Actually the whole point of QLab is to line up a sequence of audio, video files or other types of events and being able to trigger them with a simple ‘Go’ button at the exact right time during the show.
QLab was originally developed with audio in mind and has later been extended with video features so it does not have many features as VJ applications when it comes to live manipulations of images and video. But for those of us who sometimes wish for a timeline in our favorite VJ application, QLab may be an option if you set it up to run alongside your VJ app.
For our shows we typically use Modul8 and I found two ways to achieve this.

1. Capturing the video output of QLab and using it as input in Modul8. This is done with two computers – one with a video capture card such as the Blackmagic Intensity hardware or the Matrox MXO2 mini and the other computer running QLab. With this method you run some images or videos using QLab and you are then able to manipulate them live in Modul8 as you would do with any other source.

2. Setting up QLab to send midi and mapping the buttons in Modul8 so that they respond to the midi commands. This can be done using one computer running both apps or using two computers and a midi connection between them. In this scenario QLab is merely the ‘conductor’ telling Modul8 what to do. Modul8 holds all the images or videos used.

The advantage of these two methods is that you have some way of combining improvised VJing with a sequence of planned cues. For instance – as we did recently you can use the first method to trigger a series of slides containing the lyrics of a song and then use Modul8 to distort and manipulate them. Furthermore as this setup involves two computers two people are able to share this task – one person triggering the lyrics at the right time and one person adding effects. This could be done using any VJ application that is compatible with the video capture card not just Modul8.

Concrete Forest – an art project that turned into a party from Obscura on Vimeo.

The video shows the result of a fun little project we did in collaboration with artist Louise Bech Pedersen. We cut out these animal figures of a special acrylic rear projection material and used them for mapping using Modul8 and MadMapper.
Doing the mapping was trivial using these tools – it was the acrylic material itself that proved to be a bit of a challenge. The light projection properties of the material were terrific, a clear and bright image from all angles. For people like us who are used to projecting onto fabric or walls it was a joy to see the brightness of this professional screen material.
However the material was a quite brittle and cracks appeared a few places even when using a saw made for use with acrylics. And the deer lost the tip of the antlers when one of the party goers tried to bring it down with an empty vodka bottle!

video installation “Another place” from Obscura on Vimeo.

The above video documents a recent project Obscura did. Actually I was mostly on another project at the time but I followed with great interest the work that my colleagues Frederik and Kasper did here. For all of us this installation was a learning experience in using Unity 3D for mapping onto a spherical object. It took a bit of trial and error but Frederik and Kasper decided to make a workshop out of it instead of worrying too much about the finished result.
They ended up with these little creatures created in Open Frameworks which were piped into Unity 3D via Syphon. They then made a Unity app for mapping onto the sphere. A regular 3D mapped rendering would not do here, as the small boids react to the presence of people in the room via a motion tracking camera.
Using Unity went resonably well – it has a bit of a learning curve, but it definitely has potential for installations that combine live interactivity with mapping, although they ran into some issues that stem from the fact that this is created as a game engine and not a mapping tool.
We feel that we have only just scratched the surface here. In tandem with Syphon you could use Unity to map all sorts of live input onto complex shapes.

Here you’ll see a short edit of some of the scenes (with another musical score). I recommend going full screen.

Showtime from Obscura on Vimeo.

Udart – Deep space moves from Udart (Vibeke Bertelsen) on Vimeo.

What does ‘Two Way MIDI’ do?

Two Way MIDI is a module that enables Modul8 to send a midi signal back to your midi device. Two Way MIDI will keep your midi device updated with the values from Modul8 so that you avoid annoying ‘jumps’ when the current setting of your device doesn’t match the values of Modul8. Two Way MIDI is downloaded from the ‘Online Library’ menu item within the Modul8 application.

Whenever you touch a control in Modul8 or switch to another layer Two way MIDI will update your MIDI device with the current values.

Who can use this module?

This module is only relevant if you have a midi device that is designed to receive MIDI as well as send MIDI. Typically these devices will have motorized faders or 360 degree (endless) knobs with LED displays. Examples of such are Novation MIDI controllers and Behringer BCF2000.

Modul8 – introduction to the ‘Two Way Midi’ module from Udart (Vibeke Bertelsen) on Vimeo.

How do I get started with this module?

Before you start please clear your current midi map. This is not a must but it is recommended to avoid unexpected results when trying out the module. You can save your current midi map by selecting Mapping -> Import/Export -> Export MIDI map. Then remove the map by selecting Mapping -> Edit MIDI map -> Clear map. Please do this for ‘Focus’ as well as ‘Position’ and ‘Layerset + Position’ modes.

