Open Broadcaster Software

Open Broadcaster Software is free and open source software for video recording and live streaming. Supported features include: Encoding using H264 (x264) and AAC. Support for Intel Quick Sync Video (QSV) and NVENC. Unlimited number of scenes and sources. Live RTMP streaming to Twitch, YouTube, DailyMotion, Hitbox and more. File output to MP4 or FLV. GPU-based game capture for high performance game streaming. DirectShow capture device support (webcams, capture cards, etc). Windows 8 high speed monitor capture support. Bilinear or lanczos3 resampling. Syphon in and out   https://obsproject.com

Sliider

Sliider is a simple yet usable application for VJing with webGL and other interactive web based graphics. Stream content from web pages, crossfade between two streams and/or output to Syphon to share with other applications. Mouse control of webpage preserved. It works on Mac OSX, Windows and Linux. Embedded Chrome browser. 99% of what works in Chrome will work in Sliider. full screen output A <-> B crossfader Load html files from disk or the web Syphon output for the OSX version Control panel with sliders and buttons Drag and click in the scene with the mouse   http://udart.dk/2013/11/01/introducing-sliider-vjing-with-a-web-browser/

Pixel Conduit

The “Swiss army knife” of visual effects and live video processing. Everything in PixelConduit is designed for realtime performance and high color precision. With its flexible user interface and advanced extension possibilities, PixelConduit is at home in any scenario that deals with video, whether it’s live effects, dynamic video installations, or post-production work like compositing and workflow automation. PixelConduit includes over 90 different image processing operations that support High Dynamic Range imaging (floating-point color) everywhere throughout the rendering pipeline. All the built-in tools such as blue/green screen keyers, various color correction tools and high-quality blurs can be combined without limitations thanks to Read more

Museum of Obsolete Media

A great online resource that catalogues current and obsolete formats for Film, Photography, Video, Audio, and Data http://www.obsoletemedia.org/film/

Flickering/banding of displays shot on video and how to fix

Your film, 1994 Computer Lab, is in post-production. While reviewing the dailies, you’ve noticed a big problem. The CRT monitors in every shot have fat, dark lines scrolling vertically on their screens. No worries: You have a billion-dollar budget to work with, so you’ll simply rename the film 2014 Computer Lab and reshoot all those scenes with LCD monitors. But what’s this? There are no lines on the screens anymore, but the LCD monitors look like they’re flickering in your footage. Will you need to rename the movie 2034 Computer Lab and develop futuristic monitor technology to use in the film? And why don’t any Read more

Guide to Projectors for Interactive Installations

Guide to Projectors for Interactive Installations http://www.creativeapplications.net/tutorials/guide-to-projectors-for-interactive-installations/   Video projectors are one of the most important tools for creators of interactive installations. The information for projectors is available on various websites, but this 2 part guide will focus on their use in production and interactive environments. Part 1 will focus on the projector as hardware(lenses, lumens, surfaces etc), and part 2 will go into more details on the software and calibration considerations. This will gather some of that disparate knowledge into the important bits you need to make informed decisions about creating a high quality experience. They vary in scale Read more

Final Cut Pro X myths busted

When Final Cut Pro X was released, a thousand editors suddenly cried out in terror. Far from being silenced, however, the noise continued as a rolling grumble, audible as background noise to this day. At release, FCP X was far from perfect, but it’s changed. While many (not all!) of the feature gaps have been plugged since release, there is still hear the same old criticisms levelled against it. To halt further misinformation, here’s rebuttal to a huge list of perceived, overheard, incorrect criticisms of Final Cut Pro X, and a few workarounds and solutions to genuine issues.   1. Read more

Innovation in documentary- MIT

Defining documentary has never been easy, all the more because of different cultural traditions. The English-speaking world often looks back to the British documentarian John Grierson’s definition of the form as ‘the creative treatment of actuality’ — a useful phrase that he first used to describe Robert Flaherty’s Moana, but one that inadvertently wedded the documentary project to the linear narrative. Other cultures have used other descriptors, embracing radically different types of filmmaking in their understanding of the documentary. Today’s interactive documentaries compel us to revisit our assumptions. We take an expansive view of documentary, and are above all interested Read more

Syncstarter – alternative video playback syncer

http://nimk.nl/eng/syncstarter Introduction In the video art field there are many artworks requiring the real-time synced playback of audio/video. We develop free and open source digital video syncstarter software to distribute and exhibit multi-channel video artworks requiring synced playback of multiple videos on multiple screens. The tradition of syncstarter development was initiated by René Coelho in Amsterdam (Montevideo, 1980); Since 2005 digital syncstarter solutions are developed in the Artlab to continue the artisanal tradition of syncing videos using computers. We emphasize the freedom to share and re-use the digital code we produce: all our software is licensed as free and open source (GNU General Read more

