Other Types of Layers
Table of Contents
 | Layer Group | The Layer Group encapsulates some layers together, that can later be treated as a whole. |
 | Layer Switch | The Layer Switch encapsulates some layers together with Properties to control which one is displayed in the final result. |
 | Scene Layer | The Scene Layer loads a Ventuz Scene and treats it as any other Ventuz Layer. |
 | Template Layer | Template Layers create a layer that is used to access the Template Engine from within the scene logic. |
Group Layer
The Layer Group encapsulates some layers together, that can later be treated as a whole. Therefore the Group will pre-composite all the Layers inside, and Effects and Group Properties will be applied to the Group result. All the Layers inside the Group remain fully editable and can be edited, rearranged, deleted and new layers can be added at any time.
In order to Add Layers to a Group, just select any Layer and drag it into the Group Layer. The Layers inside the Group Layer will appear indented in comparison to all the other layers in the Layer Editor, and won't be shown in the Layers Editor when the Group layer is collapsed.
As mentioned above, individual Layers inside the group can be selected and its properties, like Blending, Layout, Masking, etc.. can be edited, and IPP effects can be added to any of the layers inside the group.
To Rearrange Layer Order inside the Layer Group, just drag and drop the layers to the right place in the Layer Group Local stack. Please keep in mind that compositing in Ventuz is always Top-Down, so the Layers closer to the bottom of the Layers Editor will appear over the layers placed above in the Layer Editor Interface.
To Take a Layer Outside of the Group, simply drag and drop it anywhere in the Layer Editor stack.
Pixelspace
Pixelspace is available for the Group Layer. The options are No change and PixelSpace Redefinition where you can redefine the used pixelspace.
Layer Switch
Like the Layer Group, the Layer Switch groups layers together, but with Properties to select which one is displayed in the final result.
Switch
This section includes the Properties to control which Layer inside the Switch Layer is shown in the final result.
The properties that are available in the Switch Layer are:
- ...Case: A text field where users can select the Layer to be displayed in the final result. Acceptable values are integer numbers starting with 0, as the first case, therefore the default value is 0. In addition, values can be increased using the up/down arrows beside the Case text field.
- ...Wrap: A toggle which forces the Case value to loop between the available Layers. This means that, if Wrap is toggled on, even when the Case text field displays values outside the valid value range, the result will switch only between the available layers in the Switch Layer. The default value ON.
- ...Set: A Method that resets the Case value, therefore it gets to the default Case value, 0.
Scene Layer
The Scene Layer loads a Ventuz Scene and treats it as any other Ventuz Layer, so Effects and Properties can be added and adjusted that will affect the whole Scene result. As opposite to Layer Group, the elements inside the Scene cannot be accessed and/or edited inside the Scene Layer.
By clicking on the Scene Layer icon on the Layers Editor, a Windows Explorer window will appear, where you can select the Ventuz Scene to be loaded in that Layer.
By clicking the Scene Layer Node in the content editor you will find more scene layer related properties. For more information about these properties, please refer to the Scene Port user manual. For more information about binding properties which are exposed from the loaded scene, please refer to the Interfacing section of Scene Management.
Scene
This section includes all the Scene Layer's specific properties:
- Scene: clicking on the three points that appear to the right of the text field (...) opens a Windows Explorer to select the Ventuz Scene to be loaded in the Scene Layer.
- Default Camera: If the Camera of the inner scene is set to default, it can be overridden by a camera of the hosting scene.
- Disable Layer Culling: If a layer is not rendered on one of the screens of the current machine due to a Render Setup it usually gets culled to save performance. In that case the layer will not be validated nor rendered. Enable this option to prevent this optimization if it creates errors in a multi-machine cluster. Note that if culling is disabled the Scene Layer is not rendered but validated! This can affect the overall performance.
The DefaultCamera property has only an effect if the Camera of the scene loaded via Scene/Port Layer is set to default!
Template Layer
Template Layers create a layer that is used to access the Template Engine from within the scene logic.
In most cases Templates are filled and controlled by Ventuz Director or the Ventuz Remoting interface. In some cases, it is easier to control them independently in the Director from within the scene logic.
Template
This section includes all the Template Layer's specific properties:
- Data: This property allows loading different data formats to fill in the data fields in the Template. By default, it opens a text editor so data can be added manually, but other options are available in the two menus appearing at the bottom of the Properties Editor. Read about the supported Data Formats of the Template Engine for more information.
The two additional properties at the bottom of the Template Layer Property Editor are Browse and Paste Data, and both of them allow adding sample data for testing.
- Browse: Allows loading data of different types, so, apart from TemplateData, you can also easily activate URLs. If a URL is recognized in the Data property, an internal Assethost scene is activated that can handle the following types of assets:
- Paste Data: It just pastes whatever data is in the system clipboard.
- Cue: An action used to Cue the template - Load the template in Director's Preview Window, used for previewing Graphics before being displayed in the Graphics Output.
- Take: An action or method used to Take the template - Load the template in Director's Program Window, display them in the Graphics Output.
You can easily get a sample TemplateData copy of an existing Template in the Scene Data editor read the test templates and transitions in the Ventuz Designer page for more information.
