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I've been playing with Arkaos the last couple of months and think it is pretty great but before I drop the cash to buy it I was wondering.....How many iof you use ArKaos. What do you like about it? Waht do you disslike about is? Are there other similar programs out there? What are they and do you prefer them?
THanks, JayS.
THanks, JayS.
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Portland
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Re: ARKAOS
Mon, April 30, 2007 - 12:51 PMwhat up jay,
i love it and me and my team use it almost every weekend. we are booked through the summer so we must be doing something right. a good tip is that you can assign the same image to a bunch of keys then assign different effects to each one then delete the pictures. be sure to latch the picture on each key before you delete it. then whenever you push that key it will do the assigned effect to the current picture. so i have effects on the key pad and function keys and then just images on the keyboard. once you have established a keyboard template that you like with the effects it is easy to switch among your keyboards and everyone who uses your machine will know your layout. it is really nice once you get the template you like. well good luck.\
ttom- visionquest productions.
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Re: ARKAOS
Tue, May 1, 2007 - 5:30 PMNuVJ (which comes with a specialized Arkaos variant) or Motion dive will be an easier thing to start with
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Re: ARKAOS
Thu, May 10, 2007 - 12:58 AMHi Jay,
I would suggest that you keep your clips about short if you are using full-on raster/bitmap/video. I'm sure with vector graphics it's not a problem but I have had trouble with my clips that are pretty large 3-15 seconds and hi-res, playing back quickly when triggered. My machine is pretty fast - ( I have a iMac G5) and all the clips were on an external firewire drive. I'm not sure what kinds of clips your working with but I just wanted to give you my 2ยข.
Similar programs are the GRID by VIDVOX and MAX/MSP. There are many many programs out there that do various things. It gets kinda dense and confusing really fast. This may help a little: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VJ_%..._artist%29
There is a handy book out there that discribes these things in detail: "The VJ Book" by Paul Spinrad, I recommend it, it can be a little hard to follow but it has lots of good info in it.
Best of luck and keep us posted on what you choose!
Cheers!
Kae
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Re: ARKAOS
Mon, May 14, 2007 - 1:52 AMI dunno.
I see lots of people use Arkaos and it certainly has its merits, but I have some major gripes with it and have moved on to other apps.
My main issue with Arkaos is the interface. That this is OLD and clunky and runs like a Win 95 app.
You can't use a scroll wheel on mouse to scroll thru your clips/images/etc.
If you drag the slider in the clips area, it doesn't even update until you let go!
It also annoys me that instead of just showing you the simple NAME of your clip/image, it has to put in the full path!!
For some reason, the effects window is not resizeable, but the others are.
Gah! I know these may seem like minor complaints, but to me they really impede and decent work flow in the program. Those kind of things are basic functions that any decent piece of software should have, especially on with as big of a use base as Arkaos.
It pisses me off they just came up with an update, but didn zero to improve the look and feel of the program, but are charging as assload for slightly improved performance and a few new filters like CUBES and improved TUNNEL!
I'm sorry but that stuff may have looked cool in 1998, but it doesn't cut it now.
Rant aside, if you can make it work for you, then great!
I use Modul8 now (Mac only) and it is great. Very different program than Arkaos for sure, but it is solid, and smart and just works well. -
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Re: ARKAOS
Wed, May 16, 2007 - 11:18 AMI've used Modul8 and I think it is my fave as well. But for now I'm on a PC and I've adopted Resolume. I can't say I'm completely happy with it.
I wish it saved the global effects as well as the effect settings on the individual clips and it can be a pain in the but if you mees up your output settings. That was a major headache for me until I discovered I could dump the settings folder and restart it. But it is relatively stable once it's up and running and I have had alot of success with it.
Having three layers of vid and a large variety of freeframe plugins keeps me using it. I tried arkaos for about five minutes once. I got turned off of it that fast. I didn't like the interface or the effects. As soon as I tried a transition and it came in over black I gave up on it right then and there. -
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Re: ARKAOS
Tue, May 22, 2007 - 2:07 AMI started out on Arkoas and was a huge fan for a long time. I miss the days of my 88 key midi controller and just hitting keys with the music and getting some great effects. However, it does feel klunky and the interface sucks. I moved over to Resolume. Resolume has alot of control and power but is a little trickier to get the hang of. It does save effects placed on clips though. One of those tiny little icons does it.
My biggest problem with arkoas (and subsequently my favorite part of Resolume) was setting up my midi controllers. Arkoas I had to punch in MIDI channels and notes and it sucked, with Resolume I canjust 'learn' everything by hitting keys. -
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Re: ARKAOS
Tue, May 22, 2007 - 10:09 AMThanks for all the advice. I think that nuvj is a little to simple for me although it seems great for someone trying to add visuals to a dj gig or someone looking for a vj hobby. I will check out resolume before I totaly commit to anything. I also love being able to set up my midi keyboard and run with it.... that is a big part of what attracted me to arkaos in the first place. Thanks again for all the advice. I'll post more as time goes by. -
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Re: ARKAOS
Tue, May 22, 2007 - 6:10 PMi am guessing that the reason Arkaos is starting to feel so old and clunky and out of date is because they have been spending all their time on the NuJV with Numark. But that also means they might take what they have learned from making the NuVj work and apply it to future versions of Arkaos.
The NuVJ does seem pretty cool and quite easy to use, but it does kind of have a very basic/new VJ feel to it.
I think most experience media manipulators would get frustrated by it's limitations quickly... although as part of a whole VJ arsenal, it could be nice.
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Re: ARKAOS
Tue, May 22, 2007 - 8:30 PMI liked the NuVJ for synching audio and video together, but that was back when I was committed to using Traktor for my audio presentation. Now, it's all about Ableton, and that's changed my MIDI landscape a bit. Still the NuVJ is nice with that freakin' crossfader thingy-ma-doo...I'd love to try it.
