VJ Fader Releases 38 Free VJ Loops

This retro-inspired color-on-black loopset is a great starter pack. 282 Megabytes worth of 640×480 PhotoJPEG Quicktimes.


Preview of the loops in action in a live set to Fabric 38 M.A.N.D.Y.

Created by VJ Fader using the 3D-Stroke After Effects Plugin.

Download Page || Direct Download

3L Beta Giveaway: artificialeyes’ Generative Performance Tool Nearing Release

By Jaymis

It’s been 2 months since artificialeyes announced their new Mac-only visualist tool 3L ("Thrill"). The ae guys have just pushed out a new beta release, updated the 3L manuals, posted a new features page with screenshots, and the word from Michael is that the commercial release will happen as soon as they have the infrastructure in place for selling it.

To further whet your appetite, over 100 free VJ loops created with 3L have been posted to archive.org:

Free VJ LOOPS created with 3L
3L VJ Loops Series 2
Free VJ Loops created with 3L Series 3

3Lsampler01thumbs

… and leading by example, they have also released two content DVDs on VMS. These feature content generated almost entirely in 3L and are designed to be used with the VMS Video Moving Systems.

Hungry? Well, how would you like a main course of "Free 3L Private Beta" to go with that? artificialeyes have provided CDMo with five invitations to give away. The beta group is currently under 50 people, so this isn’t your average web2.0 style "put it out there and call it a beta so we don’t have to make it stable" software release.

Before you go putting up your hand, however, there are some conditions. Most importantly: You’ll need a machine which is capable of running 3L.

2.33GHz Intel based MacBook Pro or Mac Pro running:

  • OSX 10.4.1 or later (leopard included)
  • Quicktime 7.2 or later
  • Minimum screen resolution 1440 x 900 pixels
  • 2Gb RAM
  • 256Mb VRAM ATI or NVIDIA video card

If you can tick those boxes, then all you need to do is leave a comment on this post (edit: Entries are now closed. Winners will be announced on Monday). Entries will be open for 72 hours, then we will randomly select 5 people to join this exclusive group of visual visionaries beating their graphics chips into submission. Those who have been chosen will receive a beta invitation, and the others will receive an invitation to join the 3L mailing list (opt-in, of course).

If you miss out, don’t fret. The pricing for 3L - €200, €150 for students - is very competitive, and I’m sure that artificialeyes will keep us in the loop on their release progress.

Refresh: Asides

Free VJ Clips: MoRpH Releases First of Series on Archive.org -

Australian VJ MoRpH is planning to release a pack of free videos each month leading up to a European tour in August. CDMo readers may have seen some of MoRpH’s work projected on buildings in the intro to our VMS video. The first pack is now available on Archive.org (Screenshots here). (Update: Follow-up pack released).

If you’re still looking for some more free stuff, then also mentioned in the VJForums thread is VJVault, which currently contains 900 videos for download (sign up required).

Lots of Free Video Footage from Resolume

Free video loops from Resolume

Speaking of free footage … Bart, from the terrific indie Windows VJ software Resolume, has posted bunches of new, free footage to their site:

Resolume Footage Archive

Lots of good stuff, from abstract to found. Of course, all of this raises some questions: will you be spotted using recognizable footage? (I’ve certainly been at parties where VJs picked up on this.) The rules here should be pretty simple: first, use footage effectively, rather than just looping it indefinitely. Second, share enough footage that VJs worldwide have a big pile upon which to draw. Third, shoot some of your own footage.

All that said, I’ll admit that having some stock footage around is really useful when learning VJ software, trying motion graphics effects, and so on, so even if you don’t use this in a set, it’s handy to have.

Thanks, Pedro!

Got favorite sources for footage? Let us know.

Previously:
Free Vintage Fairlight VJ Clips
Free Resolume Handbook, Archive.org Video Loops
More Free VJ Loops: 8Bit, Vectors and Textures from Analog Recycling on Archive.org

DVJing: Pioneer Wants You to VJ with Pictures of Their Gear

Pioneer DVJ clips

Even as some visualists try to distance themselves from DJs (ahem), the notion of a “DVJ” — taking steps toward integrating VJing more closely with DJing — is gaining traction. It seems to be far, far bigger in Europe than here in the US (surprise). Pioneer, for one, is actively pushing VJing in Europe, even though we don’t hear much from them on this here in the States.

