select your keyboard from the menu on the left. this might take some trial and error – when you find it the yellow button next to the menu will flash when ever you hit a key. mine’s “Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad 4″.
choose your MIDI output settings. “from midipress 1″ is a safe bet.
make sure your target application (ableton, FL studio etc.) has your chosen midi port active in it’s preferences.
set your velocity and note length.
do whatever! you can control any midi mappable parameters or jam as you type.
And then I made this. It’s called Archaeopteryx, it’s a MIDI controller designed with VDMX in mind and I think it’s pretty hot. I’m going to make a run of similar, smaller controllers called The Sleep Crime so if you’d like to get your hands on one shoot me an email. But for now here’s how this one came into being. Continue reading Archaeopteryx: a DIY MIDI controller
much is happening. earlier this week i released an update to VIZZable, my set of video plugins for ableton live. it’s a big update with fancy new features like GL optimisation and autoconnection(!) the auto connection code is thanks to chris gough from the jitter in live google group. if you’re into video and ableton live and maybe even max/msp, you should join us to help us test and make various awesome things.
if you’re in melbourne, you can see these plugins in action along with some button pressing, singing and jumping around when i play live at plugnplay next thursday the 28th of april at the kent st cafe, 201 smith st, fitzroy. i think i’m playing with vdmokstati, jean poole and others… bit short on details at the moment… but it’ll be awesome, i’m sure. the day after that (friday 29th) i’m playing at the builders arms with time shield, the leafs and sun blindness. i’ll also supplying visuals for the leafs and sun blindess. check the fb event! and the poster:
in other news, the dudes at projuice have thrown up a little write up about me which makes me feel a little warm and fuzzy. projuice is a media creation showing airing on abc at the moment – it’s really great seeing tutorial style programming making the airways especially since it’s pretty much favorite sort of thing to watch on the interwebs. that and videos of baby sloths.
in other, other news, i’ve been inspired by this, this and this and have decided to build a midi controller (i’ve undertaken a similar project in the past). i’ll be using the guts from two korg nanokontrols and a usb qwerty keyboard and it should end up looking a bit like this:
peeps have been quick to jump on my new little max4live project Vizzable which has been great.
I put together a quick live set to take this audiovisual automobile for a test drive:
this is going to be the format of the new Zeal live set except expect some acoustic guitar, live sampling and words that sound nice but don’t mean much.
i’ve been wanting to run video plugins since before Max for Live came into existence and Max/MSPs VIZZIE VJ modules seemed perfect as Ableton plugins. so i swapped out all the non-MIDI automatable parts and shoehorned some plugins together.
These plugins are completely compatible with the amazing V-module suite by Fabrizio Poce. These two projects have now merged to provide a comprehensive suite of video, effects and real-time graphics tools for Live. If you’d like to become involved in testing and developing these plugins please join us in this google group.
Change list
6/12/2011
V 0.9.3
Updated auto-connect v 1.0
Syphon output added to the viewr module
new midigrid device – receives midi notes and outputs white squares. originally made for the novation launchpad but will work with any midi input
new 2switchr device to toggle video between two different outputs
17/4/2011
V 0.9.2
All modules can now auto-connect (thanks to Chris Gough from the Jitter in Live google group)
All module’s preview windows can be disabled by clicking
Viewr GL optimized
Viewr can now toggle menubar in fullscreen mode
Viewr acts as a central hub to all other VIZZable modules allowing toggling of module preview windows and setting global resolution for all modules
New Previewr device, similar to viewr but without global controls or fullscreen
New Zamplr effect module
Playr has several performance improvements
Playr now properly saves loaded movie folders with live set
Clicking the Playrs name below the preview window activates a FPS meter and unique frame toggle for performance monitoring
VIZZIE preset code removed – presets can be saved in Live browser
7/4/2011
Effect modules are now bypassed when device is deactivated.
6/4/2011
All parameters can now be automated with clip envelopes
Code cleaned up
Scribbler bugs fixed
3/4/2011
All devices now connect using the same drop down system as V-module
Player now has selectable resolution
25/1/2011
all devices frozen and outputs plugged with “.” to prevent stack overflow errors
there goes 2010. zeal relocated to melbourne and good things happened! starting with what’s happening right now and working back… i’m currently in adelaide where i’m set up in a bunker, recording new songs for some sort of ep early in the new year.
My album is ranked third on a whothehell.net ”list”. It’s the second time i’ve ever been on a list and it’s still fun.
Last week my song “clouds” made a top songs of 2010 podcast on polaroids of androids. it was the first time i’d ever been on a list and it was fun.
i played alot of shows this year, all of which had secret words, many of which i can’t remember. some were:
Zeal is Melbourne based, audio-visual artist Robert Jarvis. He makes anticon-esque indie-pop-tronica, animated music videos about cats in space, performs live visuals, projection maps and makes software that enables you to do all sorts of fun stuff.
2 comments 
animation, excitement, music, video, vj 
animation, making of, max msp, midi, music, music video, software, the future, video, VIZZable, VJing, zeal 
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