Graphics eXpansion Modules – split computer channel into several screens

Matrox DualHead2Go and TripleHead2Go external multi-display adapters let you add two or three monitors to your laptop or desktop computer. They connect to the video output of your system and use its existing GPU to provide high quality, uncompressed graphics and video across all monitors. These little black or silver boxes are perfect for bringing multi-monitor functionality to computers with only one monitor, such as systems with integrated graphics or no available expansion slots—or closed systems that have already been validated. Connect two or three monitors to your system to see more, do more Support VGA, DVI or DisplayPort™ monitors Read more

Free Motion Detector App for Media Artists

http://www.zachpoff.com/software/video-trigger/ Attach a camera and trigger sounds (and more) whenever occupancy is detected in six user-defined areas of the video image. You have complete control over the playback logic and signal routing. Surround is supported. (If you want to trigger a video instead of sounds, see my other app,Video Triggers Video.) I designed Video Trigger for artists who want to experiment with interactivity without building custom hardware or software. It aims to answer the question that I hear from many of my students: “How do I make a sound play when somebody walks by?” The answer often involves micro-controllers (likeArduino), or software (like Processing, pd, vvvv,Lily, Isadora, Read more

Free Single-Frame Animation & Time-Lapse

SingleFramer is a frame-capture application for animators. It captures individual frames from an attached video camera, either manually or automatically (time-lapse). You can turn on “onion-skinning” to see an overlay of your previous frame as you compose your shot. You can also “onion-skin” an existing movie so you can match your setup from one day to the next. (Useful for school situations where you might need to break down borrowed equipment between shoots.) Basic functions can be controlled via Applescript. (see the included scripts) SingleFramer supports NTSC and PAL cameras. (Sorry, no HD cameras and no digital still cameras.)If you’re looking Read more

Chroma Key Live

http://www.zachpoff.com/software/chroma-key-live/ Free Real-time HD Green-Screen Software Chroma Key Live “keys out” selected areas of live video, allowing a background to show through.  It features Syphon I/O, HD resolutions and full GPU acceleration. A few years ago, some of my students were doing a green-screen shoot and needed to visualize the chromakey while shooting, so their actors could see the composite while they performed. We didn’t need the advanced features of professional software like Veescope, Wirecast, BoinxTV, VirtualEyez, or Visual Communicator so I made my own solution. Chroma Key Live performs a basic realtime chromakey on your computer screen, in SD or HD resolutions, with adjustable tolerance Read more

Multi-Point Keystone Video Player

http://www.zachpoff.com/software/multi-point-keystone-video-player/ A simple (free) “projection mapping” tool for distorting video during playback. Stretch your image to fit into corners, ceilings, or other complex shapes. The simple “keystone” adjustment on video projectors can fix vertical alignment problems, but sometimes I project video in odd places that require horizontal keystoning, diagonal keystoning, or even multi-point distortion (especially for corner projection). Multi-Point Keystone Video Player is a tool I made for these special situations. It combines a movie player and an “extreme keystoning” engine. QuickTime movies play in a continuous loop and you “pin” each corner to an arbitrary location via the mouse. Read more

MultiScreener – free video playback sync software

http://www.zachpoff.com/software/multiscreener/ MultiScreener is a set of free applications that synchronize the playback of Quicktime movies on multiple computers, using a local network to tie them all together. (It can also sync multiple movies on the same computer using multiple monitors.) It is intended for multi-channel video art, video walls, trade shows, and digital signage. I wanted an artist-friendly alternative to the expensive combo of industrial DVD players (Pioneer DVD-V7400, DVD-V5000) and Dave Jones Design sync boxes. Those systems are fantastic, but MultiScreener provides synchronized multi-channel video playback using commodity computer hardware. How It Works There is a Server and a Client. The server plays a Read more

BrightSign Video Mac Sync Scripts

http://www.zachpoff.com/software/brightsign-video-sync-scripts/ Background My MultiScreener software plays Quicktime movies on Mac computers, using ethernet to keep any number of computers playing in sync. It works great (and has been used around the world by artists, galleries and museums) but computers are expensive, complicated,  and inherently unreliable. Inexpensive media players (like the WD TV series) are often used for looping presentations because they play most HD formats and have no fans or discs to wear out. But they can’t do multi-screen synchronization (except via HDSync replacement firmware). BrightSign makes industrial media players that support network features and complex interactivity. For multichannel video presentations, the $350 HD220 player is perfect. Read more

SYNCHRONATOR ColorControl is a device for mixing two channels of audio into an RGB Triphonic signal

