VJ UNION

A practical QR-code checklist for VJ portfolios and event screens

Sofia · PlainlyKit — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 22:02:03 +0000

A QR code can give an audience a route from a visual set to your portfolio, credits, or event page. The difficult part is making the code readable in the actual room without interrupting the visuals.

Disclosure: I represent PlainlyKit, which makes the optional QR generator linked below. This is a production checklist, not a claim that a specific projector or venue has been tested.

Start with a destination you control

Use a short HTTPS URL on your own domain when possible. Link to a mobile-friendly page containing your artist name, current work, credits, and an obvious next action. A direct URL encoded in a static QR code does not require a separate QR redirect provider, though the destination website still needs to stay available.

A static code cannot be edited after printing. If you control the destination URL, you can update the page served there. That is different from changing the encoded URL itself. Avoid temporary download links and URLs containing private tokens.

Separate the code from the live visuals

Keep the QR image still and place it on a plain, contrasting background. Preserve the blank border around the code. Do not crop that border, put animated textures behind it, or run the image through a distortion effect simply to match the set.

For a projected code, avoid a position where performers, stage equipment, or audience silhouettes repeatedly block it. A foyer display, printed card, or separate holding slide may work better than a moving show layer. Keep it visible long enough for someone to notice it, unlock a phone, aim, and open the link. There is no universal duration or pixel size: test the real setup.

Generate once, then test the exported file

One option is the free PlainlyKit static QR generator. Any generator that produces a standard, readable code can fit this workflow. Copy the complete destination URL, generate the code, and export it before adding it to your composition.

Test the exported image rather than relying only on the generator preview. Scan it with more than one phone if available. Confirm the exact hostname and final page, including redirects. A phone recognizing the pattern is only the first check; the page must also load and be useful on mobile.

Test through the whole signal chain

Bring the code through the same composition, output scaling, projector or display, and physical placement you will use at the event. Check it from the furthest intended audience position and from an off-center angle. Projector focus, keystone correction, compression, display brightness, and room light can all change the result.

If scanning fails, simplify before adding effects: shorten the URL, increase the code's displayed size, remove background detail, restore the border, or move it to a less distorted part of the image. Re-test after each change. Keep a small note of the working output resolution and physical setup so the next operator can reproduce it.

Give people a fallback

Show a short readable URL beside the code. That helps people who cannot scan, are using the same phone to watch a stream, or simply prefer typing. Use readable type and sufficient contrast. Never make a QR code the only way to access essential event information.

Before doors open

Scan the final code from an audience position.
Check the destination on mobile data as well as venue Wi-Fi when available.
Verify that the landing page needs no unexpected login.
Keep a local copy of the QR image and a plain-text copy of the URL.
Have a still slide or printed fallback ready.

A portfolio link is useful only when it survives the venue. Treat the QR layer like any other output element: check the final signal, document what works, and keep a fallback.

https://github.com/maolan

Sleepless Monk — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 13:44:25 +0000

maolan · GitHub

maolan has 23 repositories available. Follow their code on GitHub.

github.com

https://github.com/jadujoel/rs-vst-host

Sleepless Monk — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 13:44:07 +0000

GitHub - jadujoel/rs-vst-host: Rust Vst Host · GitHub

Rust Vst Host. Contribute to jadujoel/rs-vst-host development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

https://github.com/thr32423/mb3d-rs

vdmo — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 07:10:22 +0000

GitHub - thr32423/mb3d-rs: Mandelbulb3D - Rust port · GitHub

Mandelbulb3D - Rust port. Contribute to thr32423/mb3d-rs development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Nocturne - a headless, beat-locked VJ instrument for macOS that keeps playing

vdmo — Sat, 24 Oct 2026 15:18:36 +0000

Nocturne — visuals for the long night

Beat-locked, mapped onto the room, and still playing when nobody is watching.

If you’ve ever lost a whole set because the UI locked up, watched one laggy projector drag every other output down, or moved a show to another Mac and watched every clip go missing… this one is aimed at those nights.

Nocturne is an open-source live VJ instrument for macOS (14+). It’s early, macOS-only, and you build it yourself for now — but it has already run real club nights on a 2018 Intel Mac mini. The core idea is simple and stubborn:

The engine plays the show.

