How Do I Make VJ Scene Transitions Land on the Beat?

In BeamTracer Performer, open Scene Sequencer, add two scenes using different visualizers, and set their transitions to SCAN. Choose IRIS, BLINDS, or a direction, then STEADY or ON THE BEAT for the sweep. Set scene holds in B for beats, enable the header clock, switch to PERFORM, and press Play on the beat where you want the sequence to begin.

Iris with a Steady sweep, alternating Mandelbrot and Silicon City. Each scene holds for eight beats at the demo track's 95 BPM. This silent clip comes from a live Performer recording.

A reveal gives the next scene an entrance you can see: a circle opens into the circuit board, a line crosses the fractal, or strips uncover the next picture. Build the timing first, then choose a reveal that suits the two scenes. A busy image usually needs a simpler entrance than a sparse one.

How do I build a two-scene VJ sequence?

Start with two different visualizers. The examples use Mandelbrot for a detailed colored field and Silicon City for a moving 3D board. Their different shapes make the transition easy to follow.

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EDIT lets you change the rows without launching a scene. PERFORM protects those editing controls and lets you trigger a row. The header clock decides whether Play advances the sequence automatically. Starting your music and starting the scene transport are separate actions.

What does the eight-beat duration control?

The number beside B sets the scene's hold time. At 95 BPM, eight beats take about 5.05 seconds. At 120 BPM, they take 4 seconds. Changing that hold changes how often the next scene arrives.

The reveal has its own short transition window. Newly added BPM-synced scenes use a two-beat transition window; the eight in these rows does not make an eight-beat wipe. Keep the same holds while comparing the reveal styles so you can judge their movement.

Use S for holds measured in seconds. The header BPM switch converts scene timing between beat and second units. Check the session's tempo readout before performing; Tempo & Tap Tempo explains the source labels and the T shortcut.

How do I make a line reveal the next visualizer?

Choose SCAN direction → RIGHT for a line that crosses the picture horizontally. DOWN and UP give vertical sweeps, while CENTER OUT reveals from the middle.

Right with a Steady sweep. Scene holds and music tempo are unchanged.

A directional scan leaves a clear boundary between the two pictures. IRIS uses a circular boundary, which works well when the incoming image has a center you want to introduce first. These transitions change the whole scene. For changing viewpoints within one subject, use camera cues.

How do Steady and On the Beat differ?

STEADY moves the reveal evenly through the transition. ON THE BEAT advances it in steps when beat pulses arrive. Compare the two Blinds treatments below; both use the same two scenes and eight-beat holds.

Blinds with Steady movement.

Press Play to hear the music with Blinds set to On the Beat. The strips advance in steps instead of sweeping continuously. Music is retained from the live recording.

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Match the tempo to your track, and start the scene transport on the beat you want to use as the beginning. A beat-based hold measures time from that start; it does not promise to wait for the next musical bar. The sweep's beat steps and the scene's hold are separate parts of the timing.

Why doesn't clicking a scene row play the same reveal?

The automatic scene transport runs the transition window shown here. Clicking a row in PERFORM directly launches that scene. Use the enabled clock and Play when you want to reproduce these automatic SCAN transitions. Leave the clock off when you want each scene to wait for your next trigger.

SCAN, like Crossfade, shows between different visualizers. Two presets of one visualizer do not provide the same two-picture reveal. The examples here cover visualizer-to-visualizer transitions; camera and video scenes are separate workflows.

How do I record the show with its music?

Use RECORD in Performer's header while the music and scene sequence play. Choose STOP to save the take. The recording follows the live picture, including the reveals; all four examples above use this route. The silent clips have their audio removed for autoplay, and the final Blinds clip keeps it for listening.

Before a set, stop the transport, return to EDIT, and open SETS. Name the sequence and choose SAVE AS NEW. You can load the set later without starting playback. Recheck the session tempo after loading it, since tempo remains a session setting.

The Scene Sequencer guide covers saved sets, video chops and controller assignments. For a first sequence, keep two contrasting scenes and an eight-beat hold until you can start, stop and record the change where you intend.