But yeah, Arkaos is OLD. Long in the tooth. I couldn't stand it when it first came out, BUT it was the first app I ever saw someone play live with a MIDI piano. That was back in 1997 during the the Digital Be-in at 1015 Folsom. It was my first show with Dimension 7. Bob Bralove from the Dead (he was their engineer) was playing this song on the piano, and it was controlling the visuals. Really cool. Man, times have changed, and it seems like Arkaos in many ways hasn't since I first saw it back then...I grew on me due do its simplicity, but it still has remained clunky. I wish Resolumne ran on the Mac, but alas, it doesn't. The one real cool app I miss in OS X is Videodelic from U&I Software. It stayed back with OS 9... -
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Re: ARKAOS
Tue, May 22, 2007 - 8:31 PMSeems like these days if you're hardcore, you're using MAX/MSP and writing your own patches...
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Re: ARKAOS
Sat, May 26, 2007 - 1:31 AMthere is no one "perfect program", but plenty good choices.
a most of these have "free trials", so check them out
Your answer should be apparent afterward!
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Re: ARKAOS
Wed, May 23, 2007 - 9:43 AMGet both but start with Arkaos. Do not let the simple interface fool you and do not listen to fools that say it sucks because its so simple and that simplicity is getting old and dated. That is BS and people that say that are just nerds who want to be VJs. Real VJs are performers, not nerds who like geeky technology. Arkaos is more non linear in nature and will lead to more spontaneous performance presentations and does not limit you in how many layers you can blend. But, Arkaos also requires you spend more time preparing and practicing
Resolume is more linear in nature, only allows 3 layers and can be more nerdy to use. I like to forget I'm using a computer and explore the relationships between sound and movement in my clips so I tend to use Arkaos 90% of the time. I do own and use Resolume but I find it more mechanical and less organic when it come to actual performances.
My best advice is listen to performers, not computer nerds and go with what feels more natural to you as a performer, not a computer user or geek. -
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Re: ARKAOS
Wed, May 23, 2007 - 10:41 AMKevin's right.
For ease of use, Arkaos is king, which can make for a great show. I still use it for every gig. I've even hooked up a MIDI guitar to it and was stoked on what came out of those performances... -
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Re: ARKAOS
Wed, May 23, 2007 - 11:48 PMThanks guys Kevin your comments deffinitly help make me confident in my current plan. I don't mind set up, I enjoy it....but when show time comes I want to be into the music and let the visuals flow without having to be a constant computer weenie.
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Re: ARKAOS
Thu, May 24, 2007 - 5:31 AMWow I guess I'm a computer weenie and a nerd and all that other stuff Kevin said. Heh.
But you know, I config my keyboard same as I did with Arkaos (which I used for about 3 years before switching) and the same performance I had with Arkaos comes out of Resolume.
I do often feel limited by 3 layers. That annoys me. But the real reason I stick with Resolume is that it is precise and powerful enough to turn the visions in my head into reality. I know my footage, I know my effects, I know my lumakey and chromakey and alpha trans and all that, and armed with that knowledge, I have some notions about what I should be able to do. I have visions of what I should be able to produce with the tools these programs are supposed to offer. With Arkaos I was never able to get there. It was always close but never exactly right. With Resolume I can produce exactly what I think I should be able to produce. It isn't easy, but its dead on what I want. -
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Re: ARKAOS
Tue, May 29, 2007 - 12:51 AMnot to get into a battle of words here, but i do take a bit of offense to what Kevin said about "real VJs", "performers" and "nerds".
I have been VJ'ing since 1995. I used to haul around 4 fuggin VHS decks and a massive load of video tapes and my MX1 Video mixer.
I used what I could afford and what did the trick and did great for ages.
Admittedly I am a computer geek (not a nerd, by my own definition), having had a computer since 1981.
I am also a video geek.
I also purchased and own copies of Arkaos, Livid Union and Modul8.
Modul8 works the best for me. It can create with it and work with it and it works great with me and my style.
Arkaos really is great and it is a staple of many many VJ's set-up.
If it does what you need, use and be happy.
For me it is too limiting and the problems I have with it (many of what deal with the interface) really do limit how I VJ.
You should play with as many pieces of software as possible and see what works.
A lot depends on the type of clips you make and use as well.
I work in After Effects and do a lot of compositing, and Modul8 works great as a real time composer. Arkaos does not.
And by the way, Modul8 has some problems too, but they also have a great set of people who make the software who are VERY fast and responsive to technical issues and also to adding features in, which is far more than I can say about Arkaos.
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Re: ARKAOS
Wed, May 30, 2007 - 2:15 PMI'm not a VJ, but I play one on TV.
Oh hey, Sponge, btw, great show last Friday night.
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Re: ARKAOS
Thu, May 31, 2007 - 2:25 PMOver all regardless of which software or hardware camp you are in, I'd like to see more support for Vj's for one another. It sometimes feels as if there are a few on the top who have as yet not been very responsive to attempts to break into a particular scene from younger/newer/just as talented vj's. Dj's don't play all night why should vj's? The audience deserves a wider range than just what three or four people can do in a night. Even on a local level In a small area I have experienced this. One festival paid ( so i heard form a relative of a promoter) four grand for a visual artist from another continent. It's like WTF? There are people in your own back yard doing the same thing. It could be that he's got some super duper DMX light show and a ton of lasers to go with the video. I hope so for that kinda dough. hahaha.
Promoters need to look around more. If you are a promoter you should be able to find new talent and not have to pay as much for a couple of guys who think they are the be all end all of vj-ing. Look for collectives of up and coming artists.
www.rhettbice.com
