What is Resolume?
Resolume is software for live controlling visuals.
You use it to mix, trigger, manipulate and output video in real time during performances, installations, club nights, events or presentations.
In practice, Resolume works like an instrument for visual media. You can layer video clips, loops, live camera feeds, generative sources, and effects; control them live with a mouse, keyboard, MIDI controllers, or OSC. It is widely used by VJs, audiovisual performers, media artists, and designers who run projections or LED screens in a flexible way.
Resolume can also be controlled from a phone or iPad via OSC (Open Sound Control), from other OSC-enabled software, and from some lighting desks, while also connecting to other software through plugins such as Ableton or tools like LiveGrabber.
Resolume comes in two varieties:
- Avenue: focused on live visual performance and video mixing.
- Arena: includes everything in Avenue, plus advanced tools for larger setups and Projection Mapping.
Download the software here:
https://www.resolume.com/download/
>> scroll down to choose the 'No Footage' option if you want to save space on your harddrive!!
HKU students can borrow a license for Resolume Arena @ Uitleen
you can find all kinds of tutorials about how to work with Resolume via their website https://resolume.com/training or check in your local Blackbox to get started.
Resolume Alley
Resolume Alley is a super quick lightweight video player and video converter. It plays all your media files and converts your video files to footage specifically for Resolume. Drag and drop your footage from Finder or Explorer to convert videos and image sequences from any codec to DXV, ProRes or Motion JPEG in just a few clicks.
Why change a codec? what is it for?
For example, H.264 (mostly used in a .mp4 video) is a codec made to keep video files small. That makes it great for uploading, sharing, streaming, and playing back on lots of everyday devices. It is efficient, but that efficiency is mainly about saving space, and definitely not about making live performance software work as smoothly as possible. Resolume supports common codecs like H.264, but for the best performance it recommends DXV instead.
DXV compressed files are often much larger because the priority is not compression, but speed, responsiveness, and stability during live mixing. That matters in Resolume because you may be triggering clips (or even specific frames) instantly, stacking multiple videos, applying effects, jumping around in a clip, playing it backwards or working with transparency. DXV also supports alpha channels, which is useful when parts of a video need to stay transparent.
a alternative encoder to Alley, with more possibilities like HAP codec is shutterencoder
Resolume Wire
Wire is a modular node-based patching environment to create effects, mixers and video generators for Arena & Avenue. So it's more of an extension of the other programmes but now you can make your own visual effects or clips, but using node-based blocks and connect them together.
Wire is included in Arena and Avenue installers. (HKU students: it needs a separate license, wo do not provide)
