Proper Projection mapping

So in this next video, I have painted some boxes and tubes that I have lying around white, and then stacked them on top of my speaker to give a muli dimentional surface to map video onto.

As with the first example, this is all generative graphics from within Resolume Arena using FFGL.

This has given me many more thoughts as to the type of envirnmental structures that you would want to map given the chance and I'm now going to be constructing some simple wooden shapes of a fairly large size in order to place in my show space during pressy week.

Here is the video, enjoy!

I am going to spend the weekend doping more research into the FFGL platform, as I have recently applied to become a member of their closed website community for developers - hopefully they accept me!

Audio Reactive and Generative FFGL Projection Mapping

So in my hunt for the most efficient way to convey the idea of colour and sound relating to one another, I have turned back to Resolume and a platform within it that until very recently I didn't actually know existed. FFGL is a framework related to Fireworks and Supercollider, which enables the use of generative graphics from within Resolume.

When combined with the hundred or so FFGL effects that come bundled with it, you can really create an astounding number of cool graphics. The beauty of this of course is that, as I have mentioned in previous blog posts, the parameters of these Generative Graphics and Effects can all be controlled with the on board FFT analysis that can be performed with Resolume.

So after a quick Sunday morning jaunt around the Matrix (Internet), I discovered a great series of tutorials covering the basics of projection mapping in order to set up the room in some semblance of what I have previously discussed here, all be it slightly roughshod (Sunday Morning, remember?)

Unfortunately the HDMI cable I have currently is only a meter or so long, I am going to go out this week and get a 5M one so I can get the projector fully back and square in my room, enabling me to map both bass traps on either side. As this video shows, currently I only have the left side of my room going, however I feel the results speak for themselves. I must stress that, when combined with my tutorial dig, I have spent three hours on this particular mapping.

I unfortunately discovered that I could have had this operating at a much greater resolution, which is annoying, as now I have to re-do the set in 1920x1080 for maximum impact come Presentation Week. As I said though, a couple of hours and I will be back to this stage full res. From that point on, minus the time I spend on the LED side of the project and written work, I will be focusing on building that set up to the point it can be run for hours and hours without experiencing the same visuals twice.

As I suspected to begin with, I have found that so far, the more dynamic the audio signal being fed into the system, the better the results. Before watching, I feel I must post a warning that this video contains strobing lights and music of a graphic nature. See what I did there? Please excuse resolution, a new one will be up tomorrow.

More tomorrow, see ya!

Nearly There!

So nearly all the parts for the project have arrived, I thought I would take this time to give you a little photo gallery of the parts I have received. The only parts I am waiting on are the button/switch, a bag of cables, the breadboard and the MOSFETS. Hopefully they should be here by the start of next week. If they aren't, I am going to go to Maplin and pay a little more to have them on that day. Anyways, here is what I have so far.

I am going to wait until its dark later on and show you the LED strip in a dark environment. As I said its not audio reactive at present, but a brief impression of what the environment is like is important; it is already a more productive and pleasant environment to work in, in my opinion anyway.

New Discovery

I had done a little research into Arduino "Shields" before starting this. They are nifty little devices that simply plug into the top of your Arduino and are pre-rigged for dedicated projects. All the projects I had seen using them were for things like motors and other sensor rigs for motion detection etc, I had never seen any that could be of any use in this context. Until now.....

It is actually just a video that came up in the suggested videos on Youtube, at the end of the last MSGEQ7 video I posted, that put me onto this, so here it is for you to have a look at.

As you can see, this is not exactly the same implementation, as there seems to be no recognition of frequency indicated in the colour spectrum, it is definately audio reactive though. My guess is that it is on a cycle of all colours, and the frequency of the shift between them is being modulate using the incoming audio. There is no detail of exactly what is being controlled in the description unfortunately. I did however find  a place you can buy this. So dependent on how things are looking in a weeks time as to the delivery dates of some of the more obscure items on the list I just bought, I may consider purchasing this is an added extra to the project. There is also a possibility that the Youtube user (who's real name I still need to get) who is helping me on this journey, may be willing to have a look at modding his code to work for this Shield.