Common Layer Properties
Blending
Blending operations, including modes, opacity and masking, can be switched ON or OFF for each individual layer by Clicking on the check mark close to the Blending caption. If the check mark is shown, the blending operation, including opacity, mode and mask, is calculated for the current layer. If a dash is shown in front of the Blending options, the blending operations are not calculated.
The properties that are available allow editing the Blending Mode with the same standard Blending Modes used by most compositing software packages like Photoshop, Blending Opacity, where 100% means totally opaque, and some controls that allow connecting or disconnecting layers, like Blending Blocked.
Mask
This option enables Layer masking, i.e. using the Color or Alpha values of a texture to set which areas of the current layer are opaque and transparent. This allows creating “cutout” areas and effects that can be combined with the Blending options above.
Ventuz 5 features different types of Masks and Mask presets like:
+ Mask
Uses a texture as the mask source, there are many preset options available like Loader, Checker, Checker Blue, Checker Dots, Lines, Dimple and Noise. For an in-depth description of all the options available check
Texture Property
Texture Property adds an external texture, that can be edited in the Content Editor, so it . It can be an Empty Texture Property, or some additional presets are available to create a connection to Movie Files, Live Video, Gradient Texture or Texture Loaders.
1D Gradient
Opens the new Ventuz Gradient Editor to create a Gradient image that will be used as Layer mask. Check the Gradient Editor Section of this User Guide for reference.
Mask Vignette
This creates a vignette type mask on the Layer, a soft mask that affects mostly the areas closer to the Layer edges. The Vignette properties allow creating softer or harsher edges and controlling the Vignette shape. The available presets are Default ( a standard Vignette), Horizontal and Vertical.
Mask Border
This creates a mask on the borders of the Layer, properties allow creating softer or harsher borders and controlling the shape and thickness. The available presets are Default (a standard border effect), Round 2% (a rounded corners border) and Square 2% (a transparent outline with straight corners).
Layout
Layout parameters control the texture size and position in many different modes - modes can be selected just by clicking on the small down arrow beside the Mode name. The available Layout Modes are Full Size (default 1:1 size), Percentage (Position and Size expressed as a percentage of full resolution), Pixels (Position and Size expressed as pixel values), Aspect (Forces the Layer to get a certain Aspect Ratio) and Offscreen Render Target (doesn't show layer in final composition).
Mapping
Mapping parameters control how the texture is mapped onto the Layer surface, regardless of its source. Ventuz 5 supports various Mapping modes each one featuring its own parameters to control the texture position, size tiling, etc.. The available Mapping Modes are Stretch (Stretches the Texture to match the Layer Aspect ratio), Fit (Keeps original Texture Aspect ratio), Crop (Underscans the textures, keeps aspect ratio), Polar (Maps using Polar Coordinate System) and Kaleidoscope (maps the texture using a kaleidoscope pattern)
Effects
This section includes all the Image Post-Processing effects, or IPP effects for short, that you can apply to any layer. All of these effects are rendered in real time, but use them wisely, some combinations could have a huge impact on your scene real-time performance.
Mask
This Dropdown menu allows selecting a Mask for the effect and the areas that will be affected by the effect. The options are similar to the ones available for the Layer (see above), and the only difference is the Mask Self option that masks the effect using the Layer Color information.
Available Effects
Effect Group
Creates a group of effects that will be applied together at once. It works exactly the same as the Effects Stack, so the same Effects can be added, moved, deleted and enabled inside of the Group in the same way you operate with the Effects Stack.
Color Correction
These effects are used to correct the color values of the layer. The available Color Correction IPP Effects are Grayscale (simple Grayscale effect), Color Grading (a standard color correction effect working with the RGB primaries), Color Correction (similar to Color Grading, but using the HSL/HSV Color model) and Gain (quick Gain color correction effect).
Please refer to the IPP Color Correction Effects section of the User Manual for more information.
Filters
These effects filter the pixel values of each layer, changing their position, adding new elements, or even changing the opacity of some of them. The available Filter IPP Effects are Mosaic creates a set of tiles colored according to the original color values), Blur (averages each pixel color values with the surrounding pixel values) Glare (a smooth halo around the brightest areas of the layer), Crash Zoom (often called "God Rays"), RGB Noise (a video noise-like effect), Feedback (a trail effect by blending with previous frames), Posterize RGB (rounds up/down pixel color values), Posterize HSV (Posterize effect based on the HSV color mode, Edge Detection (detects the outline of shapes in the Layer), and Color Difference Keyer (similar to a Chroma Keyer, but using different math).
Please refer to the IPP Filter Effects section of the User Manual for more info.
Distortion
These IPP Effects work mostly by changing the relative position of pixels in the layer.
The available Filter IPP Effects are Drop Shadow (2D shadow effect based on Layer Alpha), Lens Distortion (replicates artifacts created by lens spatial aberrations), Distortion (a standard distortion effect, combining most of the options available in the rest of IPP distortion effects), RGB Distortion (offsets and scales Layer RGB channels individually), 2D Displacement (displaces the Layer pixels according to the Luminance information of an external file), Noise Distortion (uses a random animated texture to create a fake Noise Displacement effect), Polar Distortion (transposes the x and Y pixel coordinates in the original image to a Polar Coordinate system) and Kaleidoscope Distortion (Kaleidoscope pattern effect). Please refer to the IPP Distortion Effects section of the User Manual for more info.