ATEM AutoMixer control options:
MIDI Control | BPM Control | Audio Control |
The MIDI hardware control works exclusively with the Native Instruments Traktor F1 controller (for now). We’ve mapped core functionality to this MIDI controller including PGM bus cutting of inputs 1-8, cut, auto-take, and assigning the preview input (which is done with a slider). | The BPM control allows you to tap a BPM, which then automatically switches between inputs designated on an input list. This could be only inputs 1 and 2, or inputs 1-2-3, or 1-2-4-6, or whatever configuration makes sense. | The audio control module takes incoming audio – either from the microphone or actual line-in – and generates a “cut” command based on the volume level. The volume level can be tweaked and arranged using a low pass filter and gain control to make the system totally reactive to something like voice, or configured to pull only the loudest “beats” out of what it hears. |
Turning a Blackmagic ATEM into a sound-activated auto-director.
We’re always looking for ways to do more cool and weird stuff at Punch Drunk. Coming from a background in EDM and rave visuals, we’re big on cutting fast live shows and intertwining what’s happening in video with what’s happening on stage.
Edirol’s seminal V-4 video switcher rolled out BPM tap and automatic 2-bus switching in 2004, which was an absolute game-changer. You could set up rudimentary automation between two video buses, then switch and manipulate the inputs while the sources changed to the beat.
Fast forward more than a decade and we’ve got Blackmagic Design leading the charge in affordable, professional-level video gear with an open ecosystem that invites us to build and innovate with their products and platforms.
Sven Gareis and the Telematique team opened the floodgates in 2013 with ofAtem, which is a module that brings ATEM commands into several familiar environments. We used the wonderful work from the Telematique team and built our ATEM Automation software that allows a user to use the ATEM switcher in new ways totally unavailable with standard components, but completely non-destructively by communicating over TCP/IP with the ATEM hardware.
In 2016, we discreetly unveiled the ATEM AutoMixer at YouTube’s SXSW house, which featured established artists and rising stars like Anderson.Paak, Future, Troye Sivan, Blood Orange, Dua Lipa, Lukas Graham, The Range, Maren Morris, Lapsley, Jamie xx, and more. During this activation we let the music do the mixing for select acts, which showcased the mighty power of automation in live production.
