I got into LZX video synthesis around 2016 and after generating trippy stuff by synthesising I got more interested in shooting video and processing it with my setup.
I don’t have anything like that to show yet but I’m constantly working on an audio-visual project with a friend of mine and also in the process of shooting scenes for my own short-film that will be processed with a Rutt-Etra style patch, captured straight from the oscilloscope.
This subject is not discussed much here so I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to create a thread for it.
It would be cool to hear any experiences, aspirations and thoughts about workflow from others as these things are somewhat obscure.
If you’re interested in LZX stuff the chromagnon would be a great starting point, when it comes out.
A stand-alone video instrument.
With your current setup it would be possible to not only have audioreactivity but also videoreactivity, having the video luminance for example modulating your synths.
I’m very interested in video synthesis but have been intimidated by the seeming complexity of it. I’ve considered trying to pickup an Eyesy to experiment with it, but they no longer seem to be available.
Can you say a little bit about what a minimal eurorack based LZX video synthesis setup would look like, and what you could do with it?
No experience whatsoever in this area but planning to download a trial of Videosync for fun and experimentation. The Ableton integration and familiarity with the design i.e. mirroring Ableton devices, appeal.
Yeah. I have a couple of old TBCs, a Video Toaster, some ancient video mixers & effects boxes, Amigas with genlocks, cameras, weird digital disk recorders, etc.
Always tempted to get into the LZX land so I can stop fooling around with this dying Amiga hardware, but I haven’t put that much thought into it yet. I’d want to make sure I can at least duplicate what I already am most excited about, which is live keying. LZX always have listed their TBC as “coming soon” if I remember correctly? Is it available yet?
What I miss most with Eyesy is it doesn’t have a genlock input, so it would require going through a TBC to sync to other equipment.
I’ll maybe post some clips of feedback things I’ve done, etc., someday soon. Please record something and do the same!
It’s a bit difficult at first but as the LZX stuff is so well thought out there is no need to be an engineer or anything like that.
The basic setup really can be anything you want it to be but the main modules would definitely include a mixer, some oscs, a wave folder, a keyer, input and output modules etc.
I started making my own music/video pieces when the pandemic hit. Started off strong but over time I’ve slowed down a bit. Now I do one a month - first folks to see are the ones in my Patreon and then mid-month I put the piece on YouTube. It’s been a lot of fun to work on these!
Believe so! And their Chromagnon timeline has just been updated as well, looks like things are wrapping up more quickly there as the individual modules in the platform have been released and are maturing.
Their newest generation is coming out and at least you’ll have a more mature platform once you seriously consider it.
Edit: Just got an email-
TBC2 shipments are ongoing. There are precious few available from the current production. Get one now, while you still can!
Cool! I used to be able to trigger fun stuff on Lumen from my DT.
Lumen was fun to experiment with, but sadly it wasn’t supported when I upgraded my Mac to M1.
Been wanting to get it into analog videosynth, and even bought a cool Gieskes device some years ago. It would be cool to have a hardware device that could be mangling video live (with presets to go from).
I started with an Erogenous Tones Structure (which - to my mind enables a rather easy start - and can go super deep) and added a second Structure to my case soon.
My current setup:
Structure for geometrical stuff and shapes.
Super cheap Amazon security cam filming my setup from top
Composite Media Player (Amazon) or - much cooler: Sony Hi8 Camcorder.
I use Syntonie CBV 001 (Video Distortion) and CBV 002 (Video Delay) to distort and to glitch the video signal.
Structure (here I use the video input). Structure is AMAZING at stabilizing at stabilizing glitched signals, where most mixers end with a blue screen.
All sources are mixed down on an Edirol V4 Video mixer.
First, I started to use an upscaler + Black Magic capture device, but switched to re-scanning a Sony PVM CRT, which I like much better from an esthetic point of view.
I also had a look at Lumen (but did not want to work with a midi controller). Most LZX modules were not available (nevertheless: Chromagnon is really tempting).
Everything depends on what you want to do in the end
Here a link to stuff I currently finished (EP and performance Videos plus glitch art).
Videos of the entire EP to be added soon:
I do a bit of live mangling using an Octatrack. My laptop is only used for video stuff (and capturing stereo audio) so it feels like a reasonable 'hardware’ish video setup with Lumen and OT. Real video hardware just consumes so much space in comparison.
