Reason has no visualizer or video track of its own. Its rack has hosted VST3 and VST2 plugins since Reason 12.5, and a visualizer plugin loads there like any other effect device. You patch it into the Master Section or onto a single mix channel, press play, and record the result. This guide covers where it goes, how to record a video from it, and how to change scenes from the sequencer.
A VST3 visualizer in the Master Section
A visualizer plugin sits in the rack with every look already built. You pick a scene and a palette, and it reacts to the song from the first beat.
This is the route Photism takes. It is a VST3 and Audio Unit effect that passes your audio through untouched, and the plugin window is the visualizer. Reason hosts the VST3 on both a Mac and Windows. Twenty-four scenes, from marbled ink to architectural geometry to a live reaction-diffusion figure, each react to kicks, bass weight, and energy in real time.
Install and scan
- Install the plugin with Reason closed. On a Mac, run the
Photism installer. It puts the VST3 in
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3, the folder Reason scans by default. On Windows, extract the zip and copy the wholePhotism.vst3folder intoC:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3, with the Contents folder still inside it. - Open Reason. It scans its plugin folders each time it starts, so there is no rescan button. Photism appears on the Effects palette of the Device Palette, with a small gold VST3 label.
Load it in the Master Section
- Press F5 to show the Main Mixer. On the Master Section strip at the right, click Edit Inserts. The rack scrolls to the Master Section with its Insert FX container open.
- Drag Photism from the Effects palette into that container.
- Click Open on the Photism device, or click its picture. The Plugin Window opens, and it is the visualizer. Click Keep open at the top of the window so it stays up when you select another device. Press play and the picture starts moving with the song.
In the Master Section, Photism hears the whole mix. Put it in a Mix Channel’s Insert FX instead and it follows only that part, a drum bus for example. With that track selected, drag Photism into the Mix Channel section of the Track Panel.
Pick a look
Every control has a button in the row along the corner of the window, so you can drive the whole thing with the mouse:
- tab · scenes opens the scene grid. Click any scene to jump to it.
- p · opens the palette card. Every color set is on one card.
- x · shuffle picks a fresh scene and palette in one click.
- g · tune opens the tuning panel, with the macros, the lens, and your saved presets.
The keyboard shortcuts take shift in the plugin: shift+g for the panel, shift+r to record, shift+o for the output. If Reason keeps a key for itself, the button in the corner does the same job. Drop an album cover onto the window and Photism builds a five-color palette from it, so the visuals match the release.
Record the video
- Choose the frame with the a · button: 16:9 for YouTube, 9:16 for Reels and TikTok, 1:1 for a square post.
- Move the song position to the start of the song.
- Click r · rec in the window, or press shift+r, then press play in Reason.
- When the song ends, click the record button again. The button steps through finishing, adding sound, and saving, then names the folder.
The MP4 saves to your Downloads folder with the song already in it, taken from the channel Photism sits on. You skip the audio export and the step of lining the song up in an editor. Clips record at each platform’s upload size, and the recording settings in the tuning panel go up to 4K.
Keep the plugin window open until the button says saved. Covering it with other windows is fine, and closing it ends the take. Reason closes a Plugin Window when you select another device, so leave Keep open on while you record.
Change scenes on the drop
Photism’s scene, palette, mode, preset slot, and main controls are ordinary plugin parameters, so the Reason sequencer can automate them:
- Select the Photism device in the rack and choose Edit > Create Track for Photism. Effect devices start without a sequencer track, so this gives it one.
- With that track selected, click the Track Parameter Automation drop-down at the top of the track list and choose Scene.
- Pick the Pencil tool, draw an automation clip on the Scene lane, and draw a step at the drop. Every playback switches the scene on that beat.
The same works for Palette at the bridge, Spin or Mirror as a slow build, or Preset Slot to swap the entire look on a section.
Getting it on a second screen
Click o · output, or press shift+o, to open a separate output window. Drag it to your second display or projector and make it fullscreen. It shows the visuals alone, with no buttons. To stream it, turn on Syphon (Mac) or Spout (Windows, beta) in that window’s top bar and pick the Photism source in OBS, Resolume, or TouchDesigner. On a Mac, the first use asks for Screen Recording access, and Reason is the app to allow. The Syphon and Spout guide covers the receiving side.
Where to put it
| You want | Where Photism goes |
|---|---|
| Visuals for the whole song | The Master Section inserts |
| Visuals that follow one part, like the drums | That Mix Channel’s Insert FX |
| Visuals on a projector during a show | The Master Section, plus the output window |
| Visuals while the Reason Rack plugin runs inside another DAW | That DAW’s master track |
If you run the Reason Rack plugin inside another DAW, the guides for Ableton Live and FL Studio show where Photism goes there.
Photism runs inside your song, so trying it costs nothing but an insert slot. You can feel Photism’s engine before installing anything at photism.app/online, which runs three scenes free in your browser from a dropped track or your mic.