The UI is just a window into it.

Clips are known by content, not by path.

Why it feels different

Most VJ apps put the UI and the render pipeline in the same process. When the interface freezes or crashes, the wall goes dark. Nocturne splits them:

Headless C++20 + Metal engine — decode, render, present, beat clock, audio analysis
Separate JUCE UI app — connects over WebSocket
Supervisor — restarts the engine on crash (~0.2 s) or freeze (~2.2 s), safe mode after repeated failures

If the UI dies, the projectors don’t notice. Power-cycle a projector mid-set and its screen comes back where it was. One slow output runs on its own thread so it doesn’t drag the others.

At the gig

Play on the beat

Decks → columns → layers
Fire a clip, a column, or a whole deck — it lands on the next beat, bar, or N bars
Autopilot walks layers/columns through your clips
Beat-timed transitions: cut, alpha, wipe, dissolve, push
Random jump, reverse, scrub (including long clips)
Text clips + built-in generators (strobe, lines, checker, noise…) when the folder runs dry

Stay locked to the DJ

Follows Pro DJ Link from CDJs; if the link drops it keeps the last tempo
Tap / nudge / resync when you trust your ears more
Live Sections (intro, build, drop, breakdown, outro) + Cues (“when Drop starts → fire column 1”)
Gig mode: each DJ gets a deck; it only switches at set time or by hand — an early drop doesn’t put the wrong deck on the wall

Shape the picture

Effect chains on clips, layers, groups, and the whole composition
Curated ISF shaders + your own .fs files
Eight Macro knobs per composition/group, driven by beat LFOs or room audio (level, bands, kick, snare, hat)

Map it onto the room

Screens & slices: corner pin, Bezier warp grids, soft edges, masks, test card
Independent present threads per output
Record composition or a single screen to HEVC or ProRes while you play

Media that survives real life

H.264, HEVC, ProRes, HAP (with its own HAP encoder)
Clips identified by content hash — rename or move the folder and the show still finds them
Minute-by-minute backups while you edit; show state survives restarts and power cuts

Resolume bridge

Opens Resolume compositions and Advanced Output mappings and writes a clear report of what was converted, approximated, or left out. There’s a Classic effect pack that covers familiar effects and can load that app’s presets from the same Mac. Import is a translation, not a 1:1 copy — read the report.

Engineering that actually matters on a Saturday night

Reference machine: 2018 Intel Mac mini (UHD 630) — three 1080p outputs at 60 Hz, gated to stay ≥ 59.5 fps
Fused effect passes (fewer GPU passes) brought a 5-layer test from ~45 → 60 fps on that box
Resilience tests: pull drives, power-cycle projectors, hang clients, fill the disk, overload the GPU — while the show keeps playing
Security: off-machine clients need a pairing token; remote paths confined to show folders
Architecture decisions written down as ADRs in the repo

Stack: C++20 engine (Metal), JUCE UI, WebSocket protocol, AGPL-3.0-or-later. By Okonai under Azylume. Not affiliated with Resolume.

Status (honest)

Early. Interfaces still move.

No packaged app yet — you build it
No MIDI / OSC control yet (UI, nocturne-ctl, Autopilot, Cues)
No DXV (transcode helper exists for imported Resolume shows)
macOS only for now

Try it


sh
tools/make-signing-identity.sh   # once per Mac
cmake -S . -B build && cmake --build build -j8
build/nocturne --windowed
open "build/Nocturne UI.app"
Needs: macOS 14+, Xcode CLT, CMake 3.24+, Homebrew ffmpeg. Apple silicon or Intel.

The repo ships no footage. Drop a few free public-domain / CC clips into examples/first-show/ (links in the README) and run the example composition.

Repo: github.com/Azylume/nocturne
Docs / reference / show-machine setup: in the repo under docs/
Site: work.azylume.dev/#nocturne
This is the kind of tool that feels written by someone who has actually stood in a booth at 3 a.m. and watched a UI take the whole room with it. If you live on Mac, care about reliability as much as looks, and don’t mind building from source while it matures, it’s worth a look — and maybe a star or a PR.

