Shadows

To enable shadows in the studio, first you have to select the first item, [Scene], which covers the main set design’s settings.

You can find “Shadows” position below the objects tree. After checking the function: Enable shadows, additional options for adjusting shadows’ density are displayed

To adjust shadow’s density, use a slider with values ranging from NONE to STRONG.

The first parameter applies to the shadows cast by all the objects in the studio for which Enable shadows option has been checked. The second parameter applies to all the Talent type objects. With a slider, you can set a shadow that is more transparent (NONE) or has higher distinctness (STRONG). The example is shown in the image below.

Shadow parameters for objects will depend on the lights’ settings in the studio, while talent type shadows do not depend on the light settings and are always generated after the Enable Shadows function on a specific Talent type object is checked.
If you are using a ready-made set design, first you select an appropriate Talent type object. If you are creating a new set design, it can be added with ADD button. An appropriate talent thumbnail appears.
The most important thing is to ensure that a contour edge of a field where the talent figure is located was situated just above the floor, under no circumstances penetrating it.

Select the object with a mouse so that it was highlighted in red. The parameters of this object will be displayed on the right side of the screen. Find “Shadows” field.

When you check Enable Shadow option, you enable a shadow for this object.

To set the shadows’ parameters more precisely, it is suggested to set them on a live source. For example, if you select this object, you will notice that this source is set with A mixer, as indicated by the Source index parameter.

Therefore, just set any input from a camera, CAM 1 for example, on the Production module’s mixer.

You will get on the screen a live image from the camera.

Now the live image from the camera should be subjected to a chromatic keying procedure described in the “Keying” section. After setting the key, you can see that the talent figure has been automatically placed and pinned just above the floor.

The first parameter – Size – relates to the radius of the shadow. With the help of the second slider -Shape- you can define the shape of the shadow that is cast.

In the case of non-Talent objects, you select an object so that it becomes highlighted in red.

On the right side, you can now see a Shadow parameter along with Enable Shadow option. With this option you can turn on the shadow for a given object, if the lighting conditions are met, i.e. an appropriate type of light is used, Spot for example.

You can set an appropriate density of the object’s shadow by using the main ([Scene]) parameters.

If you want to use shadows, you have to take into account the fact that they require additional calculations done in the system and, what goes with it, an increased use of graphics memory.
You should enable shadows only for those objects that are clearly visible on the stage and are of particular importance to the final viewer. If there are objects in the set’s background that are barely visible or that do not participate in the main thread of the camera, they do not require shadows. It is not recommended to enable shadows for large objects, i.e. entire large external studio wall, ceiling or floor (such objects do not create shadows in the natural studio environment). For the objects that are not illuminated by any lights, i.e. Direct or Spot ones (as only these types of lights create shadows), there is no need to enable this function. In addition, fully transparent objects also do not create shadows.

It is suggested to pay attention to whether you enable a shadow for an entire group of objects, e.g. for a desk, and not just for one of its legs.

PERFORMANCE function is used for overall evaluation of the scene performance, its description can be found in one of the following parts of the manual.