URack: Audio-visual Composition and Performance using Unity and VCV Rack

Matthew Hughes, and Andrew Johnston

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract:

This demonstration presents URack, a custom-built audio-visual composition and performance environment that combines the Unity video-game engine with the VCV Rack software modular synthesiser. In alternative cross-modal solutions, a compromise is likely made in either the sonic or visual output, or the consistency and intuitiveness of the composition environment. By integrating control mechanisms for graphics inside VCV Rack, the music-making metaphors used to build a patch are extended into the visual domain. Users familiar with modular synthesizers are immediately able to start building high-fidelity graphics using the same control voltages regularly used to compose sound. Without needing to interact with two separate development environments, languages or metaphorical domains, users are encouraged to freely, creatively and enjoyably construct their own highly-integrated audio-visual instruments. This demonstration will showcase the construction of an audio-visual patch using URack, focusing on the integration of flexible GPU particle systems present in Unity with the vast library of creative audio composition modules inside VCV.

Citation:

Matthew Hughes, and Andrew Johnston. 2020. URack: Audio-visual Composition and Performance using Unity and VCV Rack. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4813389

BibTeX Entry:

  @inproceedings{NIME20_61,
 abstract = {This demonstration presents URack, a custom-built audio-visual composition and performance environment that combines the Unity video-game engine with the VCV Rack software modular synthesiser. In alternative cross-modal solutions, a compromise is likely made in either the sonic or visual output, or the consistency and intuitiveness of the composition environment. By integrating control mechanisms for graphics inside VCV Rack, the music-making metaphors used to build a patch are extended into the visual domain. Users familiar with modular synthesizers are immediately able to start building high-fidelity graphics using the same control voltages regularly used to compose sound. Without needing to interact with two separate development environments, languages or metaphorical domains, users are encouraged to freely, creatively and enjoyably construct their own highly-integrated audio-visual instruments. This demonstration will showcase the construction of an audio-visual patch using URack, focusing on the integration of flexible GPU particle systems present in Unity with the vast library of creative audio composition modules inside VCV.},
 address = {Birmingham, UK},
 author = {Hughes, Matthew and Johnston, Andrew},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.4813389},
 editor = {Romain Michon and Franziska Schroeder},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {July},
 pages = {321--322},
 publisher = {Birmingham City University},
 title = {URack: Audio-visual Composition and Performance using Unity and VCV Rack},
 url = {https://www.nime.org/proceedings/2020/nime2020_paper61.pdf},
 year = {2020}
}