Learning Quartz Composer A Hands-On Guide to Creating Motion Graphics with Quartz Composer

The ultimate hands-on guide to creating amazing real-time motion graphics with Quartz Composer! bull; bull;Step-by-step tutorials introduce Quartz Composer in plain English, and DVD screencasts walk users through every task. bull;Reveals breakthrough tools for creating everything from screensavers to rich apps. bull;For every Mac content creator and developer, regardless of experience. bull;Authored by renowned visual designers and club VJs who've pushed Quartz Composer to the limit. Apple's Quartz Composer is amazingly powerful - and amazingly underpublicized. First introduced with OS X Tiger, Quartz Composer makes it easy to create real-time visual graphics of all kinds - from screensavers and animations to the visual components of Mac Dashboard Widgets and tomorrow's most graphically-rich applications. Until now, however, few content creators and developers have used Quartz Composer, because it's been practically impossible to find accessible, real-world information about it. That's where Real-Time Motion Graphics with Quartz Composer comes in. In this book/DVD package, two renowned VJs who've pushed Quartz Composer to the limit show content creators and developers how they can do it, too. The authors' text and DVD video tutorials combine to deliver fast mastery and outstanding results. Every concept is introduced as part of a hands-on project, with companion video tutorials that walk users through every step. One task at a time, users build their knowledge - and the authors encourage experimentation every step of the way. The projects start out extremely simple, with a focus beautiful visual feedback: a method that resonates powerfully, encouraging readers and viewers to freely explore Quartz Composer. Along the way, users will gain deep insight into Quartz Composer's broad capabilities, learning how to create everything from data-driven visual effects to compelling live performance animations.

Graham Robinson runs Shakinda Productions in Belfast, Ireland, specializing in innovative projection design and interactive visual systems creation. He believes that technology allows us to create art that can inspire humanity and transform society, and has performed Audio Visual sets as VJ Shakinda all over the world.

 

Surya Buchwald runs MMMLabs in Portland Oregon, creating interactive experiences for Nike, Intel, Scion, and others. He traverses the globe as VJ for the Glitch Mob, bringing the Quartz Composer magic to fans all over. He also creates interactive video instruments and performs with them as Momo the Monster.

Preface

Acknowledgements

About the Author

 

Part I: Quartz Beginner

Chapter 1: What Is Quartz Composer and Why Should I Learn It?

Chapter 2: The Interface and Playing a Movie

Chapter 3: Adding Visual Effects (Pimping It Out)

Chapter 4: Using LFOs, Interpolation, and Trackballs to Move Stuff

Chapter 5: Debugging (When Things Go Wrong)

Chapter 6: Particles (Little Flying Bits of Bling)

Chapter 7: Mouse Input (Making Your Mouse Do Cool Stuff)

Chapter 8: MIDI Interfacing (Getting Sliders and Knobs Involved)

Chapter 9: Interacting with Audio (Get Stuff Grooving to the Beat)

Chapter 10: Lighting and Timelines (The Dark Side of QC)

Chapter 11: Replication/Iteration (The Bomb)

 

Part II: Quartz Ninja

Chapter 12: Modeling Complex Environments (3D Cities)

Chapter 13: Create a Cocoa App (Send Quartz to Your Friends)

Chapter 14: Create a Screensaver

Chapter 15: Secret Patches, Core Image Filters, and GLSL (Pushing the Boundaries)

 

Index