank, since no visuals or effects are assigned to it. We will look into how to add visuals and effects to a Patch next.
When you activate the full-screen display, the currently selected, open Patch is always the one that will be played. You select an open Patch with the arrow buttons and the “Show Patch Window” button as described above, or by clicking directly on the corresponding Patch window.
Adding a visual to a Patch
Next we’ll add a visual to the new Patch you opened previously:
1.
Click on the Visuals window to make it active. If the Visuals window is not visible, select “Visuals” from the Synth menu (or use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[1] on the
Mac; [Ctrl]-[1] on the PC).
The Visuals window contains lists of all visuals used in the Synth.
2.
Click the movie tab at the top of the Visuals window to make sure the list of movies is displayed.
The visuals are organized into four different categories, accessed by clicking the corresponding tab at the top of the Visuals window. These are, from left to right: Static pictures, movies, live video feeds and Flash text animations.
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3.
Click and drag any icon from the list of movies in the Visuals window onto the bot-
tom part of any key in the Patch window.
The bottom part, or cell, of each key holds visual icons, while the upper cell of each key holds effect icons (see below). ArKaos VJ only allows you to drop the appropriate icon type in these cells. If you drop an icon in a cell already containing an icon of the same type (visual or effect), it will replace the previous icon.
Effect cells
Visual cells
4.
Make sure the Preview window is open. If it isn’t, select “Show Preview” on the
ArKaos menu (or use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[P] on the Mac; [Ctrl]-[P] on the
PC).
The Preview window is useful if you don’t want to switch to full-screen mode to audition visuals and effects, as described on
5.
Press the key on which you placed the visual, or click on it in the on-screen keyboard.
You should see the image appear in the Preview window. Also note that you get a visual indication of the key stroke - the key you press lights up in red in the Patch window.
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Adding an effect to a Patch
Next, we’ll add an effect to the same key you previously placed a visual on.
1.
Click on the Effects window to make it active. If the Effects window is not visible, select “Effects” from the Synth menu (or use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[2] on the
Mac; [Ctrl]-[2] on the PC).
The Effects window contains icons for all of ArKaos VJ’s visual effects. The effects are organized into four different categories, accessed by clicking the corresponding tab at the top of the Visuals window. These are, from left to right: 3D effects, Video effects, Transition effects and Artistic effects.
2.
Click the leftmost tab in the upper half of the Effects window to select the first category of effects (3D).
3.
Click and drag the second icon in the Effects window onto the upper cell of the key in the Patch window.
This is an effect called “Galactic Scrolling”. Note that if you position the pointer over an effect icon and keep it there for a moment, a tool-tip with the name of the effect will appear (provided you haven’t chosen to disable this help feature, as described on
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4.
Press and hold the key on which you placed the effect.
The key now holds both the effect and the visual you previously added. This means that when you press the key, you will not only display the visual In the Preview window, but it will also be processed by the effect. The result of this particular effect, as you can see, is that the visual scrolls in a slanting fashion into the distance, as long as you keep the key pressed.
Changing the settings for visuals and effects
Now, we will edit the settings of the visual and the effect you assigned.
Visual settings
1.
Double-click on the visual icon in the bottom cell of the key in the Patch window
(alternatively you can click on the visual to select it and then select “Get Visual Info” from the Patch menu, or use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[I] on the Mac; [Ctrl]-[I] on the PC).
A dialog opens, presenting the display options for the visual.
Note that the settings in this dialog can be used not only for visuals, but also effects placed alone on keys. An effect can be placed on a key even if there is no visual on it, and vice versa. This way, you can process a visual placed on one key with an effect placed on another key. For detailed information about this, see
.
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2.
Locate the “Latch” option in the lower left corner, click in the box to put a checkmark in it and click OK.
3.
Press the key and then release it.
You’ll notice that you don’t have to keep the key pressed to make the visual scroll anymore.
Normally, a visual or effect will only play as long as the key is pressed. With Latch activated, the visual or effect on the key will instead run continuously until you press the key a second time to stop it.
4.
Press the key again.
The visual stops scrolling.
Effect settings
1.
Double-click on the icon in the upper cell of the key in the Patch window.
A dialog opens, presenting the options for the effect “Galactic Scrolling”.
2.
Click on the radio-button for “Downwards” in the “Scrolling” section in the lower left corner and click OK.
3.
Press the key.
As you can see, the visual now scrolls in a different direction.
4.
Press the key again.
The visual stops scrolling.
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E
XPLORING THE
P
RESET
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YNTHS
ArKaos VJ comes with numerous Synths ready to play. You can learn a great deal about how to harness the incredible power of ArKaos VJ by exploring how these Synths are set up.
1.
Pull down the File menu and either select a Synth from the list in the bottom of the menu, or select “Open” and browse for a Synth.
The selected Synth will open.
2.
Experiment by pressing various keys and observing the results in the Preview window.
Note that some keys only have effects mapped to them and must be used in conjunction with keys that have visuals assigned to them, and vice versa. See
for more information.
3.
Double-click any of the visual or effects cells in the Patch window to check their settings and determine how they work.
4.
Select “Start Full Screen” from the ArKaos menu to start the ArKaos engine in full screen mode.
You can also use the shortcut [ ]-[A] on the Mac; [Ctrl]-[A] under Windows, or click the
“Start Full Screen” button in the Synth window.
5.
Perform on the keyboard and observe the results on your display.
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6.
Exit the full-screen display.
If you only have one monitor, simply click the mouse button (Macintosh) or the left mouse button (PC). If you have two monitors, select “Stop Full Screen” from the ArKaos menu on the “work window” monitor.
7.
If there is a song title and Play button in the bottom right corner of the Patch window, this means that the Synth contains a prerecorded event sequence.
You can then click the Play button to play back the sequence. For detailed information about
recording event sequences, see the chapter “The Event Recorder” .
8.
Either start the full screen display, as previously described, or watch the sequence in the Preview window.
9.
After viewing the prerecorded sequence, exit the full screen display as previously described, if you’ve been watching in full-screen mode.
10.
Click the Play button again to stop the sequence.
Now, you have seen a brief glimpse of the amazing capabilities of ArKaos
VJ. The following chapters describe how to set up your own Synths and
Patches for the program, and how to create visual performances of your own.
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B
ASIC CONCEPTS
I
NTRODUCTION
This chapter introduces you to the basic concepts of ArKaos VJ and its
“building blocks”. The information in this chapter will give you the foundation for understanding the subsequent chapters. If you have not already done so, we recommend that you read the tutorial in the previous chapter as well.
Visuals
This is a general name for pictures, movies, flash text animations and video
streams. As you probably know by now, ArKaos VJ allows you to display visuals in “real-time”, and lets you manipulate these in a number of ways, to create a complete performance or “show”.
ArKaos VJ accepts pictures in PICT, BMP and JPEG file format and movies in
QuickTime (MOV), Video for Windows (AVI) and Flash Animation (SWF) format. For more information on how to prepare pictures and movies, see
The Visuals window
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The Visuals window is open by default. It can also be made visible by selecting “Visuals” from the Synth menu (or using the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[1] on the Mac; [Ctrl]-[1] on the PC). The Visuals window contains a list of all images, movies and animations used in a Synth.
The different kinds of visuals are stored in separate panes for easy organization and access:
• The first, leftmost pane is for static images.
• The second pane is for movies.
• The third pane is for streaming movies captured by a connected video device.
• The fourth and last pane is for Flash animations with rendered text.
ArKaos VJ lets you add text to Flash animations, which will then be displayed along with the visual.
You switch between the different panes by clicking the corresponding tab at the top of the window.
You import visuals into a pane in the Visuals window by one of three methods:
• Dragging-and-dropping from the Finder in Mac OS or from the Explorer in Windows.
• Using the Import command from the File menu in ArKaos VJ.
• Clicking the Import Visual button (the folder icon) in the Visuals window.
This is not available on the tabs for streaming video input and Flash animations with rendered text.
• If a video device is connected and properly set up, an icon representing the device is available in the Streaming Video list in the Visuals window.
For more details about the Visuals window and importing visuals, see
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Effects
An effect does something to alter a visual shown on screen. This can be anything from shattering the image into little pieces or changing its shape or colors.
Many effect types are included, and ArKaos VJ’s open architecture allows new effects to be added at any time. If you register your version of ArKaos
VJ, as described on
, you will be able to get new effects from a user zone on the ArKaos web site as they are developed and made available.
Most of the effects have a number of parameters so that you can adjust them to your liking.
The Effects window
The Effects window is open by default. It can also be made visible by selecting “Effects” from the Synth menu (or using the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[2] on the Mac; [Ctrl]-[2] on the PC). The Effects window contains icons for all effects in the program. The effects are organized into four different categories: 3D, Video, Transitions and Artistic. You switch between these categories by clicking the tabs at the top of the Effects window.
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Layers
The purpose of Layers is to allow you to combine multiple effects by allowing them to process the active contents of the screen simultaneously.
You open the Layers dialog by selecting “Layers” from the Synth menu.
Use the dialog to specify the number of Layers you want ArKaos to be able to display simultaneously. The maximum number of Layers is 50. If you for example use three Layers, you will be able to use three effects simultaneously.
Note that larger numbers of layers can slow down performance, depending on your processor, system buses and the resolution and screen size with which you’re working (see
Patch
You set up visuals and effects you want to use in a Patch window (much like how you set up a Patch on an audio synth). You can have up to 128
Patches per Synth (see below), and switch between them using the mouse,
MIDI or the Automation function. You can also name Patches in the Patch
Info dialog. For more information, see
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The Patch window
The Patch window is where you set up Patches by assigning images and effects to the representation of the keyboard. Each key in the Patch window corresponds to a key on your MIDI keyboard.
You can also use the computer keyboard if you so wish. For instance if you don’t have access to a MIDI keyboard. You switch between using the MIDI keyboard and the computer keyboard by clicking the corresponding icon at the bottom left of the Patch window.
There are two cells on each key - the lower one is for assigning a visual and the upper one is for assigning an effect to the key. You make these assignments by dragging-and-dropping elements onto the keyboard from the Visuals and Effects windows.
Any given key can have one or both elements assigned. Separating the two gives you the flexibility of displaying a visual by pressing one key, and processing it in various ways by playing other keys with only effects assigned to them.
The Patch window also contains a slider to let you scroll across the entire expanse of the keyboard, and an Event sequence list and play control that
lets you play back recordings made with the Event Recorder (see page 188 ).
Note that you can have multiple Patch windows open simultaneously — one for each Patch in a Synth.
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Synth
A Synth consists of up to 128 Patches, a Visuals window with your images and movies, and various other settings. You could think of the Synth as a traditional synthesizer able to play different patches in various ways given the same core set of sounds.
Synths are also ArKaos VJ’s document format. I.e. when you save an ArKaos document, you save a Synth file, distinguished by the .kos extension.
You can have several Synths open at the same time, but only one Synth can be active.
The Synth window
The Synth window displays the current Patch name and allows you to select other Patches. The currently selected, active Patch is the one that will be played when you activate the full-screen or Preview display.
The Synth window also features short-cut buttons for a couple of fundamental ArKaos VJ functions: The Start Full Screen and Show Automation window options.
In addition, it also contains a MIDI activity indicator, a button for opening a
Patch (or activating an already open Patch window) and a clickable direct link to the ArKaos web site.
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Preview window
The Preview window lets you audition the visuals and effects while setting up the Patch. Just play any keys to which you have assigned visuals and effects and check the result in the Preview window.
You can position the Preview window anywhere on your display(s) for convenience.
The Preview window is open by default. In the event that the Preview window is closed, and you wish to open it, select “Show Preview” from the
ArKaos menu (or use the keyboard short-cut [ ]-[P] under Mac OS;
[Ctrl]-[P] under Windows).
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Full-screen display
The ArKaos Engine allows you to display your visuals in full-screen mode. If you have two monitors, the full-screen visuals will appear on the display you have specified in your monitor configuration (for more information on setting up your displays, see
for Windows users and
for Mac users).
To activate full-screen mode, use one of the following methods:
Select “Start Full Screen” from the ArKaos menu.
Use one of the following keyboard shortcuts: [ ]-[A] or [ ]-[Enter] under Mac
OS. [Ctrl]-[A], [Ctrl]-[Enter] or [Ctrl]-[Return] under Windows.
Click on the Start Full Screen button in the Synth window.
To deactivate full-screen mode when using a single display:
Click the mouse button (Mac) or left mouse button (Windows).
To deactivate full-screen mode when using two displays:
Select “Stop Full Screen” from the ArKaos menu.
Use one of the following keyboard shortcuts: [ ]-[A] or [ ]-[Enter] under Mac
OS. [Ctrl]-[A], [Ctrl]-[Enter] or [Ctrl]-[Return] under Windows.
Click on the Start Full Screen button in the Synth window.
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The Event Recorder
The Event Recorder allows you to record performances directly in ArKaos
VJ without using any external program. It also allows you to work together with a MIDI program to record performances in ArKaos VJ so that they can be played back without the other application.
You can also add audio files to the performances, either during recording or playback. If you are using Windows and have Windows Media Player 9 (or better) installed, you can even use 5.1 surround WMA files.
The Event Recorder can also render your recordings to QuickTime movies or Windows Media Video movies for use in ArKaos VJ or other programs that can read these movie formats.
Furthermore, the movies you render can also include any audio you add to a performance.
You open the Event Recorder by pulling down the ArKaos Menu and selecting “Event Recorder” (or by using the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[R] under
Mac OS); [Ctrl]-[R] under Windows). For more information, see page 187
.
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M
ANAGING
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YNTHS
AND
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ATCHES
I
NTRODUCTION
As mentioned in the previous chapter, “Basic Concepts”, the main ArKaos
VJ document is the Synth. A Synth contains a list of visuals, up to 128
Patches and additional settings.
In this chapter you will learn how to create and manage Synths and what settings are available for each. You will also learn some basics about
Patches. In the subsequent chapters, you will learn how to actually set up the Patches including the effects and visuals they use.
C
REATING A
S
YNTH
You create a new Synth in the following way:
1.
Select “New” from the File menu.
A standard file dialog opens.
2.
Enter a name and location for your Synth file.
It is often convenient to use the “New Folder” button and create a new project folder for the
Synth file and visuals. Visual files you add to the Synth will then be saved in this folder.
3.
Click on Save.
The new Synth file is created and a Synth panel window is opened, along with the other
ArKaos VJ windows.
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The other, related ArKaos VJ windows can be opened (or activated, if they already are open) in the following way:
Effects window: Select “Effects” from the Synth Menu.
You can also use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[2] on the Mac; [Ctrl]-[2] on the PC.
Visuals window: Select “Visuals” from the Synth menu.
You can also use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[1] on the Mac; [Ctrl]-[1] on the PC.
Patch window: Click on the Show Patch Window icon in the Synth window.
Preview window: Select “Show Preview” from the ArKaos menu.
You can also use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[P] on the Mac; [Ctrl]-[P] under Windows.
S
AVING
, O
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Opening Synths
To open a Synth that has been saved to disk, do one of the following:
Select “Open” from the File menu and navigate to the desired .kos file.
You can also use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[O] on the Mac; [Ctrl]-[O] under Windows.
or...
Double-click a Synth file in the Finder (Mac OS) or the Explorer (Windows).
or...
Select a Synth file from the list of recent files on the File menu.
ArKaos VJ keeps the last 10 .kos files you have opened and worked with on a list on the File menu for quick access.
ArKaos VJ allows you to have several Synths open at the same time.
This version of ArKaos VJ has the same file format as the previous versions, hence it is possible to open Synth documents created with older versions of the program. Synth documents created with this version of the program, on the other hand, should not be opened with older versions, because of the new features and effects implemented in this version.
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Closing an open Synth
To close a Synth, do one of the following:
Click on the Synth window’s Close Box.
or...
Select “Close” from the File menu.
You can also use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[W] on the Mac; [Ctrl]-[W] under Windows.
Note that the Synth window has to be the active window. If any other window is active, selecting Close will only close that window, not the Synth.
If more than one Synth window is open, only the currently active Synth will be closed.
If the Synth contains unsaved changes, you will be asked if you want to save it before closing.
Saving a Synth
To save a Synth, select “Save” from the File menu (or use the keyboard shortcut
[ ]-[S] on the Mac; [Ctrl]-[S] under Windows).
Saving a Synth saves any event sequences recorded with the Event Recorder as
To save a Synth under a different name and/or in another location, select “Save As” from the File menu.
This is useful if you want to make a copy of the Synth, or save a modified, existing Synth but also want to keep the original intact.
If the Synth includes movies and you save it in a different location on your hard disk, make sure to activate the “Anywhere” option in the Movie Folder dialog so
that the Synth can find the related movies (see page 79
).
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AKING SCREEN SETTINGS FOR A
S
YNTH
You can make screen settings separately for each Synth, independently from the master display settings described in the chapters “Configuration -
Windows” and “Configuration - Mac” on page 21
respectively.
Proceed as follows to make screen settings for a Synth:
1.
Select “Get Synth Info” from the Synth menu.
The Synth Info dialog opens.
2.
Select the desired Screen Size.
This should be matched to the visuals you plan to use. You should also select a size that your monitor can actually handle, taking into account that higher resolutions require more data throughput and therefore place greater demand on the processor and your system buses.
640 x 480 is a classic size/resolution, used in many documents and applications.
This makes for a good compromise between computer power requirement and visual quality.
720 x 576 is the best resolution when displaying on standard PAL/SECAM television or video monitors.
800 x 600 & 1024 x 768 are best reserved for use on machines with fast processors and graphics throughput.
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3.
Select the desired Screen Depth.
This is the number of colors used for displaying the visuals. As with higher screen size/resolution, higher color depths require more processor power and faster system buses.
Optionally, activate “Use double buffering in full screen”.
See below for details.
4.
When you are done, click OK to close the dialog.
