new to all this

[bod]

i'm new to this and was wondering if anyone can give me some tips as to what software would be best to start off with.
i was thinking about buying arkaos vj to use on a mac using system 9.
any ideas would be greatly accepted.

cheers

[rossco]

easy bod

check out the software reviews on vjcentral.com to get any idea of whats what.

[LEVLHED]

I won't say whats "best", but I would imagine Arkaos on your Mac is a great place to start...but yes, read the software reviews!

[bod]

cheers, what do you use?

[LEVLHED]

Homemade VCDs and a Rebelle.

[n0s10pm]

What is it exactly ? I've found a wierd and intriguing web page but could not get hold of what it was.

[LEVLHED]

look within these pages to find a couple of threads...
http://www.vjforums.com/showthread.p...hlight=rebelle

http://www.vjforums.com/showthread.p...hlight=rebelle


I don't want to hijack this thread....

[holly]

The first thing you notice is there are different VJ-software catagories that specialize in one or more types of play.

1) Audio-Visualizers generate realtime animations that react to the music. They usually look vector-sharp, make hi-tech psychedelic designs, and impress people for about 5 minutes until everyone realizes the computer is doing all the creative work. They certainly have their uses though, and some allow you to use your mouse or keyboard to adjust the settings live. G-Force is the best I've seen for the vector/geometric look, Cthugha gives nostalgic grunge and static, and the still-in-beta-but-WOW-I-could-use-this-all-night x/Grind simulates analog feedback on whirling text, video, and soon to be 3D.

2) Video Mixers simulate a real-world (or better than real world) mixing board giving you banks of video loops that you can crossfade and overlay. Some allow you to add effects also, but the main goal is mixing and blending 2 loops at a time. MotionDive, VDMX, and RC FUSE are all easy to learn and use on Macs, but if you've done "real" hardware mixing before you will see a trade-off in visual quality for the convenience of accessing video from your harddrive.

3) Video Instruments let you "play" video like a musical instrument. This is a little harder to explain, but they often incorporate MIDI input so you can trigger video or fx presets from a midi-keyboard or other such device. They are very "hands-on" for performance and take some skill and practice to master. Arkaos, Prophet, Image/ine, and the aging but unique Videodelic are examples for the Mac.

Hope this helps you narrow the field.

Holly.

[wellREDman]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by holly

1) Audio-Visualizers generate realtime animations that react to the music. They usually look vector-sharp, make hi-tech psychedelic designs, and impress people for about 5 minutes until everyone realizes the computer is doing all the creative work. They certainly have their uses though, and some allow you to use your mouse or keyboard to adjust the settings live. G-Force is the best I've seen for the vector/geometric look, Cthugha gives nostalgic grunge and static, and the still-in-beta-but-WOW-I-could-use-this-all-night x/Grind simulates analog feedback on whirling text, video, and soon to be 3D.
[QUOTE]
on the pc there are several free easy to use plugins for winamp, the very sound reactive mildrop , the old classic Gforce, and the hightly customisable/live playable avs
on the pay for side video jockey(vjo) seems to do many of these things but has a steep learning curve.
[QUOTE]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by holly
2) Video Mixers simulate a real-world (or better than real world) mixing board giving you banks of video loops that you can crossfade and overlay. Some allow you to add effects also, but the main goal is mixing and blending 2 loops at a time. MotionDive, VDMX, and RC FUSE are all easy to learn and use on Macs, but if you've done "real" hardware mixing before you will see a trade-off in visual quality for the convenience of accessing video from your harddrive.
[QUOTE]

pc equivalents include resolume , flowmotion and VJamm

3) Video Instruments let you "play" video like a musical instrument. This is a little harder to explain, but they often incorporate MIDI input so you can trigger video or fx presets from a midi-keyboard or other such device. They are very "hands-on" for performance and take some skill and practice to master. Arkaos, Prophet, Image/ine, and the aging but unique Videodelic are examples for the Mac.

Holly. [/B]

for pc flowmotion resolume ,vjo, and vjam all are midi compatible to varying degrees, and midivid is a dedicated midi-video soft

[BrainStove]

Excellent reply Holly ... Just on the target

Happy to see a very well informed Mac based Fembot covering all the edges of a Mac user request.

Well Bod, you just has been wonderfully served by this clever Fembot Assassin showing you the whole Mac based VJ picture.

Hehehe, indeed narrowing the field

P.S. Good notes Red on the PC side