SYNCHRONATOR ColorControl http://synchronator.com/colorcontrol.html The SYNCHRONATOR ColorControl is a device for mixing two channels of audio into an RGB Triphonic signal. Its output is to be connected to a SYNCHRONATOR < audio to video > device in order to create a composite video signal. The ColorControl has two controllers for hue and two sliders for setting the saturation for each input channel. Depending on the hue and saturation settings, the signal is proportionally divided over the RGB Triphonic outputs. Unlike regular audio equipment, which works fine for sound within the hearable range, the ColorControl can handle frequencies up to 4 MHz Read more

100 Open Source programs for Audio and Video

Open source applications make it easy to create, listen to and view digital audio and video content. Animation 1. Blender Replaces: AutoDesk Maya Suitable for professional use, Blender is a 3D animation suite that offers modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, video editing and game creation capabilities. It also features a customizable interface, and it can import and export from a wide variety of file formats. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X. 2. Art of Illusion Replaces: AutoDesk Maya Art of Illusion isn’t quite as polished as Blender, but its developers claim the latest version (released September 2013) “is both stable Read more

Converting a 16/9 sequence into a 4/3 video

This is an old post from Larry Jordan, FCP instructor NOTE: This process changed since this was posted. See the update at the bottom. When working with PAL just use DV PAL settings in place of NTSC Tom Porett, from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, writes: I enjoy your newsletter greatly – thanks very much.   I have a question about converting a 16:9 format to 4:3 in letterbox format (with bars). If there is an issue of the newsletter that has that info I’d appreciate it.   I am uploading work to Google video and they require Read more

The RGBDToolkit – open-source 3D capture for video

The RGBDToolkit invites you to imagine the future of filmmaking. Repurposing the depth sensing camera from the Microsoft Kinect or Asus Xtion Pro as an accessory to your HD DSLR camera, the open source hardware and software captures and visualizes the world as mesmerizing wireframe forms. A CGI and video hybrid, the data can be rephotographed from any angle in post.

Your New TV Ruins Movies – settings to use or not use on LCD screens

Prolost Maybe you got a new TV for Christmas. Or maybe you just got one recently. Maybe you are thinking of buying one. Whichever is the case, take heed: your TV will try very, very hard to make whatever movies you watch on it look not just bad, but aggressively, satanically, puppy-drowningly bad. TVs are designed to do one thing above all: sell. To do so, they must fight for attention on brightly-lit showroom floors. Manufacturers accomplish this in much the same way that transvestite hookers in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district do—by showing you everything they’ve got, turned up to Read more

Popcorn Maker: a drag-and-drop tool for mashup interactive video

Sunday at the Mozilla Festival in London, Mozilla launched the 1.0 version of their new Popcorn Maker tool, a free web app that makes video pop with interactivity, context and the magic of the web. Popcorn Maker makes it easy to enhance, remix and share web video. Using Popcorn Maker’s simple drag and drop interface, you can add live content to any video — photos, maps, links, social media feeds and more. All right from your browser. The result is a new way to tell stories on the web, with videos that are rich with context, full of links, and unique each Read more

Inexpensive Plugins And Effects Packs For Final Cut

Add a nostalgic look to your next movie using Nostalgia Suite ($49). Choose from 10 vintage color presets or even create one of your own. Add a natural, organic lens flare to your footage with the included Flare Builder, a powerful light flare tool. Choose from 13 different real light flares. Control the opacity and color of the flares to give it a strong or subtle look. Nostalgia also comes with a choice of 4 different slide effects and a slide sound effect. With Screen Stitch ($49), you can choose from 36 different split screen effects right from the convenience of your Read more

free seminars on web development and digital publishing

Noble Desktop has been teaching courses in web development and digital publishing since 1991. They offer comprehensive day and evening classes and certificate programs in web design, web development, digital publishing, print design and photo retouching. Check out their free seminars on web development and digital publishing. Just this month they have seminars on state of the art web design techniques, as well asresponsive web design.  

Fantastic Sources for Free Soundtrack Music

ccMixter Music Discovery: Based on the ccMixter community site of CC-licensed remixes, samples, and songs, this resource has instrumental music, playlists, podcast music, and more than 1,000 free tracks that can be used in commercial projects. Netlables at the Internet Archive: This section of the phenomenal Internet Archive hosts music from small netlabels, many of whom put their entire catalogs under Creative Commons license. From exotica to indie rock to deep house, there are neatly 2,000 “sub-collections” of music with hundreds of tracks each. (And if you’re looking for true public domain music, the Internet Archive’s massive Audio Archive is where you want Read more

HD TV streaming (industry level solution)

