Laptop lightshow+ Microphone+ acoustic instrument?

[darkfire346]

Long story short: we have this thing called a senior project at my school. Basically you pick a topic you are interested in, find a "Mentor" who has experience in the field to help you, and literally spend the whole year working on said project. My interest is in stage performances, particularly the visual and audio effects. So I have this idea that I really hope to be able to pull off. Step 1) is to compose a song (already working on that) Step 2) is to attempt to rig a light-show with my laptop to go along with said song. Sounds simple but in actuality far from easy. I was curious is it possible to mic an acoustic instrument (cello) and sync that to the light-show using my laptop?

Basically I want to setup a performance using several visual effects (various lights, maybe fog machine, etc.) to sync up with my instrument if possible to pull off one hell of a show.

 

[Jamie]

Check out Venue Magic. Kind of pricey but it allows you cue lights directly on top of a music track (clip track?). I believe it offers compatibility with MIDI devices such as some musical instruments. I've never used personally aside from the demo, but you can at least demo it and see what you think!

 

[Footer]

Research Midi, click track, and SMPTE. Using a cello, you won't be able to get the lights to sync up to you, you will have to sync up to the lights. Because this is "your" project, I will just give you that info and see where it takes you. We like students to ask questions, but we won't do your work for you. Good luck! If you have any specific questions don't hesitate to ask but try to say away from generalized questions.

 

[mstaylor]

It would good to know what lighting board and dimmers you have so you know whether your gear will do what you want to do.

 

[jxgriffi]

Also check out DMXis from Enttec. It doesn't allow you to sync, but you can build your scenes and use a foot pedal to step through the scenes.