Magic, Hydra, TouchDesigner and the space between them. Build images that respond to phrasing, physical movement and silence.
Build a visual set that distinguishes rhythm, texture and structure. With restrained mappings, Magic can reveal a performance’s shape without making every sound trigger the same movement.
4 MIN READ / PRACTICAL STUDY
Use Magic Music Visuals to compose relationships between sound, gesture and image. A clear mapping can say more than a screen in constant motion.
5 MIN READ / PRACTICAL STUDY
Build a visual macro that has a recognisable musical purpose. A single well-shaped control can make a scene more playable than a panel of unrelated reactive parameters.
3 MIN READ / PRACTICAL STUDY
Treat video feedback as a material with memory. Build an entrance, a stable region and a deliberate ending before increasing the complexity of a live-coded image.
3 MIN READ / PRACTICAL STUDY
An audio-reactive patch needs a useful control signal before it needs a complex image. Inspect the measurement, shape its response and then decide what visual behaviour it deserves.
3 MIN READ / PRACTICAL STUDY
A projection patch becomes part of a room. Start with physical geometry and audience position, then decide what the image should do on that particular surface.
3 MIN READ / PRACTICAL STUDY
A visual response to MPE should know which gesture belongs to which note. Decide what remains independent and what becomes a shared image before connecting pressure to a parameter.
3 MIN READ / PRACTICAL STUDY
The vendor’s version 2 introduction to Magic’s modular visual workflow. Start with a small audio-reactive patch and build a visual instrument; menu details belong to the version shown.
Build one shape with one audio-driven parameter. Record the same phrase twice: first driving scale, then brightness. Keep the version that leaves the most room for musical contrast.
Hydra creator Olivia Jack presents live-coded visuals in the browser. An introduction to a video-synthesis language that can be performed and changed in public.
Make a three-operation Hydra patch: one source, one geometric transformation and one modulation. Perform for one minute by changing only a single number, then save the code beside the recording.
Naoto Hieda’s second advanced Hydra feedback tutorial. A focused companion to the introductory talk for studying how an image can become material for its own next frame.
Create a restrained feedback patch. Compare a slow scale change with a slow rotation, keeping the input unchanged. Find a setting where traces persist without filling the whole image.
Share a changed device, a patch, a performance or a useful failure. Add your own photograph or a video link and explain what made the difference. Contributions are reviewed before publication.
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