I’m working currently together with DocF1lt3r (ali macdonald), to use blenders game engine in a vj setup.
we are investigating the ideas of Julian Oliver and Jan Mucska to use OSC (Open Sound Control) messages to get in and out of blender. So either control sound by 3D objects, or use sound to animate blender in realtime.
we are using blender in conjunction with pd (puredata), where pd is doing the part of sound analysis/generation.
anyone interested in having a look at what the general idea is, might want to download our first example:
the example show how to move objects according to sound input, where pd is converting the audio signals to messages, send them to blender, and blender is moving objects according to the messages received, all this in realtime.
This is only a proof of concept, it just shows the possibility and is badly coded (in blender as well in pd).
Anyone interested in participating in the further development is generally welcome.
oh man I have been trying to find someone to do this for a long time. KEEP IT UP the possibilities are SICK!!! I have also always thought blender is so comprehensive why not add in VST support, open source synths, a midi roll and sequencer for full audio/video capabilities.
can you make the music tap into arrays through python?
there shouldn’t be a problem putting the values into arrays, neither on the blender side, nor on pd’s side.
eventhough vst is not currently on the list of supported software, osc (open sound control), is already incorporated into lots of packages, have look at:
the range is from language integrations, like java, ObjectiveC, python, perl, ruby, smalltalk, over WebApps, like PHP, Flash, Director, to Apps like Reaktor, Traktor, Intakt, EyesWeb. Even hardware is already there that sends OSC messages, like Toaster, EatherSense, Gluion or others.
So we hope that ones the blender integration has matured a bit, the impact might be big.
How can I save these move to Blender IPO ??? In Blender’ze 2.42a Record Game Physics to IPO didn’t save these move to IPO… I want use these move to renderable animation…
this sounds like a complete new topic, which might have to go to PythonScripts.
The PhysicsToIpo feature is C-Coded, and has therefor other possibilities than we have when working with python in the GameEngine.
It’s still two different things, what’s available under the GameEngine and what’s possible to do in Blender in general.
What you request might be done by a python-script, running from blender in normal mode, not the GameEngine. So there wouldn’t be a realtime preview.
But I think it’s a possibility, if one wants to record OSC messages, or values to IPO’s. It’s just out of the scope of our current project …
Which actually doesn’t mean that there is no other coder interested in such a script/plugin. Or that there might be the possibility that we care to work on such a script, after we finished our Goals with the GameEngine.
I think many Blenderheads want this features: OSC to IPO !!! This would be very powerful for animation… I will hope that this will be possible in near future…
VST and MIDI implimentatoin into Blender would be a tru God-send. Blender is extremely, EXTREMELY poor when it comes to audio work! I can see a day when Blender swallows Adobe Audition, Premiere, Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, Flash, Macromedia Director, Cubase, Reason, Pro-Tools… all of it.
Can you imagine the changes to the world of technology if one community could match the work of the top commecial products in one software application?
It can happen. We can make it happen.
I’m an audio guy myself. I’ve been working in studios for many years; and I’ve just in the last year started making serious money with Blender. Don’t get too excited, not “too” serious. I know it’s kinda taboo to talk about how much money you make, but who cares, this is for the communities benefit, and anyone thinking of taking Blender seriously… I recently did an animation that payed £500 GDP. You can watch some of the animation at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dea32NvvBHU.
I’m also working on VJing software a lot at the moment. My friend runs a festival so the opertunities to get involved are spiralling. Add to that the fact that I have met Rorschach and Ashsid, and various other people from the GameBlender irc channel on freenode.net, I am learning so much from all of you guys and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Here’s some of the VJing work I’ve been putting together:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fhLtcUihnM
In this following piece… You can see how I implimented Ashsid’s Blender Video Texture for the game engine, attached my webcam, and made a motion-normal-map in real time. This is all real-time guys… check this stuff out!!!
Guys… we’re making serious progess. And Blender is getting better and better all the time, Lets get together and put Blender forward as a SERIOUS VJing and Audio tool.