About Double Buffering
Activating the option “Use double buffering in full screen” causes everything displayed in the ArKaos engine to first be drawn in an “off-screen” memory buffer before it is written directly to the screen. This feature has both advantages and drawbacks:
• Activating double-buffering makes it possible to play several keys, or layers (see
page 65 ), simultaneously without the flickering that might occur if this option is not
activated.
• On the other hand, having an extra memory buffer will put an increased load on your computer and system, thereby decreasing its performance.
If you are running under Windows and choose to activate “Use double buffering in full screen”, you also have to decide whether the graphics buffer should use system memory or video memory (RAM on your video card).
See below for information about this.
This is not an issue on the Mac, which always uses system memory for the graphics buffer.
PC memory issues for Double Buffering
There are some technical considerations to be made regarding the use of system memory or video memory for graphics buffering on the PC:
• If you only have the minimum amount of system memory required to run ArKaos VJ
(see
) you should use video memory — provided that there is enough on your video card (see below).
• If you decide to use video memory, you should make sure that you have a sufficient amount of memory on your video card to accommodate the frame buffer (the amount of memory needed to store the contents of the screen) while still leaving an ample amount for computation. The required size of the frame buffer depends on what resolution you use and the memory access-rate (8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit etc.) of your video card. As a loose rule, it is estimated that a resolution of 1024 x 768 with 64-bit memory access requires 4 MB of video memory for the frame buffer.
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• At present, video memory is generally faster than system memory, although this depends on the type of memory on your video card. If you have a video card with conventional DRAM, it does not make any difference, but if you have VRAM on your video card, for instance, the speed is significantly higher since that type of memory is dual-ported (allows read and write operations at the same time).
• If your video card is connected through AGP and has a fair amount of RAM, you will definitely benefit from using video memory for the buffer, since AGP lets the video card use conventional system memory for computing, leaving all of the video memory for the frame buffer.
•
If you are using the Feedback mechanism (see page 100 ), you should use system
memory. Otherwise, system performance will be severely degraded and noticeably slower.
If in doubt about what type of memory to use you can test which option gives the best performance by activating “Display Statistics” on the ArKaos menu and playing back a video in Full Screen mode. Compare the displayed frame rate using both
Video and System memory. The higher the frame rate the better the performance.
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M
AKING
MIDI
SETTINGS FOR A
S
YNTH
In the chapters “Configuration - Windows” and “Configuration - Mac” on
and page 31 respectively, you learned how to set up ArKaos VJ so
that it responds to MIDI signals from the correct source. This setting is valid for all Synths you create and use. However, there are a number of MIDI settings that can be set independently for each Synth:
1.
If needed, click on the Synth Panel window to make it active.
2.
Select “Get Synth Info” from the Synth menu.
The Synth Info dialog opens, with the MIDI settings in the upper part of the dialog.
3.
Set the MIDI Channel value to the channel your MIDI source is transmitting on.
Now, ArKaos VJ will only react to MIDI messages on this MIDI Channel.
4.
Activate “Omni On” if you want to be absolutely sure that ArKaos VJ will respond to the signals from your MIDI controller, no matter which MIDI channel it is transmitting on.
This makes ArKaos VJ respond to messages on all 16 MIDI channels. If you plan to run other
MIDI devices in the same MIDI chain and want to be able to separate the messages to different devices, Omni On should not be activated.
5.
If you want to be able to switch between Patches using MIDI Program Change messages, activate the “Receive Program Change” option.
This is described in more detail on
6.
If you want to have the visuals of a new patch preloaded into memory for faster display, activate the “Load Visuals On Program Change” option.
This is described in more detail on
7.
Click OK.
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PECIFYING A LOCATION FOR MOVIES
While ArKaos VJ will allow you to put your movie files anywhere on your hard disk(s), placing them in the same folder as the Synth file can make for faster retrieval (this may not be a concern if you have a very fast system though).
To specify a location for your movie files, proceed as follows:
Select “Movie Folder...” from the Synth menu.
In the dialog that appears, you have two options:
Select “In the same folder...” if you wish to keep your movies in the same folder as the Synth file for the fastest possible retrieval.
Select “Anywhere” if you want to allow your movies to be located anywhere on your disk(s).
Note that if you later wish to relocate your movies to the same folder as the
Synth file but still have this option activated, the movie will still be found. This is because the ArKaos Engine will first try to find the movie in its original location, then look in the same folder as the Synth file.
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M
ANAGING
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ATCHES
This short section only shows you some basic management procedures in
Opening a Patch window
To open the Patch window for a Patch, proceed as follows:
1.
Click on the up and down arrows on the Synth panel to select the desired Patch.
The up and down arrow buttons let you switch to the next/previous Patch in the Synth.
2.
Click the Show Patch Window button in the Synth window.
A new Patch window opens with the selected Patch.
Selecting Patches
There can be up to 128 Patches in a Synth (though you will probably rarely, if ever, use that many), and you can have as many of these 128 Patches as you like open at the same time.
The name of the current Patch is displayed in the Synth window. It also appears in the titles of the Visuals, Patch and Preview windows — helpful in identifying the associated windows when you have multiple Synths and/or
Patches open. There are three ways to select an open Patch in ArKaos VJ:
Click the up and down arrow buttons in the Synth window to select the desired patch and then click the Show Patch Window button.
Click directly on an open Patch window to select the corresponding Patch.
See above for instructions on how to open a Patch window.
Switch between Patches via MIDI Program Change messages.
For more information, see
.
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Copying Patches
You can copy an entire Patch and paste it into a new, empty Patch. Make sure that nothing is selected in the Patch you want to copy, and then use the Copy and Paste commands as usual.
Naming and getting info about a Patch
Since you can have up to 128 different Patches in a Synth, it is practical to give them names corresponding to their contents and use.
This can be done in the Patch Info window, which also provides you with information about the total amount of memory occupied by a Patch - a useful feature for Patch management purposes:
1.
Open and select the desired Patch window using any of the methods described above, to make sure it is active.
2.
Select “Get Patch Info” from the Patch menu.
The Patch Info window opens. This contains information about the number of pictures and movies used in the Patch, and the total amount of memory occupied by these. It also contains a name box for the Patch.
3.
To rename the Patch, type in a new name and click OK.
The new name is displayed in the title bar of the Patch window, and in the Patch field in the
Synth control panel window.
The default names for the Patches are “Empty 0” to “Empty 127”. Since these numbers also correspond to the MIDI Program Change numbers for each Patch, it might be a good idea to keep the numbers at the end of the Patch names. That way, it will be easier to find the right Program Change number for each Patch, if you want to change Patches via MIDI later on. For more information on MIDI
Program Changes, see
.
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VISUALS
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REPARATIONS
When you prepare your visuals, please consider the following guidelines:
General
The size of each visual should match the screen size specified for the Synth
(see
page 75 ). This is required in order for the picture, as is, to cover the
whole screen. ArKaos VJ has features for changing the size of any visual, but the results are better if the original size is as close to the desired size as possible.
Static picture file formats
ArKaos VJ can read picture files in the following formats:
• PICT: A standard picture format for the Macintosh.
• BMP: A standard picture format for the Windows platform.
• JPEG: A compressed picture format, popularly used on the Internet.
Picture file considerations
Here are some considerations when using picture files:
• Picture files can be located anywhere on your hard disk(s), but it is often convenient to gather all your pictures along with the Synth file in a folder specially created for the project.
• For a good balance between computer speed requirements and visual quality, we recommend that you use full-screen images of the size 640 x 480 pixels (or even divisions thereof) and the resolution 72 dpi.
• Consider using the JPEG file format exclusively for your visuals, since it is the smallest in size of the three supported formats. JPEG pictures use a compression algorithm, and most picture editing applications let you specify the rate of compression when converting pictures to this format. The compression scale used differs from application to application, but as a rule of thumb you should use a low compression ratio if you want visuals of a high quality. If your foremost priority is reducing the pictures in size, you should use a high compression ratio.
• You may use 16-bit (thousands of colors) or 32-bit (millions of colors) picture files.
While millions of colors give the highest picture quality, they put a greater demand on your computer and result in larger Synth files. 16-bit pictures are smaller and are loaded more quickly.
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Movie file formats
ArKaos VJ can use moving visuals in the following formats:
• QuickTime movies (MOV)
• Video for Windows movies (AVI)
• Flash Animations (SWF)
Movie file considerations
The following are some considerations when using movie files:
• Movies should ideally be in a size that is a multiple of the Synth’s screen size. For example, a movie in 160 x 120 can be displayed in four times its original size, to cover a 640 x 480 screen.
• Make sure all movies are saved in self-contained format (rather than with pointers to other movies).
• We recommend that you place the movies you want to use in the same folder as the Synth file, since this provides the fastest access. However, you can also use the
“Movie folder” dialog on the Synth menu (see
page 79 ) to specify that the movies
are located anywhere on your hard disk(s).
• It is generally a good idea to fine-tune your movies using a pre-processing tool. It is, for example, always beneficial to remove the audio track of a movie.
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T
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ISUALS WINDOW
The Visuals window contains lists of all the visuals (pictures, movies, live video feeds and Flash animations with rendered text) used in a Synth. Note that the Visuals window is common to all Patches in your Synth.
Show videos
Show Pictures
Show live video feed sources
Show Flash text animations
Delete visual
Import visual
Opening the Visuals window
To open the Visuals window, select “Visuals” from the Synth menu (or use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[1] under Mac OS; [Ctrl]-[1] under Windows).
Switching between the different types of image lists
The Visuals window consists of four lists in four different panes, one for static pictures, one for movies, one for streaming video feeds and one for
Flash text animations. To select one of these panes, click on the associated tab at the top of the Visuals window.
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Importing visuals
There are several ways to import visuals into ArKaos VJ:
Using drag & drop
1.
Open the Visuals window.
2.
Locate the visuals you want to import in the Mac OS Finder or the Windows Explorer.
You’ll need to arrange the windows so that they are both visible when ArKaos VJ is active.
3.
Drag the file icon from the Finder or Explorer to the Visuals window.
ArKaos VJ automatically puts the visual in the correct list.
Using the Import command
1.
Select “Import” from the File menu.
A dialog appears.
2.
Select whether you want to import a movie or a picture by clicking the corresponding button.
A standard file dialog appears.
3.
Locate the file you want to import and click “Open”.
The visual icon is added to the correct list in the Visuals window.
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Using the Import button
1.
Select whether you want to import a static image or a movie by clicking the corresponding tab in the Visuals window.
2.
Click on the Import button in the Visuals window.
A standard file dialog appears.
3.
Locate the file you want to import and click “Open”.
The visual icon is added to the list in the Visuals window.
Importing directly into the Patch window
You can import visuals directly onto the Patch window in one of two ways.
By dragging and dropping files onto the keyboard in the Patch window:
1.
Locate the visuals you want to import in either the Mac OS Finder or the Windows
Explorer.
You’ll need to arrange the windows so that they are both visible when ArKaos VJ is active.
2.
Drag the icon directly onto the desired key in the Patch window.
The corresponding icon is also placed in the correct list in the Visuals window.
By importing files onto the keyboard in the Patch window:
1.
Double-click in the Visual cell of a key in the Patch window.
The Import dialog appears.
2.
Select whether you want to import a movie or a picture by clicking the corresponding button.
A standard file dialog appears.
3.
Locate the file you want to import and click “Open”.
The visual icon is placed on the key, and also in the correct list in the Visuals window.
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Streaming video into ArKaos VJ
You can stream a live video feed into ArKaos VJ. This can then be assigned to a key, and you can process it with effects and display it just like a “regular” visual.
This requires that you have connected and correctly set up a video device, such as a web cam. Any devices, connected via USB, FireWire, acquisition cards etc. can be used, as long as they are compatible with Direct X (Windows) or QuickTime (Mac OS).
If the video device is connected and properly set up, an icon representing the device is available in the Streaming Video list in the Visuals window.
You can double-click the icon to open a separate window where you can preview the video feed.
Select the streaming video feed source icon in the list and click the icon in the top right corner of the visuals window if you wish to configure the device for ArKaos VJ.
This opens a configuration dialog for the device, allowing you to specify for example its frame rate, resolution, video standard etc. The exact contents of the dialog depend on the connected device and the operating system.
Click here to open the configuration dialog for the video device.
When you have assigned a streaming video feed to a key, you might often want to
activate the “Latch” function for it (see page 107
) so that the video plays continuously.
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Removing visuals from the Visuals window
Visuals can be removed from the Visuals window in three ways:
• Click on the desired visual to select it, and then select “Clear” from the Edit menu.
• Select the desired visual and use the keyboard s hortcut [ ]-[Delete] under Mac
OS; [Ctrl]-[Delete] under Windows.
• Select the desired visual and click on the Delete icon in the Visuals window.
Removing a visual from the Visuals window will also remove all references to it in every Patch in the Synth.
Note that it is not possible to remove visuals from the streaming video list! This is because the icons in the Streaming Video list are actually not visuals per se, but representations of your connected video equipment.
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V
ISUALS
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GENERAL HANDLING
Assigning a visual to a key
Assigned effect Assigned visual
Various assigned visuals and effects in the keyboard layout.
ArKaos VJ allows each key on the MIDI keyboard or computer keyboard to have an associated visual and/or an effect. Each key contains two “cells” - one can hold a visual, and one can hold an effect.
• On the MIDI keyboard the upper cell is for effects, and the lower is for visuals.
• On the computer keyboard, the left cell contains the visual and the right cell contains the effect.
When a visual is assigned to a key, the cell contains the icon for that visual.
As described below, there are several ways to assign a visual to a key:
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Dragging the visual icon from the Visuals window.
Click on the desired icon in the Visuals window, drag it onto the Patch window, and drop it on the lower cell of the key to which you wish to assign it.
Click and drag a visual icon from the list...
...and drop it on the lower cell of the desired key in the Patch window.
Dragging the visual icon from the Finder (Mac OS) or the Explorer (Windows).
Click and drag the icon in the same way as above, but from the Finder/Explorer, and drop it on the cell.
Double-clicking on an empty cell on the Patch window keyboard.
This opens a dialog, where you can choose to import a picture file or a movie, just like when you select “Import” from the File menu.
Copying a visual icon from one key to another in the Patch window keyboard.
If you drag a visual icon from one cell to another, you will create a copy of it. This feature works between different Patch windows as well.
Using the Cut, Copy and Paste commands on the Edit menu.
First select the source cell and use the Cut or Copy command. Then select the destination cell and use the Paste command. You can repeat the Paste operation with other cells if you like.
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Checking the visuals
If you have a large number of visuals in your Visuals window, it can be very hard to remember how they all look. However, you can check a visual by displaying it without actually triggering it:
1.
Double-click on a Visual icon in the Visuals window.
The Visual opens in a separate window. This window will be in one of two sizes depending on whether the Preview window is open or not. For a larger size, close the Preview window first.
2.
If the visual is a movie, you can use the controls at the bottom of the window to view it.
These consist of (from left to right) a Play/Stop button, a movie transport slider (that lets you view any segment of the movie at any speed) and buttons for stepping through the movie one frame at a time, forwards or backwards.
3.
Click on the window’s Close Box when you’re finished.
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Removing a visual from a key
If you just want to replace one visual with another, there is no need to remove the first one. However, there may be situations when you need empty keys, and therefore wish to remove a visual from a key.
You can remove a visual from a key in several ways:
Click on the visual icon in the Patch window keyboard, and then select “Clear” from the Edit menu.
Click on the visual icon in the Patch window keyboard, and then select “Cut” from the Edit menu.
This will remove the icon from the cell, and place it on the clipboard where it can be used for subsequent pasting operations.
Click on the visual icon in the Patch window keyboard and use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[Delete] under Mac OS; [Ctrl]-[Delete] under Windows.
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NFO DIALOG
The Visual Info dialog allows you to make a number of settings for each visual, such as specifying its size and position for example:
1.
Click on the visual cell of the desired key in the Patch window.
A selected visual is displayed with a highlight.
2.
Select “Get Visual Info” from the Patch menu.
or...
Use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[I] under Mac OS; [Ctrl]-[I] under Windows).
or...
Just double-click on the desired cell.
This is only possible if there actually is a visual assigned to the cell, though.
3.
Make the desired settings and click OK to exit the dialog and save the changes.
See below for descriptions of the settings.
Note that you can open the Visual Info dialog for a key even if there is no visual assigned to it! This is because certain settings in the dialog are also applicable to effects placed alone on keys. This way, you can make settings for an effect on a key without also having to place a visual on it.
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Size and Position settings
You use the position box to the top left and the three drop-down menus to the right (“Horizontal position”, “Vertical position” and “Size”, to determine the size and position of the visual in the full-screen display.
The menus contain the following options:
Horizontal position
Horizontal position Function
Left The visual is aligned with the left side of the screen.
Center
Right
Any
The visual is centered horizontally.
The visual is aligned with the right side of the screen.
In this mode you can position the visual freely along the horizontal axis, by dragging the picture square in the box to the left. You can also specify a value in the box to the right of the menu to position the visual horizontally. Click in the box and type in the desired value. You can specify any value you wish and observe the result in the position box. However - if you don’t want any part of the visual to be “outside the screen” - you should enter a value between 1-320, where 1 means the visual will be aligned with the left side of the screen, and 320 means the visual will be aligned with the right side of the screen.
To be able to position the visual freely, it has to be smaller than the screen! This is accomplished by changing the Size settings, as described below.
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Vertical position
Vertical position
Top
Center
Bottom
Any
Function
The visual is aligned with the top of the screen.
The visual is centered vertically.
The visual is aligned with the bottom of the screen.
In this mode you can position the visual freely along the vertical axis, by dragging the picture square in the box to the left. You can also specify a value in the box to the right of the menu to position the visual vertically. Click in the box and type in the desired value. You can specify any value you wish and observe the result in the position box. However - if you don’t want any part of the visual to be “outside the screen” - you should enter a value between 1-240, where 1 means the visual will be aligned with the top of the screen, and 240 means the visual will be aligned with the bottom of the screen.