Anyone already running it on a real night? Drop notes below.





  
    
      
      
        Azylume
       / 
        nocturne
      
    
    
      Live VJ instrument for macOS: C++20 + Metal engine, JUCE UI
    
  
  
    

Nocturne


Visuals for the long night: beat-locked, mapped onto the room, and still playing when nobody is watching.






Why this exists

A UI crash used to take the whole show down. One slow projector dragged the others with it. Moving a show to
another Mac meant every clip went missing. Nocturne is the VJ tool built around those nights: the engine plays
on its own, the UI is just a window into it, and the show knows its clips by content, not by where they live.

  
  
The example show from this repo, playing on its own. Footage: public-domain films (archive.org) and Beeple VJ loops (CC BY).



At the gig


Play clips on the beat




Decks of columns and layers. Fire a clip, a column or a whole deck; it lands on the next beat, bar or N bars.

Autopilot walks a layer, or the whole column, through your clips every…




  


  View on GitHub

Chromatose v1.4 is here!

Hekuli — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 08:28:59 +0000

This free update is now available for everyone on the App Store.

The biggest update ever, it includes: A new Performance Mode with ultra-fast patch launching, a modular customizable transition system, palette ReColor effect, Feedback Inserts, clock-synced LFOs, a complete MIDI overhaul, ProRes video recording and much more!

See it in action

The full v1.4 walkthrough video explains all the new features.

Full Changelog

Beginner Walkthrough Tutorial (START HERE if you're new)

Find everything on the website: www.chromatose.app

https://vjdoxy.gumroad.com/l/kfioje

Vj Doxy — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 01:58:31 +0000

Typography by Vj_Doxy V.1.0

Typography V1 — Resolume Wire Create dynamic typography tunnel visuals with Typography V1 by VJ_DOXY. Designed for live VJ performances, LED screens, clubs...

vjdoxy.gumroad.com

Beyond Gumroad: Should VJs Have Their Own Storefront?

Experro — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 07:12:25 +0000

Lots of us sell loop packs, Resolume plugins and visual templates through marketplaces like Gumroad. It's a great way to start, since setup is quick and payments are handled for you.

But there's a catch: our work is motion, light and energy, and it ends up displayed in a static template that looks like everyone else's. We also don't really own the relationship with our buyers.

A storefront of your own lets you present packs the way you'd present a show: looping video previews, packs grouped by mood, BPM or software, and smart recommendations that "read the room" like a good VJ. Platforms like Experro, an AI-powered digital experience platform, are built around exactly that kind of real-time, personalized experience.

You don't have to switch overnight. Keep your marketplace for discovery and build your own space for your full catalogue.

https://vjdoxy.gumroad.com/l/nduvta #resolume #vjing #plugin #wire

Vj Doxy — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 05:39:51 +0000

Typography by Vj_Doxy V.2.0

Typography V.2.0 — Resolume Wire Take your typography visuals further with Typography V2 by VJ_DOXY. Create bold, dynamic text tunnel effects designed for...

vjdoxy.gumroad.com

Pixel Map Buddy

Graham Thorne — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 09:04:20 +0000

Layer visuals, map them across LED panels and lighting fixtures, and bring your video show to life. Available for macOS and Windows.

A friend of mine has just launched this software. And it's very very good! Pricing is very fair and it has a lot of features; Including a timeline, stackable effects, NDI in and out, pixel mapping for LED fixtures, projection mapping (2D), Output warping and masking, Cue stacks and MIDI/OSC and DMX mappable interface!

Please check it out.

Pixel Map Buddy | Live video, pixel mapping & show control

Professional DMX lighting control software that's powerful, straightforward and ready for macOS, Windows and Linux.

pixelmapbuddy.co.uk

How I turned a song into a visualizer video for social media in a few minutes

Mint Xu — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:31:44 +0000

I needed a video for a track I was posting — something for YouTube and a vertical cut for Reels — and I didn’t want to open a full video editor. I used Music Visualizer, a browser tool that turns a track, artwork, and text into an audio-reactive video. Editing is free; paid exports start at 3.9 USD. Here’s the flow that worked for me.

