When it comes to controlling software, let’s put it bluntly: OSC good, MIDI bad. With OSC, it’s possible to control the array of things software might do, with easy use of high-resolution data, descriptive names in plain English (or your language of choice), a path hierarchy that makes it easier to structure messages in modular software, and smart networking features that makes assignment and communication a breeze. With MIDI, um… well, prepare for lots of mucking around.

Happily, visual software developers proprietary and open source alike have done what music developers generally haven’t - embrace OSC. Thanks to the fact that this community is unburdened by tradition and commercial development tends to involve small, responsive teams, change hasn’t been so tough.

So, visualists, it’s time to reap the fruit of that development work, and make the live performance rig work the way you’ve always dreamt it should work. Our friend Gian Pablo (check out his fantastic blog) clues us in to some recent developments with Resolume 3 “Avenue.”

Robert Heel is a visual musician who’s been creating some lovely instructional films on topics dear to the heart of a visualist.

Of special interest, A Kick A Snare A Hat. Documenting a little AV performance in Resolume Avenue.

A Kick A Snare A Hat from Robert Heel on Vimeo.

See full report…

Jim Myogenic talks to SPIN about doing live visuals with Jon Hopkins during Club Transmediale. Everything about these visuals looks great, even from a low-res online video and chat: prominent projection behind the stage, lots of thoughtful and original content, intelligent focus on materials instead of just a chaotic assemblage of things, and what sounds like the right balance of pre-set preparation and live triggering. Jim and Jon, if you’re ever passing through New York… hope you say hi.

Jim’s setup is Resolume, both The Original Series and The Next Generation. That is, the saucy new MacBook Pro with its more powerful GPU runs the new Resolume Avenue, and the old PC runs the tried-and-true Resolume 2.x. It’s funny, as a lot of Resolume users I know are hanging on to their old sets, which I think says a lot about that tool – you live with it even as the technology ages.

Found via Resolume on Twitter.

Part of what makes Resolume Avenue so compelling as a live visual solution is that it can mix, mash, and loop audio alongside video, in ways often resembling Ableton Live. But that, of course, doesn’t make Resolume nearly as deep a live sonic tool as Ableton. So, to combine two great tastes – live video in Resolume Avenue, plus live audio and elaborate sequencing control in Ableton Live – the folks at Resolume have assembled a recipe that allows Resolume to be controlled via Live using MIDI.

The basic process:

1. Route MIDI from Resolume to Ableton, using the IAC Driver on Mac and MIDI-Yoke on Windows.

2. Make a MIDI sequence in Ableton that controls clips in Resolume.

3. Add some audio clips and scenes in Live for some live audio goodness.

4. Link parameters and sync for effects and icing.

Controlling Resolume Avenue with Ableton Live

This does nothing to stop a fantasy I’ve heard other folks discussing of late: imagine if we had an OSC (OpenSoundControl) sequencer? OSC is by nature time-based as a protocol, and you could even still sequence MIDI events (using MIDI over OSC) – or arbitrary events that wouldn’t be restricted by overly rigid event types like the MIDI Note? Does anyone know if such a thing has been tried? (Maybe it’s time to write one.)

Live Plus…?

That’s not to take away from the beauties of Ableton Live in this sort of setup. Combining Live and visuals, whether to add audio or sequence visuals or both, has been an ongoing theme on this site.

Live + Resolume (like the above tutorial, but + Ethernet) Tutorial: Ableton Live + Resolume with MIDI Over Ethernet, Free on PC (Linux, Mac Soon)

Live + Isadora + Max + The Karate Kid: Karate Kid AV Remix – and a how-to using the awesome Lucifer plug-in (which could also be nice with Resolume): AV Cutup Secrets: Using Lucifer & Live

Live + Isadora: Ableton Live + Isadora: Slicing, Syncing Audiovisual Tutorials

Live + VDMX: Toby *spark and Live Cinema: Ableton and VDMX, Soundtrack and Narrative

Live + robotic mirrors on projectors: DMX For Dummies: Controlling iCue Robotic Mirrors with uDMX and Ableton Live

Live + Jitter: Christopher Willits on XLR8R with Live Jitter, Ableton Live Visual Setup

Live + robotic cameras: Interview: Josh Cardenas’ Robotic, Midi Controlled Cameras and tour with DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist

And one instance of Live failing to be the tool for the job, only to be replaced by Max: Progress Report: 8 Cameras Plus Vixid Plus Patching Gives Craziness (Pd would work, too, which would be nice for a Linux netbook)

Now that Bart has gotten the ball rolling for Resolume, though, I suspect we’ll see a lot more ideas for combining Resolume Avenue with Ableton Live, or using Avenue as an audiovisual tool in itself; it just makes sense. If you work up your own setup or add your own twist after following this tutorial, let us know!

You know the ideal audiovisualist setup: two PCs, one running sound, one running visuals. But connecting those two machines can be less than ideal. Enter EthernetMidi, a completely free implementation of MIDI over Ethernet. It’s Windows-only for now – the Mac has its own free MIDI-over-IP implementation built into the OS. But there’s reason to root for EthernetMidi even if you’re not a Windows user primarily: the project is open source, and work on a Mac and Linux version means this could be the first tool to allow MIDI-over Ethernet between different platforms. (Pay no attention to the “LinuxSampler” name – they need a new moniker.)

Showing off how powerful this can be, pure_angles has put together a detailed tutorial for combining to favorite tools, Ableton Live and Resolume.