To be able to position the visual freely, it has to be smaller than the screen! This is accomplished by changing the Size settings, as described below.
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Size
Size
Half
Original
Double
Function
The visual will be displayed in half its normal size.
The visual will be displayed in its normal size.
The visual will be displayed in twice its normal size.
Full Screen
Arbitrary Size
The visual will be made to fit the screen.
In this mode you can resize the visual freely without proportional constraints. Use the value boxes to the right of the menu to specify the width and the height of the visual. The upper box controls the width and the lower controls the height.
Click in any of the boxes and type in the desired value. You can specify any value you want and observe the result in the position box. However - if you don’t want any part of the visual to be “outside the screen” - you should enter a maximum value of 640 for width and 480 for height.
Proportional Size In this mode you can resize the visual freely by specifying either a width or a height in the value boxes to the right of the menu. However, the resizing is proportional, meaning that if you resize a visual’s width, its height will automatically be resized as well, and vice versa. This way, the original proportions of the visual are retained. Click in any of the boxes and type in the desired value - the upper box controls the width and the lower controls the height. You can specify any value you want and observe the result in the position box. However - if you don’t want any part of the visual to be “outside the screen” - you should enter a maximum value of 640 for width and 480 for height.
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Layer priority
This menu contains a couple of options that can be very useful when you take advantage of the multi-layering capabilities of ArKaos VJ (as described
on page 65 ). By using several layers, you can display several visuals or effects
simultaneously - one for each layer. In such a case, you might for example want to force an effect that occupies the entire screen (such as 3D Tunnel) to always play in the background so that other effects can be played on top of it, at the same time. You can use the Layer Priority settings to achieve this.
The drop-down menu contains the following options:
Option
None
Function
No layer priority is activated for the key.
Always in front When this option is activated, ArKaos VJ will always consider the associated key as the last key played, regardless of how many keys you play simultaneously and in which order. As a result, the visual or effect on the key will always be displayed in the foreground, forcing other visuals or effects to be displayed behind it.
Always in background When this option is activated, ArKaos VJ will always consider the associated key as the first key played, regardless of how many keys you play simultaneously and in which order. As a result, the visual or effect on the key will always be displayed in the background, allowing other visuals or effects to be displayed on top of it.
Note that it’s not necessary to have a visual on the key if you want to apply Layer
Priority. It can be applied to an effect placed alone on a key, if desired. To access the above parameters on a key with no visual, just click on the key and open the
Visual Info dialog from the Patch menu, or use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[I] under Mac OS; [Ctrl]-[I] under Windows).
Also note that if you play more than one key simultaneously that has the same
Layer Priority option activated (front or background), the visual or effect on the first pressed key will be stopped and replaced by the visual or effect on the second pressed key. They will not both play at once.
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Feedback
The feedback mechanism in ArKaos VJ can be used to create interesting repetition effects.
When a feedback option is activated for a key, the output from the key (a visual combined with an effect, or an effect only) is sent into a temporary memory buffer, and then fed back to the input of the key. This causes an image identical to the original one, only with a time delay and a slightly different shape, to appear on the screen along with the original.
The following Feedback options are available:
Feedback setting
None
Local
Global
Description
No feedback is applied.
When playing multiple layers at once (see page 65 ), only
the current layer (the one triggered by the key with this option selected) is affected by the feedback.
When playing multiple layers at once, all active layers are affected by the feedback, even if only one of the layers has this option activated.
Note that it’s not necessary to have a visual on the key if you want to apply Feedback. It can be applied to an effect placed alone on a key, if desired. To access the above parameters on a key with no visual, just click on the key and open the Visual Info dialog from the Patch menu, or use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[I] under
Mac OS; [Ctrl]-[I] under Windows).
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Masking settings
If you’re using multiple layers (as described on page 65
), Masking can be used to make certain areas of a visual completely or partially transparent, thereby revealing parts of underlying visuals, to create a composite image.
The following masking parameters are available:
Mask
This is where you select a Mask type:
Mask type
None
Function
No mask is applied.
Background Copy The background parts of the visual will be masked, causing only the foreground parts to be visible. The background is the color black, meaning that the black parts of the visual will be masked and not visible.
Luminance With this mask type, the mask is based on brightness information of the visual. This means that you can specify a brightness range, and all areas of the visual that fall within the specified range will be masked (see below for information on how to specify the mask range).
Chrominance With this mask type, the mask is based on color information of the visual. This means that you specify a color range, and all areas of the visual that fall within this range are masked (see below for information on how to specify the mask range).
Alpha from Source Many image editing applications allow you to save transparency information as an Alpha channel within the image. The
Alpha channel can consist of for instance a color range or a selection. If a visual you import into ArKaos VJ contains an
Alpha channel, you can specify this option for it. The Alpha channel will then be transparent when the visual is displayed in ArKaos VJ. Note however that it’s only possible to use this option if you have the Screen Depth of your Synth set to 32
bits - millions of colors (see page 75
).
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Note that the Masking settings work in conjunction with the Copy Mode settings
(see
page 104 ). That is, the actual result of the Masking settings also depends on
the Copy Mode settings and vice versa. Experiment with different combinations of both to find the result that works best.
Also note that you can also apply Masking settings to certain effects placed alone on keys (without any accompanying visual). The effects that can have Masking settings applied to them are those that fill the entire screen - e.g. Old Film, Contrast, and Delirium.
Luminance/Hue
This is only available if you select “Luminance” or “Chrominance” as Mask type (see above). This value controls the range position of the mask - i.e. which range of brightness or color values should be affected by the mask.
From the menu you can select whether the range position of the Luminance or Chrominance mask should be static or controlled in real-time with a MIDI controller.
Select “Constant” from the drop-down menu if you want to use a static range position value for the mask.
In this case, you specify the Luminance or Chrominance range for the mask with the range sliders or the top value box to the right (see below).
Select “Controller” if you want to be able to change the range position value for the Luminance or Chrominance mask in real-time with a MIDI controller.
In this case, enter the desired MIDI controller number in the top value box to the right.
Filter Type
This is available only if you select “Luminance” or “Chrominance” as Mask type (see above). The options on this menu let you specify whether the mask should be applied to the brightness or color range you specify, or all values outside of the range.
If you select “Band Reject”, the brightness or color range you specify for the mask will be masked and transparent when the visual is displayed.
If you select “Band Pass”, all parts of the visual that fall outside of the brightness or color range you specify for the mask will be masked and transparent when the visual is displayed.
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Filter Width
This is only available if you select “Luminance” or “Chrominance” as Mask type (see above). This value controls the width of the brightness or color range you specify with the “Luminance/Hue” parameter (see above).
From the menu you can select whether the width of the Luminance or
Chrominance mask range should be static or controlled in real-time with a
MIDI controller.
Select “Constant” from the drop-down menu if you want to use a static mask range width.
In this case, you specify the width of the Luminance or Chrominance range for the mask with the sliders or the bottom value box to the right (see below).
Select “Controller” if you want to be able to change the width of the Luminance or
Chrominance mask range in real-time with a MIDI controller.
In this case, enter the desired MIDI controller number in the bottom value box to the right.
Range sliders
The sliders to the right in the dialog can be used for setting the position and width of the mask range, if you use either “Luminance” or “Chrominance” as mask type, and have specified “Constant” under “Luminance/Hue” and/ or “Filter Width”.
Click and drag the upper sliders to change the range boundaries.
If you have based the mask on “Luminance” the scale shows brightness.
Drag to the left to make the brightness range include darker nuances, and to the right if you want it to include lighter nuances.
If you have based the mask on “Chrominance”, the scale shows color ranges.
Click and drag to make the mask range include the desired color(s).
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The lower sliders can be used for changing the “Smooth” value.
The Smooth option softens the edges of the Mask boundaries by including adjacent nuances outside the actual value range. Click and drag either of the lower sliders to extend the
Smooth range.
You can observe the values in the value boxes to the left when you use the sliders to make settings. Alternatively, you can type in the desired values directly.
Copy Mode
If you’re using multiple layers (as described on page 65
), you can use the
Copy Mode settings for determining how a visual is displayed when “superimposed” on another visual - that is, how the different layers should be combined, or blended, together.
The result is based on different computations and combinations of the numerical color values of the respective visuals. An image actually consists of a combination of three different color channels - red, green and blue. What determines the actual color of an element within an image is the values of these three channels - the RGB value. If for example all three color channels have the maximum value at the same time, the resulting color will be white.
If they all have the minimum value, the resulting color will be black.
So different colors are produced by specifying different values for the three separate color channels. When blending visuals together in ArKaos VJ, the result depends on how the color channel values of one visual are computed with the values of the other visual.
The following options, available on the Copy Mode pop-up menu, all cause different computations of the visuals’ color values:
Copy Mode
Source Copy
Transparent
Description
The screen will be completely redrawn with the visual, meaning that the visual will cover any previous visual completely rather than blend with it.
The visual will be shown in different degrees of transparency, allowing you to see the previous visual through it. The degree of transparency can either be constant or controlled with
MIDI controller messages. Choose “Constant” or “Controller” from the Transparence drop-down menu, and then type in a value in the value box to the right. If you choose “Constant”, you specify a fixed transparency value, and if you choose “Controller”, you specify which MIDI controller number you want to use.
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Copy Mode
Addition
Subtraction
Multiplication
Minimum
Maximum
Description
With this mode, each color channel value of the visual will be added to the corresponding channel value of the previous, underlying visual.
With this mode, each color channel value of the visual will be subtracted from the corresponding channel value of the previous visual. This can produce negative color values which invert or drastically change the colors of the visual.
With this mode, each color channel value of the visual will be multiplied with the corresponding channel value of the previous visual. This always produces darker colors.
With this mode, the minimum value produced by combining the color channel values of the respective visuals is added to all color channel values. I.e. the darkest color produced (the lowest value) is used, thereby enhancing the dark areas of both visuals.
With this mode, the maximum value produced by combining the color channel values of the respective visuals is added to all color channel values. I.e. the lightest color produced (the highest value) is used, thereby enhancing the light areas of both visuals.
Note that the Copy Mode settings work in conjunction with the Masking settings
(see
page 101 ). That is, the actual result of the Copy Mode settings also depends
on the Masking settings and vice versa. Experiment with different combinations of both to find the result that works best.
Also note that you can also apply Copy Mode settings to certain effects placed alone on keys (without any accompanying visual). The effects that can have Copy
Mode settings applied to them are those that fill the entire screen - e.g. Old Film,
Contrast, and Delirium.
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Movie Speed
The items on this menu let you control either the playback speed or the playback position of a movie:
If you select “Constant”, the movie will be played back at a fixed speed when you press the key.
Specify the desired speed in the value box to the right. 100 equals normal speed, meaning that values below 100 cause the movie to be played back slower, and values above 100 speed up playback.
If you select “Speed Controller”, you will be able to control the playback speed of the movie with MIDI controller messages.
Use the value box to the right to specify which MIDI controller number you want to use for controlling the playback speed.
If you select “Position Controller”, you can control the playback position of the movie, i.e. step from frame to frame - forwards and backwards, with MIDI controller messages.
Use the value box to the right to specify which MIDI controller number you want to use for controlling the playback position.
Flash Text
This text field lets you add and edit text to a Flash animation placed on the key. The text you enter here will then be rendered and displayed with the
Flash animation when you press the key.
ArKaos VJ comes with several flash animations specifically made for displaying and animating text in various ways. These are available in a special Flash
Text folder in the ArKaos VJ program folder, and can be imported into the
Flash Text pane in the Visuals window (see page 86
). You can then assign the Flash animations to keys as usual (see
), and enter any text you want to accompany them.
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Latch
Normally, a visual or effect will only play as long as the key is pressed. When you release the key, it will stop playing. With Latch engaged however, the visual or effect on the key will instead run continuously until you press the key a second time to stop it.
This can be very useful for instance if you stream video directly into ArKaos
VJ (see page 89 ), and want the video feed to run continuously while you
display other visuals and effects at the same time.
All Notes Off
Pressing a key with this option activated causes any and all visuals and effects on other keys currently playing to be stopped.
This is useful for instance if you’re using multiple layers (see page 65
) and have Latch engaged (see above), and want to clear all layers before launching a new visual. In such a case you can activate this option for the new visual.
Load into RAM
This option is available for movies only.
If Load into RAM is activated, the movie will be loaded into memory before the
Patch is played.
This will make it “easier” for the computer to display the movie, sometimes resulting in the movie running smoother. Note that a movie loaded into RAM requires the same amount of free RAM as the hard disk space it occupies. I.e. if a movie occupies 1 MB on your hard disk, it will also require 1 MB of free RAM.
If Load into RAM is not activated, the movie will be played back directly from the hard disk.
This is good if you are short on RAM, but may result in “jumpy” movie playback if your hard disk is not sufficiently fast. We recommend that you first try to run movies without “Load into
RAM” activated. If the movie playback is OK then, all is well; otherwise, try activating Load into RAM.
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8
T
HE EFFECTS
I
NTRODUCTION
ArKaos VJ includes 62 different effects (63 on the Macintosh) and a plug-in architecture that can accommodate even more. This chapter describes the effects and their usage in great detail.
T
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The Effects window contains icons for all the internal effects, as well as the external effects in the Plug-In folder inside your ArKaos VJ folder.
To open the Effects window, pull down the Synth menu and select “Effects...”
(or use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[2] under Mac OS or [Ctrl]-[2] under
Windows).
The effects are divided into four different categories. To switch between the categories, click on the corresponding tabs at the top of the Effects window.
Video effects
3D effects Transition effects
Artistic effects
The effect category tabs.
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FFECTS
-
GENERAL
About Plug-in effects
ArKaos VJ has a number of built-in effects. In addition, the program uses a plug-in architecture that allows new effects to be added. Included with the program are a number of Plug-in effects, placed in a subfolder in the ArKaos
VJ program folder. Additional plug-ins will be made available to ArKaos VJ users as they are developed. Please monitor the ArKaos web page for more information.
To install a plug-in effect, simply drag it to ArKaos VJ’s “Plug In” folder before launching the program.
Assigning an effect to a key
You assign an effect to a key by placing its icon in the appropriate cell on the desired key in the Patch window. Effects reside in the upper cell on the
MIDI keyboard, and in the right cell on the computer keyboard.
You can assign effects in the following ways:
Drag the desired effect icon from the Effects window.
Click on the icon in the Effects window, drag it to the Patch window, and drop it on the desired key.
Drag the effect icon from one key to another in the Patch keyboard window.
The effect (and its settings) will be copied, with the original remaining intact.
Use the standard Cut, Copy and Paste commands within the Patch window.
Effects strategies
You may place an effect on a key together with a visual or on a separate key with no visual. Please note the following:
An effect combined with a visual on the same key affects that visual only.
With small visuals, this means that any image in the surrounding background is unaffected.
Placing an effect on its own key allows you to apply it to the entire screen, and you can also combine it with other effects by triggering several keys simultaneously.
The Hypersize, Vortex, Warp and Size effects will only work when combined with a visual on the same key.
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Removing an effect from a key
If you just want to replace one effect with another, there is no need to remove the first one. Simply assign the new effect to the key, and it will replace the old one. However, there may be situations when you need empty keys, and therefore wish to remove the effect from a key. This can be done in several ways:
Click on the effect icon and select Clear from the Edit menu.
Click on the effect icon and select Cut from the Edit menu.
This will remove the icon from the cell, and place it on the clipboard. This makes it possible to subsequently paste the effect onto other keys.
Click on the effect icon and press [ ]-[Delete] on the Mac or [Ctrl]-[Delete] under
Windows.
Editing effects
If you have already placed an effect on a key in the Patch window, you can easily edit the effect’s settings for that individual key:
1.
In the Patch window, double-click on the icon for the effect you want to edit.
A dialog with additional settings opens (a few effects have no settings, in which case nothing will happen).
The options dialog for the “Larsen” plug-in effect.
2.
Make the desired settings, then click OK.
To exit the dialog without keeping your changes, click Cancel.
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ACTORY EFFECT PARAMETERS
On the following pages, the built-in effects included with ArKaos VJ are listed, together with their icons and parameters.
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3D effects
Aspheroids
This effect turns the image into a number of swirling and bouncing orbs
(planets).
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Orbit
Planets
Orbital Speed
Description
This controls how the planets move on the screen. You can choose between four different animations.
• Number: Selects the number of planets. The maximum number is 10.
• Transparency: Activate this to make the planets transparent, making the background visible through them.
• Swap Images: Normally the planets consist of the image, and are placed on the background color of the ArKaos Engine.
With this activated, the image will be the background, and the planets will consist of the background color.
This lets you decide how fast the planets will move around on the screen. You can either specify a constant number, in milliseconds (the lower the number, the faster the movement), or any MIDI controller number to use for determining the speed.
Revolution Speed This lets you decide how fast the planets will revolve around their own axes. You can either specify a constant number, in milliseconds (the lower the number, the faster the revolution), or any MIDI controller number to use for determining the speed.
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Galactic Scrolling
This effect scrolls the image across the screen, in a slanting fashion.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Control
Scrolling
Wrapping
Description
The time it takes for the effect to complete a scroll.
• Constant Speed of: This lets you specify a time between
1 and 65000 milliseconds.
• Modulation Wheel: This lets you use the modulation wheel on your MIDI keyboard to control the scrolling.
• Pitch Wheel: This lets you use the pitch bend wheel on your MIDI keyboard to control the scrolling.
• MIDI Controller: This lets you assign any MIDI controller number to control the scrolling in real-time.
Sets the scrolling direction. The options are: Upwards,
Downwards, Back & Forth, Forth & Back.
• One Image: With this setting, the image will scroll once across the screen and then disappear.
• Wrap Image: With this setting, several instances of the image will scroll across the screen continuously.
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PlanetWorks
This effect turns the image into a planetarium, with a number of planets and satellites revolving around one another.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Planets
Planet Speed
Description
This lets you specify the number of planets (and orbiting Satellites). The maximum number is 10.