Disclosure: I’m Mint Xu, I made this tool. I’m writing this as the steps I actually take when I need a share-ready clip, not as a pitch deck.

What I was trying to do

A finished audio file isn’t enough for most platforms anymore. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram Reels, and Shorts all expect video. I wanted motion that follows the beat — not a static cover with a looping animation — and I wanted to keep my artwork and title on screen without learning After Effects.

The four steps I use

Pick a visual preset. There are 19 presets across electronic, atmospheric, retro, and minimal styles. I’ve used ones like Liquid Bass, Retro Cassette, Lo-fi, Prism Reactor, Euphoric, and Forest Echo depending on the track. Frequency analysis drives the bars, waves, and pulses, so the motion reacts to the song instead of looping independently.
Add the audio, artwork, and logo. Drop in the track, cover art (you can pan/zoom the crop), and an optional logo. Audio and images stay in the browser while you edit; nothing uploads until you export.
Customize text, colors, format, and intensity. Set the title, tweak colors and animation intensity, and choose the aspect ratio. I usually make a 16:9 version for YouTube and a 9:16 for TikTok / Reels / Shorts. There’s also 1:1 for square posts. Artwork cropping adapts when you switch ratios, so you don’t start from scratch.
Preview, then export. Preview runs live in the browser. When it looks right, export as H.264 at 720p, 1080p, or 2K, up to 60 FPS. Rendering happens in the cloud, so you don’t need a powerful GPU — it also works in modern mobile browsers. Finished videos stay available to download for 14 days.

Tips that saved me time

Start with the right ratio. Decide YouTube vs vertical first; then adjust the crop so the artwork and text sit where you want them.
Dial intensity to the track. Dense electronic beats often want stronger motion; quieter or atmospheric tracks look better when you turn intensity down.
Use the free daily export for short clips. Each account gets one free daily export for audio under one minute — useful for teasers and beat previews before you spend credits on a full track.
Credits, not a subscription. Editing and preview stay free. Exports use credits you buy once (packs start at 3.9 USD; they don’t expire). 720p/1080p costs 1 credit and 2K costs 2. If a render fails because of a system error, credits come back automatically.

What I’ve used it for

Official audio videos, album visuals, release teasers, beat previews, DJ mix visuals, and podcast episode clips with artwork plus a logo and responsive motion. Same edit, different formats when I need both wide and vertical.

If you just need a clean, beat-synced video from a track and a cover — without a full NLE — try it here: https://musicvisualizer.net/

From Dhaka to Eurovision Asia: A Bangladeshi VJ’s Dream Come True

Zunayed Sabbir Ahmed — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 10:19:12 +0000

Bangladesh stood on a Eurovision stage for the first time, and I got to build the visuals for it.

This is for the people of VJ UNION. On 30 September 2026 I was the VJ at Voice of Bangladesh, the national selection for the first Eurovision Song Contest Asia, and Studio Z made the visuals for all ten songs. I want to tell you how I got there, because I still can't quite believe it.

Where did this dream start?

I grew up in Dhaka. When I was a teenager, almost nobody put backstage footage online. Eurovision did. I watched their production breakdowns, the lighting, the sound, the camera work, like a starving man at a buffet. I couldn't have told you why. I just knew I wanted to be in that room someday.

Back then there was no VJ scene in Bangladesh, and no word for what I wanted to do. So I started with what I had.

What did the road look like?

I started on stage as a band musician in 2003. I moved into event management in 2008, became a VJ in 2011 (the first in Bangladesh, as far as I know), and from 2013 I worked on projection mapping, which was new here.

Year	What happened
2013	Ministry of Sound tour, the first projection mapping in the country
2014	"Velocity", the first LED mapping in Bangladesh, at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel, Dhaka
2015	Rose Garden Palace in Old Dhaka, the first house mapping in the country
2021	Sangsad Bhaban, the National Parliament, the largest building mapping in Bangladesh

Each of those was a first only because nobody here had tried it yet. They took a lot of people who trusted a strange idea.

