Control OBS Color Source Brightness with MIDI Slider

This guide explains how to connect a physical MIDI controller slider to OBS Studio to smoothly dim and control the brightness of a specific color source. By using a dedicated OBS MIDI plugin and a Color Correction filter, you can map your physical faders for real-time, precise tactile control over your stream’s visual elements.

Step 1: Install the OBS-MIDI-Utility Plugin

To bridge the gap between your physical MIDI controller and OBS Studio, you need to use an integration plugin. 1. Download the latest version of the OBS-MIDI-Utility plugin from the official OBS Resources website or its GitHub releases page. 2. Install the plugin by placing the files into your OBS Studio installation directory. 3. Restart OBS Studio to load the plugin.

Step 2: Set Up the Color Source and Filter

Because OBS does not have a native “brightness” slider directly on color sources, you must use a filter to control the opacity or brightness level. 1. In the OBS Sources dock, click the + icon and select Color Source to create your color block. 2. Right-click the newly created Color Source and select Filters. 3. Click the + icon in the Effect Filters box and choose Color Correction. 4. In the filter properties, locate the Opacity or Brightness slider. The Opacity slider is ideal for dimming, as sliding it to 0 makes the color source completely transparent.

Step 3: Configure the MIDI Controller in OBS

  1. Connect your physical MIDI controller to your computer.
  2. In OBS, go to the top menu and select Tools > OBS-MIDI-Utility.
  3. In the plugin window, navigate to the Devices tab.
  4. Locate your MIDI controller in the list and check the box to enable it for input.

Step 4: Map the Physical Slider to the Filter

  1. Switch to the Bindings tab in the OBS-MIDI-Utility window.
  2. Physically move the slider on your MIDI controller. The plugin will instantly detect the incoming MIDI Control Change (CC) message.
  3. Click Add Binding for the detected MIDI input.
  4. Set the target action to control a source filter.
  5. Select your target Scene, choose the Color Source, and select the Color Correction filter you created in Step 2.
  6. Select the Opacity (or Brightness) parameter.
  7. Configure the value range from 0.00 (fully dimmed) to 1.00 (full brightness) to match the slider’s physical travel.
  8. Click Save to apply the binding.

Step 5: Test the Setup

Move your physical MIDI slider up and down. The opacity of the color source in your OBS viewport should smoothly transition between fully bright and completely dark in real-time.