First mcjMidiLoad Beta Available - Midi File loader script for Daz Studio

mCasual

keiron said:

sax notes

if you youtube-search for
saxophone basics
you can find video tutorials about notes and fingerings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3wdy42oiBQ

mCasual

today's version will have materials animation ex: ambient strength
and i'll include the assignment list for the mcjWurzkeils keyboards

Keiron

Hi Casual

Thank you for the link much appreciated

I've now got the Sax Mechanism to open OK and the keys to press

This one is quite difficult, but its looking possible

I like the sound of the Ballad Tenor Sax

Looking forward to using your new version

Thank you for all of your hard work

mCasual

another delay ... so ... tomorrow

( because i found out while
testing instances as midi targets
that mcjJet2 for DS4.7 needed a fix :

movie with an opening box office record rivaling Age of Ultron https://youtu.be/bXFBpqF3ylk

Keiron

Hi Casual

No rush it's ready when it's ready and your Happy

I've noticed something that might be relevent
it looked like MIDIload became unresponsive

I added a target node key 1 from the sax
Selected a channel
Selected key 70,70
just used the default limits
on the timeline-keymate there it was np
no problem at all when you use a different target as each gets its own set of parameters

Starting again this time I used note 70,70 added it to the list, came up on timeline np
Then added additional note 69,69 added that to list ,came up on timeline in a different location
Then added additional note 68,68 added that to list, this time nothing seem to change on time line, hence me saying it looks like its stopped working
Does that make sense?
I assume it would be OK for different Target morphs on the same note, This is when I noticed "Scale" isn't available in Keymate
I assume the note range is a better way for say the Sax Octave button
Maybe it would be better not to allow multiple notes on the same target node or maybe it's possible to generate a new sub object

mCasual

keiron said:

...stops

i think there were issues related to cases where more than 1 note targets the same property
in previous posts about the zebra head i mentioned the "OR" feature which i was supposed (did i or didnt i? i forget! ) to add

mCasual

keiron said:

... sax

i'll do some tests using the Bach sax piece,
but i'll use the fingering for a flute! that should simplify the work

fig 1 using Audacity to make sure all notes are "loaded"

fig 2 the first assignment list saved as a text file
as long as you keep each column separated with a TAB, it could be "manually" edited using wordpad/excel
the other requirement is that you use very very precisely the correct words case sensitivity included

fig 3 - first success at loading a saved assignment list

fig 4 part of the issues to solve before i post the new version is
cases where you load an assignment list which targets objects
not currently selected or targets objects which are simply not in the scene (anymore )

also i want materials animation in that version

and wurzkeil support, key movements and key highlighting

fig 5 - selecting a parent node also makes the child node part of the prime targets list
...practical for instruments like the wurzkeil keyboards

Keiron

Hi Casual

Thank you

Were all very excited about this, thank you for all your hard work and continuing effort
Kindest regards

Keiron

Keiron

Hi Casual

i't looking great very well done

I've been learning how the mechanism of Sax works, so i'm looking forward to being able to animate it soon. Im still a litte stuck on what keys do what
The vast majority seem to have 1 key per 1 opening, but there seems to be some linkage between some keys that i need to understand further

Best wishes

Keiron

mCasual

some progress here

also there will be the special mode to accommodate objects animated by more than one midi note

unfortunately with DS4.7 the material properties animations dont get saved in the .duf scene file
so you will have to use the animated materials exporter script i wrote for mcjJet2

mCasual

example, the assignment list for the 88-keys wurzkeil prop

the keys are all parented to a node named "notes"

so you simply will select that node and start mcjMidiLoad

then select the source channel from the midi file's list of channels

and apply

so ... i have to make it possible to assign from a channel other than channel01 even if the assignment list says it's for channel 01

the first key on the left of the 88 keys keyboards is A0 which corresponds to midi note 9

###############################################################
#typ channel st en targ node   targ prop min max
###############################################################
item channel01 9 9 notes | note00 XRotate 0 7
item channel01 10 10 notes | note01 XRotate 0 7
item channel01 11 11 notes | note02 XRotate 0 7
item channel01 12 12 notes | note03 XRotate 0 7
.
.
.
item channel01 95 95 notes | note86 XRotate 0 7
item channel01 96 96 notes | note87 XRotate 0 7

i actually built this assignment list in Excel
copy-pasted it in wordpad as "plain text"
and saved it as a plain text txt file named wurzkeil88XRot7
since the animation movement is a 7 degrees x-Rotation of the key

the result of using this ''assignment list'' shows that i didnt destroy the program !