1. When you first start the module you’ll see a list called ‘MIDI Device’. Please start by selecting your MIDI device from the list. The module should now be able to communicate with your midi device.

2. Try turning a knob on your midi device. You should see some text appear at the very bottom of the module window. Eg. ‘receive: ch1 cc3 127′. This is information about the midi your device is sending to the module.

3. Now try mapping something. Click Edit, click something in the Modul8 interface. If a text appears in the ‘action’ field (e.g. ‘ctrl_layer_alpha’) you can map it to your midi device. Simply turn a knob and it is mapped.

4. Click another Modul8 control or map multiple MIDI knobs to the same Modul8 control if you wish

5. Click ‘end edit’ when you are done mapping. You should now be able to control Modul8 with your mapped knobs. Also if you change the Modul8 control the change should be reflected on the MIDI device

FAQ

Will this module work with my device?

The module is currently in beta and has only been tested with the Novation Nocturn and the Behringer BCF2000 MIDI controllers. It is designed to work for all devices that are able to receive MIDI, so it needs to be tested. Please get in touch if you have tested it with other devices.

What version of Modul8 do I need to use this module?

So far this module has only been tested with Modul8 v2.6 but it may work with older versions. Please get in touch if you have tested the module with an older version of Modul8.

What MIDI values are sent for the different Modul8 controls?

0-127 for all scalers and sliders and knobs.

For layerset buttons 0-7 is sent.

For Media set pages 0-7 is sent. (8 for the ’sp’ page)

And so on 0,1,2,3…. for all special elements like radio buttons etc.

You can see what midi values are being sent out from Modul8 by touching a Modul8 control (one that has been mapped). Look at the very bottom of the module window. A message will appear e.g. ’send: ch2 cc34 127′. The last number is the midi value. ‘ch’ is channel and the next is ‘cc’ for control change or ‘n’ for note.

How do I set up a button on my MIDI device to select layer sets in Modul8?

Look for a setting on your MIDI device to create a ‘Step’ button. So that first time you press the button it sends 0, next tme 1 etc. with a max value of 7.

You can also set a rotary knob with a minimum of 0 and a max limit of 7.

If this is not possible with your device it is possible to use the regular Modul8 midi mapping (the Mapping menu in Modul8). See ‘Can I use this module together with the regular MIDI mapping in Modul8′.

How do I set up a button on my MIDI device to select media sets in Modul8?

See above. Same method as when mapping layer sets.

Does this module work with all controls in Modul8?

No, there are some major limitations unfortunately. First of all ‘Two Way MIDI’ is not able to work with any of the controls in any of the other modules. Secondly there are also a few features in the main Modul8 interface that does not work with ‘Two Way MIDI’ (e.g. create/duplicate/delete layer).

However there is a workaround. You can use the regular MIDI mapping in Modul8 together with the module to overcome some of these limitations (your only challenge is to keep track of what you have mapped where).

What is the difference between this module and the regular MIDI mapping in Modul8?

- Module sends and receves midi. Buiit in mapping only receives

- Built in mapping has ‘focus’, ‘position’ and ‘layerset + position’ modes. Module only has ‘focus’ and ‘position’ mode.

- This module treats layer set buttons, media set buttons and other radio buttons as groups instead of separate buttons. E.g. you can map one rotary knob or button to flip through layer sets.

Can I use this module together with the regular MIDI mapping in Modul8?

Yes, it is possible to use this module and the built in MIDI mapping (the mapping menu). The same control can even be mapped in the built in MIDI mapping and in the module at the same time – but I don’t recommend this – I recommend only using the built in MIDI mapping for controls that are not covered by this module.

What are the ‘focus’ and ‘position’ buttons for?

These are buttons for switching between two modes of midi mapping. They are identical to the ‘focus’ and ‘position’ mode of the regular MIDI mapping in Modul8.

In ‘focus’ mode you map the dial to the active layer in Modul8. E.g. you map a dial to the movie speed in ‘focus’ mode. If you go to another layer your dial will change the speed of the selected layer.

In ‘position’ mode you map to a specific layer. E.g. the movie speed of layer 3. If you change focus to any other layer your dial will still control the speed of layer 3.

Why is there no ‘layerset + position’ mode?

The regular Midi mapping in Modul8 has ‘focus’, ‘position’ and ‘layerset + position’ mapping modes. This module only has the ‘focus’ and ‘position’ modes. I have made this decision as I see no advantage of building this into the module. If you need this mode just use the regular midi mapping for this.

Are my MIDI mappings kept next time I start Modul8?

The module has two options for where to save your MIDI mapping ‘Default’ and ‘Project’. When you make a mapping in ‘Default’ mode the MIDI mapping will be kept inside Modul8 and be active next time you start Modul8. If you select ‘Project’ mode and make a MIDI mapping the mapping will be kept inside the your Project file and so the MIDI mapping will be active next time you open that project.

