Jul
1
Quartz Revisited
I’ve written before about the potential for Mac’s Quartz Composer to be a big time competitor to other node based visual programming environments, and this week we finally had some time in the office to get under the hood and “play” with some very exciting technology.
First, a rundown of the rig. We use two hardwire-networked iMacs each outputting 1024 x 768 to a separate DL1 moving head projector. An Avolites Pearl Expert output DMX to the DL1′s, as well as 1 universe of DMX over ArtNet to iMacs. Using Synthe FX’s Pixelnode Quartz Composer patch we were able to control our compositions using the lighting console. The result was pretty exciting, but I suggest you see for yourself with the files provided below. Our next project will utilize Quartz Composer Visualizer, which allows you to render a composition live over multiple Mac computers. This allows for seamless and extremely high resolution graphics displayed over multiple surfaces. Very cool stuff!
Our initial composition started with a Rainbow Rain Quartz composition available for free download from QuartsCompositions.com. We changed some of the parameters of certain patches (Sine wave phase, amplitude, particle color), added a webcam feed background (with color correction via DMX, of course!), and then enjoyed playing with the fruits of our labor (image below).
Troubleshooting Notes: Make sure all of your IP and subnet addresses are correct, and that your console can see the Pixelnode as a node on the ArtNet network. Check your channel patching on the console, and make sure that you are actually outputting ArtNet! We had a hard time getting this right at first, but the challenge made the result even more rewarding!
Requirements:
1 ArtNet-capable console/device
1 Ethernet switch
1 Mac computer, I recommend running 10.5 or 10.6
Quartz Composer installed (it is available on the developer tools with your Mac OS install DVDs)
Synthe FX Pixel Node, available here.
Quartz Composer Test Files with Help Text.
Quartz Composer Colors – a good way to test connections and a simple Quartz file.
Quartz Composer Rainbow Rain - Use after you have mastered the first file.