• Transparency: Activate this to make the planets transparent.
• Swap Images: Normally the planets consist of the image, and are placed on the background color of the ArKaos Engine. With this activated, the image will be the background, and the planets will consist of the background color.
This lets you decide how fast the planets will move around on the screen. You can either specify a constant number, in milliseconds (the lower the number, the faster the movement), or any MIDI controller number to use for determining the speed.
Planet Size This lets you decide how big the planets will be. You can either specify a constant number, in percent, or any MIDI controller number to be able to change the planet size in real time.
Planet Orbit Radius This lets you specify how far apart the planets should be, if you have several on screen. You can specify either a constant percentage or any MIDI controller number, to change the distance between planets in real-time.
Revolution Speed This lets you decide how fast the planets and satellites will revolve around their own axes. You can either specify a constant number, in milliseconds (the lower the number, the faster the revolution), or any MIDI controller number to use for determining the speed.
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Option
Satellite Speed
Satellite Size
Satellite Orbit
Radius
Description
This lets you decide how fast a satellite will rotate around its planet. You can either specify a constant number, in milliseconds (the lower the number, the faster the rotation), or any
MIDI controller number to use for determining the speed.
This lets you decide how big the satellites will be. You can specify either a constant percentage or any MIDI controller number to change the satellite size in real-time.
This lets you specify how far away from its planet a satellite should be. You can either specify a constant number (in percent) or any MIDI controller number to be able to change the distance in real-time.
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Particles
This effect shatters the image into small fragments, which are then animated in various ways. The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Effect
Description
• Effect: Here you can choose from a number of preset animations.
• New Image On Particles: Indicates that the particles will be made out of the image, and the background will be of the background color (by default black).
• New Image In Background: Indicates that the image will be shown in the background, while the particles will be of the background color (by default black).
Animation Control • Constant Speed of: This lets you specify the speed of the animation. You can enter a number between 1-65000 milliseconds.
• MIDI Controller: This lets you assign any MIDI controller number, with which you can change the animation speed.
• Reverse Animation: This option reverses the entire animation sequence. If an animation for instance starts with a whole image which is then shattered into particles, activating this option will instead turn the animation into particles gathering to form a whole image.
• Sea-Sick Animation: This will make the animation less fluid, and cause it to periodically and rhythmically come to a near halt before proceeding.
Lighting • No Lighting: With this option activated there will be no lighting.
• Static Light: With this option activated there will be a continuous, static lighting effect.
• MIDI Controller: With this option you can assign any
MIDI controller number to control the lighting effects.
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Option
Translucency
Description
• Opaque: With this setting, the particles are solid rather than translucent.
• Dissolve Far Stuff: With this setting, the particles are translucent and blended into the background.
• MIDI Controller: This setting lets you assign any MIDI controller number for controlling the translucency of the particles in real-time.
Number Of Particles This lets you chose between four different levels of detail, with Sluggish Myriad being the best but also the most demanding on your system.
Particles Rotation • Random: This means that the particles will rotate at random intervals and speed, independent of the speed set under
Animation Control.
• Time-dependent: This means that the particles will rotate in sync with the speed set under Animation Control
(Constant or MIDI controller).
• MIDI Controller: This setting lets you assign any MIDI controller number for controlling the rotation of the particles in real-time.
Particles Size • Constant: This means that the size of the particles will never change during the animation.
• Shrink Then Vanish: This causes the particles to slowly be reduced in size during the animation, to eventually disappear completely.
• MIDI Controller: This setting lets you assign any MIDI controller number for controlling the size of the particles in real-time.
(Experts Only) - Z-
Sorting
This is an algorithm used in 3-D graphics. It controls how objects are displayed, in front of, and behind other objects. The way it works is basically that it starts by displaying the most far away objects in a 3-D image, and then displays each closer object over the previous. Experiment at your own leisure with this function, but bear in mind that it consumes quite a bit of CPU capacity.
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Tunnel 3D
This effect transforms the image into a tunnel, giving the viewer a feeling of moving through it.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Scrolling
Description
• MIDI Controller: This lets you assign any MIDI controller number to control the speed of “movement” through the tunnel.
• Constant Speed Of: This lets you specify a number between 1 and 65000 milliseconds to determine the speed. The lower the number, the faster the speed.
• Sea-Sick Motion: With this option activated, the “movement” through the tunnel is made in short dashes, periodically and rhythmically coming to a near halt before proceeding.
Resolution
Lighting
This lets you decide between four different levels of detail. If you have a reasonably fast machine, always use Sluggishly
Neat since it gives the best appearance. It is however also the most demanding on your system.
• No Lighting: With this option activated there will be no lighting on the tunnel walls.
• Static Light: A static lighting effect will highlight the tunnel walls.
• MIDI Controller: With this option you can assign any
MIDI controller number to control the lighting of the tunnel walls in real-time.
Tunnel Direction • Turn Left: With this activated, the tunnel will turn constantly to the left.
• Smooth Curve: With this activated, the tunnel will twist and turn in random directions.
• MIDI Controller: This lets you assign any MIDI controller number to control the twists and turns of the tunnel in realtime.
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Option
Position In Tunnel • Stay In Center: The viewer will have the feeling of always being in the exact center of the tunnel.
• Move Slowly: The viewer will have the feeling of moving slowly from wall to wall of the tunnel.
• Circle Around: The viewer will have the feeling of moving in a spiralling motion through the tunnel.
• Centrifugated: The viewer will have the feeling of always being thrown up against the farthest wall of the tunnel at every turn.
• MIDI Controller: This lets you assign any MIDI controller number to control the viewer’s perceived position in the tunnel in real-time.
Translucency
Description
• Opaque: With this setting, the tunnel walls are solid rather than translucent.
• Dissolve Tunnel Ends: With this setting, the tunnel walls are translucent and blended into the background.
• Controller: This setting lets you assign any MIDI controller number for controlling the translucency of the tunnel walls in real-time.
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Turnix 3D
Transforms the image into a cube that rotates and zooms into view.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Duration
Transparency
Rotation Around
Center
Rotation Left &
Right
Rotation Angle
Description
The time (in milliseconds) it takes for the image to reach full size.
Makes the image transparent.
Makes the image rotate into view in a spiralling motion around the center of the screen.
Sets the direction of rotation.
Rotation Around
Cube
You can choose a value between 10 and 60. A higher number results in a more radical angle of rotation.
You can specify a value between 1 and 10 for both the X-axis
(horizontal) and the Y-axis (vertical). A higher number results in a faster rotation along that particular axis.
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Usix 3D
This effect transforms the image into a cube which zooms in and out in a rotating motion.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Transparency
Zoom
Rotation a
Rotation b
Description
Makes the image transparent.
This sets how far away from the screen the cube will be. You can specify a constant value between -10 and +10, in which case there will be no zooming effect. The cube will instead be in a static position at a certain distance from the screen. Positive values cause the cube to be located farther away from the screen. The higher the value, the farther away the cube will be. You can also enter any MIDI controller number with which you then will be able to zoom the cube in and out in real-time.
These parameters govern the speed and direction of rotation along the a-axis of the cube. You can either enter a constant value, any MIDI controller number or choose to use the Pitch
Bend wheel on your MIDI keyboard to control the rotation.
When entering a constant value, the direction and speed of rotation changes depending on whether you enter a negative or a positive value, and how high the value is. A value of “0” means that no rotation will occur.
These parameters regulate the speed and direction of rotation along the b-axis of the cube. The options are the same as for rotation a, with the exception that you can choose to use the Modulation wheel on your MIDI keyboard instead of the Pitch Bend wheel to control the rotation.
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Waving Flag
This effect makes the image act like an unfurled flag, billowing in the wind.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Waves
Description
• Amplitude: Enter a percentage value to determine how much the flag will billow.
• Constant Speed of: Enter a value between 0 and 65000 milliseconds to determine the speed with which the flag will billow. The lower the number, the faster the movement.
• MIDI Controller: Enter any MIDI controller number with which to control the billowing speed in real-time.
Lighting
Translucency
• No Lighting: With this option activated there will be no lighting across the flag.
• Static Light: A static lighting effect will highlight parts of the flag in sync with it´s movements.
• MIDI Controller: With this option you can assign any
MIDI controller number to control the lighting of the flag in real-time.
• Opaque: With this setting, the flag is solid rather than translucent.
• Dissolve Far Stuff: With this setting, the farthest ends of the flag are translucent and blended into the background, to create a subtle shading and a more “lifelike” billowing motion.
• MIDI Controller: This setting lets you assign any MIDI controller number for controlling the translucency of the flag in real time.
Resolution
Full Screen
This lets you decide between four different levels of detail. If you have a reasonably fast machine, always use Sluggishly
Neat since it gives the best appearance. It is however also the most demanding on your system.
If you activate this option, the flag will be increased in size to occupy the entire screen.
Distance To Screen • Constant: This means that the flag is always the same size.
• MIDI Controller: This lets you assign any MIDI controller number, with which you can increase and decrease the size of the flag in real-time.
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Plane
Creates the illusion of flying above the image. The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Speed
Description
Determines the speed and direction of movement. Positive values generates forward movement, and negative values backward movement. The higher the positive/negative value, the faster the movement. There are three speed options:
• Constant: If this is selected the speed will be constant.
• Cyclic: If this is selected the speed will change cyclically, according to the values entered in the two range fields. If a negative and positive value make up the range, the movement will cycle between forward/backward direction.
• MIDI Controller: Enter any MIDI controller number with which to control the speed in real-time.
Curve
Zoom
Altitude
This determines the curvature of movement. Positive values generates a curve to the left, and vice versa. The higher the positive/negative value, the wider the curve. There are three curve options:
• Constant: If this is selected the curve will be constant.
• Cyclic: If this is selected the curve will change cyclically, according to the values entered in the two range fields. If a negative and positive value make up the range, the curve will cycle between a left and right direction.
• MIDI Controller: Enter any MIDI controller number with which to control the curve in real-time.
This zooms the image in or out. Constant, Cyclic and MIDI
Controller options can be used to control the zoom range.
Controls the altitude of the flight. The higher the value the higher the altitude. Constant, Cyclic and MIDI Controller options can be used to control this parameter.
View angle This sets the viewing perspective. Constant, Cyclic and MIDI
Controller options can be used to control this parameter.
Symmetric Mapping If this is checked, the visual pattern will be repeated symmetrically.
Double surface This adds a second pattern surface, above the flight.
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Infinite Zoom
Creates a constantly changing pattern by repeating and rotating the image which is also zoomed in during the pattern. The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Rotation control
Zoom control
Zoom granularity
Level 1- 4
Description
Determines the speed of rotation. There are three options:
• Constant Speed: If this is selected the rotation speed will be constant.
• Position MIDI: Enter any MIDI controller number with which to control the position of the image in real-time.
• Speed MIDI: Enter any MIDI controller number with which to control the rotation speed in real-time.
This determines the rate of the zoom effect. There are three zoom options:
• Constant: If this is selected, the rate of the zooming in/out will be constant.
• Position MIDI: Enter any MIDI controller number with which to control the zoom position in real-time.
• Speed MIDI: Enter any MIDI controller number with which to control the zoom rate in real-time.
This determines the number of repeated images the effect produces. The lower the number, the more repeated images you will get.
Texture size
(Big/Medium/Small)
Governs the resolution of the image used in the effect. “Big” represents the highest resolution.
Update buffer
(slower)
Internal blur
(slower)
If this is ticked it allows videos to be used as the Image with the Infinite Zoom effect.
This adds a blur effect to the animation, making the rendering smoother.
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Rhythmix
This effect allows you mix two video sources with different shapes. The shapes can also be distorted by an incoming audio source.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Shape
Background
Audio input
Description
This sets the basic shape of the effect. Available shapes include Circles, Lozenges, Helix, Arrows etc. Other Shape options are:
• Repetitions: Sets the number of repetitions of the shape.
• Blending: This allows you to choose the transition mode between the two video sources. If “None” is selected, the borders of the shapes will not blend at all.
• Width: This defines the width of the foreground shapes.
By using MIDI controllers, the user can display the foreground video unaffected and gradually mix in the effect (and the background visual).
This selects the background source. The first two options “Inverse colors/Component inversion” will simply use inversions of the foreground visual, whereas the Black/White options will use a black or white picture as the background. If “Background” is selected here, the video generated with a previously activated key will be the background video. I.e., if you first hold down a key where a visual is placed and then press the key where the foreground visual and Rhythmics effect is placed the visuals will play simultaneously, with the transition between the two controllable by the effect parameters.
This is used to select whether an audio input source should be used to distort the shape. Options are None, Audio,
Spectrum or Beat detection. Note that for the latter two options to work, Beat detection must be activated in the Auto-
mation dialog (see page 183 ).
The Amplitude parameter governs the intensity of the effect.
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Option
Move
Inverse direction
Description
This parameter controls the movement cycle of the selected shape.
• Speed: The cycle speed can be controlled either via a set cycle time in ms, or via MIDI controllers.
• Pattern: Changes the way a shape cycle is played back.
Continuous will produce a smooth linear movement cycle, and the other options will change the direction of the cycle in various ways.
Reverses the direction of the movement cycle.
Delirium
This effect distorts the input image by using different pixel displacement tables.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option Description
Horizontal/Vertical
Displacement
Both the horizontal and vertical displacement parameters can be set manually or be MIDI controlled.
Cyclic Factor Sets the cyclic factor for the effect, either manually or MIDI controlled.
Displacement type This pop-up sets the basic type of displacement effect.
High Quality
(slower)
Check this for higher resolution rendering of the effects.
Density (1-10) This governs the effect displacement density. The higher the density, the more displacement patches there will be.
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Contrast
This effect changes the contrast of either the visual’s brightness or its colors.
You can select “RGB” or “Brightness”:
• With “RGB”, the contrast of the three color channels red, green and blue will be changed separately.
• With “Brightness”, the contrast of the luminosity will be changed - to make the visual brighter or darker.
A graph shows the influence of the available level parameters. These parameters define three contrast level values: The Low & High values can be set as fixed numbers between 0-127 or be MIDI controlled. The Mid value can be set as a fixed percentage or be MIDI controlled.
The pixels’ luminosity are governed by the level parameter settings. For example, pixels with a luminosity under the value defined by the ‘Low’ parameter will be black and pixels with a luminosity greater than the value defined by the “High” parameter will be white. The Mid level value is defined relatively to the set Low and High values and is expressed as a percentage value.
If “Negative” is checked the contrast is inverted so that white pixels will become black and vice versa.
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Color Rainbow
This effect generates a radial color cycle animation from the center of the screen.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Arithmetic
Blend/Copy
Color Cycle
Intensity
Speed
Description
If Blend is checked, the animation is mixed with any image or video placed on the same key. In Copy mode only the animation is shown.
The sliders in this section allow you to modify cycle mix of each color component separately.
The sliders in this section allow you to modify the intensity for each color component separately.
The speed parameter governs the animation cycle rate, and can be set manually or be MIDI controlled.
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Video effects
RGB (Color)
A computer-generated image basically consists of a combination of three colors; red, green and blue. This effect splits up the image into these three basic components, or layers, and cycles through them, thereby creating variations in color.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Use Cycle
Use Controllers
Effect
Description
Activate this if you want the cycling intervals between the components to be time specific. For each of the three components, you can then specify if they should be used at all, and if so how long it will take (in milliseconds) for the image to cycle from being displayed in its original color, to being displayed through a layer of only that particular component.
Activate this if you want to control the cycling between the components in real-time with MIDI controller messages. For each of the three components, you can then decide whether they should be used, and assign any MIDI controller number to control them. Note that you’re not restricted to using ei-
ther Cycle or Controllers. You can use both in conjunction if you wish.
Here, you can select between three options to determine how the different layers are superimposed onto the original image. Cycle produces an effect where the layers are clearly visible as superimposed, while Multiply blends the layers with the original image for a more subtle effect. Smooth Shift, finally, works like Cycle but produces an effect with smoother transitions between the layers.
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Hue Shift
This effect continuously changes the colors on the screen.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Hue Modulation
High Quality
Description
• None: With this option selected, there will be no effect.
• Cycle In: This lets you specify a time between 1 and
30,000 milliseconds. This is the interval at which the colors will change, so the lower the value, the faster the color change.
• MIDI Controller: This lets you assign any MIDI controller number to control the changing of colors in real-time.
Select this for increased level of detail.
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Irisation
This effect splits the image into three layers, one for each of the three components red, blue and green. You can then choose to either have the layers merge or divide.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Control
High Quality
Description
• Fade In: This gradually merges the three layers, to eventually form the original image.
• Fade Out: This works just the other way around.
• Modulation Wheel: This lets you control the merging with the modulation wheel on your MIDI keyboard.
• Pitch Wheel: This lets you control the merging with the pitch bend wheel on your MIDI keyboard.
• MIDI Controller: This lets you assign any MIDI controller number to control the merging in real-time.
• Intensity: This regulates how strongly accentuated the layers should be. You can enter a value between 0 and 100.The higher the number, the more visible the layers are.
• Duration: This lets you specify how fast the merging will be when you use the Fade In or Fade Out option.
Select this for increased level of detail.
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Invert
This effect inverts the colors of an image and makes them negative. For example; black turns into white and vice versa.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Invert
Inversion Mode
Stroboscope
Description
You can choose to invert all, or any combination of, the three components (red, green and blue) that make up an image. If you don’t choose any component, no effect will occur.
• Simply Invert: Inverts the image according to the settings you have made in the invert dialog, i.e. which components you have activated for inversion.
• Random Invert: Creates a possible new inversion every time you press the key, based on which components you have activated. You need to have at least two components activated for this to have any effect.
• Random Flashes: Rapidly cycles between all possible inversions for as long as you press the key, based on which components you have activated. You need to have at least two components activated for this to have any effect.
• Stroboscope On: This causes the inversion to be constantly toggled on and off while you press the key.
• Period: Lets you define the interval (in milliseconds) between the toggling.
