Back to Studio Setup Examples (Green Screen, Virtual Camera)
Introduction
In this article, you can read about the Virtual Camera compounds that come with Aximmetry. They are necessary tools for creating Green Screen Production with Aximmetry's native render engine and the Unreal Engine, using non-tracked (virtual cameras). We will describe how to import and connect them to other items in the Flow Editor, and the Control Boards they include.
Virtual Camera
The term Virtual Camera in Aximmetry refers to a workflow that uses stationary studio cameras. It also refers to the virtual counterpart of the real-world studio camera; this virtual camera allows us to see the virtual graphics of the virtual production that the real-world studio camera cannot see.
For studio cameras with camera tracking systems, please find more info on them in the Tracked Camera Compounds article.
Compound Locations
Aximmetry's Common_Library content package offers many different Virtual Camera compounds, depending on whether you are using Aximmetry's native render engine or Unreal Engine.
Compound Folder for Aximmetry's Native Render Engine
[Common_Studio]:Camera\VirtualCam
Compound Folder for Unreal Engine
[Common_Studio]:Camera\VirtualCam_Unreal
Compound Names
Example: VirtualCam_4-Cam.xcomp
- VirtualCam_ - the type of the camera compound. In the above-mentioned folders, you will only find the ones that start with VirtualCam. (VirtualCam, TrackedCam).
- _4-Cam - has 4 virtual cameras (3-Cam, 4-Cam, 8-Cam).
Other additions to compound names:
- _Unreal - must be used with Unreal virtual scenes.
- _A-B-C - shows many points you can define for camera movement. The default number of camera animation points is two. If the camera compound only has two such points (e.g., A-B), then it is not stated explicitly in the compound name.
- _MultiB - for each virtual camera, there are 3 billboards.
- MixedCam_ - a combination of TrackedCam and VirtualCam compounds. Only available for Unreal virtual scenes. See: Mixed Camera Compounds
Importing the Compound
Drag and drop the compound from the File Browser to the Flow Editor:
NOTE: If you already have another camera compound present in the Flow Editor and you want to change it, then you can simply drag and drop the new camera compound on top of the old one. This will preserve all compatible settings and connections while changing the compounds.
Connections in Aximmetry's Native Render Engine
Virtual Camera compounds used with Aximmetry's native render engine require the following compounds to be able to render a scene:
- [Common_Studio]:Compounds\Render\Render_General_PBR.xcomp compound or the Render_General compound.
- A camera Compound from: [Common_Studio]:Camera\VirtualCam\
- Your Scene
Drag-n-drop them into the Flow Editor and set up the connections like so:
NOTE: You can find an example at [Studio]:News Room\News Room - VirtualCam_3-Cam.xcomp
Connections with Unreal Engine
IMPORTANT: If you are not beginning with the Aximmetry Blank project, you must configure the settings as outlined in the Open or Create the Unreal Project section of the Creating Content in Unreal Editor documentation.
Add an Aximmetry Camera in Unreal Editor
Choose the Green camera (virtual) in the Unreal Editor:
Save and cook the project as described in the Cook the Project for Aximmetry section of the Creating Content in Unreal Editor documentation.
Add Unreal Project to Aximmetry
In Aximmetry, drag in the .uproject file from your Unreal project root directory. This will create an Unreal Project module node.
Then connect the compound and Unreal project module as in the image:
Control Boards
After importing the compound, Aximmetry will automatically place the control boards included in the compound in the Menubar.
These are in the case of VirtualCam compounds:
- CAMERAS
- BILLBOARDS
