Cell and CellDNA v 2.5

November 7, 2011
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Today we’ve released version 2.5 of both Cell and CellDNA. Version 2.5 builds on the same core architcture of previous version, and also adds a lot of functionality, features, and integration. One of the main features that they both share is a powerful SQLite database built into the browser so producers can tag, comment, and search for clips on any drive for immediate recall and playback.

CellDNA has some extra control features. On OSX computers, the output can be sent and received via Syphon to other Syphon-enable software for projection mapping or additional mixing. Networking is built-in allowing for multiple computers running multiple screens. For Ableton Live users, the free CellDNA-Control Max for Live plugin provides tightly integrated video with their audio tracks, using audio, MIDI, automation, and controller data from Live to remotely control CellDNA on the same machine, or over a network.

CellDNA can also be expanded by users by using the intuitive visual programming environment, Max from Cycling74. All effects and extras in CellDNA are open source and can be modified by the user, or used as an educational tool. Video and control patches can be created using the CellDNA SDK, offering an unprecedented level of user customization.

Both programs feature extensive MIDI integration. A user-editable template system means any Livid MIDI controller and the Akai APC20 and APC40 can be plugged in and mixing instantly. More controllers will be added throughout the year. Up to six MIDI controllers can be mapped to almost anything, so any pile of controllers can be turned into a sophisticated video mixer.

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Cell DNA’s Max for Live Devices

March 28, 2011
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We’ve seen a lot of iterations with mixing realtime audio and visuals in the past ten years. Our controllers for one are built as generic  ”instruments” for media mixing, and there are many different uses from Live to Resolume. The marriage of visualist and musician in one software package (or one person) hasn’t really materialized on a large scale yet. Up to this point our own VJ software Cell and Cell DNA work well with our controllers and Live, but we wanted to take it a step further and make them work well in Live.
We’ve built a suite of Max for Live devices to go between Ableton Live and CellDNA video software that can expand your musical ideas into the visual realm. CellDNA VJ software is incredibly easy to use, with a big grid of 64 clips (with 32 presets, that means over 2000 clips to play with!), dozens of OpenGL effects, live camera input, live video sampling, recording, and is even extensible with Max 5 patches. With these devices you can totally control your visuals within Live, and let your music completely control the visuals.

With Livid CellDNA and our Max For Live devices, you can turn Ableton Live into your own automatic VJ. 

  • Use your controller in Live to trigger video and effect
  • Link audio clips to video clips
  • Use MIDI clips to sequence videos
  • Use audio from your tracks to play clips and control visual effects.
  • Collaborate with your VJ over a network
  • Control multiple computers for multiple screens.
Cell DNA’s Max for Live devices are free and can be downloaded from the downloads section of lividinstruments.com. If you don’t already own CellDNA, you can install and try the demo on your computer. If you are ready to dive in and learn all about it, take a look at the extensive tutorial on our vimeo page.
We’re also offering a special right now on CellDNA to celebrate this release – use the coupon “maxfordna” when checking out from our online store.
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Video Serendipity Through BPM Sync.

September 30, 2010
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CellDNA Video Mixing application iconI’ve been tightening up some the BPM-based features of CellDNA (which were fairly loose and buried), adding a “BPM” family of effects. Of course, using these effects is as easy as turning a knob. The more the turn, the faster the time division of the BPM. These effects are:

  • BPM_black
  • BPM_Effect1
  • BPM_Effect2
  • BPM_Effect3
  • BPM_Effect4
  • BPM_jump
  • BPM_reverse
  • BPM_rndclip
  • BPM_xfade
I made a test video, just to see how things are working out. They are working, so I’m posting this!
In this video, I use these BPM_ effects to (mostly) automatically generate a music video for a track I made last week to demo the Code controller. The individual clips are mostly unremarkable, but the fact that everything is happening in sync makes it seem worthwhile:
Here’s the workflow. It’s so sloppy and easy, it’s insane:
Since I know the BPM of the track is 92.7 BPM, I set that as the BPM in CellDNA (though I could have tapped it in, too). I hit “play” on the track (using the track in Soundcloud ). I hit record in CellDNA, then set the BPM_ effects to something like this:
CellDNA BPM sync'ed effects for VJ and video editing.
The greater the knob value, the faster the time division of BPM. With these settings in the picture, it’s changing clips sort of slowly, every 2 bars, but jumping to a new frame fairly often, maybe every beat. The “BPM_reverse” effect just toggles the REV button.
I played with these knobs a bit while recording, did a couple of manual FX tweaks, and used the “BPM_Effect4″ knob to automatically change Knob 4 every once in awhile.
I stopped recording after a few minutes, clipped out an arbitrary two minutes of audio from the track (using Audacity), making sure it started on beat, then faded the start and end of my two minute chunk.
I then trimmed 2 minutes of video from the recording in Quicktime MoviePlayer Pro.
Next, I opened and copied the audio in QTMP, and finally added it to the trimmed video in QTMP (Edit->Add To Movie).
Voila! A music video that looks like someone spend a LOT of time editing it. With a better selection of clips, and more attention to effects, this would be a really cool video.
One of the really nice things is that the video is rendered frame-by-frame. If the video gets to be too much for the computer, it doesn’t drop frames, it merely adjusts time. During recording, it may seem to drop frames, hiccup, and not go fast enough, but when you watch the end result, the sync is perfect to the BPM, and all the frames are there. If you are on the stage performing, and aren’t recording in render mode, then everything stays in sync according to a realtime clock. Either way, you’re covered.
I look forward to getting this in your hands!
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Choose your Poison.

April 27, 2010
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Livid Ohm for PoisonAs a build up to something we are announcing next week, we’re going to be revisiting a bunch of our custom controller work that we’ve done over the years. Since we have close contact with our customers, we very often get into conversations about “what would be cool,” and sometimes we’ll get people asking us to do finishes or layouts that we never would release on our own.
Case in point: the “Poison” controller that we did for Poison’s 08 tour for their lighting and video guy. He wanted to put the poison logo and toxic green color on the Ohm Classic and call it “his.” Since the inspiration for our wood bodies is the electric guitar, it only made sense that a classic metal band would be one of the first customers to jump on making his MIDI controller “more rocking.” We have been working for years trying to forge our own style, and it’s great when we find out that we are as appealing to long-time rockers as we are to the latest DJs!
Travis did a post-op article about the challenges and approach he took to this job, which involved making the logo durable for the road, and getting the shocking color just right.
Jay managed to score an interview with Mark “Fifi” Taylor, who shared his history as a VJ, lighting designer, and career rock and roll touring maniac.
Check out these articles and pictures to get some insight in what it takes to make our controllers!
Livid Ohm custom controller

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Ohm64 and GrandVJ Auto Mapping

January 22, 2010
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Arkaos has just released a new version of Grand VJ with support for the Ohm64. The nice people over at Arkaos have taken our controller and added native support for it by creating a template that automatically maps the controller to the software and send messages back and forth to show the playback status. Setting it up and using it is very easy, but I made a video anyway to show just how easy it is.

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