Motion Blur
This effect does exactly what it says - it creates the blurred effect of motion.
It is particularly useful with video streams. The only option allows you to choose whether it should be a light blur or a strong blur.
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Old Film
This effect simulates the look of old and scratchy black and white movies. It works equally well on both movies and images.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Black &White
Description
Activate this to make the image black and white.
Irregular Exposure
Time
Activate this to make the image flicker between different levels of darkness and brightness.
Background Noise Activate this to simulate poor film quality, with speckles and dust etc.
Pick Black & Pick
White
These buttons open a standard color picker dialog to let you define the hues of black and white in an image. This way you can, for instance, give the image an old-looking, yellowish tone.
Unsteady Image
Scratches
Activate this to make the image wobbly and shaky.
Activate this to add scratches and lines on the image.
Limit Frame Rate To The Frame Rate is the number of frames per second at which a movie is being played back. You can enter a value between
1 and 200 fps. The lower the value, the more choppy the playback.
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Pixxicato
Pixxicato lets you zoom a visual in and out to make it more or less “pixellated”. A pixel is a picture element that is a single point in a graphic image, and an image is displayed on a computer monitor by means of a large number of pixels organized in rows and columns. If you magnify an image, the pixels are increasingly distinguishable as squares of different colors. Therefore, zooming in on an image makes it more coarse in detail.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Control
Pixify
Tile Size
High Quality
Description
• Fade In: This starts at a high magnification, and zooms out, thereby creating a Fade-in.
• Fade Out: This works just the other way around.
• Modulation Wheel: This lets you control the zooming with the modulation wheel on your MIDI keyboard.
• Pitch Wheel: This lets you control the zooming with the pitch bend wheel on your MIDI keyboard.
• MIDI Controller: This lets you assign any MIDI controller number to control the zooming in real-time.
• Intensity: This regulates the amount of pixellation, and the size of the pixels. You can enter a value between 0 and 100.
The higher the number, the larger the pixels.
• Duration: This lets you specify how fast the zooming will be when you use the Fade In or Fade Out option.
Use the check boxes to stretch the pixels either horizontally or vertically upon zooming. If both are checked, the pixels will keep their original proportions. If neither are checked, there will be no zooming at all.
• Linear: With this option, the zooming will be made in a smooth, fluent motion.
• Fit To Screen: With this option, the zooming will be more choppy, since it is made in increments, pixel by pixel.
Select this for increased level of detail.
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Video Split
This effect splits the image into a number of smaller images.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Number Of Subscreens
Refresh Mode
Description
Lets you specify how many instances of the image you want on the screen. The maximum number is 20 images along each axis.
The refresh rate of a computer monitor is the frequency, measured in Hertz, with which the screen is redrawn every second. Lower frequencies result in more screen flickering.
These three options determine how the screen is redrawn with the image. Experiment to see the differences.
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Whirl
Turns the image into a whirlpool of colors.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Inner Speed
Outer Speed
Description
This controls the rotation speed of the center of the whirlpool. You can choose to either enter a number between 0 and 65000 milliseconds (the lower the number, the faster the rotation), or assign any MIDI controller number to control the speed in real-time. Note that it is possible to enter a negative value, for example -2000 ms, to make the rotation clockwise instead of counterclockwise.
This controls the rotation speed of the outer rim of the whirlpool. You can choose to either enter a number between 0 and 65000 milliseconds (the lower the number, the faster the rotation), or assign any MIDI controller number to control the speed in real-time. Note that it is possible to enter a negative value, for example -2000 ms, to make the rotation clockwise instead of counterclockwise.
Central Star Size You can enter a value between 0 and 200 pixels. With any value higher than zero, the center of the whirlpool will take on the shape of a six pointed star. The higher the value you enter, the bigger the star will be. You can also assign any MIDI controller number to control this effect in real-time.
Central Star Speed This controls the rotation speed of the star. You can choose to either enter a number between 0 and 65000 milliseconds
(the lower the number, the faster the rotation), or assign any
MIDI controller number to control the speed in real-time.
Note that it is possible to enter a negative value, for example
-2000 ms, to make the rotation clockwise instead of counterclockwise.
Zero-Centered
Controllers:
With this option activated, a MIDI controller value of 64 is considered as 0. This means that, in the case of rotation speed, a MIDI controller message with a value over 64 is a positive value and causes counterclockwise rotation. A MIDI controller message with a value below 64, on the other hand, is a negative value and causes clockwise rotation.
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Photo
This effect takes a snapshot of the image currently on the screen (Preview window or full screen display).
When you press the key to which you have assigned this effect, the snapshot is taken and saved as a Bitmap file (a common high resolution picture file format) on your hard disk, in the same folder as the current Synth.
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QuickTime effects
This effect gives you access to a number of QuickTime effects, usable on both movies and pictures.
The dialog that opens has the following options:
Option Description
Transition Duration Some of the QuickTime effects are transitions. This lets you determine the length (in milliseconds) of those transitions.
Use Transparence Makes the currently selected effect transparent. This makes it possible to use the effect on one key and a visual on another key simultaneously.
Call QuickTime
Set-up
By clicking this button you open another dialog with a list of all the available effects. There is also a preview window, and parameters to set for each effect. Double-clicking the name of an effect in the list brings up a brief description of what the effect does.
QuickTime Controller
This lets you control the playback of QuickTime movies in various ways.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Play Selection
First Loop
From Start
Description
This option lets you play back only a part of the movie. You specify the length of the part by using the start and end sliders
(see below). If you do not activate this option, the movie will play back in its entire length.
If you choose to play back a part of the movie as a loop (see below), activating this option will cause the movie to start from the beginning and then initiate looping when it reaches the start position of the loop (see below).
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Option
Start & End
Sliders
Speed/Position
Speed Direction
Loop Sequence
High Resolution
Controllers
Description
Use these sliders to set the start and end positions for playing or looping only a part of the movie.
• Constant Speed: You can choose to have a movie play back in its original speed by activating this option and entering
100% as speed ratio. You can also enter a lower value to make the movie play back in slow motion, or a higher value to make it play back in rapid motion.
• Speed Controller: Activating this option lets you assign any MIDI controller number to control the speed of movie playback in real-time.
• Position Controller: Activating this option lets you assign any MIDI controller number for moving forward and backward in a movie, frame by frame, in real-time.
Optionally, you can reverse movie playback. Choose whether you want to play back the movie from start to end (+), or from end to start (-). You can also assign any MIDI controller number to control the playback direction in real-time.
This option (in combination with Play Selection and the Start
& End Sliders) lets you loop a part of the movie over and over for as long as you press the key.
MIDI controller messages send values between 0 and 127.
This can also be referred to as the resolution with which the controller is able to make real-time changes. If you, for example, send a message on MIDI Controller 7 (volume) in order to increase the volume, the increase is made in whole steps from one value to the next, i.e. from 0 to 1, then from 1 to 2, etc. Sometimes, these real-time changes may be perceived as not being smooth enough, and here´s where High Resolution
Controllers come into play. These controllers send values between 0 and 31, and actually send two messages simultaneously,
(one from the so-called MSB block - 0-31, and one from the so-called LSB block - 32- 63). To put it simply, High Resolution Controllers split up each value or step between 0 and
127 into an additional 128 steps. This gives a higher resolution and a smoother real-time change.
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Wave
This effect animates the visual with several layers of wave-like, undulating movements. You can superimpose up to 6 layers horizontally and/or vertically with different frequencies and amplitudes.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Quality
Waves
Unused
Direction
Frequency
Speed
Amplitude
Description
Specifies the quality of the definition of the waves. Can be
Fine (slow), Medium or Coarse (fast).
Specifies the (sinusoidal) wave edited (from 1 to 6).
Specifies whether the wave is used or not (which allows you to superimpose several waves). If this box is checked, the wave does not have any effect (and its parameters are hidden in the interface).
Lets you specify whether the waves’ movements should be horizontal or vertical.
For each wave, you can specify the length as a percentage in relation to the size of the visual.
Specifies the speed at which each wave propagates. This speed can be constant or controlled by a MIDI controller.
Specifies the amplitude of the propagation of each wave. This amplitude can be constant or controlled by a MIDI controller.
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Pixel Slide
This effect slides the pixels diagonally in four directions at once at cyclic intervals. The speed of the cycles, the amount of slide and the type of motion can be changed.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Cycle
Motion
Speed
Description
This parameter defines the maximum amount of slide. I.e. how much the pixels should slide during a cycle.
These radio buttons allow you to select a type of motion, or cycle, for the slide:
• Cyclic: Continuous slide cycle.
• Pistonning: Continuous slide cycle back and forth between the original visual and the maximum amount of slide.
• Go and return: Works in the same way as the Pistonning option, but stops after the first cycle.
• Pitch wheel & Modulation wheel: Lets you control the slide with the Pitch bend wheel or the Modulation wheel on your MIDI keyboard.
This parameter specifies how long it should take (in milliseconds) for a slide cycle to be completed. You can either specify a fixed speed or you can specify a minimum and a maximum value to control the speed with MIDI velocity - how hard you press the key on your MIDI keyboard. The value you enter in the first box (“from”) is how long the cycle will take if you press the key very softly - i.e. a velocity value of 0. The value in the second box (“to”) is how long the cycle will take if you press the key very hard - i.e. a velocity value of
127. In between these extremes, the time it will take for the cycle to be completed varies accordingly depending on the velocity value.
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Puzzle
This effect transforms the image into a type of mosaic, and the pattern and speed of this can be changed.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Speed
Pattern
Description
Lets you specify the speed of the effect in milliseconds. This speed can be constant or vary between two limits you define in the “from” (minimum speed) and “to” (maximum speed) boxes.
• Constant: Lets you specify a constant speed for the effect.
Enter the desired speed in the box to the right
• MIDI Controller: Specify the number of the controller you wish to use for controlling the speed. The speed will then vary between to minimum and maximum value you specify.
• Pitch wheel: Lets you control the speed with the Pitch bend wheel on you MIDI keyboard. The wheel turned fully to the left equals the minimum speed and the wheel turned fully to the right equals the maximum speed.
• Modulation wheel: Lets you control the speed with the modulation wheel on your MIDI keyboard. The wheel in its
“neutral” position equals the minimum speed and the wheel pushed fully forward equals the maximum speed.
• Velocity: The speed depends on how hard the key is pressed. If you press the key very softly - i.e. with a velocity value of 0, the speed of the effects will be the minimum speed you specify in the “from” box. If you press the key very hard - i.e. with a velocity value of 127, the speed of the effect will be the maximum speed you specify in the “to” box. In between these extremes, the speed will vary accordingly depending on the velocity value.
Defines the pattern type used to modify the image - 1 or 2.
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Size
This effect changes the size of the visual. Size does not work if placed on a key with no visual assigned.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Velocity
Use Modulation
Wheel
Description
In this mode, the size of the visual will change depending on how hard you press the key on the MIDI controller. The harder you press it, the larger the visual.
In this mode, the size of the visual will change with the modulation wheel value sent from the MIDI controller. Pushing the modulation wheel forwards will result in a larger visual.
Hyper Size
Zooms the image continuously in and out. The image will first be displayed in the Start Size, and zoom to the End Size (in increments determined by the Delta Size parameter). This procedure is then reversed (zooming from
End Size back to Start Size) and repeated for as long as you keep the key pressed. This effect does not work if placed on a key with no visual assigned.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Start Size
End Size:
Delta Size
Synchronization
Description
The size (in percent) of the image when the zoom cycle starts.
The size (in percent) of the image at the turning point of the zoom cycle.
The increment in size (in percent). Low values will cause the image to zoom slowly and smoothly, while high values will cause fast, abrupt changes in size.
If this is set to No Synchronization, the effect just runs as fast as possible. You can also set this to one of the specified frame rates. Choose the fastest rate the playback system can handle with an even and “smooth” result.
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Vortex
Causes the image to rotate, automatically or controlled by Pitch Bend. For smooth rotation, we recommend that you use small pictures. This effect does not work if placed alone on a key.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Use Pitch Bend
Auto Increment
Start Angle
Delta Angle
Synchronization
Description
In this mode, the rotation of the image is controlled by Pitch
Bend messages. Raising the Pitch Bend (positive values) will rotate the image clockwise, while lowering it will rotate the image counter-clockwise. Moving the Pitch Bend control to either end point will rotate the image 180°.
In this mode, the image rotates automatically, clockwise, as long as you keep the key pressed.
In the Auto Increment mode, the image will initially be displayed at this angle when you press the key.
The increment in degrees. Low values will cause the image to rotate slowly and smoothly, while high values will cause a fast, abrupt rotation.
If this is set to No Synchronization, the effect simply runs as fast as possible. You can also set this to one of the specified frame rates. Choose the fastest rate the playback system can handle with an even and “smooth” result. The options are 10,
20 and 30 frames/second.
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Transition effects
Blur
This effect fades the image in or out by blurring or unblurring the image.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Blur Control
Direction
Description
• Blur Control Fade In: Makes the image blur into view.
• Fade Out: Makes the image blur out of view.
• Modulation Wheel: Lets you control the blur with the modulation wheel on your MIDI keyboard.
• Pitch Wheel: Lets you control the blur with the pitch bend wheel on your MIDI keyboard.
• MIDI Controller: Lets you control the blur with any MIDI controller number.
• Intensity: Lets you specify a percentage value to determine how much the image is blurred. It also affects the speed of the blurring effect.
• Duration: Determines the length of the blurring process.
• High Quality: Check this box for a higher level of detail.
You can choose to make the blur effect either horizontal or vertical.
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Directional transition
This effect creates a smooth transition, or crossfade, between a previous image and the image you use along with this effect.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Transition Type
Rotation Speed
Repetition
Polarity
Shape
Slope
Description
• With Time: This means that the transition takes place over a period of time, specified in milliseconds. The lower the value, the faster the transition.
• Controller: This lets you assign any MIDI controller number to control the transition in real-time.
• Constant: With this option, the transition is practically instantaneous, and you can also choose to let the transition be only partly completed. You can enter a number between 0 and 100. The lower the number, the less complete the transition will be.
This parameter only affects the following Shape settings (see below): Triangle, Cross and Star.
These shapes cause the transition to be made in a rotating fashion, and this parameter regulates the speed of that rotation.
• Constant: Enter a number in milliseconds. The lower the number, the faster the rotation.
• Controller: This lets you assign any MIDI controller number to control the rotation speed in real-time.
You can choose to split up the image into two or four parts.
The transition is then applied to each part.
Choose between making the transition from right to left (+) or from left to right (-).
This lets you choose between eight preset transition shapes.
Use the slider to control the visibility of the border between the image and the background color during the transition.
A low value results in blurred borders and a high value results in well defined borders.
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Fade to black
This effect fades the image in or out.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Fade Control
Final Color
Description
• Fade In: Makes the image fade into view.
• Fade Out: Makes the image fade out of view.
• Modulation Wheel: Lets you control the fade with the modulation wheel on your MIDI keyboard.
• Pitch Wheel: Lets you control the fade with the pitch bend wheel on your MIDI keyboard.
• MIDI Controller: Lets you control the fade with any MIDI controller number.
• Duration: Lets you specify how long it will take to complete a fade.
The fade does not necessarily have to be to/from black. The
Choose Color button in this dialog opens up a standard color menu from which you can choose any color you like.
Scroller
This effect scrolls the image into view.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Duration
Direction:
Description
The time (in milliseconds) it takes to complete the scroll.
Choose one of four directions from which the scrolling will start.
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Shutter
This effect places a new image on top of any previous one, in the form of a number of shutters closing on the previous image.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Transparency
Duration
Description
Activate this to make the shutters transparent.
Enter a value between 100 and 2000 milliseconds to specify how fast the shutters will close.
Shutters Rotation Here you determine whether the rotation of the shutters should be vertical or horizontal.
Shutters Speed Choose between Fast, Medium or Slow to determine the rotation speed of the shutters.
Number of Shutters: Specify how many shutters you want along the X-axis (horizontal) and the Y-axis (vertical). Choose a number between
1 and 16, in multiples of two, from the drop down list.
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Shutter II (Shutter N)
This effect places a new image on top of any previous one, in the form of a number of shutters closing on the previous image.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Transparency
Description
Activate this to make the shutters transparent.
Duration Enter a value between 100 and 2000 milliseconds to specify how fast the shutters will close.
Shutters Rotation Here you determine whether the rotation of the shutters should be vertical or horizontal.
Rotation By Shutter You can have the shutters swing around before settling.
Choose between 1 to 4 swings from the drop down list.
Number of Shutters You can have between 2 and 64 shutters, in multiples of two, to form the new image.
Slide
This transition effect turns any previous image into a pair of “sliding doors” that open to reveal the image placed along with this effect.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Duration
Cycling
Description
This lets you specify how long it will take for the doors to open. You can enter a value between 500 and 1000 milliseconds. The lower the number, the faster the effect.
This cycles the effect over and over again, as if there is always a new pair of “doors” behind the ones that open.
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Option
Compression
Description
This option makes the image appear in a compressed shape through the center of any previous image, and then stretch to full size, thereby forcing the previous image apart.
Scrolling Direction You can choose whether you want the “sliding doors” to open vertically or horizontally.
Transition
This effect is a simplified version of the Directional Transition effect (see
page 148 ). The only option is Transition Type, which works in exactly the
same way as for Directional Transition.
Flying Object
This effect puts you in complete control of how an image behaves on the screen. You control it´s movement, size and opacity.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Position
Size Control
Opacity
Description
Here you specify how you want to control the horizontal & vertical movement of the image. You can choose between using the modulation or pitch bend wheel on your MIDI keyboard, or you can use any MIDI controller number.
Here you specify how you want to control the size of the image. The options are the same as for controlling the position.
• Opaque: With this setting, the image is completely solid.
• Transparent White: Activating this option makes the color white transparent, causing only colors other than white in the visual to be visible.
• Translucent: Makes the image transparent.
