Question for VJs + Video Artists...

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
siddhu
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Question for VJs + Video Artists...

Post by siddhu » Fri Apr 01, 2005 1:37 am

Which of the VJ programs such as GRID, Resolume, or Modul8 is the "Live" of VJing softs?

I do a lot visual production (After Effects, Flash, and now Motion) and am curious to know what the word is on these programs.

High marks for me are include an elegant, ergonomic, and intuitive UI, as well as stability and fluidity of use.

Siddhu
Last edited by siddhu on Fri Apr 01, 2005 2:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

timothyallan
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Post by timothyallan » Fri Apr 01, 2005 1:49 am

I recently used resolume and was pretty unhappy with the stability. Its a neat idea for a program, but constantly crashed with dragging in new video clips and other stuff you'd like to do while doing a live show.

I was using a Dell P4 3ghz laptop with 768mb RAM so i dont think system specs were a problem...

-tim

siddhu
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Modul8 vs GRID

Post by siddhu » Fri Apr 01, 2005 3:09 pm

I did quite a bit of reading last night and the battle seems to be between GRID and Modul8.

I would love to hear thought on the strenghts and weaknesses of these programs.

Any VJ's out there with experience with these 2 programs?

MrYellow
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Post by MrYellow » Fri Apr 01, 2005 3:33 pm

I do no VJ stuff... and have no clue.....

but something I played with years ago that was cool (when my flatmate
was a game developer)....... From memory it was simple to use.......

3DStudioMax allows you to control params such as resizing objects and
stuff via MIDI. Of course you have to spend hours rendering it and it's not
real-time... but fun none-the-less.

-Ben

computo
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Post by computo » Sat Apr 02, 2005 4:44 pm

wait for grid pro whatever you do

siddhu
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Question for Computo

Post by siddhu » Sat Apr 02, 2005 5:20 pm

Hi Computo,

Do you have experince with both programs? Do you think that GRIdPro is going to be more powerful than Modul8?

I'm just curious as to why you made the suggestion that you did

:)

computo
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Post by computo » Sat Apr 02, 2005 5:33 pm

To be honest, I do most of my multimedia work on Jitter, which allows me to shake off all the fluff I dont want (which is often included in these programs)

But I have some experience with both Module 8 and Grid. Grid is nice if you are working with clips that have been editted in Final Cut or Premiere, because the regular version, Grid 2, only handles clips...no effects. This is cool, if all your videos are already made.
Grid Pro takes it up another notch (a few notches cpu wise, I think) allowing you to do all KINDS of stuff, including automate effects patterns with lfos and waves, as well as transitions, and all sorts of other stuff that is really nice and really extensive. Whats REALLY nice is that for the next month Grid Pro Beta 3 is free, so I recommend checking it out.

Module 8 is more like Grid Pro, in that it has lots of effects, a really nice GUI, good clip handling. basically everything that I built in Jitter is already there in Module 8, like an x-y grid where you can move the image around, select layers and all sorts of stuff.

I cant make a suggestion, perse, about either, other than to say that you should try them both, as Module 8 has a good demo period, and Grid Pro is free right now.

One other thing, grid pro is going to cost $250 on release -$50 with student id.

Module 8 is like 350-500...not sure....

try them out...but if you want totally custom insanity, check out Jitter also...cycling74.com

-Computo

computo
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Post by computo » Sat Apr 02, 2005 5:35 pm

I have screen shots in various places on my website of the stuff I do with Jitter...

www.computo.us

siddhu
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Super Cool

Post by siddhu » Sat Apr 02, 2005 6:11 pm

Hey Computo,

Thanks for the info. I'm going to check out the stuff on your site. I'll download the GridPro and Modul8 demos and give them both a try.

Jitter does not seem an option for me as I don't want to deal with something to complex where I have to assemble my work enviroment, since I'd rather concentrate on creating the visual content using AE, Motion, and Flash.

If you had to choose either GridPro or Modul8 which one would you choose??

:lol:

Machinate
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Post by Machinate » Sat Apr 02, 2005 6:24 pm

do you guys have any thoughts on arkaos?
http://www.arkaos.net/

I know a lot of guys who swear by it. And it's rewirable, don't know if the others are.

