This live visual newcomer is off to a promising start: live DMX lighting, generative visuals (with video and photos), MIDI control, Ableton Link – and it’s free and open source. It’s coded in TypeScript, with downloads for macOS and Windows; Linux promised soon.

Flashing lights warning:

There’s quite a lot there, in a nice, simple interface – so even with powerful tools around, this could be a go-to for just quickly finishing a basic job. Features:

  • Ableton Link support
  • DMX lighting control with a graphical interface for adding fixtures (without having to update scenes)
  • Synth-like modulation tools (see below)
  • Light groups
  • Generative visuals and effects running on the GPU
  • Video and photo support
  • MIDI control

There’s more on the feature roadmap: scene sharing, additional parameters and modulators and macros for lighting, expanded visualizations and layers, projection mapping, and automation. The developer is even working on a DMX USB interface and standalone DMX controller (for computer-free operation), though for now you can use the ENNTEC USB Pro or the DMX King Ultra DMX Micro.

macOS Intel and Apple Silicon, Windows x64. Obviously you don’t want to use this beta software for a serious production job or anything critical, but it looks fun to play with – and might be something to tinker around with if you’re a developer:

https://captivatesynth.com/

And it’s all written in TypeScript.

Via the excellent VJ Union.