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Turnix
This effect rotates and zooms the image into view.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Duration
Transparency
Rotation Left or
Right
Rotation Angle
Description
The time (in milliseconds) it takes for the image to reach full size.
Makes the image transparent..
Sets the direction of rotation.
Enter a number between 1 and 60. A higher number means that the rotation will be closer to the center of the screen, producing a more narrow effect.
Flow
This effect makes it look like the elements of the image are being “poured” into it as liquid matter which then solidifies.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Flow movement
Flow speed
Description
This lets you decide the direction of the flow. You can either have the elements of the image “poured” into it from the top or from the bottom.
This simply lets you decide how fast the flow should be; Slow,
Medium or Fast.
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Artistic effects
Bubble
This effect is similar to throwing stones in water to make rings spread on the surface.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
High Resolution
Density
Main effect
Description
When this is activated, the effect will be more detailed, but it will also require more computer power.
This changes the way the “water” is calculated by increasing the apparent density.
Here you can set how the motion is controlled:
• Surf: A linear effect, like throwing stones at a narrow angle to the surface.
• Rain: Like when dropping stones straight into water.
• Trash: Like when throwing a handful of gravel in the water.
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Diffuse
Primarily, this effect uses Feedback (see
page 100 ) to blur and distort a
visual in various ways. The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Diffuse type
Effect
Rotation
Description
Lets you choose between six different types of Diffusion.
Sets the intensity of the effect, and determines the direction of movement for the Diffusion types, rotating or otherwise.
You can enter any value between -1000 – +1000. The direction of movement is altered depending on whether you enter a negative or a positive value. Note that a value of “0” means that no effect will be produced at all. You can also enter any
MIDI controller number to control the intensity of the effect in real-time.
This causes the visual to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise. Either enter a fixed value or any MIDI controller number for controlling rotation in real-time. Click the radiobutton of your choice and then enter a value. When using the Constant option, negative values cause counter-clockwise rotation and positive values cause clockwise rotation.
Zoom X & Zoom Y These parameters let you zoom the visual in and out along the X-axis (horizontal) and the Y-axis (vertical). You can enter either a constant value or any MIDI controller number to control the zooming. Values above 100 zoom in on an image
– the higher the value, the faster the zooming. Values below
100 zoom out on an image – the lower the value, the faster the zooming.
Center X & Center Y Having these parameters set to anything other than “0” causes the visual to move across the screen. You set the direction and speed along the X-axis (horizontal) and the Yaxis (vertical). Negative values make the visual move left/up and positive values make it move right/ down. The higher the value you enter, the faster movement will be. You can also enter any MIDI controller number with which to control this in real-time.
Special effects Check this box to activate the optional filter. For a description of the various filter parameters, see the documentation for the effect “Filter” below.
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Filter
This effect lets you apply various filters on an image to alter its appearance.
Filter is also featured in a couple of other effects, namely the Larsen effect
(see
page 158 ) and the Diffusion effect (see above).
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Filter Type
Gain
Mix
Clip result
Kernel
Description
From the drop-down menu you can select one of five different filter types or none. The None option does not mean that there will be no effect. It only means that no specific filter type is applied. You can still use the Gain, Mix and Clip result parameters.
This lets you control the amount of effect applied to the visual. The higher the value, the more effect. High values
(over 100) cause the original colors of the image to be heavily oversaturated, “burning” the image.
This controls the balance between the original image and the effect. High values cause the effect to be more predominant.
With this option activated, the output of the effect will be attenuated, which is useful if you want to prevent wild color cycling when “burning” a visual with the Gain parameter.
This section is used when you select Kernel as Filter Type.
You can then either choose from seven different presets or create a custom Kernel setup by entering values in the nine
Kernel boxes. You can enter any value between -1024 and
+1024. Kernel filtering is a complex issue, and this manual can by no means provide any in depth tutorial on the subject.
What can be said is that this kind of filtering lets you change the gain of a center pixel and its eight surrounding pixels, to make an image sharper, blurred, saturated etc. You can probably find extensive reading material about Kernel filtering in your local bookstore or on the Internet, if you wish to learn more about it.
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Kaleidoscope
This effect is similar to looking into a kaleidoscope.
The options for this effect are different combinations of the following:
Option
Type
Description
Select a pattern type from the menu. The visual will then be transformed into a number of rotating repetitions of this pattern.
Repetition
Texture Rotation This option controls the rotation of the image within each pattern repetition. Either enter a value in ms for a fixed, constant rotation speed, or specify a MIDI controller number with which to control the rotation in real-time.
Splitter Rotation This option controls the rotation of each pattern repetition.
Either enter a value in ms, for a fixed, constant rotation speed, or specify a MIDI controller number with which to control the rotation in real-time.
Texture scale
Lets you set a zoom factor to determine how many repetitions of the pattern should be displayed. The zoom factor goes from 25% (minimum zoom - many repetitions) to 100%
(maximum zoom - few repetitions). If you choose “Constant”, enter the desired zoom factor. If you choose “MIDI Controller”, enter the desired MIDI controller number. If you choose “Cyclic”, enter how long time, in ms, it should take for the cycle to zoom back and forth between the minimum and the maximum zoom factor.
Texture position
Lets you decide if the size of the visual within each pattern should be constant or changed by a MIDI controller.
Lets you decide if the position of the visual within each pattern should be constant or changed by a MIDI controller. The position can be controlled both along the horizontal (x) and the vertical (y) axis.
Shear
Distortion
Lets you decide if the shear factor of the visual within each pattern should be constant or changed by a MIDI controller.
This works in conjunction with texture rotation, and stretches and distorts the image in each pattern.
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Larsen
This effect, in its fundamental form, is built upon the concept of Feedback
(see
page 100 ). It lets you zoom, rotate and position a visual freely on the
screen, and it also features an optional filter.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Rotation
Description
This parameter controls the speed and direction of rotation.
You can choose to either enter a constant value, or any MIDI controller number to control rotation. Just click the corresponding radio-button, and enter a value. Negative values cause clockwise rotation, and positive values cause counterclockwise rotation.
Zoom X & Zoom Y These parameters govern the zoom-factor of the visual along its X-axis (horizontal) and its Y-axis (vertical). You can either enter a constant value or any MIDI controller number to control zooming, by clicking either radio-button and entering a value. MIDI controllers, as opposed to constant values, let you effectively zoom an image in and out in real-time.
Center X & Center Y Use these parameters to determine the visual’s position on the screen along the X-axis (horizontal) and the Y-axis (vertical). Click the radio-button of your choice (constant or controller) and enter a value. With the constant option, negative values move the visual left/up and positive values move it right/down.
Special effects Check this box to activate the optional filter. For a description of the various filter parameters, see the documentation
for the effect “Filter” on page 156 .
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Fire (Mega Fire)
Burns and melts the image.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Up Slow & Hard
Edge
Description
The image moves slowly upwards while dissipating.
Up Slow & Smooth
Edge
The same as above but in a warmer, smoother manner.
Up Fast
Left Slow
Color Fire
The image moves upwards, dissipating quickly.
As Up Slow & Hard Edge, but the image moves to the left as well as upwards.
The image burns quickly and then fades out in a flash of colors.
Morphosis
This effect stretches an image dynamically, in any direction or with a number of controls. The basic idea is to position one or more Vectors on the image. A Vector is indicated by an arrow that indicates in which direction the image will stretch.
• To add a Vector, click the Add Vector button.
• To select a Vector, click on it. It turns red.
• To delete a Vector, select it and click the Delete Vector button.
• To move, change the direction of, or change the length of a Vector, drag the arrow by the head or tail. To move it, you need to drag both end points, one at a time.
To make settings for a Vector, select it and use the radio buttons on the side of the dialog. There are certain rules you must follow for the Vector positions. If you make illegal settings for the Vectors, the program will inform you. The Vector(s) that need to be adjusted will also flash in red. Note the following:
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• The area a Vector affects must not overlap the area of any other Vector.
• Circular movements affect larger areas than linear. It is therefore easier to run into
“illegal” situations with circular movements.
• The maximum number of Vectors is four.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Motion
Control
Description
Here you can choose between Linear and Circular. To get a feel for the difference, experiment!
Here you can set how the motion is controlled, per Vector:
• Automatic: The stretch happens automatically, which gives a pulsating effect.
• Velocity: The amount of stretch depends on the velocity of the note.
• Wheel: The stretch can be controlled in real time via a modulation wheel.
• Controller: The stretch can be controlled in real time via any MIDI Controller number. When you select this, another dialog appears asking you to specify which controller number to use to control this vector.
Tunnel
Transforms the image into a revolving tunnel.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Symmetry
Movement
Quality
Description
This allows you to select if the picture should be split along the horizontal axis (Double) or along both the horizontal axis and the vertical axis (Quad).
The effect of these two options is more apparent on static images than movies. If Angle is activated, the sections will
“turn”. If Distance is activated it will appear as if you travel inwards, towards the center of the image.
This allows you to select from three levels of detail.
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Pixel Vortex
This effect “Smudges” each pixel in the image, gradually distorting the picture in various ways.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Pudding
Rotation
Classical Vortex
Expansion
Spiral
Filter
Refresh
Description
The image is slowly garbled in many places at once.
Rotates the image clockwise, smudging it along the way.
The image transforms into a whirlpool, being sucked into itself.
Makes the image expand slowly outwards from the center of the screen.
Turns the image into a slow spiral.
In addition to the main effect, three types of filter effect can also be applied to the visual; “Blur”, which gradually blurs the image, “Sharpen” which gradually sharpens the image, and
“Saturate” which gradually saturates the image.
Refresh mixes the current image with the previously shown image in different ways. Options are as follows:
• None - no effect.
• Low/High feedback - new and previous images are mixed entirely.
• Squares low/high - multiple squares from the previous image, taken at random positions, are copied into the new image.
• Random squares - same as Squares above, but the size of the squares are randomized.
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Yin and Yang
The image distorts in waves, resembling the classic “Yin & Yang” symbol.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Rectangle
Description
The image slowly takes on a rectangular shape.
Use Original Image The image remains close to its original shape.
Filter In addition to the main effect, three types of filter effect can also be applied to the visual; “Blur”, which gradually blurs the image, “Sharpen” which gradually sharpens the image, and
“Saturate” which gradually saturates the image.
Refresh Refresh mixes the current image with the previously shown image in different ways. Options are as follows:
• None - no effect.
• Low/High feedback - new and previous images are mixed entirely.
• Squares low/high - multiple squares from the previous image, taken at random positions, are copied into the new image.
• Random squares - same as above, but the size of the squares are randomized.
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Earthquake
This effect makes the image shake and rumble.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Quake Mode
Amplitude
Jerkiness
Description
Choose between Exponential or Linear for two different time based effects. When you select any of these two, you can also enter a value in the Decay Time box, to determine the length of the quake.
• Constant: If you activate this option, the effect will continue for as long as you press the key.
• MIDI Controller: This lets you assign any MIDI controller number to control the effect in real-time.
You can enter a value between 1 and 700 pixels to determine the “width” of the shake. The higher the value you enter, the farther the image will move in each direction.
You can enter a value between 1 and 200 to determine how many times per second the image will shake.
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Invert Color
This effect works just like the Invert effect (see
page 134 ), in that it inverts
the colors of an image and makes them negative. The difference is that this is more basic, not allowing the inversion of separate color components.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Always Invert
Flash
Constant Speed
Controller
Description
The image is constantly inverted when it is displayed.
This causes the inversion to be constantly toggled on and off while you press the key.
Lets you define the interval (in milliseconds) between the toggling on and off.
Lets you assign any MIDI controller number to toggle the color inversion on and off in real-time.
Plasma
This effect turns the image into floating, psychedelic plasma.
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Spectrum
This effect uses incoming audio to visualize your music in different ways.
The parameters for this effect are as follows:
Option
Effect
Input
Use color
Use picture
Description
This parameter determines the way the audio signal will be displayed. The options are Waveform, Shape, Bars, Polar and
Filled polar.
This determines how an audio signal affects the visual.
• Audio: This will use the waveform of the audio signal.
• Frequency: This will use the frequency spectrum of the audio signal.
• Beat detection: This will use the output of the beat detection engine (note that Beat detection must be activated in
the Automation dialog for this to work - see page 183 ).
If this is activated, the current shape will be drawn with the colors specified in the 4 color boxes. If the Cycle/min parameter is set to 4 or less, only the color specified in the leftmost box will be used. With higher values, the current shape will smoothly cycle between the 4 specified colors. To change a color, just click on the box and select a new color from the standard color dialog that appears.
If this is activated, the shape will be drawn using the associated visual (either a picture or a movie). If there is no associated visual, the shape will be drawn using the background image.
Repetitions (1-100) The Repetition parameter duplicates the shape. Each repetition also rotates the shape 360 degrees.
Rotation/X and Y
Scaling/Translation
These 4 parameters govern the position and the size of the shape. The parameter values can either be constant or controlled by the audio input or by MIDI controllers. For best results, do not enter zero values for the Scale and Translation parameters.
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Spiral
The Spiral effect allows you to distort the visual in the form of a ribbon which rolls up on itself.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Band width
Description
Lets you define the size of the ribbon in percentages.
Number of spirals Allows you to specify the number of ribbons (from 1 to 4) which will unroll side by side. Each ribbon will be of the size specified under Band Width (see above). If you want more than one ribbon to be visible, you should specify a smaller size than 100%.
Mapping Allows you to specify the number of times (2 to 4) the visual is displayed each cycle.
Draw new picture on background
Allows you to specify whether the unprocessed visual should be shown in the background, behind the effect. If this is not activated, the effect will be displayed in front of the background color specified for the ArKaos Engine.
Speed
Central position
Specifies the rolling speed of the spiral:
• Constant: Lets you enter a constant speed.
• Controller: Specify the number of the MIDI controller with which to control the speed.
• Pitch wheel: Lets you control the speed with the Pitch bend wheel on your MIDI keyboard.
• Modulation wheel: Lets you control the speed with the
Modulation wheel on your MIDI keyboard.
• Velocity: The speed depends on how hard you press the key.
Allows you to define the center position of the spiral on the screen. Click and drag to position the “crosshair” along the horizontal and vertical axis.
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Option
Direction
Description
Specifies the rolling direction of the spiral:
• Inward: The spiral starts from the edge of the screen and rolls inwards towards the central position, its radius becoming smaller and smaller.
• Outwards: The spiral starts at the specified central position and becomes larger and larger until it reaches the edge of the screen.
• Flipflop by: The spiral first rolls inward towards the central position and then rolls outward again in cycles. The more cycles you specify, the farther out the spiral starts.
Radius increment Specifies how much the radius of the spiral should increase with each cycle.
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Spiral Tunnel
This effect generates a tunnel in the form of a spiral.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Rotation speed
Zoom speed
Direction
Quality
Description
Defines the speed at which the tunnel rotates. The options are:
• Constant: Enter a speed in ms. Negative values can also be used - e.g. -2000.
• MIDI Controller: Specify the number of a MIDI controller with which to control the speed.
• Pitch wheel: Lets you control the speed with the Pitch bend wheel on your MIDI keyboard.
• Modulation wheel: Lets you control the speed with the
Modulation wheel on your MIDI keyboard.
Defines the speed at which the tunnel moves forwards or backwards. The options are:
• Constant: Enter a positive value to make the tunnel move forwards. Enter a negative value to make the tunnel move backwards.
• MIDI Controller: Specify the number of a MIDI controller with which to control movement direction and speed.
• Pitch wheel: Lets you control movement direction and speed with the Pitch bend wheel on your MIDI keyboard.
• Modulation wheel: Lets you control movement direction and speed with the Modulation wheel on your MIDI keyboard.
Lets you specify the rolling direction of the tunnel - clockwise or counter-clockwise.
Lets you set the quality level for the effect - Fine (slower) or
Jaggy (faster).
Radius increment Specifies how much the radius of the tunnel should increase with each cycle.
Mapping Allows you to specify the number of times (2 to 4) the visual is displayed each cycle.
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Warp
This effect will gradually fill the visual with thin lines or squares, and you can determine the size and orientation of these. Note that Warp does not work if placed on a key with no visual assigned.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Horizontal
Vertical:
H and V:
From Center
Square
Warp Size
Description
The lines will be horizontal.
The lines will be vertical.
There will be both horizontal and vertical lines.
The lines will appear to spread evenly from the starting point, set with the “crosshair” that appears when you select this option.
The image will be filled with squares instead of lines.
The length of the lines (or size of the squares). Use the slider to change the value.
Fill Screen (Color Fill)
This effect fills the screen, or part of it, with a color of your choice.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Position
Size
Select Color
Description
If 1/2 screen or 1/4 screen is selected below, you can position the fill area by dragging the square in the box to the desired position.
Determines the size of the fill area. Choose between Full screen, 1/2 screen and 1/4 screen.
Click on the color square to open a standard Color Picker where you can select the desired fill color.
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Bombo Blaster
Explodes the visual into squares that will move outwards from the visual.
You can determine the size of the squares and also add special effects such as rotation.
The options for this effect are as follows:
Option
Grid Width
Grid Height
Random Moves
Rotation
Synchronization
Description
This value determines into how many parts the screen explodes along the x-axis (horizontal).
This value determines into how many parts the screen explodes along the y-axis (vertical).
Causes the pieces of the visual to move at random.
Causes the pieces to rotate.
If this is set to No Synchronization, the effect simply runs as fast as possible. You can also set this to one of the specified frame rates. Choose the fastest rate the playback system can handle with an even and “smooth” result. The options are 10,
20 and 30 frames/second.
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I
NTRODUCTION
This chapter describes different ways to perform with ArKaos VJ, and also provides you with details about various settings you can make that affect your performances.
P
REPARATIONS
Before performing in full-screen mode with ArKaos VJ, you will probably want to make a few settings that determine the performance of the ArKaos
Engine, and the appearance of the full-screen display.
ArKaos Engine settings
You can make the following settings to optimize the performance of the
ArKaos engine:
1.
