I’m trying to come up with a simple solution to have motion trigger a video in VDMX, for a haunted house. I’ve looked into Arduino solutions and I’d probably do something like that if I had more time, but I’m interested in any clever out-of-the-box solutions?
I was thinking about a way to use a Samsung Smartthings motion sensor to send a midi or OSC note to VDMX. I’ve also thought about using an iPhone camera if I could find an app that could use motion from the camera to send a midi note.
A really simple solution would be a plugin which measures a webcam video streams input values (histogram). Using a pocket torch you could create a simple trip wire, if the light beam hitting a surface is blocked you know your subject is in place and you can trigger something. Use Num FX chain to delay and or Do Math to hold the effect for a period or toggle the effect off when the light beam appears again. Cheap and effective.
Much easier to do this in Max or Pd (which is a cinch for dealing with sensors and a variety of inputs) and send an OSC or MIDI trigger to VDMX, if you must use VDMX at all (Max or Pd can play video clips among other things). From there, MIDI learn and assign to an effect or whathaveyou.
In some specific cases (you know for sure exactly where the motion will be and can put the sensor there and the motion is not larger than 1m3) possibly a Leap controller would be a very simple solution, just set it where you expect motion, and set up any/all triggers to whatever MIDI signal you’d like.
I’ve experimented with them and am a bit meh-ish on them as a general device,can’t say I’d recommended them for everything (or even a few things), but in specific situations they might be great, possibly yours could be one. Its worth knowing about them anyway!