Apple's Quartz Composer makes it amazingly easy to create real-time graphics of all kinds: for filmmaking, digital content, building projection, animation, graphically rich apps, Dashboard Widgets, and more. But few content creators use QC, because they've had practically no useful help-until now. In this book/DVD package, two renowned VJs who've pushed this tool to the limit show you how to do it, too!

You don't need any technical experience: In Learning Quartz Composer Graham Robinson and Surya Buchwald introduce each concept through a hands-on project, with videos demonstrating every step. They start by offering beautiful visual feedback and encouraging you to freely explore. The video and text work together to help you build mastery fast, as you create everything from data-driven effects to compelling live performance visuals!

If you're a motion graphics designer, filmmaker, animator, VJ, artist, interactive programmer, Cocoa developer, or anyone tired of hitting the render button, this package will guide you from zero to hero in no time... and it just might be the most fun instructional guide you'll ever read!

Coverage Includes

• Mastering Quartz Composer's powerful interface
• Grabbing live inputs from music or cameras for unique interaction and improvisation
• Outputting video files for everything from smartphone screens to HD video edits
• Using built-in image filters to add visual effects
• Creating organic motion with LFOs, interpolation, and trackballs
• Fixing problems and figuring out what you did wrong
• Making rain, fire, and other cool stuff with particles
• Integrating MIDI musical instruments and other audio resources
• Mastering lighting and timelines
• Building richer environments with replication, iteration, and 3D modeling
• Pushing the boundaries with secret patches, CoreImage filters, and GLSL