Select “Preferences” from the Edit menu and then select “ArKaos Engine” from the submenu.
The ArKaos Engine Preferences dialog opens.
2.
Check the options you want to activate and click OK.
The options are as follows:
Disable background processing:
If you activate this option, the ArKaos engine will use the entire operating system, making the engine faster. However, locking up the system also means that no other programs can run at the same time. For example, this makes it impossible to run a MIDI sequencer program simultaneously on the same computer.
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Try to set Monitor resolution and pixel depth (Mac OS only).
Attempts to set the monitor resolution and color depth automatically. For more information,
Restore Monitor when deactivating ArKaos (Mac OS only).
Restores the monitor resolution and color depth to the original settings when you deactivate full-screen mode. For more information, see
Use Sub-Space manager to sync your mind to ArKaos.
Channels your brain waves and links them to the computer via meta-space for a heightened visual experience.
Startup screen settings
When full-screen mode is activated, ArKaos VJ will first preload the visuals in the active Patch. You can specify whether file loading information should be displayed or not during the preloading, and you can also specify which background color ArKaos VJ should display in full-screen mode when no visual is shown.
Proceed as follows to set preferences for file loading info and background color:
1.
Select “Preferences” from the Edit menu and then choose “ArKaos Startup” from the submenu.
The ArKaos Startup dialog opens.
2.
Select whether you want file loading information to be displayed or not, by checking or unchecking the “Display File Loading Information” box.
If this is activated when you activate the ArKaos full-screen display, you will be shown which files are being loaded into memory, and how much memory is left.
This is practical when you are working and trying out your Patches, since it can help you optimize the available memory. When you are running ArKaos VJ for an audience, however, you will probably not want this information to be displayed.
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3.
Click (Mac OS) or double-click (Windows) on the colored square to select a background color.
This opens a standard color picker dialog in which you can select any color you like.
4.
Choose the background color you want and click OK.
The color you specify will be displayed in the background when full-screen mode is activated.
5.
Click OK to close the dialog.
P
ERFORMING
This section contains descriptions of different ways you can perform with
ArKaos VJ - i.e. different ways of controlling ArKaos VJ to trigger the visuals
- and how to set things up.
First of all though, is a brief run-through of the basic procedures needed for starting and stopping a full-screen performance.
Selecting the right Synth and Patch
As described previously in this manual, you can have multiple Synths with multiple Patch windows open simultaneously, and you can also use multiple
Synths and multiple Patches in a performance.
Before going into full-screen display mode to start a performance though, you need to make sure that the correct starting Synth and Patch are selected:
1.
Click on the Synth window for the Synth you want to start performing with.
2.
Select a starting Patch with the Next Patch and Previous Patch arrow buttons in the
Synth window.
3.
Click the “Show Patch Window” button to activate (or open) the Patch window for the selected Patch.
You can also select a Patch by clicking on the corresponding Patch window, if it is open.
Synths as well as Patches can be changed during the actual performance, either manually or automatically, depending on which of the below described methods of triggering the visuals you’re using.
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Activating full-screen mode
The ArKaos Engine allows you to perform with your visuals in full-screen mode. If you have two monitors, the full-screen visuals will appear on the display you have specified in your monitor configuration. For more information on setting up your displays, see the chapters “Configuration - Windows”
and “Configuration - Mac” on page 21 and
respectively.
To activate full-screen mode, use one of the following methods:
Select “Start Full Screen” from the ArKaos menu.
Use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[A] or [ ]-[Enter] on the Mac; [Ctrl]-[A] or [Ctrl]-
[Enter] or [Ctrl]-[Return] under Windows.
Click on the Start Full Screen button in the Synth window.
The Start Full Screen button.
When the full-screen display is activated, the screen will be filled with a background color, and the visuals in the Patch will be loaded into memory.
You can choose a background color and decide whether the file loading
information should be displayed or not, as described on page page 173
.
Deactivating full-screen mode
To deactivate full-screen mode when using a single display:
Click the mouse button (Mac) or left mouse button (Windows).
To deactivate full-screen mode when using two displays, use one of the following methods:
Select “Stop Full Screen” from the ArKaos menu on your “working area” display.
Use the keyboard shortcut [ ]-[A] or [ ]-[Enter] on the Mac; [Ctrl]-[A] or [Ctrl]-
[Enter] or [Ctrl]-[Return] under Windows.
Click on the Stop Full Screen button in the Synth window on your “working area” display.
This is the same button used for starting the full screen display, described above.
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MIDI
CONTROLLER
If you have set up your MIDI equipment as described in the Chapters “Con-
figuration - Windows” and “Configuration - Mac” on page 21
respectively, just activate full-screen mode as described above, press the keys on your MIDI keyboard (or other MIDI controller) and watch the visuals on the monitor.
There are a few things to consider when using a MIDI controller:
The keys on the MIDI keyboard in the ArKaos VJ Patch window are labeled “C-2” to “G-8”, corresponding to the MIDI note numbers 0-127.
Different MIDI controller manufacturers variously define middle C as either C3 or C4, so your key assignments may be offset by an octave.
Some of the effects use MIDI velocity, pitch bend and modulation and other controllers.
Make sure that your MIDI controller is set to transmit these messages.
You can verify that ArKaos VJ is receiving MIDI by observing the MIDI indicator to the top right in the Synth window.
The MIDI indicator will light up to indicate incoming MIDI signals.
Switching Patches via MIDI
As described in the chapter “Managing Synths and Patches”
, each ArKaos VJ
Synth can hold up to 128 Patches. These correspond to MIDI Program
Change numbers 0-127. If your MIDI controller can send Program Change messages, you can use these to automatically switch to another Patch.
To enable MIDI Program Change in ArKaos VJ, make the following settings before activating full-screen mode:
1.
Click on the Synth window to select it.
2.
Select “Get Synth Info” from the Synth menu.
The Synth Info dialog opens.
3.
Make sure that “Receive Program Change” is checked.
4.
Optionally activate “Load visuals on PGM change”.
If this is activated, the visuals of the new Patch will be preloaded into memory before switching Patches. If a visual is not preloaded in this way, there will be a slight delay each time it is used.
5.
Click OK to exit the dialog.
Now you can send Program Change messages from your MIDI controller to switch Patches.
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KEYBOARD
There may be situations when you don’t have access to a MIDI controller, but still want to display your work. If this is the case, you can trigger the visuals from your computer keyboard, and also use the mouse to emulate
MIDI controller messages.
Note however that using the computer keyboard slightly decreases the performance of ArKaos VJ.
MIDI controllers also provide velocity control of certain effects, which is not possible with the computer keyboard. We recommend using a MIDI controller if possible.
Here’s how to set up options for the computer keyboard:
1.
Select “Preferences” from the Edit menu, and then select “Keyboard” from the submenu.
The Keyboard Setup window opens.
2.
Make sure the “Use Computer keyboard” option is activated (checked).
3.
Activate the “Indicate pressed keys in Patch window” option if you want ArKaos VJ to indicate pressed keys in the Patch window in Preview mode (and in your “work windows” display, if you’re using two monitors).
When this is activated, the pressed keys are highlighted in red.
4.
Activate the “Mouse generates MIDI controllers” option if you wish to use the mouse for emulating MIDI controller messages.
Enter the numbers of any MIDI controllers you wish. ArKaos will then respond to horizontal
(X) and vertical (Y) movements of your mouse as if they were MIDI controller messages.
5.
Click OK to exit the dialog.
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FROM A
MIDI
SEQUENCER
You can trigger the visuals in ArKaos VJ with incoming MIDI signals from a
MIDI sequencer or a MIDI sequencer program.
The following are the means by which you can to transmit MIDI to ArKaos VJ:
From an external sequencer.
By external we mean a stand alone sequencer or a software based sequencer running on a different computer. Connect the MIDI out from the external device or computer to the MIDI in port on the computer hosting ArKaos VJ.
From an internal sequencer.
By internal we mean a software based MIDI sequencer program running on the same computer as ArKaos VJ.
Depending on which of the above you use, and depending on what computer operating system you are running, there are different methods that can be used for establishing MIDI communication between the device or program and ArKaos VJ. These are all described below.
Windows
The following methods can be used to control ArKaos VJ from a MIDI sequencer under Windows.
External sequencer
For instructions on how to set up communication between a stand alone sequencer or a software based sequencer running on another computer
and ArKaos VJ, please refer to page 27
.
Internal sequencer
If you want to control ArKaos VJ from a sequencer program running on the same computer, you have the following two options:
ReWire.
This is described on
.
Installing and using a third-party application that enables multiple MIDI programs to use the same MIDI device simultaneously.
There are various such programs available as freeware. See
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Mac OS X
The following are the methods you can use for controlling ArKaos VJ from a MIDI sequencer under Mac OS X.
External sequencer
If you want to use a stand alone sequencer or a software based sequencer running on another computer for transmitting MIDI to ArKaos VJ, the
“CoreMIDI” protocol is used.
How to set up CoreMIDI in ArKaos VJ is described on page 44 .
Internal sequencer
If you want to control ArKaos VJ from a sequencer program running on the same computer, the communication is handled via ReWire.
See page 180 for instructions on how to set up ReWire.
Mac OS 9.x
The following are the methods you can use for controlling ArKaos VJ from a MIDI sequencer under Mac OS 9.x.
External sequencer
If you want to use a stand alone sequencer or a software based sequencer running on another computer for transmitting MIDI to ArKaos VJ, you can use one of the following methods for MIDI communication:
OMS (Open Music System).
How to set up MIDI communication with this system is thoroughly described on
Direct Driver.
How to set things up for using Direct Driver is described on
Internal sequencer
If you want to control ArKaos VJ from a sequencer program running on the same computer, you have the following two options:
ReWire.
This is described on
.
OMS.
This is described on
.
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Setting the sequencer to transmit to ArKaos VJ
ArKaos VJ receives MIDI either on a single specified channel, or on all
channels if “Omni On” is checked in the Synth Info dialog (see page 78
).
If different sequencer tracks transmit on different MIDI channels, this means that you can either have ArKaos VJ respond only to information on sequencer tracks that transmit on the Synth’s receive channel, or to all data on all tracks of the sequencer, regardless of which channels they transmit on.
To connect a sequencer and set up its communication with ArKaos VJ, proceed as follows:
1.
Connect the sequencer to the MIDI interface on your computer (external sequencer) or route the software sequencer output to the appropriate software port (internal sequencer software).
2.
Choose the method you want to use for communication between the sequencer and ArKaos VJ (as described above), and make sure you have made the correct settings for it.
3.
In ArKaos VJ, select “Preferences” from the Edit menu and choose “MIDI Setup”.
The MIDI Setup dialog opens.
4.
Select the sequencer or the MIDI port the sequencer is connected to.
5.
Make sure that the sequencer track you wish to use for controlling ArKaos VJ is set to transmit on the same channel as the ArKaos VJ Synth is set to receive on.
You can also set the ArKaos VJ Synth to Omni On, in which case it will respond to data from
all channels (see above).
Under Windows, if you have multiple MIDI devices installed in your system and want to be able to use them all simultaneously, click in the “Use all devices” box.
Using ReWire to transmit MIDI to ArKaos VJ
The ReWire 2 protocol offers the possibility to route MIDI from a ReWire 2 compatible sequencer program to ArKaos VJ, for full MIDI control. ReWire also offers the ability to stream audio between compatible applications - however, this is not possible with ArKaos VJ.
Note that when ArKaos is running as a ReWire slave to a sequencer, it is synchronized via MIDI clock sent from the sequencer. This makes it possible to create animations in ArKaos VJ synchronized to the music played by your sequencer.
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Launching a ReWire session
When using ReWire, the order in which you launch and quit the two programs is very important:
When using ReWire, the order in which you launch and quit the two programs is very important:
1.
First launch the sequencer application.
2.
Then launch ArKaos VJ.
Setting up for ReWire in ArKaos VJ
Proceed as follows to prepare ArKaos VJ for receiving MIDI via ReWire:
1.
Launch the programs in the order described above.
2.
In ArKaos VJ, select Preferences - MIDI Setup from the Edit menu.
3.
Click the ReWire radio button in the dialog.
If this item is grayed out it indicates that a compatible ReWire 2 host application is not active.
Close both programs and relaunch them in the order specified. If the problem persists, make sure that the sequencer application supports the ReWire 2 protocol. The original ReWire protocol does not support MIDI.
ArKaos VJ is now ready to receive MIDI from another application via ReWire!
Setting up for ReWire in the sequencer application
After launching ArKaos VJ, a new MIDI output - simply named “ArKaos VJ”
- will appear for MIDI tracks in the sequencer application. If you select this output, the MIDI data on the associated track will be routed to Arkaos VJ over the selected MIDI channel.
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Part of the ReWire protocol specifies that a ReWire compatible device always has audio channels, which isn’t the case in ArKaos VJ. Therefore, In the sequencer application, ArKaos VJ will be listed as a ReWire device (in Cubase SX for example, this item can be found on the Devices menu). If this item is selected, a ReWire panel appears where two ReWire audio channels seemingly can be activated.
However, activating these channels won’t do anything except create a ReWire channel in the Mixer. Sending audio to or from ArKaos VJ via ReWire is not possible.
Quitting a ReWire session
When you are finished, you also need to quit the applications in a special order:
1.
First quit ArKaos VJ.
or, if you want to quit the ReWire session but keep working in ArKaos VJ...
2.
Open the MIDI Setup dialog in ArKaos VJ, as described above, and deselect the Re-
Wire option.
I.e. instead click the radio button for the other option for MIDI communication.
3.
Then quit the sequencer application.
Creating the MIDI data
If you set up ArKaos VJ to respond to MIDI performances from an internal or external sequencer, you can either simply see what happens when you route an existing track to ArKaos VJ, or you can record a dedicated visual performance track into the sequencer.
You can create your MIDI sequence in any way your sequencing application allows. The following MIDI messages are of special interest:
Note On and Note Off messages.
These are used for activating visuals and effects. Note that the time intervals between Note
On and Note Off (how long a note is held) can be important in seeing the entire animation and/or effect. Some effects also respond differently according to the velocity associated with the Note On (how hard the MIDI key is pressed).
Some effects respond to pitch bend, modulation wheel data and other MIDI con-
troller messages. See the description of each effect (in the chapter “The effects” )
for details.
Program Change messages can be used to switch between Patches, as described
.
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U
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A
UTOMATION
ArKaos VJ’s Automation function allows you to trigger visuals and synchronize the performance either to incoming audio via the same Beat Detection algorithm found in the ArKaos Visualizer (see
), or to MIDI Clock.
If Automation is activated and no information is sent to ArKaos from any controller (i.e. a MIDI keyboard, computer keyboard or MIDI sequencer),
ArKaos will generate a random performance on its own. This means you can both use the Automation function and play along on your MIDI controller or computer keyboard to override the random performance, should you so wish.
Setting up Automation
1.
First of all you need to make sure that audio or MIDI is directed into ArKaos VJ.
For information about how to direct audio into ArKaos, and how to set up MIDI input, see
the chapter “Configuration – Windows”
and the chapter “Configuration – Mac” .
2.
Open the Automation dialog in ArKaos VJ by doing either of the following:
• Select “Preferences” from the Edit menu and then select “Automation” from the sub-menu.
• Click on the Show Automation Window button in the Synth window.
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3.
In the Automation dialog that opens, activate the option “Use Beat Detection” by clicking in the box.
This activates the Automation function and starts the automatic triggering of visuals based on incoming audio or MIDI Clock. The automation function will now be engaged until you deactivate the option “Use Beat Detection” again - even if you close the Automation dialog.
4.
Make other settings in the dialog as desired.
The options in the dialog are described below.
Automation options
The options in the Automation dialog are as follows:
Use Beat Detection.
By checking and unchecking this box, you effectively turn Automation on and off. The beat detection function analyzes the tempo of the incoming audio or MIDI Clock and generates a random performance in sync with the detected tempo.
From Audio Input.
Synchronizes Automation to the internal clock of the audio hardware in your computer. A waveform representation of the incoming audio is displayed in the bottom area of the Automation window when audio is properly routed into ArKaos. See
for information on how to set up audio input under Windows, and
for information on how to do it on the Macintosh.
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Delay Compensation.
This can be used to compensate for delays in the triggering of visuals. Try adjusting this slider if you think the Automation function does not respond fast enough when triggering visuals in sync with the audio.
From MIDI Time Code.
Synchronizes Automation to MIDI Time Code coming from whatever MIDI source you have assigned.
Generate controllers 7 and 8.
Many of ArKaos VJ’s effects can be manipulated in real-time with the MIDI controllers 7 & 8.
If any of the effects used in the Synth are set to respond to these MIDI controllers, you can activate this option to have the Automation function randomly generate these MIDI controller
messages for the effects. See the chapter “The effects” for more information.
Beat Ratio.
Sets the frequency with which new keys will be triggered. A beat ratio of 1 means that a key will be triggered at each beat of the music. A ratio of 2 will cause a key to be triggered every
2 beats, etc. If you are playing long video loops, you should raise this slider to a high value.
Auto change synths.
Allows the Automation function to switch between multiple open Synths (.kos files).
Auto change patches.
Allows the Automation function to switch between all open Patches in the currently active synth. See
page 80 for information on how to open additional Patch windows in a Synth.
Change after (seconds).
Sets the interval at which Patches or Synths are changed when either of the above two Auto change options is engaged. Drag the slider to set the desired time interval.
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ECORDER
I
NTRODUCTION
The Event Recorder primarily allows you to record performances directly in
ArKaos VJ. The performances are then saved with the Synth and can quickly and easily be viewed at any time.
However, the Event Recorder also allows you to do a number of other things:
You can work together with a MIDI program to “transfer” performances into
ArKaos VJ so that they can be played back without the other application.
This is done either by capturing a performance that is carried out by some external MIDI device or internal sequencing application, or by importing MIDI files created in other programs.