Anyway, I made a tiny music video with it, triggered by a midi clip in live4, using only small video clips taken with my digital camera. It didn't take me, a complete novice, more than a few hours to set up and sequence. That must say something about the ease of the UI, right?
mbp 2.66, osx 10.6.8, 8GB ram.

computo
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Post by computo » Sat Apr 02, 2005 7:15 pm

arkaos is cool, but it is limited in comparison to these other programs. I have looked at arkaos, which is nice especially for low cpu use. But when it comes to the user-customability, and professional quality interface, these others are badass.

Arkaos is really cool, dont get me wrong...its VERY easy to use, and makes assignment of MIDI and keys really nice.

but the GUI is kind of low-res, and some of the effects are sort of wierd.

If you want to run your audio and video on the same computer, arkaos is pretty good. But like I said before, if you want something that you can incorporate into your current setup, with little to no difference in cpu, look at jitter, with which you can tailor make your interface without all the dodads that crush the cpu. Its great for understanding modular synth and work and signal flow. LIke being in a classroom all the time!

Grid or Module...tough choice. I really dont know which I'd choose, though the cheaper pricetag on grid is nice. if you wany REALLY cheap, grid 2 is only $75!

AdamJay
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Post by AdamJay » Sat Apr 02, 2005 7:17 pm

Modul8 is my weapon of choice (thanks to PitchBlack)

www.garagecube.com
version 2 is going to be insane!!

siddhu, grid2 and Modul8 are really completely different programs.
Modul8 allows you to mix video clips, and add fx
The power of modul8 lies in its mixing and fx capabilities

Grid2 allows you to play back 1 clip at a time, no mixing as far as i know.
you can adjust playback speed, looping, volume, fade etc. but no fx aside from that. The power of Grid2 lies in its thumbnail layout. you can see 100+ clips on your screen. And launching any one of those HD video clips is entirely instantaneous. Its better suited for having on an extra computer and using a hardware video mixer. It definitely has its strengths, but as an all in 1 VJ solution - i don't think it works. Only if your video clips themselves are extremely powerful to begin with and/or you don't want to add fx.

Also Modul8 is mac only. and Grid2 is PC and/or Mac

VidVox's forthcoming "GRID Pro" will really be the app to watch.
It adds the FX that Grid2 is lacking, but it will probably come in at a pricepoint similar to Modul8. Modul8 vs. GridPro will be the real battle/comparison.

buzzcock
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Post by buzzcock » Sat Apr 02, 2005 8:16 pm

I'm an admitted novice when it comes to performance oriented video software, and I don't wish to offend anyone who is loving some current program or other, but I've played with several demos and found them all pretty sorry relative to what you can do in audio with a program like Live.

The state that video/vj apps are in right now reminds me of where audio & midi apps were, say, 10 years ago- before third party plugin effects existed:
A bunch of programs that vary in capabilities, all with some interesting features, none of them fully satisfying.

For me, audio software really improved when third party developers got involved. They sort of raised the bar for everyone.

I'd love to see video software developers agree on a standard for video effects and video synthesizers that could be seamlessly incorporated into whatever host you use.

Hopefully OS 10.4 will usher in some possibilities with Core Video. Video Units?
MBP C2D 2.33GHz---Metric Halo MIO 2882

dirtystudios
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Post by dirtystudios » Sat Apr 02, 2005 8:36 pm

Hey Adam,

When I read about Modul8 a while back, it seemed like you could assign everything to MIDI control just like Live. I thought you could then ghost your audio clips with MIDI clips sending triggers and whatnot to Modul8, providing you with a matching video performance synced to your audio, even if you're improvising. Is this a possibility?

k

computo
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Post by computo » Sat Apr 02, 2005 10:50 pm

No offense buzzcock, but thats not really true, as I see it.

Its the computers that are holding back video editting. maybe the number of companies and customers of vj gear mirrors the market in audio 10 years ago, but I REALLY dont think so. The fact is its a different paradigm than audio.

If you think about it, vjing is far more similar to djing, rather than music production, so actually, minus the clip features in live (which obviously would be really nice in video) there is little difference in what Live and say, module do. the reason I think they have not implemented the clip idea, is because, to some degree its not as practical as with audio.

Also, in that there is little standard for file format, this also sets back vjs, so I can certainly see how that is similar.

I always think about the way Max/MSP and Jitter operate differently, as a comparison of audio to video. One dsp module in Msp works with a list of data, while One movie module in Jitter works with Matrices of lists of data.
basically there is exponentially more data for video, which means heavy computer load compared to Audio.

Just my thoughts...this is a good discussion

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