Since then I've toured with the Nepali band Kandara across Nepal and Thailand and done more than 400 shows at home. A lot of my work also reaches people I never meet. I've supplied visuals for a museum in Qatar and for a touring DJ in Australia, all from my desk in Dhaka. If you need a hand from here, I'm around.

Why did I turn to teaching?

I noticed that for every show I did, there were ten young people in Bangladesh who wanted to learn this and had nowhere to go.

So I put half of my professional life into training and education. I'm an official trainer for Resolume, MadMapper and HeavyM, and the first certified trainer in South Asia for all three. I also wrote the first Bengali book on projection mapping, which came out at the Ekushey Book Fair in 2025.

For years I've been pushing beginners to get to pro level. Two courses came out of that, a MadMapper Masterclass and a Resolume Masterclass Pro, and you can find them at studio-z.ca/all-courses.

What I'm proudest of is not my own shows. It's the professionals this field now has in countries I can't even list.

How did I get the Eurovision job?

Voice of Bangladesh had to meet Eurovision's strict European standard. There is a long guideline behind it, so Bongo hired the best operators in Bangladesh for every department.

I think I was called for three reasons. My portfolio and showreel. The fact that I started live VJing, LED pixel mapping and projection mapping in this country. And one the director told me himself: I'm a musician, and I know a lot of the artists personally.

I was booked about two and a half months before the show, and the full production brief came a month out.

What are the Eurovision rules, and what did they mean for visuals?

Eurovision Asia follows the main contest's rules. A song can run three minutes at most. No more than six performers can be on stage. The lead vocal is live, and everything else is pre-recorded.

For a VJ that shapes everything. With three minutes, a visual idea has to land fast. With six people on stage, the LED wall has to carry what the stage can't. Because only the lead vocal is live, each song's visual was a finished, rendered video, and I kept a bank of live effects on top. And since the world watches through a camera, I set brightness by the camera monitor, not by what the room saw.

How did I start the work?

With a guidebook, like I do on every show. This one had ten competing songs and two guest songs. The guest songs mattered less. The ten were everything.

I listened to each song and broke it down by tone, melody, colour and theme. From that I built a mood board and a colour guide for every song. I showed them to the director first, then to the lighting designer and operator. They had ideas, and I took them in.

Then I met the costume and choreography person. One man handled both, so I worked from his input. Some songs changed completely after that meeting, because his costumes and movement were so strong my visuals had to answer them. In other songs I asked him to move toward my colours. We both listened, and we wanted the same thing, which was to make every act better.

Why do the ten songs look so different from each other?

I asked the director if I could talk to the artists directly, and he said go ahead. So I talked to a good number of them, one by one. Some on WhatsApp, some on the phone, some in person, and a few came to my studio.

I think this is the main reason the ten visuals don't look alike. If Studio Z had designed all ten alone, they might well have come out similar, because the same team made them. Because each artist's ideas went in at the very start, every song set off down its own road.

What did I want from every song?

Bangladesh was on Eurovision's stage for the first time, and the world was watching, mostly Europe. I wasn't going to let anyone look at us and think less of the country.

So the goal wasn't a good show. I wanted each of the ten songs to be the best song, the one that showed Bangladesh at its best.

The pose that became the press photo

Moktadir Dewan, known to everyone as BeatBaksho, is the founder and bass vocal of Beatmosphere. He's my brother in this industry.

I had a pitch for the band. I wanted them to finish their song the way 90s boy bands did, a Backstreet Boys or NSYNC kind of pose, held on the last beat, with their logo on the LED wall behind them. I told them: hold that pose in front of your logo and that's your press photo.

They won, and that was the winning press photo. Here it is as it ran. I'm glad I got to see that pitch win.

What was show day like?

On 30 September 2026, at the International Convention City Bashundhara in Dhaka, Bangladesh picked its first act for Eurovision Song Contest Asia. The room held a little under 2,000 people, and the world watched the stream.

Two shows ran at once. A long production table ran the live broadcast, the web stream and the app stream. In front of it, lighting, sound, visuals and DJ ran the event for the room.

My right hand sat on the master opacity fader most of the night. I watched the camera monitor, not the stage, and rode the LED brightness to what the camera saw.

