Absolute beginner, setting up, saying hi

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Hi! I am so new I don’t even yet have Tagtool, but I have just been asked to make my first projection project and have decided, from all my research, that Tagtool is the tool I want to use.

I’m about to buy one of the new iPad Pros running 12. Before I spend the money, can you tell me whether Tagtool will be compatible? I also need to buy a projector to start developing at home – so if anyone has any recommendations (that can ideally double as a home cinema as well), please do let me know.

All your work here is amazing and inspiring. Excited to get started!

Karen

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Yep, the latest version of Tagtool on a pro and 12 works great. There’s nothing else like tagtool for live work, for sure. The projector I grabbed for our gigs is the Acer A6517ST which projects a 3m wide screen from 1.5 m away so is perfect for rear-pro in a club or small venue. It’s not got 3 chip technology but is still bright enough for a 3k projector. And for big gigs where we have budget for a 20k pro we still use it on the small stage. Enjoy!!

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The new iPad is perfect for Tagtool! When choosing the projector I would consider the Ansi Lumen (light strength), resolution (size of the pixels) and mobility (easiness to carry around). We have good experience with Epson as they are resistant and have vibrant colours. According to your budget, I can recommend a EPSON EB-U42 or a EPSON EB-2265U.

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Thank you for your feedback! I looked up the projectors and they are out of price range at the moment. I am looking to spend maybe about £400 but will look at Epsons in that range. I am not projecting either live or with my own projector at first. I will make recordings and output as vid files for large projectors already installed in town. I need a projector at home just to work and possibly some guerrilla action on my neighbors’ walls (not huge or far away). :joy: Thanks again!

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HI! I now have the latest iPad Pro released this week,and Pencil. I downloaded Tagtool from the App Store, and have been playing with it, trying to get used to the controls. I then downloaded the Beta Tagtool because I thought it might be further along with recording functions, etc, but I realise now it’s possible I’ve gone back an interaction! Right now I have the Beta on my iPad.

I’m having a lot of fun, but I have questions. Apologies if what I’m asking has been covered before.

  1. I notice there is no way to save completed videos and go back and edit them, so if I make one animation and want to move on to another, I have to just take a screen recording (or equivalent) and screenshots for the record and move on to the next animation. Is this correct?

  2. I see that Decks is some way of saving objects. When I was using the TT I bought from the App Store, I managed to save a couple of objects. But when I loaded the Beta version, the previous TT disappeared along with everything in the Deck. I don’ t mind, but in my Beta version, I can’t figure out how to save any objects in the Deck! All I can do is name the Decks. That’s all. Can Decks save entire animated works so I can go back to them, or only individual objects?

  3. I can’t figure out what AIM is used for!

  4. I want to draw objects in other programs and bring them in because my freehand painting isn’t as good as you guys! I read that you cut out objects in png and imported them… can someone walk me through how to do that? I might, for example, draw something in ArtRage or Paper and want to cut out the shape and import it as an object in TagTool. I need help with the steps to do that.

  5. Should I delete the beta and go back to my paid version of TagTool from the App Store?

I know this is a lot of questions. If there is anyone around Cambridge or London who might have some time to spend with me on a tutorial in person, I would be happy to pay. Please contact me at Karen.Eng@mac.com.

Thank you!! K

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Update: I decided to go back to the paid app, which made the beta disappear, but from there figured out how to add objects to the Deck. Yay.

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Update: I have figured out how to pull in objects by cutting them out in a Photoshop app and sending them to the camera roll, and pulling in from there.

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Updated observations. I am using the New Tagtool purchased from the App Store on a brand-new iPad Pro 12.9-inch with 512GB.

  1. There is no native record function on the iPad. I am making my loops and then saving them via Screen Record, then editing the video file using Photos app and iMovie to trim out the iPad Pro navigation bar and add filters and sound.

  2. I have sort of figured out how to add objects to the Decks but still don’t quite understand the order of commands to file things correctly; it’s kind of hit or miss.

  3. Work disappears and the program resets if I close Tagtool for overnight. I can however get out of the app to look stuff up for short periods and go back and find my animation. There is no way to save that I can find – so this means if I need to leave Tagtool in the middle of an animation for any reason it is possible all the work will disappear, and there is no easy way to reconstitute it. I have to start from scratch using the objects I saved in Deck.

  4. Output Tagtool animations to video file possibilities tried so far:
    a) screen record from iPad - upside: iPad native, free, downside: includes the nav bar at the bottom of screen, and unsure about the resolution quality

    b) screen record from iPad and crop the nav bar out using iMovie - upside: iPad native, free, downside: changes aspect ratio, possibly loses resolution

    c) AirServer record using iMac - upside: appears to be highest resolution choice (need confirmation of this), maintains the aspect ratio, outputs as .mov file, downside: requires wifi connection that is extremely unstable on my system, requires purchase of air server license.

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