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B74NpQ_FHc6cM1BpVG14VTVBSG8/view?usp=sharing

next time i'll see about materials animation, which requires special care because of changes between D|Studio 1,2,3,4

-----

figure 1 : setting the stage for color-property animation

Keiron

Hi Casual

Thank you I'm really looking forward to this version
Have a great week

Kind wishes

Keiron

Keiron

Hi

"Welcome the Band"

Many thanks to Casual for the new 88 key Wurkzweil Keyboard very cool along with the very cool Guitar

mCasual

working on mcjMidiLoad this evening
here you can see the order of the assignment list is now preserved upon load/save

i'll also add something to change the source midi-channel for the whole assignment list

mCasual

for cases where more than one midi note influences a target property

there will be a "Layered Mode" which is more "expensive" in the number of keyframes it sets, i.e. 1 keyframe per frame

so the first time the script sees aNote event being applied to a target property
it will fill the timeline with the Min value for this Assignment item ( usually the value 0 )
then for each NoteOn event, it will fill the target property's timeline frame by frame with the ( Max * velocity ) value
it fills all frames between the NoteOn event and the NoteOff event

so the next time a midi note influences this target property, it will overlay its own NoteOn/NoteOff keyframes

when the "Layered Mode" is not in use, the script only keyframes the NoteOn and NoteOff frames
it uses "constant: interpolation. It's economical, but the keyframes are more fragile.

So if you intend to tweak the keyframes later on, it' will be better to use the "layered mode" and its solid keyframes

mCasual

the last substantial change for the upcoming version
the 'Effect' column

for now there's only 1 possible Effect, it's called the Expand effect

any midi note velocity above 0 will be considered 100% velocity

no more half-pressed piano keys

----

eventually there will be more complex effects

mCasual

yay a first test of the "Layered" mode, all the up-to128 notes of the flute track influencing one object's Y-Scale

click here for the google video - with audio! here

( tho this doesn't test the chords issue i think )

name that tune and win nothing

or win the new free mcjGibGit with pick guard mcjGibGitB

Keiron

Hi Casual

Totally brill

looking great

Very well done

Keiron

mCasual

keiron said:

Hi Casual

Totally brill

looking great

Very well done

Keiron

new test, animating the ZTranslate properties of a 90 photo-panels figure ( see mcjBillboards )
each photo-panel is assigned to a note
when the note plays, the panel moves front-stage, else it stays back-stage

https://www.youtube.com/edit?video_id=CrFQ7bIxI5E

FIG 2 - the actual test i want to perform to test the "layered" mode
where more than 1 note influences the animation of something
( for example, on a sax when 2 notes require the same lever/lid to be pressed/closed

Fig 3 - The results are in and it's a success, the layered mode works as expected
( and without the layered mode the results were all wrong, of course! )

and audio-visually speaking the layered mode is the blue tube
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B74NpQ_FHc6cWWVWZk1TVjNsdjg/view?usp=sharing

Keiron

Hi Casual

Fantastic, excellent results the layering looks much better, great job that was a real pain solved, your very talented

Great job with the Save and Load for the Instrument configurations, much better

I'm looking forward to the piano keys moving down fully, not dependant on Velocity
Velocity usually controls the speed of the note playing and the samples - sound resulting loudness
were'as Breath Control would control loadness-tone and veleocity would control key speed on say a Sax or a Flute

Love the panels moving to the beat, nice touch

The Channel number change is also a very usefull addition thank you

If your feeling in the mood, the addition of a transpose would also be helpfull

I made a 61 key piano and an 88 key piano configuration and realised it needed to transpose the notes. I did this quite easily editing the config in notepad. I started note from 96 to 96 for note 87 instead of 84 to 84 for note 87 working down to note 0, I did get a small error from the BETA script as I entered 0-9 but is was OK when I made them 00-09

Feel free to send me a link, if you would like some Beta testing

mCasual

fig 1 reshuffling the UI, using tabs

fig 2 - color animation support

Keiron

Hi

Please find below two keyboards playing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mibIkUuVrs&feature=youtu.be

mCasual

yay ! first test ( well i did it previously but using laboratory scripts )

of color animations and the layered mode

the cone's color is governed by any and all (3) notes being played (layered)

the Cube is linked to one note and the Sphere to the other

note 127 cant be heard, but it was used to make sure the midi file's first note was at t=0
( else the midi-to-wav converter Timidity would produce a time shifted wav file )

