Thump is a free VJ studio / generative visuals rig, built in TouchDesigner. It intends to encourage improvosation while providing tools for continuous streaming and playback as a media server.
- Download or clone this repository (clone recommended for updates)
- Install latest version of TouchDesigner (free-license compatible) and open
app.toe - Enter perform mode (
key=f1) and visit thesettingspage to adjust resolution, audio inputs / outputs, recording preferences, and more. - NB: TouchDesigner operates differently on Windows vs Mac. All core features of ThumpAV should function identically between platforms, but some plugins may require conversion
- On the left, your control station (this is what goes on your computer monitor)
- On the right, final output (should overflow from your main monitor to cover your external monitor / projector)
- Multi-monitor output coming soon
- Track output monitoring area
- a) Blue outline indicates track is hidden
- Track control sliders
- a) Opacity
- b) Speed (0-3x source playback speed) *Right click to reset at 1
- c) Volume *For tracks playing back clips with audio
- Track control buttons
- a) Mute *For clips with audio
- b) Blind *Hides track by overriding opacity at 0
- c) Stage FX Click to view and edit plugin settings in the FX staging area (8b.)
- d) Loop (video)
- e) Pulse (video)
- Cell
- a) Displays thumbnail for track media at associated cue (5.)
- b) Clicking cell sets its file as source media for associated track
- c) Drag and drop cell onto track monitors (1.) to set as source media for that track
- d) Drop images or videos from file system into cell to immediately write to cue
- Cue launch button
- a) Plays cue from disk - updates all Track controls and Plugin settings to saved state
- Cue edit (delete, add above/below)
- SAVE BUTTON Writes all current Track controls and Plugin settings to currently active cue (highlighted with blue)
- Dashboard tabs
- a) Setlist: table of contents for scenes in Source Directory. Create your own Source Directory and point Thump to it under the Settings tab!
- b) FX: View/edit Plugin settings for currently staged track (3c.)
- c) FX Bin: Plugin library. Create your own and point to it under the Settings tab
- d) Settings: Resolution, Recording, Audio in/out, Source Directory, Plugin Directory, FPS Monitor, Project Mapping (Stoner), NDI
- Launch neighbor of active cue
- Page up/down through scene cues
- For audio-reactive visualizations, necessary to specify input
- Under Settings tab, set the input/output device. Common setup involves VB-Cable or Soundflower as virtual input device and playing back out of physical device
- Set up output (file name, FPS, codec, etc) under Settings tab
- Toggle
Recordswitch under Settings tab to begin / end capture - New files will have UTC timestamp appended to their names to prevent overwrite
- Custom mappings can be added through TouchDesigner MIDI mapping workflow
- Templates located in
/local/midi/. As of writing, Akai MPD218 is the sole mapping included in source. If you have a device mapping you'd like to contribute, please message / PR!
- Detailed plugin creation guide coming soon
- You can get started building your own VFX plugins by clicking "Create New" under the FX Bin tab
- In principle, any TouchDesigner component can be turned into a plugin if it contains an In TOP, an Out TOP, and the boilerplate Plugin extension (can be modified for custom Saving, Loading, and other behavior)
- Check out included plugins for guidance / inspiration 🚀
- Consider this an extension of your TouchDesigner license - use ThumpAV for commercial gigs or for funsies :)