garageCube

[BKK-OZ]

I have downloaded the 2.5 demo, so far I am really starting to get convinced that Modul8 is what I have been looking for for a long time, the garageCUBE team should be very proud of what you have done.

Before I make the plunge though, I want to understand a couple of things. The first and most important is whether or not I can use an audio file as the sound input, instead of line-in. I compose my own music, but I don't perform live, so I want to use Modul8 to generate some audio-synced visual effects using some of my final mixes.

I can't find anyway to do this mentioned in the manual - am I missing something, or is this something that Modul8 cannot do?

[BKK-OZ]

uhm, hello???

[moonbase]

Hi - Happy Christmas -
Open your audio file with QT, play, loop, whatever -
set your system Audio in and output to Built-in, this is the default,
start up M8 , turn up the M8 'sound in', set something to react to sound, things should start to react-
beware as external noise will also affect your composition -
dog barking, boiler starting up, carol singers etc through the macs microphone....

If you want to try isolating M8 reaction from external sound try Soundflower and Soundflowerbed here:
http://www.cycling74.com/products/soundflower
They will appear in your system sound prefs - set them up right and you should be able to both hear your audio and
isolate M8 sound from door bells etc coming in via the built-in mic.

The best way is an external sound source (minidisk..?) going through an audio mixer with EQ,
going into your Mac via an usb audio interface, this way you can just send say the bass signal to M8.
This looks much cleaner as at the moment M8 reacts to all of the audio signal.
enjoy

[BKK-OZ]

Thank you very much for that reply.

Based on what you have said, I am not sure that Modul8 is the application for me - I want to be able to tightly sync visuals to sound files, and having to go through the mic-in/line-in scenario just won't give accurate enough timing.

Soundflower might be a way to go, but I still would worry about latency and artifacts from having to go through another application. I'll give Soundflower a try, and we'll see.

[BKK-OZ]

well, Soundflower is just not worth the hassle - it has upset some other audio apps I use, so I have had to remove it.

Surely there is a SIMPLE way to trigger Modul8 with audio from a file, so that one can sync audio-visuals tightly?

[moonbase]

Hi again -
I'm on an iBook G4 and use Soundflower/Bed all the time without a hitch, sorry you had a bad time.

Despite M8 being primarily a live visual performance tool, many of the ideas I look forward to seeing in future releases come from using various studio NLE and compositing tools - Final Cut, After Effects, where for instance it's possible to nudge a video clip forward or back along a timeline by a few frames. This sort of capability might allow the tight syncing you are looking for but is not available in M8 2.5.
To get this level of 'studio' organisation for your material in a live audience situation whilst retaining the ability to go with the flow & feel, to still 'play' the visuals, might possibly be a nirvana that Yves and Boris are working towards (my words) in the future - lots of us hope so anyway. But then they will probably come up with something amazingly different which will please me even more. Give me the unexpected.

The accurate answer to your question:

Surely there is a SIMPLE way to trigger Modul8 with audio from a file, so that one can sync audio-visuals tightly?

is no.

There are ways to make great visuals relatively easily that have certain elements of their movement, fading, effects and colouring loosely synced with audio using M8 but as far as I am aware they all involve some level of live play, compromise, trial & error or workaround.
I think M8 may not be the tool you are looking for.
In fact, whilst I'm being philosophical, M8 isn't exactly the tool I am looking for either, we all always want more.
But as a way of creating WOW visuals with what can only be described as a minimal learning curve it is way out there.

If you want to give it another go, to make it work for you, then here are a few more ideas:

Try importing an audio clip into M8 so it plays alongside your visuals as one of the layers.
M8 supports fading for audio as well as video from one layer set to another.
For this you will need to make a QT .mov of your audio with a blank video frame or two in order to play it within M8. You can't just drop audio files into M8.
Try the Logical Record facility in M8. This records the movements of knobs and sliders in the GUI as you play which can then be played back repeatedly.
It is crudely possible to amend this visual recording over and over until you have the visuals you want.
Once satisfied you can then export the video using Render Logical Record. This video can then be easily combined with your audio using QT.
There are also interesting possibilities for using midi, although that really is a bag of worms compared to audio routing. Search this forum for Ableton and Numerology references.

That's it. I;m taking the dog for a walk to clear my head.
This post is scratch and play - probably red wine flavour.
Happy New Year. )))

[BKK-OZ]

Thanx very much for your reply and those suggestions - I use Digital Performer, and it is a notoriously finicky program - great, but it sometimes doesn't play well with other audio apps.

I might try to use Re-Wire to send MIDI from DP to Modul8. If that works and there isn't any latency, or even if there is latency but the latency is consistent, I might get closer to what I want to do. Using MIDI might allow me to get the various hit-points I am after.

Happy new year to you, and the dog. I trust the dog isn't scratch and play too!

Cheers,
BK

[moonbase]

Nice one BK.
Yes, Dodger, the lurcher hound, can sometimes be a little scratchy but always very playful also, which is nice.

I've heard about but not come across Digital Performer, looks impressive; seems as if it may have some film/video capability which may be useful?

Midi is absolutely the way to go.
The number of parameters and amount of control you can exercise over M8 using midi is far above and far superior to audio.
M8 at the mo takes the whole audio signal, however you get it there, and is unable to isolate one part of the spectrum hence my suggestion about an external mixer to give you some eq control.

It may be well worth looking at the Ableton Forum, there is a hardcore of folk using that to trigger visual software & much of the thinking may be transferable.
Also VJForum
http://www.vjforums.com/index.php
for starters look for members posts from Akira (also on this forum), Rovastar, hamageddon and Hambone.
On this site searches for Ableton and Numerology have some info. I have been tinkering with Numerology to control M8 but only half heartedly so far.
I have done two live semi-improvised shows with a windsynth player & me using AudioMulch's 'Metasurface' to control both audio samples on a pc and simple parameters in M8 via a Wacom tablet very successfully. Worked very sweetly having audio reverb and M8 rotates attenuate in sync!

Good luck.
best
Gareth

[Jesper Fryd]

Why not just go for the oldest trick in the book:
Plug a cable from your headphone-socket to the mic-socket....?

[sn00ze]

Why not just go for the oldest trick in the book:
Plug a cable from your headphone-socket to the mic-socket....?

wow thats so simple it just cant work...
but it does!
good one Jesper.

[sigmasix]

and if you want to hear what's going on, you can even use this kind of shit

[VjKg]

Did you make that? Do you work in an MIT Lab? What is this "audio" thing you speak of?

[sigmasix]

it's only a minijack splitter, it exists since the discman, you can have two headset on the same portable player. With this kind of thing you can use one out to go back in sound in ant the other to listen to what goes out from your computer

[VjKg]

That what I get for trying to be sarcastic!