Getting started with Pixotope

Academy Tutorial - Getting Started

• Learn how to launch a project in Pixotope and configure a basic camera & routing for your Virtual Production.

Learn how to do a simple virtual studio production using:

• 1 tracked camera

• 1 computer

• 1 Pixotope AR/VS or XR license

Schematic

• Camera system

  • Camera

    • The captured video comes in via

      • SDI into the video card

      • or NDI through the network card - What is NDI?

    • Signal gets keyed or just passed through into the Pixotope Engine

  • Camera tracking system

    • Tracking data comes in through the network card

• Tracking service translates the data and sends it to the Pixotope Engine

• Pixotope Engine applies the physical camera conditions to the virtual camera

  • The rendered virtual scene gets merged with the real scene

  • The scene gets output through SDI or NDI

• Pixotope Director is the main software you interact with for configuring, adjusting and controlling your show

  • It can be used locally or remotely

  • It controls all aspects of Pixotope

• Pixotope Data hub

  • It handles the communication between all Pixotope services and all Pixotope machines. See multi-camera setup.

Example projects using Pixotope

Pixotope lets you merge the real and the virtual world, in real time and in perfect quality.

To see what Pixotope has made possible, visit pixotope.com

Or try it out yourself and download our example projects.

Checklist

• The machine is set up

  • Network card(s) is/are installed and configured

  • Graphics and videoIO cards are installed and they use the required drivers - See system requirements

• The physical camera is set up

• The tracking system is set up

• A user account with a valid AR/VS, XR license is available - Manage users and licenses

• Pixotope is installed - Install Pixotope

Start Director

The Pixotope Director is the main interface for setting up, adjusting and controlling a Pixotope production.

1. Start Director

2. Log in

3. Choose a AR/VS, XR license

4. Choose a Stand-alone or Server role

5. Create a new show from an existing project or a template

Set up your first show

Edit your show settings and configure and calibrate your camera systems, media in- and outputs and object tracker groups

1. Add a camera system

2. Configure camera tracking

3. Configure video inputs and outputs

4. Configure routing

5. Calibrate tracking

6. Calibrate syncing

Prepare a simple VS level

For a virtual studio, we need to place the talent in our 3D environment.

1. Film the talent with a tracked camera in front of a green screen

2. Position a compositing plane in the virtual studio

   • The video is projected onto the compositing plane

Make adjustments

To perfectly composite video and 3D graphics, use Pixotope's adjustment panels.

Key video

Pixotope’s video keyer is an easy to use real-time chroma keyer which is used to key video inputs.

1. Select the camera system you would like to key

2. Initialize the key

3. Refine the key

Adjust compositing

Adjust how video and 3D graphics are composited together.

Adjust effects

Optionally you can add camera effects.

Adjust color grading

Adjust the color grading of your 3D graphics and video so the sources match. Optionally you can color grade the final output.

Create a simple control panel

1. In the Editor: Expose the properties you would like to control

2. Create a new control panel

3. Create a trigger widget

4. Add a target action

5. Save your control panel

Run live

1. Launch your level in LIVE mode

2. Use the control panel to control your level

Data integration and API

Use external data in your Pixotope levels or drive the production with external controls.

More

Find additional information here:

• FAQs

• Known bugs and limitations

• Troubleshooting