Please be aware that if you edit the module code in the Module editor, you will loose any ‘Default’ map you might have.

Can I have a different MIDI mapping for each project?

Yes. Just choose ‘Project’ mode before you make the mapping.

Can I export my MIDI mapping?

Not directly no. You can however reuse your mapping with a small workaround. E.g. if you want to use your MIDI mapping from project A in Project B: Open project A. Project A will be in ‘project mode’ if it has it’s own MIDI mapping. Click ‘copy to default’. Next open Project B, make sure the module is in ‘default’ mode then click ‘copy to project’.

Also if you wish to back up your default mapping you can create a new blank Modul8 project and click ‘copy to project’. Your default mapping will now be saved inside the project file. You can recover your mapping at a later date if you need it by opening the project and clicking ‘copy to default’.

What happens if I have made a default MIDI mapping and then open a project that has it’s own mapping?

This is not a problem you can freely switch between your default and your project mapping. Just be aware if you are in default or project mode before clicking ‘edit’ and making additional mappings.

Can I use multiple MIDI controllers?

The module is only designed to be used with one MIDI device at a time. There may be workarounds to using multiple controllers but this has not been tested.

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Some beutiful old syphon bottles

I had a hard time finding a headline for this post. The thing is that something is happening in the VJ/visuals world that is getting me very excited. That thing is a new technology on the Mac called Syphon. At this point I think only a small circle of programmers and techies are aware of Syphon as it hasn’t yet been released. I think it’s going to have a tremendous impact on the way realtime visual apps (think VDMX, Modul8, Resolume) and visual programming environments are going to work in the future. Let me try to explain.

Update: As of today November 3rd, there is a public beta for download for Quartz, FreeFrame, Unity 3D and Jitter.

Today each visual app or VJ app is like a closed cage. You create your graphics and it is then sent to your monitor, your video projector or whereever. The output of the app is locked. It cannot be altered after it leaves the app.
Imagine you had two apps each producing a live image. Up until now there has been no good way to combine the outputs of those two apps into one image in real time. Like if you created a background in Resolume and a nice particle effect in Modul8. You would have to save one of them as a file and then import the movie into the other app. Or you would have to use a screen grabber to catch the image from Resolume and put it into Modul8 in real time, but that uses a lot of the ressources of your computer and tends to slow down the other apps if you are not careful.

So in reality most people working with real time visuals just get used to preproducing clips and importing them into their favourite VJ app. And in general you just have one visual app open when you perform live. But why should it be like this? Why can’t you e.g. have one specialized app for producing a nice 3D background and bring that into your favourite VJ app to play with? Or why can’t you bring the output from your VJ app into another specialized app that puts some final touches onto the image before sending it to the screen?

Syphon seems to bring the answer for this. It is a sort of bridging technology – Mac only – that allows applications to ‘talk to each other’ and exchange graphics in real time without any delay or loss of image quality. It only works internally in one machine at this point (I think – Syphon people correct me if I’m wrong) but it still brings a lot of potential for those who perform with visuals live.

One example of this is the MadMapper software. This is currently also in development and has not been released yet. This software allows you to use the output of any Syphon capable app as material for a mapping installation. The MadMapper allows you to split up the image into areas that can be projected onto an object. In this way you can produce your images live in another app of your choice and then let MadMapper handle the final alignment of the image onto the object.

I hope you can share my excitement here. This is just one example of why we should ‘open up the cage’ and set the visuals free. If Syphon catches on I think everybody is gong to benefit from this ability to exchange visuals between applications. My bet is that we will see more specialized applications for live visuals instead of giant VJ apps that try to include every possible feature. This is a good thing in my opinion as I think the overall quality and the number of options available will benefit from this.

This has become possible because I have joined the Copenhagen based group Obscura. Obscura now consists of 4 people Frederik Hilmer, Thea Collett, Kasper Rasmussen and myself. Obscura does large scale visual installations for events be it concerts, award shows, parties of different kinds and hopefully there will also in the future be room for a few self financed experimental projects.

Here’s two of our recent jobs

Mapping at Carlsberg, Kulturnatten 2010

Giant visuals at The Royal Library

Actually although Obscura has lead a quiet existence when it comes to exposure on the web, Frederik has been working under this name solo for quite a few years dating right back to 1998 when he started out making installations using slide projectors. Today he’s still the anchor person of Obscura with his attention to detail and dedication to inventive solutions involving many pieces of specialized gear.

Obscura doesn’t have an active blog at the moment so until further notice I’ll continue to post here on Udart. Also there’s an Obscura Facebook page (in Danish).