CHROMOLA is innovative because it unifies real-time video processing, MIDI control, and generative automation into a single, deeply interactive instrument—bridging the worlds of music and visuals in ways few tools can.
Unlike traditional VJ or MIDI controller software, CHROMOLA creates a bidirectional feedback loop:
Visuals can play music: The app analyzes live video or media files, tracking up to seven user-defined colors. When a color appears, it triggers MIDI notes—so you can literally “play” a synth with objects, lights, or movement in your environment.
Music can sculpt visuals: Every video effect parameter (swirl, trails, RGB split, etc.) can be mapped to any MIDI CC, with instant “learn” and “lock” modes. This means your hardware knobs, faders, or DAW automation can morph the video in real time, making the visuals as expressive as the music.
The KNOBS tab is a breakthrough in generative automation: it analyzes the processed video’s color and brightness histograms, turning them into 16 continuous MIDI CC streams. These “visual LFOs” let your video content organically modulate synths, effects, or lighting—no scripting or manual programming required.
CHROMOLA’s media integration is also unique. You can assign video clips, images, or GIFs to MIDI notes and trigger them like visual samples. The compositing engine allows effects to “tear holes” in the live feed, revealing the triggered media underneath—enabling complex, layered visuals that respond to both MIDI and video input.
The app’s workflow is performance-ready:
All processing runs in background threads for smooth, lag-free operation.
You can save and reload your entire session (including MIDI mappings, color settings, and media assignments) with a single file.
Virtual webcam output lets you stream your generative visuals directly into OBS, Zoom, or any video app.
Example workflows:
A performer waves colored objects to trigger synth notes, while twisting MIDI knobs to morph the video in sync with the music.
A VJ assigns video clips to MIDI pads, blending them with live camera input and letting the video’s own “energy” modulate sound and effects.
An installation artist lets the environment’s colors and movement generate both visuals and sound, creating an evolving, hands-off audiovisual experience.
In short:
CHROMOLA is innovative because it’s not just a controller or a visualizer—it’s a true audiovisual instrument, where sound and vision are equal partners, each able to drive and transform the other in real time. This opens up new creative territory for musicians, VJs, and artists seeking deeper, more organic connections between what they see and what they hear.
