New clip mode for launch: 'Catch Up'

[Mattijs]

Hi all,

This is a feature request I have been postponing because I was afraid that it was outside of Ableton's scope. But now that we have witnessed the official release of a plugin for video playback, this may be the right time to ask.

Lately I have been using Ableton Live for synchronized control of video, lighting and lasers for clubs and festivals. Here are two impressions:
http://youtu.be/rjLqvjrzvVM
http://youtu.be/8F9XU12n9TU

It is amazing to see how almost all of Ableton's interface choices hold up when controlling media other than music. There is just one feature that is missing: an option that, on launch, aligns a clip to the beat immediately rather than waiting for the next quantization step.

I'll explain. When performing with audio, the performer acts as the show master, choosing when to add new elements and not following along what someone else is doing. With video or lighting however, the performer follows the actions of the DJ. Since the video and lighting people are located far from the stage, often these performers are aware of an important change in the music a fraction of a second too late.

For the audience, a fraction of a second is not a problem. With the current quantization system though, starting a clip just a little bit too late means that Live has to wait with launching until the next quantization step, usually one bar, to make sure our clips are in sync.

I would like to propose a new option, called 'Catch Up', or anything more appropriate. When this mode is active, a clip trigger immediately jumps to the right location in the clip, the location that matches the clip playback position to the quantization.

Here is the scenario. Let's say the clip's Quantization is set to 1 Bar and the global time of our Live set is at 17.2.1. The DJ just dropped the beat after a 60 seconds break, but we missed our opportunity to start a heavy sync strobe clip by 1 beat. We press the launch button on our APC as quickly as we can, but we still need to wait 3 more beats for it to launch. Ouch? Not when 'Catch up' is enabled! Now the clip starts immediately, although not at the clip start. It starts at the clip start plus 1 extra beat! Our clip has started as soon as possible but is in sync nonetheless, and we will have fooled the audience into thinking we have planned the entire show beforehand.

I hope this explains my idea well enough and I would be truly excited if this addition would make it to a future release. I believe it would make our shows, and hopefully many others around the world in the future, even better.

Thanks for considering,
Mattijs

[S4racen]

Have you considered Legato mode?

Cheers
D

[Mattijs]

Hi S4racen, I hadn't! Thanks so much, also to Andreas Wetterberg who pointed me in the right direction in a private message: turn ON legato mode and turn OFF quantization.

Legato is almost exactly what I meant, and pretty much everything I need at the moment. I'm a very happy man

[S4racen]

Glad to hear it!!

Cheers
D

[Mattijs]

Hey all,

Unfortunately my happiness was short-lived. I forgot about one crucial thing: what happens when you have no clips playing in a track and you start a new one?

Legato only guarantees sync when you have another clip already running. If not, the clip is started immediately, at the starting point, resulting in all following clips remaining out of sync :p

So my feature request is back in full force: the 'catch up' feature, where clips start immediately, but determine their starting position based on the current song position, making sure they stay in sync.

Happy to hear any thoughts!

Best,
Mattijs

[S4racen]

Don't think that's at all possible.... Sorry!

Cheers
D

[Mattijs]

Hi S4racen,

Thanks for helping me think!

In that case, that makes this a valid feature request

[Michael Hatsis]

Would what ur trying to do work if u just had a blank clip always running in each track?

Mike

[hec]

Legato mode for the browser would be very good.

[Mattijs]

Just wondering if this idea has made it to any list since I posted it. Any Ableton officials able to comment?

It is still very much a missing feature for me!