The Pioneer DJ site, in fact, has loads of free VJ clips and tutorials, some of which are decent:
Free DVJ Loops

Most amusingly, though, their most recent addition: loops of floating, rotating pictures of their gear. Um… no. Unless you want to hire us to VJ Pioneer-sponsored events, in which case, we’re in. Here’s a suggestion, though, why not vintage Pioneer equipment? That might be cool.

The Pioneer blog itself, especially devoted to being a videolog, is actually pretty good. So welcome to blogging, Pioneer, and hope you’ll stop by. Even if we’re likely not VJing with giant pictures of CDJs…

“Product Spins” loops
DJ Sounds Vlog [Pioneer DJ]

Free Resolume Handbook, Archive.org Video Loops

Perth VJ Kat (one third of VJzoo) at the helm of her Resolume rig.

We’ve said it before, but worth mentioning again: Resolume, with its super-clean interface, reliable performance, and support for extras like Flash files and open FreeFrame video effects, is bar-none our favorite Windows-based performance. It runs nicely even on my old Pentium M Toshiba laptop, and powers Jaymis’ globe-trotting tour with rockstar Bobby Flynn. If you’re looking to get into the program, Kat Black from visualist trio VJzoo has some good news:

Thought your readers might find this useful - we’ve released the handbook from our courses last year free for personal use. Covers the basics of PC-based VJing using Resolume, making loops etc. Linked off the forum at http://resolume.com or from our site http://VJzoo.com

Featured: Basic PC-based VJing techniques, VJzoo’s perspective on VJ-ing, Creating your own VJ loops, Formatting content for PC-based VJ-ing and using Resolume v2.3.

Introductory Manual to Resolume [PDF]

Here’s VJzoo setting up their rig and rocking Sevilla, Spain, because churches totally get me hot:

And even if you’re not on Windows, you can reap the benefits of the Resolume peoples’ generosity on free media treasure-trove Archive.org:

We’re in the process of uploading a bunch of clips to Archive.org, although geez it’s exhausting. I’ve been working constantly for three days to upload two new batches of clips. So far, only one works:

http://www.archive.org/details/68_Urban_Vector_VJ_Loops_by_VJzoo

The other ones… Argh.. Maybe in another day or two, will let you know. None of them are as weird as our vintage CVI clips - although thanks for even being nice about those ;)

In case you missed them, you can catch the full set of CVI clips:

Glitch, Synthetic and Real: Free Vintage Fairlight VJ Clips, Glitch in Jitter

Hope Kat will forgive me for posting that whole email, but it brings up a good point — Archive.org is great, but maybe we need a new, faster service for uploading visuals. Would you be willing to pay for such a service, if you could pay a flat fee for uploads and then use bandwidth freely or cheaply?

Australians: If you happen to be in Perth, Australia — and, really, if you’re anybody, I’m sure you are — VJzoo is at the center of the Perth audiovisual scene. (The scene does sound genuinely awesome. How many hours does it take to fly from Melbourne or Brisbane to Perth again? Might have to drop by and see more of the continent.)

Visualist Nerds Rejoice! Battlestar Galactica Video & Music Released for Remix and Mashup Action

By Jaymis

The SciFi channel has released some chunky packs of footage, music and sound effects, and invited web users to remix and create videos. Ostensibly this is a competition, with the winning video airing on the channel during a future Battlestar episode…

Which I’m sure will be lovely for whoever wins. I don’t really care though, because I’m seeing a swathe of great A/V mashups and theme remixes appearing in the coming months. I can guarantee that there will be Battlestar breakdowns appearing in the next gig I play with Segue21.

The videos are available in AVI and Quicktime, with both Land and Space clips represented, and there are handy “download all” links. The Quicktime packs are bigger (higher quality?), so I’m getting those: 733MB all up. They’re not really anything you couldn’t get from your own DVD collection, but it’s great to see a TV channel being proactive about remix culture. Hopefully next time they’ll give us alpha-matted effects comps of bluescreen shots so we can bring the actors and explosions into our own work.

Download Site.

Via BoingBoing

More Free VJ Loops: 8Bit, Vectors and Textures from Analog Recycling on Archive.org

By Jaymis

Following VJZoo’s awesome Glitch Pack on Archive.org, Analog Recycling have followed up with another mega-pack of 79 free VJ loops.

Analog Recycling 79 Free VJ Loops

There’s some attractive stuff here, and the Archive.org video player thing is a great addition, but 368×288? Obviously nobody’s going to look this gift horse in the mouth and pronounce it a little on the small side, but if you’re going to release your content for others to use, you might as well release it in a format which is going to look great on screen.

via Resolume Forums.