For now though, I am off to do some more research as the links at the end of the video above also look interesting! TTFN.

ORDERED :D

So that's it done, finally all parts are ordered and paid for, so now I just have to wait for them to arrive!

Here is a parts list of what I have ordered, followed by my invoices for them from Amazon and Proto-Pic

1 x 220K ohm resistor

1 x 0.01uf Capacitor (50V)

2 x 0.1uf Capacitor (50V)

1 x 33pf Capacitor

3 x N Channel Mosfet 60V 16A

2 x Headphone Jack Input

1 x Gate Button

1 x 1K Ohm Potentiometer

1 x LED RGB 5M Light Strip, with power supply included.

2 x MSGEQ7 Frequency Splitting Chip

1 x Plug and Play Breadboard.

TOTAL: £70.79

The rest of the reciept from Amazon is very boring, I can assure you! Turns out the order actually consists of items from 9 seperate companies! Great :3

Here is confirmation of the Arduino and MSGEQ7 from Proto-Pic.

As you can see, the Arduino was unfortunately out of stock, however I emailed them asking when it would be back in and was assured it would next week. So not long!

The price may seem quite steep, however I have bought enough components to account for both speakers, so some aspects have had to have double the amount bought.

The longest it is saying I have to wait for some of the products is mid March, which is not ideal. However the Arduino, LED strip and MSGEQ7, which are all the key players in the project, will be here by mid next week. This means that while audio reactivity in the way I intend still lays just around the corner, I can certainly get started with experimenting with working in static colour and changing colour environments.

The next task for me is going to be doing some designs of how I intend to implement the system into a studio. The working idea currently is that I am going to be attaching the strips around the left, top and right sides of my monitor speakers. These will then be covered with a curved, frosted sheet of perspecs (is that how you spell it!?). Anyways, pictures of that to follow.

Projections Update

As I am still waiting on some parts arriving for the arduino project, I figured I could use this time to make a post about where I am at with the projection mapping. though I am fully caught up on the exact process I need to do in order to complete this, along with having all the necessary software, I have discovered that for this to work properly, I am going to need to use another computer.

Well, need might be a slightly strong term. However, using one computer alone may put the computer under enough pressure to crash it, therefore inhibiting the creative process and doing exactly the opposite thing that I want to achieve. This is regardless of the power of the computer being used too, even the fastest machines running today will start to sweat after a short time of running both live video and audio rendering programs. I'm sure this problem will fade away in a few years as there is some exciting new processor developments on the way, however for now, it is safe to say if someone wanted to replicate the system in their home then they would need a second laptop.

The upside is that I am not talking about anything extreme. You would find it easier to achieve this with two £400 laptops than it would be with one £1300 (as I know now).

Macs are a different story, however I don't have one so lets not go there for now. There was one program that was giving me a ray of hope, Jack Audio. This is a platform that CLAIMS to allow users to shuttle audio from one place to another one their computer.

Obviously in this case, I have tried to get Ableton Live and Resolume to talk, with no luck. I am going to keep at it though in the mean time, however at my next meeting I will hopefully be able to get my hands on something from the uni.

If you are interested in exploring the nedless possibilites for disappointment and confusion using the Jack Audio platform, you can find it here. Alternatively, if you found what I just said uneducated and naive, please tell me what the fack is going on!! :P

Jack Audio API

First Step Complete

So in light of the last few posts, I have gone ahead and sent an Email to UK company "Cool Components" with a component request list, as some of the things I need appear to be unavailable. However they are based in the UK, much cheaper than Maplin and do stock a LOT of components, so I am confident they should be able to help me. Here is a copy of the email for your viewing pleasure.

So hopefully they will get back to me at the start of the week. It would be nice to get the majority of stuff from one place, as it saves time and money. This maybe wishful thinking on my part, however only time will tell. I am still looking  into the best place to buy the LED's from, next post will have info on that.

Quick Audio reactive Visula demo

Here is a quick demo of some audio reactive graphics I did about a month ago. I am collecting a projector from the University today, so I will be able to start experimenting with position etc. I am pretty happy with the results so far, and I am sure I can create something even more amazing.