Santa is coming with a Reso gift plugin

How how how Santa Claus is here with the gift plugin

"Multiflex HoliBauble"

As promised in my December "free software" recommendation, I've tried to make the gift plugin available for the holidays. I already released two plugins in November that can be used as backgrounds or patterns for festive occasions, but I'm including them again because I've integrated them into the accompanying arena composition. This composition also includes a background based purely on standard arena/avenue generators and effects, which I've further refined for you and this special occasion. So, you can now light up the four Advent candles – meaning you'll receive four great new additions.

Okay, but you're mainly interested in how to get the plugin. It's really easy and won't cost you a single dollar; I'm essentially giving it to you as my Christmas present. Send me a nice Christmas or New Year's greeting to code.kills.videoloops@gmail.com and don't forget to mention that you've read and accepted the terms of service and license. If I like your greeting, I'll send you an email reply with the necessary download link.

Plugin-License:

The Resolomue Arena/Avenue plugin it self is licensed under the „freeVJing License 1.7 Tight“.

Key License Terms:

• ✓ Free to use for VJing and live performances

• ✓ Free to use in commercial VJ performances

• ✗ No redistribution or sharing without permission (also applies to the cloud-DL-link!)

• ✗ No modifications, forks, or derivative works

• ✗ No resale or commercial redistribution

Full License Details: https://github.com/bennoH2025/freeVJing-license/blob/main/freeVJing%20License%201.7%20Tight.md

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, use at your own risk!

Short installation instructions:

Download the folder "Multiflex HoliBauble by bennoH". Extract the ZIP file it contains. In the folder "By opening, you accept the license", you will find three Arena/Avenue plugins. On Windows 10/11, please move these to your C drive: "C:\Program Files\Resolume Arena\plugins\wire". Do the same for the two plugins recommended by TiXL (also found here), if they are not already installed. Next, you will find two Arena composition files. Move these to your Arena user folder, specifically to the compositions folder: "C:\Users\YOUR USERNAME\Documents\Resolume Arena\Compositions". Finally, there is the file "VLADIMIR.TTF". Double-click this file to add it to your system fonts if it is not already present, as this font is used in my Arena composition. In the folder "antik festive frames - oldstyle 720p" you will find three JPG files. Place these in your Resolume user folder, which is located in your Documents folder. You will need these files later to relink the corresponding clips in Arena Composition. Only now should you start Arena and first relink the missing clips, i.e., the picture frame JPGs. After that, you can begin.

But let's now turn our attention to the brand new "Multiflex HoliBauble" plugin, which forms the core of these four elements with its enormous flexibility in terms of shape, movement, color, and overall vast array of options. Regarding the latter, I'd like to briefly mention that I've compiled the same plugin into three versions for you. The idea is that fewer of the numerous options are unlocked in Arena/Avenue, resulting in clearer versions that are more suitable for beginners.

Essentially, this is a Christmas ornament fantasy, where a mix of the shader code techniques recursive fractals and Signed Distance Field (SDF) is used in the main ISF to create this truly illusory visualization. I think it's a wonderful fit for club events or parties around the holidays, and its diverse settings allow for harmonious variations to be created for any music style or theme. I hope you already find something suitable for your party in my Arena composition, but there are still 1000+1 versions for you to explore; just let your own ideas become reality by "playing around."

The backgrounds and text clips, such as "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year everyon," are intended to serve as inspiration or for quick and easy show design. You might need to select a font already installed on your system, and I recommend a brush script—a flowing, festive font. I used "Vladimir Script," a Microsoft font that's considered free on Windows. Just to be safe, I've included "VLADIMIR.TTF" without any guarantee of usability outside of Windows systems. However, this shouldn't be a problem since Microsoft offers a freely accessible font library for everyone. Installing the font on Windows is extremely easy: simply double-click the .tiff file. You'll be asked if you want to add it to your system fonts, and after that, it will be available in all programs like Resolume Arena. This means my text clips in the Arena composition should then work perfectly.

I intentionally created the composition in 1080p to ensure sufficient GPU power. However, the composition will likely only run in Arena 7.18.1 and perhaps not in all newer versions. Just try it out; if it works, you can save the individual clips as presets using my naming conventions. Sharing presets is not possible for me under the current circumstances, or only with considerable difficulty for both of us, and even then, not guaranteed in every case. It's a real shame, but Resolume B.V. simply promises too much, which in reality practically never works for me and leads to extreme frustration if you try anyway. Therefore, the example clips in the attached Arena composition are an alternative.

But what exactly do we have in this arena composition (see also the YouTube tutorial):There are three sections, with the middle one being the most important and the one we'll be using here. The rearmost section contains only the three versions of the "Multiflex HoliBauble" plugin: ultra, pro, and easy, so you can see the differences in the number of options. The frontmost tab contains the two plugins I already recommended to TiXL, which are ideal as backgrounds for Christmas visuals.

Now let's turn to the middle section. Click on the "Multiflex HoliBauble - ultra" tab, wait a moment for the clips to load, and then scroll up until you see them. My logo is currently placed on the top layer, which would be the perfect spot for your own logo, the venue's logo, or the logo of the event where the show is taking place. The second-to-top layer contains some antique-style picture frames as a supporting element for the festive theme. You'll find these JPG files in the extracted ZIP file, specifically in the folder "antik festive frames - oldstyle 720p". Place this folder in your Arena user folder, perhaps in a folder named "Media", and then re-link/re-link these media files to the corresponding clips on Layer 2 in my Arena composition. I couldn't organize this better for you beforehand. You can use the filenames as a guide when assigning them, and then the effects and settings I added to the individual festive frames should work perfectly again.

On the third layer, you'll find variations of the central plugin element, the "Multiflex HoliBauble" in its ultra version, as this offers the most options and therefore the greatest flexibility. Please click through the variations carefully to get an overview. Avoid switching too quickly, as having so many clips on one layer can lead to crashes or program malfunctions. You can certainly switch around as you like and add or remove backgrounds from the other layers, but just don't rush.

I've added the two previously recommended free plugins from TiXL (Resolume forum) as backgrounds to the lower layers, including the background element based solely on Arena's standard generators and effects, and fine-tuned everything.

In the YouTube tutorial video, you can see how I envisioned using all the elements of the individual layers and what you can achieve with them. The Arena composition also demonstrates how you can build such flexible plugins using code, specifically ISF shaders, on which my plugins are based. This allows you to create an entire evening's entertainment with just two or three individual plugins, clearly demonstrating its enormous superiority over rigid video loops. But feel free to expand and refine the Arena composition to suit your event and show, and let your creative ideas run wild.

I wish you much success and enjoyment.

And of course, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you out there!

May the visuals shine, the cookies taste delicious, and the corks pop!

Your's truly, bennoH. from the snowy Swiss mountains