Manipulating the MIDI piano keyboard visual
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2019 6:38 pm
I've been experimenting with the Magic Demo and after what I discovered yesterday, I'm pretty much set on purchasing Performer. I am a piano/music teacher and composer, and I'm looking for tools to make creative videos with and for my students and self. I plan to use both audio and MIDI as inputs.
I want to use the audio input functions of Magic extensively, but I think I have a decent grasp on how those work. It's the MIDI input that I need help with. I want to record a MIDI file of improvisational playing, and then use it to create visual effects in Magic that can be layered with/cut between the footage of my hands in my video editor. I was very excited yesterday to discover the sample projects MIDIFileExample and MIDIPiano... I thought I would need to purchase something else at first that would do that. I can tell that this will serve my needs, as soon as I get over the learning curve:
I can use the sample projects alright, but even after reading through the manual and forums and watching the tutorials, I'm having trouble understanding how to create those myself. I also don't quite understand yet how to make adjustments to the piano graphic. So here are some specific questions:
1. Starting with a blank project, how do I create the piano graphic in the magic window myself? I saw in the sample that there were two modules: "active notes only" and "inactive notes only" but when I right-clicked in a blank scene to add a module, I didn't see those anywhere to add. In the Circle Piano scene, the active/inactive modules don't appear at all; instead there are several left/middle/black/right key modules. Where do I find those?
2. I finally found "active notes only" and "inactive notes only" by using the "Search" option. They appeared in the search, but not in the first menu. Does this mean there are lots more modules available than just what appears in that right-click menu?) And, they only appear in search results if I have the MIDIPiano project open. If I open a new blank project and search, "active notes only" and "inactive notes only" do not appear. ?
3. I tried tweaking what I thought were the color modules to change the pastel colors (when certain notes are played) to something else, but it didn't change the output. How can I change the color or appearance of notes being played? Maybe all notes the same color, or notes played just glow but don't move, or they jump, etc. Is any of that possible? Can I make the piano keys do anything else when played besides change to those predefined pastel colors?
4. The Circle Piano is very cool, and I wonder if the keyboard can be wrapped/twisted in other dynamic shapes as well. How about a spiral? That spins perhaps? I think I found how to make it spin (in Circle Piano it rotates slightly back and forth). Or undulating wave? Anything like that?
5. In several demos by others, I hear examples of piano/keyboard music and graphics that (I think) are obviously triggered by "active notes only" and "inactive notes only", or MIDI note information somehow... except that, they look absolutely nothing like physical piano keys. Where do I find information on how to do that myself?
Thanks for your help and an amazing software! If I can understand how to use this fairly quickly, I'll be purchasing Performer very soon.
I want to use the audio input functions of Magic extensively, but I think I have a decent grasp on how those work. It's the MIDI input that I need help with. I want to record a MIDI file of improvisational playing, and then use it to create visual effects in Magic that can be layered with/cut between the footage of my hands in my video editor. I was very excited yesterday to discover the sample projects MIDIFileExample and MIDIPiano... I thought I would need to purchase something else at first that would do that. I can tell that this will serve my needs, as soon as I get over the learning curve:
I can use the sample projects alright, but even after reading through the manual and forums and watching the tutorials, I'm having trouble understanding how to create those myself. I also don't quite understand yet how to make adjustments to the piano graphic. So here are some specific questions:
1. Starting with a blank project, how do I create the piano graphic in the magic window myself? I saw in the sample that there were two modules: "active notes only" and "inactive notes only" but when I right-clicked in a blank scene to add a module, I didn't see those anywhere to add. In the Circle Piano scene, the active/inactive modules don't appear at all; instead there are several left/middle/black/right key modules. Where do I find those?
2. I finally found "active notes only" and "inactive notes only" by using the "Search" option. They appeared in the search, but not in the first menu. Does this mean there are lots more modules available than just what appears in that right-click menu?) And, they only appear in search results if I have the MIDIPiano project open. If I open a new blank project and search, "active notes only" and "inactive notes only" do not appear. ?
3. I tried tweaking what I thought were the color modules to change the pastel colors (when certain notes are played) to something else, but it didn't change the output. How can I change the color or appearance of notes being played? Maybe all notes the same color, or notes played just glow but don't move, or they jump, etc. Is any of that possible? Can I make the piano keys do anything else when played besides change to those predefined pastel colors?
4. The Circle Piano is very cool, and I wonder if the keyboard can be wrapped/twisted in other dynamic shapes as well. How about a spiral? That spins perhaps? I think I found how to make it spin (in Circle Piano it rotates slightly back and forth). Or undulating wave? Anything like that?
5. In several demos by others, I hear examples of piano/keyboard music and graphics that (I think) are obviously triggered by "active notes only" and "inactive notes only", or MIDI note information somehow... except that, they look absolutely nothing like physical piano keys. Where do I find information on how to do that myself?
Thanks for your help and an amazing software! If I can understand how to use this fairly quickly, I'll be purchasing Performer very soon.