Kineme: Quartz Composer Stuff

kineme.net was a community surrounding the development of
Quartz Composer custom patches, plugins, and other hacks.

Please read the installation guide
and check out the Documentation.

The Kineme website has retired;
you can no longer log in or post new threads or comments.

If you need access to your Kineme product license keys,
please contact us and include your e-mail address,
kineme.net user name, and order number for verification.

Our current focus

In 2012, we started building a new visual programming environment
that doesn’t rely on Apple's Quartz Composer (which Apple no longer supports).
We’ve created Vuo, and people are using it to create amazing shows and installations.
You can download the free Community Edition.

Unsupported — We cannot guarantee that this software will work properly on Mac OS 10.8 and above.

If you'd still like to purchase a license to an unsupported Kineme product,
please use PayPal to send the appropriate amount to store@kosada.com,
we'll respond with your license key(s) within 24 hours.

Release: QuartzBuilder, v1.5

Release Type: Production
Version: 1.5
Release Notes

Changes since QuartzBuilder 1.4

  • Added workaround to handle cases where a drawing context cannot be created using the default system colorspace (bug report)
  • Fixed issue where generated app would incorrectly load exposed parameters even when built with Save Input Parameters disabled (bug reported by @gtoledo3)
  • Added ability to bundle fonts (feature request)

Known Issues

  • To build an application that contains 32-bit-only plugins, you must run QuartzBuilder in 32-bit mode. See the QuartzBuilder documentation for details.

What's your biggest problem with Quartz Composer?

This question's about you. See also the accompanying poll, Why don't your friends use Quartz Composer?.

(You may choose more than one response, or write in a response if a problem isn't mentioned.)

Apple hasn't focused on developing QC for several years
79% (60 votes)
QC doesn't support modern graphics (e.g., geometry shaders, shadows)
47% (36 votes)
QC's audio support is too limited
36% (27 votes)
Compositions run only on Mac OS X
34% (26 votes)
QC's editor is too slow when working with large compositions
28% (21 votes)
Apple's QC documentation is inadequate
26% (20 votes)
QC doesn't integrate well with other apps (e.g., Keynote, AE)
24% (18 votes)
QC is unreliable
24% (18 votes)
QC is too slow/inefficient
22% (17 votes)
QC lacks adequate tools for developing user interfaces
21% (16 votes)
The public plugin API is too limited
20% (15 votes)
QC's editor works only on Mac OS X
18% (14 votes)
There aren't enough patches for QC
16% (12 votes)
QC lacks adequate tools for text-based programming
9% (7 votes)
QC can't natively build standalone applications
8% (6 votes)
It's too hard to create plugins for QC
8% (6 votes)
QC's editor is too hard to use
8% (6 votes)
It's too hard to express myself using QC
7% (5 votes)
Total voters: 76

Why don't your friends use Quartz Composer?

This question's about people you know. See also the accompanying poll, What's your biggest problem with Quartz Composer?.

(You may choose more than one response, or write in a response if a problem isn't mentioned.)

Compositions run only on Mac OS X
54% (27 votes)
They don't know what it's capable of
54% (27 votes)
Apple's QC documentation is inadequate
38% (19 votes)
QC's editor works only on Mac OS X
34% (17 votes)
QC doesn't have a reputation for serious work
28% (14 votes)
It's too hard to express themselves using QC
28% (14 votes)
Apple hasn't focused on developing QC for several years
28% (14 votes)
QC's audio support is too limited
20% (10 votes)
QC doesn't support modern graphics (e.g., geometry shaders, shadows)
20% (10 votes)
Apple has made QC too difficult to find and install
20% (10 votes)
QC's editor is too hard to use
18% (9 votes)
QC is too slow
14% (7 votes)
QC is unreliable
12% (6 votes)
There aren't enough patches for QC
8% (4 votes)
QC doesn't integrate well with other apps (e.g., Keynote, AE)
8% (4 votes)
QC lacks dynamic scenegraphs and other 3D game essentials
8% (4 votes)
It's too hard to create plugins for QC
4% (2 votes)
Total voters: 50

What do you use QC for?

Thinking about the future of QC, and how to focus our (Kineme's) efforts, we're wondering: What do you use QC for, as of summer 2012?

Select all that apply. Feel free to leave a comment to elaborate.

Making visuals for live music performances
72% (71 votes)
Making art installations
60% (59 votes)
Just playing around / tinkering
51% (50 votes)
Making visuals for live theatrical performances
41% (40 votes)
Making standalone apps
41% (40 votes)
Making museum exhibits
36% (35 votes)
Making prototypes of applications
35% (34 votes)
Making visuals for recorded music
32% (31 votes)
Post-producing video
26% (25 votes)
Teaching introductory programming
24% (24 votes)
Making screen savers
16% (16 votes)
Broadcasting live video
12% (12 votes)
Making art prints
9% (9 votes)
Making music
8% (8 votes)
Making games
7% (7 votes)
Making informational kiosks
7% (7 votes)
Visualizing data (other than business metrics)
6% (6 votes)
Making plugins for video post-production
5% (5 votes)
Making prototypes of graphics shaders/filters
5% (5 votes)
Making plugins for other visualist software
3% (3 votes)
Making dashboards for business metrics
3% (3 votes)
Total voters: 98

Release: ARTools, v20120106

Release Type: Beta
Version: 20120106
Release Notes

Initial beta release.

@balaban (balabanGoran, balaban@friedpictures.com) commissioned the AR Marker Detector patch.