[INDENT] CALLING ALL AUDIO PROGRAMMERS!!! CALLING ALL VEEJAYS!!! WHERE ARE YOU?! [/INDENT]
the power of recording to IPOS is nice but you could always just record off a video out on your graphics card or even just film the screen if you wanted. Anothing thing would be rescripting the new game engine for live multithreaded performance for physics or liquid on the fly… i do realize what a ridiculous task that is but maybe in a couple of years. osc sounds awesome, I thought it was more like a programmable synth environment like supercollider, but this sounds like it’s an interchangeable format. I was almost thinking of trying to do a midi to XML script and then XML into python, but I can’t really program, so…
I have a sweet live vj box I got a huge discount - the korg kaoss entrancer - takes any video input and does live time stretching and sampling, with other touch-pad effects and the full audio kaoss pad effects. it’s nice
I can see a day when Blender swallows Adobe Audition, Premiere, Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, Flash, Macromedia Director, Cubase, Reason, Pro-Tools… all of it.
I can already see the day that with opensound control and jack, blender is already linked to a lots of free software that basicaly do the same things that all that big-monney-proprietary software you cite … I think it’s still need some time for all these apps come realy to the point you can easily teach and install them , but if you got a professionnal studio, it’s already doable with some work. Look at ardour.org for the sound app, puredata is neat for controll and behaviors (can also in/output midi if you need), lots of realtime sound plugins are usable (including some VSTs) …
for my sens blender only need a realtime video plugin in linux for beeing complete (realtime render-to-texture and ffmpeg-to-texture) … I had a coder that was ready to help (porting Ashsid plugin) but he got too much worries with his other job for insurance company… and no more time to give to this…
I would put a bounty on that feature if some coder needs that for helping …
I was working last year on dev-testing a big software/hardware machine that was doing all that incredible stuff and more, (multiscreen (2 to 16), 4 video input, 3d scenery with video, audio analysis, midi and DMX in/out, realtime video effects, etc… ) better than the Arkaos one … (http://www.woaw.biz)
And i’m sure that blender can come to some range to that level, with openness compensing the high-end-specific-code-that-speed-to-hell of that kind of system …
Blender is a 3D modeling/animation/rendering platform. IMO.
If you need 3D for VJing, I think its best to render it beforehand, and its easy, too. Plus you wont have problems with processing power or potential instability (crash during a live performance is always embrassing IME).
and of course it’s a game engine, at least it is excellent for prototyping games, interactive 3d or even vj-tools. it may also be a vr-tool, and it has big potential to be an artists tool for interactive installations.
sure, stability is always an issue.
but u are missing the point, i can’t predict as a vj what the dj plays. so its only playing loops with some videosctratching or effects in software like Grid Pro, but its no interactive music visualisation, which is the main goal here.
no pro-vj would be embarassed even by a freeze and reboot, cause he would have a mixer, a second laptop, and probably even a camera at hand. Shit like this happens always, even with dvd’s and a video-mixer purely. And even if you use only a camera obscura, scratching that, it might go up in flames :).
so don’t be so pessimistic … it’s pure joy so far. and i’m sure it will be also at a live-performance.
btw. already did performances with blender and sound-animation, didn’t had a problem there.
I´m in the early stage of porting the application (and adding realtime 3D features) in Blender/Python.
Great to hear about the OSC implementation! I´m off to download the demos
rorschah - yeah, a backup for a backup is what you need to have. Had a crash and then a program malfunction on my first real public VJing event for a band. That was nasty!
Filt3r thats some really excellent work, ive been using blender and maxmsp to vj with but havent produced anything as clean as your work!
As for using Blender simply as a
modeling/animation/rendering platform
i think its really important that we dont just use Blender for what its designed to be used for, this way we can all push the advanced of Blender in different ways- feeding off each other:)
Anyway you guys seem to be prgressing really well- if you need a hand with any of the pd osc side then id be happy to help as i want make my own program woth opensource stuff rather than max and it would be good to learn.
Also if any of you are about in Brighton on Saturday ill be Vjing at a new electronica/mashup night called PAUSE- just a bit of shameless promotion there!
Hey friends…
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