Exciting and Efficient Visualizers With JUCE and OpenGL
Audio Development as a Creative Outlet
Visualizers are a perfect project for beginning plugin developers. Not only are they eye-catching, but they add a layer of intuition for users to "see" audio. And, as projects that are less concerned with the limitations of real-time signal processing, they are perfect environments for beginners to learn frameworks and incorporate their own visual interests.
However, complicated visualizers written fully in JUCE often run into performance issues, as JUCE's native graphics library executes primarily on the CPU, and may not be flexible enough for complex applications. Luckily for us, JUCE has a built-in OpenGL API, allowing us to create visuals that are both exciting and efficient!
This talk goes over the basic structure for a visualizer written fully using JUCE, issues with it, and the structure for a JUCE + OpenGL project. Along the way, I draw on examples from my own visualizers, explain all necessary objects in detail, and iron out common confusions to make the coding process as smooth and fun as possible. And, at the end, I provide a list of resources that I used to learn, along with those that provide base projects to build from.
Nathaniel D'Annunzio
Hello! My name is Nate D’Annunzio, and I’m a current freshman at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. I'm a beginning audio developer with about a year of experience who enjoys creating audio plugins based math concepts I find interesting!
My first project used sets of complex numbers (and a corresponding algebra) to graph fractal-like shapes that move to music. Think a NCS Visualizer with extra steps. And, my most recent project recreates the classic 3D “Art of Mixing” visuals in real time using a custom-built renderer in OpenGL made as an educational resource for orchestra teachers. The end goal is to experiment with internal TCP communication to build a responsive 3D visual mixer in a DAW!
In my free time, I enjoy learning about math, playing Minecraft with my friends (especially Hypixel Skywars), and listening to/making music! Some of my favorite musicians are Kanye West, Aphex Twin, xaviersobased, DJ Shadow, Swans, and Joy Division. My future plans for audio development lie on the research side, with my interests being in generative audio and signal processing.