Spectacular video performance for VJs, DJs, and musicians
Arkaos has done it again with the highly anticipated release of GrandVJ! The new video-mixing software takes the art of the VJ and brings it to new place, employing a state-of-the-art, multi-threaded, hardware-accelerated graphic engine, enabling you to mix and layer video clips on the fly to make your performances unforgettable.
Performance Production Power
Synth mode stacks cells to create a visual mix. Each triggered cell is placed on top of previously triggered cells. Each cell remains active until its trigger is released. In Synth mode, the cells are directly linked to the graphic pipeline. You can map cell parameters onto an external MIDI controller for performance control.
Synth mode also contains the ability to assign a priority value to cells. When a cell is marked as priority, its placement can be assigned as:
- Foreground – the cell will be stacked on top of others currently playing
- Background – the cell will be stacked under others currently playing
- Normal – the cell will be left in the location, as it was stacked
Mixer mode enables you to select the layer to which a cell is sent. You can also designate a layer to operate separately from a cell. Mixer mode also offers layering preview, a visual equivalent of headphone cueing. You can drag visuals, sources, and effects to the layering preview to tweak to your heart’s content before your audience sees.
Keys To The Game
What really sets GrandVJ apart from other video-mixing software is its on-screen chromatic keyboard layout. Looking like a piano keyboard, you can map clips and triggers to different keys of the virtual keyboard, and then control them with any MIDI controller, including MIDI keyboards. This makes accessing and triggering a huge library of clips easy for VJs, DJs, bands, musicians, and other performers who want to add video to their shows. GrandVJ is packed with most the most popular MIDI-controller templates, including Akai Pro’s MPD24, MPD32, and MPK49.
Play It Again
The Visual Control Tab enables you to specify how GrandVJ will be your selected clip. You can set loop-in and loop-out points, adjust playback speed, and select the playback and repetition style: forward loop, backward loop, forward once, backward once, and ping pong.
Communication Is Key
GrandVJ supports most common media formats including Quicktime, MPEG2, MPEG4, Windows Media (WMV, WMA), flash text, and animations. You can input a digital camera, webcam, or video camera for adding live visual content to your performances. On the
output side, GrandVJ works with most video equipment and projectors. GrandVJ also has a large effects library, a long list of automated video generators, flash text, animation, and multiple camera inputs.
GrandVJ is outstandingly versatile with its Rewire capability. Rewire is a cross-platform tool that enables you to trigger clips in sync using MIDI notes in other music applications such as Ableton Live and Steinberg Cubase.
The screen shot to the left shows Grand VJ as the target for a MIDI output track section of Ableton Live.
The screen shot below shows the selection box in Grand VJ where Rewire support can be selected. Grand VJ's versatile connectivity makes it a snap to use with other applications.