The RayV Grid is the worlds first telco grade HDTV Delivery Network over IP. Designed specifically to serve the world’s most sophisticated content providers, we stream for telcos and networks tens of millions of hours of HDTV every month to millions of viewers in over 150 countries. RayV is the most robust, scalable and secure network for delivering high quality video on the web.

tips for recording police / in public

This article is USA focused, but the general tips (i.e. not the legal ones) are useful for anywhere http://gizmodo.com/5900680/7-rules-for-recording-police

EMS Xtreme4vs – run many displays from one mac

EMS Xtreme4vs Introducing the new Xtreme4vs Dual/Single-Link DVI Video Wall Controller/Splitter Stand-alone unit with up to 4K x 4K input source Inputs: DVI/HDMI, Outputs: 4x DVI-D or VGA   The EMS Xtreme4vs is a stand alone display wall controller that accepts a single-link 1920×1080(DVI-D or HDMI) or dual-link DVI input up to 4K x 4K and can flexibly display this across four output monitors. Each output can be driven as DVI or analog RGB and can represent an arbitrary crop region of the original input image.  The output resolution and frame rate does not need to be related to that of Read more

Digital Artists Handbook: Working with digital video

Working with digital video is part of many artistic disciplines. Besides single screen narratives, video productions can range from animation, multiple screen installation to interactive work. Still, many aspects of digital video can be traced back to the history of film. The interface of a timeline editing software such as Cinelerra shows a multitrack timeline, a viewing monitor, a bin for clips; echoing the setup of a flatbed table for editing celluloid. PDF: Digital Artists Handbook: Working with digital video

Video multi-screen sync across LAN

Create dazzling multi-screen presentations with ArraySync, the network QuickTime synchronizer from The National Software Laboratory. Play QuickTime content across multiple displays attached to one computer or over a local area network as if it were coming from a single video source. ArraySync is the ideal solution for event designers, trade shows, exhibitions and conferences. ArraySync is completely scalable, and can run entirely on hardware you already own. Synchronize two displays or a hundred! ArraySync’s performance is limited only by the capabilities of your hardware. Effortlessly create video arrays without specialized hardware. ArraySync makes it easy to build a multi-screen video Read more

Free DNS When You Need It

Dyn’s legendary free DNS service allows you to create a hostname that points to your home or office IP address, providing a easy URL for you to remember anywhere you have internet access. Dyn also provides update mechanisms for making hostnames work with your dynamic IP address, delivery of your DNS records to five DNS servers in five Tier 1 bandwidth datacenters around the world, fast propagation/reliable static IP caching for DNS TTL values and more. Website: http://dyn.com/dns/dyndns-free/

FLV players for your website

The OS FLV Player is an Open Source, embedable player for Flash native video files. The player provides a large amount of options that can be changed in the embed code. Also provided are a code generator written in javascript, a library of PHP functions and, of course, fully open source code! Website: http://www.osflv.com With over one million active users, the JW Player™ is the Internet’s most popular open source video player. It supports playback of any format the Adobe Flash Player can handle (FLV, MP4, MP3, AAC, JPG, PNG and GIF) and now supports HTML5 too. Additionally, the JW Player™ Read more

Syphon

Syphon is an open source Mac OS X technology that allows applications to share frames – full frame rate video or stills – with one another in realtime. Now you can leverage the expressive power of a plethora of tools to mix, mash, edit, sample, texture-map, synthesize, and present your imagery using the best tool for each part of the job. Syphon gives you flexibility to break out of single-app solutions and mix creative applications to suit your needs. Syphon provides an ecosystem for sharing imagery between applications and new media development environments. Syphon is designed to be efficient and will Read more

booru WebCam software

booru WebCam 2.0 will assist you in capturing images from your web camera, publishing them on your homepage, archiving them on your harddrive or storing them on the Internet. The program makes it easy to apply effects such as picture and text overlays to the camera image. The main purpose of booru Webcam is to increase the fun factor and usefulness of webcams! Party Cam: Use your web camera as a party cam, documenting the party to your local hard drive. You can later on look through the archive to find all the highlights from yesterday’s party. Or why not Read more

Rear projection film

Vikuiti Rear Projection Film uses the same micro bead technology as in 3M’s rigid screens but with a flexible, self-adhesive film that can be applied to windows or transparent partitions. It’s easy to cut to shape and size, is fast and easy to remove, and can be integrated with other window graphics.

Final Cut Pro – Killer Secrets

Final Cut Pro Killer Secrets is a collection of tips, techniques and reference material that I’ve learnt, discovered or stumbled upon since 2003. The book is written primarily for Final Cut Pro 6 but virtually all the tips will work in earlier versions. Whether you’ve been working with Final Cut Pro for five months or five years. PDF: Final Cut Pro Killer Secrets