Beatmosphere won with "Tumi Ele" and goes to Bangkok on 14 November. Pulak Adhikary came second with "Anari Majhi", and Vintage Theory third with "BOOMERANG!".

Who do I want to thank?

Director Wahidul Islam Shuvro, for the trust. Bongo and NTV. DJ Md Wahid. Lighting designers and operators Mohammad Ridwan and Md Yasin. Kawsar Mahmud on sound, and SP Rhythm on audio logistics. Shahinur Parvez for structural design and installation. Green Vision on LED. Raw Xposure on photography. The Eurovision team on site.

And the artists: Beatmosphere, SUBCONSCIOUS, Sharot, Lubaina, Vintage Theory, The Kushiyara Waves and every other act on that stage.

What do I hope you take from this?

Bangladesh is in this community. A country many of you may never have thought of as a VJ country stood on one of the biggest stages in the world, with visuals made at home by people who learned the craft here.

My dream came true, and I got to make my country proud. If you're a young VJ somewhere nobody expects it from, learn the song first. Everything else comes from that. And stay cool and confident, especially when the world is watching.

Questions people ask

Who made the visuals for Voice of Bangladesh?
Studio Z BD made the visual and lighting colour guide and the visuals for all ten competing songs. I designed them and ran them as live VJ.

When and where was it held?
On 30 September 2026 at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in Dhaka.

Who won, and what happens next?
Beatmosphere, with "Tumi Ele". They represent Bangladesh at Eurovision Song Contest Asia in Bangkok on 14 November 2026.

Was it a live VJ set?
Partly. Each song's visual was a rendered video, with live controls and effects on top.

Who was the first VJ in Bangladesh?
I started live VJing here in 2011, and as far as I know I was the first.

Where can I learn what you teach?
The MadMapper and Resolume masterclasses are at studio-z.ca/all-courses.

How can I reach you?
Write to info@studioz.com.bd.

More on this show: the personal story at zunayed.com/blogs, the production case study at studioz.com.bd/blogs, and the VJ workflow at studio-z.ca/blog.

VJ UNION

A practical QR-code checklist for VJ portfolios and event screens

Start with a destination you control

Separate the code from the live visuals

Generate once, then test the exported file

Test through the whole signal chain

Give people a fallback

Before doors open

https://github.com/maolan

maolan · GitHub

https://github.com/jadujoel/rs-vst-host

GitHub - jadujoel/rs-vst-host: Rust Vst Host · GitHub

https://github.com/thr32423/mb3d-rs

GitHub - thr32423/mb3d-rs: Mandelbulb3D - Rust port · GitHub

Nocturne - a headless, beat-locked VJ instrument for macOS that keeps playing

Nocturne — visuals for the long night

Why it feels different

At the gig

Play on the beat

Stay locked to the DJ

Shape the picture

Map it onto the room

Media that survives real life

Resolume bridge

Engineering that actually matters on a Saturday night

Status (honest)

Try it

Azylume / nocturne

Live VJ instrument for macOS: C++20 + Metal engine, JUCE UI

Nocturne

Why this exists

At the gig

Chromatose v1.4 is here!

https://vjdoxy.gumroad.com/l/kfioje

Typography by Vj_Doxy V.1.0

Beyond Gumroad: Should VJs Have Their Own Storefront?

https://vjdoxy.gumroad.com/l/nduvta #resolume #vjing #plugin #wire

Typography by Vj_Doxy V.2.0

Pixel Map Buddy

Pixel Map Buddy | Live video, pixel mapping & show control

How I turned a song into a visualizer video for social media in a few minutes

What I was trying to do

The four steps I use

Tips that saved me time

What I’ve used it for

From Dhaka to Eurovision Asia: A Bangladeshi VJ’s Dream Come True

Where did this dream start?

What did the road look like?

Why did I turn to teaching?

How did I get the Eurovision job?

What are the Eurovision rules, and what did they mean for visuals?

How did I start the work?

Why do the ten songs look so different from each other?

What did I want from every song?

The pose that became the press photo

What was show day like?

Who do I want to thank?

What do I hope you take from this?

Questions people ask