The Event Recorder can also use an audio file (MP3, AIFF, WAV or WMA) as its sound source for playback or recording.
Under windows, you can even play back 5.1 surround WMA files with the Event Recorder to accompany your visuals, if you have Windows Media Player 9 or better installed.
The Event Recorder also allows you to convert your recordings to QuickTime movies or Windows Media Video movies for use in ArKaos VJ or other programs that read these movie formats.
If you use an audio file as the sound source for playback or recording, as described above, this will be included in the rendered movie. Again, under Windows, if you have Windows Media
Player 9 or better installed, you can even add 5.1 surround WMA files to your movies.
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ECORDING A
“
LIVE
”
PERFORMANCE
This is how you set things up for recording a performance you play yourself:
1.
Set everything up as for any other type of performance.
This includes creating a Patch, making system settings, etc.
2.
Rehearse the performance, so that you feel confident performing it in one pass.
3.
Select “Event Recorder” from the ArKaos menu (or use the keyboard shortcut
[ ]-[R] on the Mac; [Ctrl]-[R] under Windows).
The Event Recorder window opens, listing any recorded performances.
Play button Process button
(convert to movie)
Record button
Recorded performances
4.
Click the Record button.
The Recording Set-Up window opens.
5.
In the dialog that appears, click the “Edit” button.
A dialog box appears, containing a name field.
6.
Enter a name for the recording and click OK.
You are returned to the Recording Set-up dialog.
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7.
If you wish to use an audio file with the performance, click “Select” and browse for the audio file.
You can also drag-and-drop the audio file directly into the Recording Set-up dialog. Valid file formats are MP3, AIFF, WAV and WMA. If you add an audio file, this will be played as you record. It will also be included in the recorded performance, and if you later render the recorded performance into a movie (see
) it will also be included in the movie.
Note that you can include an audio file when you play back a recorded sequence
). This means that you don’t have to do it when recording, but if you intend to make a performance synchronized with a song (and perhaps then render a movie with that particular song in it), adding it during recording will help you “keep the beat” since the audio will be played during recording of the performance.
8.
Click on the “Record” button.
ArKaos VJ now waits for you to start your performance. Nothing gets recorded until you begin.
9.
Perform as desired.
10.
If you’re recording in Full Screen mode, click the mouse button when you want to stop recording. If you’re recording in Preview mode, as described on
using two monitors in Full Screen mode), click “Stop” in the Event Recorder window.
Your new recording is added to the list of recordings in the Event Recorder window.
See
page 195 for instructions on how to play back the performance you
just recorded.
If you make a mistake while recording
If you decide you want a second try, proceed as follows:
1.
Click on the name of the recording you just made in the list to select it.
2.
Press [ ]-[Delete] under Mac OS or [Ctrl]-[Delete] under Windows.
The recording is deleted.
3.
Record again, as previously described.
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ECORDING A PERFORMANCE FROM ANOTHER
MIDI
SOURCE
If you have used an external MIDI application or device and created a
MIDI performance to trigger visuals in ArKaos VJ VJ, you can record this with the Event Recorder in ArKaos VJ. This allows you to later play back the performance without having to use the external equipment.
Here’s how you record a performance from another MIDI source:
1.
Verify that you have MIDI connected and routed correctly.
For instructions on how to set up MIDI, please refer to
for Windows and
for
Mac OS.
2.
Set everything up so that the MIDI source triggers the ArKaos VJ performance as it should.
Please refer to the chapter “Performing with ArKaos VJ”
for instructions on this.
3.
Select “Event Recorder” from the ArKaos menu (or use the keyboard shortcut
[ ]-[R] on the Mac; [Ctrl]-[R] under Windows).
4.
Click the Record button in the Event Recorder.
The Recording Set-Up window opens.
5.
Click the “Edit” Button.
A dialog appears, with a name field.
6.
Enter a name for the recording and click OK.
7.
If you wish to use an audio file with the performance, click “Select” and browse for the audio file.
You can also drag-and-drop the audio file directly into the Recording Set-up dialog. Valid file formats are MP3, AIFF, WAV and WMA. If you add an audio file, this will be included in the recorded performance, and if you later render the recorded performance into a movie (see
page 198 ) it will also be included in the movie.
8.
Click the “Record” button.
The program now waits for the performance to start. Nothing gets recorded until the program receives MIDI information.
9.
Activate playback on the MIDI source device or program.
If the source is another MIDI program on the same computer, you’ll need to switch over to that program to activate playback (ideally with a lead-in of a few bars), then switch back to
ArKaos VJ.
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10.
If you’re recording in Full Screen mode, click the mouse button when you want to stop recording. If you’re recording in Preview mode, as described on
using two monitors in Full Screen mode), click “Stop” in the Event Recorder window.
Your new recording is added to the list of recordings in the Event Recorder window.
See
page 195 for instructions on how to play back the performance you
just recorded.
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I
MPORTING
MIDI
FILES
ArKaos VJ also allows you to add a recording to the Event Recorder by importing a Standard MIDI Format (SMF) file. This is the file format used for transferring MIDI sequences between programs and devices. If you have already created a recording in another MIDI device or program, importing it as a MIDI file might be the most convenient way to convert it into an
ArKaos VJ recording.
Proceed as follows to import a MIDI file:
1.
Make sure the MIDI performance plays back as intended when you run it in realtime to ArKaos VJ.
2.
Save the performance as a MIDI file, and if required, transfer it to the hard disk of the computer on which you are running ArKaos VJ.
Exactly how to do this depends on what device/application created the MIDI file. See the operation manual that came with the application/device.
From here you can either use the Import command or the drag-and-drop technique as described below.
Importing MIDI files via the Import command
1.
Select “Event Recorder” from the ArKaos menu.
The Event Recorder window opens.
2.
Select Import from the File menu.
A standard file dialog appears.
3.
Locate the file on your hard disk and open it.
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Importing MIDI files via drag-and-drop
1.
Arrange your windows so that you can see both the Finder (Mac OS) or the
Exp lorer (Windows) and the ArKaos Event Recorder window simultaneously.
2.
Drag the MIDI File from the Finder/Explorer into the Event Recorder window.
The MIDI file will appear as a new recording in the Event Recorder window.
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LAYING BACK A RECORDED PERFORMANCE
You can play back recorded performances in either the Event Recorder window or the Patch window.
The following are descriptions of how to play back a recording:
In the Event Recorder window
1.
Select the recording and click the Play button (you can also simply double-click on the name).
The Event Recorder dialog appears.
2.
If you didn’t include an audio file during recording of the performance (as described on
), you can include one during playback instead. Click “Select” and browse for the audio file.
You can also drag-and-drop the audio file directly into the Recording Set-up dialog. Valid file formats are MP3, AIFF, WAV and WMA. If you add an audio file, this will be played back with
the recorded performance, and if you later render the performance into a movie (see page
198 ) it will also be included in the movie.
3.
Click the “Play” button.
The recording will play back in either full-screen mode or in the Preview window, depending on what you have specified for the recorded sequence in the Event Recorder window (see
In the Patch window
1.
In the bottom right corner of the Patch window, use the up and down arrow buttons to select the recording.
The name of the selected recording is displayed in the text box.
2.
Click the Play button to the left of the text box.
The recording will play back in either full-screen mode or in the Preview window, depending on what you have specified for the recorded sequence in the Event Recorder window (see
Note that with both of the above methods, the Event Recorder always plays back the recording using the currently active Patch! Which Patch you actually used is not saved together with the recording. This means it is up to you to make sure the correct Patch is selected when you activate playback.
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A
DDITIONAL OPTIONS FOR PLAYING BACK AND
RECORDING PERFORMANCES
The Event Recorder dialog can be expanded to provide additional controls for playing back a selected portion of the recording, with optional looping.
You can also determine whether playback or recording should take place in the Preview window or in full-screen mode.
1.
Depending on whether you want to make additional settings for playback or recording; select the recording and click the “Play” button, or the “Record” button.
The Event Recorder dialog box appears.
2.
Click the “More” button.
The dialog expands to present additional controls and a linear graphic representation of the file.
If you want to set up a selected portion of a recording for playback, do the following:
3.
Drag the marker handle above the graphic representation of the file to the point where you wish playback to begin.
4.
Drag the marker handle below the graphic representation of the file to the point where you wish playback to stop.
You have now selected a segment of the file for playback.
5.
Check the “Selection” checkbox.
This tells the program that you wish to use only the selection range you specified.
6.
Check the “Loop” checkbox if you want to loop the selection (play it back repeatedly).
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The “Clear” button will erase the recording between the marker handles.
Setting up selections and looping is not possible for recording.
Do the following to decide whether you want to play back or record in fullscreen mode or in the Preview window:
7.
Check the “Fullscreen” checkbox if you want to utilize full-screen mode.
If you want to play back or record in the Preview window, leave the box unchecked.
8.
Click the button, now re-labeled “Less”, to close the expanded dialog.
M
ANAGING RECORDINGS
Deleting a recording
To delete a recording from the Event Recorder, select it and either press
[ ]-[Delete] on the Mac; [Ctrl]-[Delete] under Windows., or select
“Clear” from the Edit menu.
Saving and opening recordings
There are no special methods needed for saving and opening recordings.
All recordings in the list are part of the Synth file and are saved and opened with it.
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R
ENDERING A
P
ERFORMANCE TO A MOVIE
ArKaos VJ allows you to render a recording into a QuickTime movie or a
Windows Media Video movie, with or without accompanying audio. Movies of these formats can be played back from a number of applications, including ArKaos VJ itself.
To render a performance to a movie, proceed as follows:
1.
Open the Event Recorder and select the recording you wish to render.
2.
Click the Process button in the Event Recorder window.
3.
If you’re running under Windows, select if you want to render the Performance into a QuickTime movie or a Windows Media Video movie by clicking the corresponding option in the dialog that appears (this is not an option under Mac OS, which always renders to QuickTime).
The Process dialog appears.
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4.
Click the “Setup” button.
The Setup dialog appears. The options in this dialog are identical for both platforms
(Windows and Mac) and video formats (QuickTime and WMV).
5.
Select the movie size and the engine speed.
What movie size (resolution) and engine speed (frame rate) you should choose depends on the system from which you plan to play back the movie. The higher the rate the better the quality, but large movies recorded at high rates also require more processing power.
6.
Optionally activate “High quality rendering”.
When this is activated, internal rendering is performed at twice the specified movie size. The size is then reduced to the specified when the movie is actually converted to QuickTime or
WMV, and anti-aliasing is performed in the process. The advantage of this is that the level of detail will be higher, giving better movie quality. The drawback is that the rendering process will be slower.
7.
When you’ve made all settings, click “OK”.
8.
Click the “Format” button
This opens a dialog with format and compression options. Set up the options as desired (see below for descriptions of these), then click “OK”.
9.
When you’ve made the desired settings, click “OK”.
10.
In the Process dialog, click “Make”.
A standard file dialog appears.
11.
Specify a name and a location for the file, then click “Save”.
ArKaos VJ now renders the Movie and saves it to disk. The performance is played back in the
Process dialog, and a progress bar informs you about the process.
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You can click the “Close” button at any time during the rendering process. This will interrupt the rendering, but will leave you with a QuickTime movie containing everything that has been rendered so far. You can therefore use this as a “preview” feature.
Format options
The Format dialog that opens when you select “Format” in the Process dialog contains various compression and format options for the movie to be rendered. The actual contents of the dialog depends on the selected movie format and what version of QuickTime or Windows Media you’re using.
Regardless of which movie format you use, choose the compression method and make settings with care, depending on the media and computer system from which the movie is intended to be played (CD-ROM/ hard disk, slow/fast computer, streamed/downloaded over the Internet etc.).
QuickTime
For QuickTime movies, the dialog that appears is provided by QuickTime - not ArKaos VJ. Therefore, all of the available options will not be described here, but just some general considerations and tips for making format settings. For detailed descriptions of all the QuickTime parameters and compression formats, please refer to the QuickTime documentation.
• If you want to produce movies of high quality, you should use a very small amount of compression, in which case the Animation codec is the compression method of choice. Note, however, that if you use a low compression rate for the movies, the system from which you play them has to be very fast.
• If your system isn’t fast enough to play movies that are only lightly compressed, the
Cinepak codec is generally the best compression method, producing movies that are small in size and can be played back very fast (although the actual compression process may take a long time).
• If you want movies of small size (if you want to create a “.kos” file for Internet distribution for example) you will have to use a large amount of compression. The recommended compression method in this case is the Sorenson Video codec, which produces great compression without giving up on quality. However, the compression and decompression of movies with this codec takes a rather long time.
• You can include audio in the rendered file if you’ve added an audio file in the Event
Recorder - either during recording or playback (see
cluded audio will increase the size of the video file considerably regardless of which compression format you use.
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Windows Media Video
The Format dialog with Windows Media 9 installed.
You can either use preset compression profiles or manually specify every parameter for the compression in this dialog. If you’re not very familiar with
WMV parameters and options, it’s a safe choice to use a Preset Profile.
These are very varied and geared towards a number of different purposes - everything from low quality video for Internet streaming to high quality, uncompressed 32 bit video.
If you want to use a preset, just click the “Preset profile” radio button and then select a profile from the drop-down menu.
If you instead want to specify all parameters manually, click the “Custom profile” radio button, and make settings as desired.
See below for descriptions of the available parameters.
The “Video” section allows you to choose a video codec to use for the compression, and make quality settings for it.
Select the desired video codec from the drop-down menu.
Windows Media codecs are always available for you to choose from. However, video codecs other than Windows Media codecs will also be available and possible to use if you have any installed on your system, and as long as they are compatible with Windows
Media. DivX codecs, for example, are not compatible with Windows Media and will therefore not be available.
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The Quality slider allows you to set the desired bit rate for the movie. Drag the slider to the right to increase the bit rate.
The higher the bit rate, the better the quality of the movie will be. Higher bit rates however also mean larger movie files.
The field “FPS” lets you specify the number of frames per second at which the movie will be played.
The frame rate - the number of frames per second - just like the above mentioned bit rate, determines the quality of the movie but also affects its size. What frame rate to use depends on what you intend to use the movie for. Different media use different frame rates:
• 8 mm film has a frame rate of 18 fps.
• 16 mm, 35mm and higher film uses a frame rate of 24 fps.
• NTSC video (north american standard) adopts a frame rate of 30 fps.
• PAL/SECAM video (european/french standard) utilizes 25 fps.
The field “Keyframe each x frame” is used for specifying the keyframe interval.
Keyframes are larger frames, which basically serve as reference points for all the subsequent frames, and the keyframe interval determines how many number of frames there should be between each keyframe.
• Shorter intervals (lower number of frames between keyframes) result in more keyframes, and can create smoother playing movies, especially if there is a lot of rapid motion. More keyframes will however also increase the file size.
• Similarly, longer intervals (larger number of frames between keyframes) result in fewer keyframes, and reduces the file size. This can work if the movie doesn’t contain a lot of rapid motion and changes.
• A keyframe value of “0” will create only a single keyframe at the beginning of the movie, and no other subsequent ones.
Note that the keyframe interval also affects the frame seek time - how long it takes to “jump between frames” when using fast forward or rewind on a video player. The more keyframes, the shorter the seek time.
With some video codecs, you will be able to use “variable bit rate” for the compression. However, not all video codecs support variable bit rate. If a selected codec supports compression with variable bit rate, the “Use VBR” box will be available in the dialog.
Compression with variable bit rate can be used to keep the bit rate down and create a smaller file without too much compromise to video quality.
When you compress with variable bit rate, the bit rate fluctuates depending on the complexity of the performance being rendered. The more complex the perform ance, the higher the bit rate will be.
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To render with variable bit rate, do the following:
1.
Click in the “Use VBR” box in the dialog to put a checkmark in it.
This specifies that you want to use variable bit rate.
2.
Specify a desired average bit rate with the “Quality” slider, as described above.
This serves as a guideline, or base, for the variable bit rate.
3.
Choose between “Unconstrained” and “Constrained”, by clicking the corresponding radio button.
The difference between these modes are as follows:
• With “Unconstrained” VBR, the bit rate is allowed to fluctuate above the specified average bit rate if the material requires it, and there is no limit for how much above the average the bit rate is allowed to fluctuate. The bit rate will however be kept below the specified average whenever possible, and is therefore at least somewhat constrained. Bear in mind though, that if you use “Unconstrained” VBR, the resulting file will most often be too big to be suitable for streaming over the Internet.
• With “Constrained” VBR, even though the bit rate fluctuates, it will never be allowed to exceed a maximum limit of three times the average bit rate you specify.
The bit rate will therefore be kept within constraints to make the video file smaller.
The Audio section allows you to choose an audio codec and a format. If you have added audio to the recorded performance in the Event Recorder
), the audio will be included in the rendered movie, and the audio codec and format is used for compressing the audio and determining its quality and channel configuration.
Note that included audio will increase the size of the movie file considerably.
Select the desired audio codec from the drop-down menu.
Just as with video codecs (described above), Windows Media Audio codecs are always available, but you can use audio codecs other than Windows Media codecs as well, if you have any installed on your system and as long as they are Windows Media Audio compatible.
From the “Format” drop-down menu, select the desired format.
There are a number of different formats for you to choose from, all of which affect the quality and the size of the audio. Possible options available to take into consideration when deciding on a format include: Bit rate, sampling frequency, resolution and compression method
(constant or variable bit rate).
Note that only codecs and formats applicable to the actual audio source are available on the menus. That is, if the audio for example is a 5.1 surround WMA file, only codecs and formats that support surround audio files will be available - not codecs and formats that only support stereo or mono audio files.
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Addition (Copy Mode)
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ArKaos VJ
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Event Recorder
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Morphosis
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PlanetWorks
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Vortex
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Windows Media Video
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Yin and Yang
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Key Features
- Visual synchronization with music
- Real-time visual control and playback
- Extensive visual effects
- Advanced Patching system
- MIDI control and sequencer support
- Performance recording and rendering
