Open Source Solutions for Live Visuals

Don Miller / NO CARRIERBlip Festival 2009

Battle Plan Open Source Live Visuals My software Software and Hardware options Live Setup Performing Live More Information

Open Source Live Visuals Visualist? VJ? What’s the

difference? Who cares? Live versus pre-rendered Open versus closed

source From gnu.org:

› Free software is a matter of liberty, not price.

glitchNES What it does: RAM corruption causes

graphical glitches ons screen, similar to hardware circuit bending.

How you can use it live: works well as an abstract background layer

galleryNES (0.1) What it does: displays still background

images that you can swap through

How you can use it live: still images such as logos or full screen art

galleryNES 0.2 / NES Logo Program What it does: similar to galleryNES 0.1,

but adds color cycling and scrolling.

How you can use it live: as a moving foreground layer for a number of things, and for small color cycled animations.

NES Movie Player What it does: plays short movies via

bankswitching graphics in the NES

How you can use it live: play short clips straight from hardware

Software and Hardware options

NES development cartridge

RetroUSB PowerPak Emulation

Development Cart

Benefits:› Easy to switch out PRG / CHR chips› glitchNES: easy to do further

hardware bending to supplement effects

› Fun / awesome / cool factors

PowerPak

Benefits:› Easy to change tile

sets› Easy to make

multiple copies of the program with different effects

Challenges:› Looks different

than dev cart and emulation

Emulation

Benefits:› Easy to change tile

sets› Easy to make multiple

copies of the program with different effects

Challenges:› Different emulators

provide different results

Live Setup Mixer - used to mix between multiple video

inputs› I use: Edirol V4 (pictured)

Monitor – used to preview a single channel› Small, rugged, & color hopefully

Hardware:› Consoles – concerns with older parts› Computers – concerns with outputs

Projector:› Resolution, brightness, throw

Live Setup:Putting it all together

Performing Live:Quick demo

Keeping the musician in mind Beat matching and counting Mixing versus chroma keying Effects Layering:

› glitchNES› galleryNES› Logo Program› Movie Player

More information… Me:

› http://www.no-carrier.com

› don@no-carrier.com

› http://twitter.com/nocarrier

› http://playpower.org/

NESDEV:

› http://wiki.nesdev.com

› http://nesdev.parodius.com/bbs/

› #nesdev on Efnet (IRC)

References:

Programming the 6502, by Rodney Zaks (book – gasp!)

6502.org

Hardware:

› http://retrousb.com/

…and even more information… Software:

› YY-CHR (freeware tile editor)› XVI32 (freeware hex editor)› Pin Eight nametable editor: name.exe› Loopy’s ASM6 compiler (for 6502 ASM language)› Context (with 6502 ASM highlighter)› Nestopia and Nintendulator (accurate NES

emulators)