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B74NpQ_FHc6ceWw5YjNVNFlrbkk/view?usp=sharing

same test sequence as yesterday

Fig 2. results, notice 1 keyframe per frame, but maybe this could be simplified ... someday

Fig 3 illustrates why, we will always use the one-keyframe-per-frame mode when working with Color properties
the Colors in DS are stored as 3 color channels packed into 1 integer, so they produce bizarre interpolations
and i can't seem to force the use of "constant" interpolation

Guidotorius

Casual said:

the last substantial change for the upcoming version
the 'Effect' column

for now there's only 1 possible Effect, it's called the Expand effect

any midi note velocity above 0 will be considered 100% velocity

no more half-pressed piano keys

----

eventually there will be more complex effects

I'm on the lookout for a fully rigged concert grand piano (think Steinway Model D or something similarly sized) that will work with this script. If anyone knows of such a model, I'd love to know about it. Thanks!

Keiron

Hi Casual

Totally Brill, love the colour changing, LOL loads of fun

"the Colors in DS are stored as 3 color channels packed into 1 integer"

Are you saying that they are stored as RGB 0.0.0 to 255.255.255 like an IP address or 0 to 16581375

Keiron

Hi augustchamplin

You might find something here but they look expensive

http://piano.turbosquid.com/3d-Models/3ds/max/xsi/c4d/obj

or

http://tf3dm.com/3d-model/piano-8271.html

or

http://piano.cgtrader.com/

or

http://www.contentparadise.com/productDetails.aspx?id=3324

mCasual

augustchamplin said:

I'm on the lookout for a fully rigged concert grand piano (think Steinway Model D or something similarly sized) that will work with this script. If anyone knows of such a model, I'd love to know about it. Thanks!

if you find a static model of a steinway
it's almost sure you can make the keys invisible
using the material opacity in Daz Studio's surfaces tab

then you could very very easily extract the 88 keys from my free synth-clavier ( unparent the "notes" group )

delete the rest ( delete key )
and position/resize them to fit in the steinway

if there's more than 88 keys, it's also possible to extract keys 1 by 1 from a second clavier, but you'll need to rename (re-label actually) them

mcjWurzkeil ...
https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts5/mcjwurzkeil

Guidotorius

keiron said:

Hi augustchamplin

You might find something here but they look expensive

http://piano.turbosquid.com/3d-Models/3ds/max/xsi/c4d/obj

or

http://tf3dm.com/3d-model/piano-8271.html

or

http://piano.cgtrader.com/

or

http://www.contentparadise.com/productDetails.aspx?id=3324

Thanks, Keiron, I'll check out those links. Best wishes! --AC

Guidotorius

Casual said:

augustchamplin said:

I'm on the lookout for a fully rigged concert grand piano (think Steinway Model D or something similarly sized) that will work with this script. If anyone knows of such a model, I'd love to know about it. Thanks!

if you find a static model of a steinway
it's almost sure you can make the keys invisible
using the material opacity in Daz Studio's surfaces tab

then you could very very easily extract the 88 keys from my free synth-clavier ( unparent the "notes" group )

delete the rest ( delete key )
and position/resize them to fit in the steinway

if there's more than 88 keys, it's also possible to extract keys 1 by 1 from a second clavier, but you'll need to rename (re-label actually) them

mcjWurzkeil ...
https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts5/mcjwurzkeil

Thanks, I'll definitely try the strategy you recommend! Appreciated! --AC

mCasual

It is with renewed confidence in the success of the mission
that i embark on an evening of trying to roll-out a less-beta version of mcjMidiLoad :)

the 2 main issues are

- completing the materials-animation functions
- doing tests in DS4.7 ( there's important differences with DS1,2,3 for figure materials and morphs )
( in case you want to give Victoria's the Rudolph the red nosed reindeer effect , but in sync with music )

Fig3 - The mcjMidiVU instruments gets fast track treatment

Fig 4, since some objects, figures for example, have many surfaces/materials
the surface property selection will make use of a third drop-down-list
not shown here the Color channels
I wont include Texture-file animation in this release at least
though you can do texture animation using nerdy UV-Tiling modulation