Arcane Wizards builds software for live music visualists and lighting designers, offering tools to synchronize visuals with music performance. Their flagship product, Arcane Desktop, blends busking with timecoding for precision timing without pre-programming entire shows. They also develop open-source tools like Timecode Toolbox for timecode signal management.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Live music visualists and lighting designers often struggle to synchronize visuals with music in real time, relying on pre-programmed shows that lack flexibility or manual busking that sacrifices precision. This makes it difficult to adapt to the energy of a live performance while maintaining tight timing accuracy, especially for intricate song details like rapid drum patterns and micro-transitions.
Solution
Arcane Wizards provides software solutions that bridge the gap between busking and timecoding, enabling real-time visual synchronization with music performance. Their flagship product, Arcane Desktop, uses "Spell files" — lightweight, shareable files containing detailed timing information about audio track elements — allowing users to map intricate song details to DMX and OSC outputs. This approach lets lighting designers and VJs execute consistent, detailed performances without pre-programming entire shows, while still having the freedom to busk other elements live. The company also offers Timecode Toolbox, a free and open-source application for monitoring, generating, and converting timecode signals, and builds on their open-source library `@arcanejs` for centrally-controlled stateful Node applications.
Target Audience
Primary customers are VJs, lighting designers, artists, and labels who need precise, flexible synchronization of visuals and lighting with live music performances.
Features
- Arcane Desktop's Spell files contain timing data for audio elements like percussion, melodic parts, and bass, enabling precise synchronization
- Built-in editor for loading audio files onto a timeline and creating detailed or simple "spells" that can be imported, exported, and shared
- Supports output over DMX and OSC protocols for integration with lighting and visual hardware
- Patent-pending blend of busking and timecoding for flexibility during live performances
- Timecode Toolbox, a free and open-source app for timecode signal monitoring, generation, and conversion
- Open-source core with numerous published libraries on NPM, including tools for ArtNet and TCNet protocols