Music lovers now have Max for Live coming later this year. But how about running custom visual patches inside your VJ app? That’s now possible using your own Jitter patches inside Cell DNA, Livid’s new, lightweight live visual tool.

Livid has released a “DevKit” with some example patches and documentation to get you rolling if you’re a Jitter user. Of course, if you’re a hardcore Jitter user, you may be happier just to build your own app anyway, but if you want to access some effects conveniently, this could be quite nice.

And once an app is opened in this way, all kinds of new things are possible:

Your patch could be a processor of video. It can use shaders. It could be an audio player - just latch the DNA knob to the volume! It could be a video synthesizer that completely ignores any of DNA’s video sources. It could even be an automator that just sends messages to various components of DNA (check the Network.pat in the Extras folder for an example of how to use messages to control DNA). The possibilities are endless, really.

DNA DevKit, via Cycling ‘74 forums

Cell isn’t alone. Off the top of my head, some other possibilities for adding custom effects, filters, and other powerful options include:

• FreeFrameGL support in Resolume Avenue 3, VJAMM, Salvation for custom OpenGL-accelerated effects
• 2D/CPU-bound FreeFrame effects in Isadora, ArKaos, vvvv, Modul8
• Quartz Composer patch support in VDMX

The FreeFrame stuff is especially promising, as it could become a real standard format that works across tools.

I expect I’m forgetting about some other options. Which functionality do you use?

Previously:
Livid Cell DNA: Simple, Networkable, Multi-Headed VJ App, And Spiritual Successor to Grid?

Bart from Resolume has posted some details of the release of FreeFrame 1.5, including OpenGL-based FreeFrameGL:

FreeFrame 1.5 Release

Here’s why it makes us smiling, happy visualists:

• Open and wide: It’s open, and supported by multiple hosts (the creators of VJamm, Resolume, and Salvation all contributed to the 1.5 team)
• GPU, go! It gives you GPU-powered goodness, meaning more flexibility, power, and speed for 2D and 3D effects alike
• More pixels, more frames: It runs at higher resolutions and frame rates
• Third Dimension: It supports 3D functions and pixel shaders for joyous new eye candy
• Timing: A timing function allows time-dependent visual effects like particle systems and physical simulations (tasty!)
• Developer-friendly: Sample projects (Microsoft Visual Studio, Delphi, Xcode) and source should help get coders up and running — and the coders then turn out goodness for you non-coders
• User-friendly: If you don’t want to code, you can expect lots more awesome plug-ins for your VJ app of choice.

Join us in CDM Labs: If you’re interested in joining a special CDMotion team working on additional documentation and sample projects, give me a holler. Otherwise, stay tuned.

Pictured: one of the Resolume team’s plug-ins in development.

Anyone up for doing the Death Star?

Its been an opportune few weeks for visualists in Europe, with a spread of three festivals all with their own take on the field. Here’s a quick tour through the eyes and itinerary of one *spark.

• Late at Tate: The AV Social; 4th April
• NODE08: Forum for digital arts; 5-12th April
• Mapping: VJing and Audio-Visual Festival; 10th-20th April
• Vision’r: Festival VJ; 17th-20th April
• Resolume 3 & Freeframe 1.5
• On the horizon: Visual Berlin and Live Performer’s Meeting

Those of you not on the mailing list for Resolume missed a double bombshell coming this weekend at Paris’ Vision’r VJ festival.

Big story #1: open visual plug-in standard gets hardware savvy. the official release of FreeFrameGL 1.5 will happen, hosted by Resolume’s Edwin and Bart and VJamm’s Russel. FreeFrame is already a big deal; it’s an open plug-in format for visual effects, a bit like VST for visuals, except open-source instead of chained to, ahem, Steinberg. (Music folks know why that’s annoying.) With OpenGL support in FF 1.5, FreeFrame plug-ins get hardware-accelerated visuals.

Big story #2: a new Resolume will be revealed soon. This weekend we finally get to see what’s in the future for Resolume, the cult favorite VJ app on Windows. It’s a preview, but it’s good news, and it’s a year and a half in the making according to Resolume’s makers.

I was trying to explain to someone why Resolume is still important. "But it looks toy-like, like the rest of them," they said. "But there’s all this stuff hidden, this quick access to basic techniques," I said. I do believe that. Of course, I may be even happier with what Resolume 3 brings.

Hey, happiness is mixing visuals with a Mac in one hand and a PC in the other…

We hope to have more details on Resolume 3 and FreeFrameGL 1.5 for you soon.

Anyone in Paris at Vision’r? Take photos, take video, write some quick thoughts — we’d love to hear from you!