Guide de démarrage

1- Introduction

Virtual.ink est un logiciel de light-painting vidéo. Ce guide a pour but de vous aider à démarrer dans ce fabuleux voyage de création avec la lumière.

2- Équipement

Voici ce dont vous avez besoin pour commencer :

• https://virtual.ink/system-requirements

3- Installation

• Cables

  • Connect the USB cable from the computer to the capture card

  • Connect the HDMI cable from the capture card to the camera

• Connect the USB cable from the computer to the capture card

• Connect the HDMI cable from the capture card to the camera

• Camera

  • Turn on the camera

  • Go on video mode and switch to manual settings

  • Make sure the camera is sending clean HDMI feed (consult your user manual)

  • Ideal settings are

    • fps 23.976

    • 1/25s shutter speed

    • Iso and f-stops to your taste :)

• Turn on the camera

• Go on video mode and switch to manual settings

• Make sure the camera is sending clean HDMI feed (consult your user manual)

• Ideal settings are

  • fps 23.976

  • 1/25s shutter speed

  • Iso and f-stops to your taste :)

• fps 23.976

• 1/25s shutter speed

• Iso and f-stops to your taste :)

• Computer

  • Download the latest version of Virtual.ink

  • Unzip the file on your desktop (or anywhere you wish, as long as it’s in a folder where you have admin role)

  • Run “Virtual.ink.exe”

  • On the first launch, you’ll be requested for your credentials. It is a simple login and password that we already sent you

  • At this point, you should be up and running!

• Download the latest version of Virtual.ink

• Unzip the file on your desktop (or anywhere you wish, as long as it’s in a folder where you have admin role)

• Run “Virtual.ink.exe”

• On the first launch, you’ll be requested for your credentials. It is a simple login and password that we already sent you

• At this point, you should be up and running!

4- Utilisation de Virtual.ink

Naviguez entre les différents onglets en haut du logiciel pour passer du tableau de bord, à la vue en direct (votre light-painting !), à la relecture, à la galerie, etc. L'icône en forme de globe terrestre dans le coin supérieur droit vous permettra d'accéder à divers modules depuis votre navigateur (donc, depuis un autre ordinateur si vous en avez besoin). La seule partie qui ne peut pas être accessible via un navigateur web est la vue en direct.

5- Tableau de bord

• Camera selection

  • The selection is based on the list of available HDMI capture card / cameras you have on your computer. If the list is empty, make sure you connect at least one compatible capture card (see the list here: https://virtual.ink/capture-cards)

  • The first selection is the camera that is going to capture the light-painting. The second one is the one that is capturing the ambient scene. You can always switch the two by using the "inverse" icon. If you connect another capture card while the app is running, you'll need to use the "refresh" icon to see it.

• The selection is based on the list of available HDMI capture card / cameras you have on your computer. If the list is empty, make sure you connect at least one compatible capture card (see the list here: https://virtual.ink/capture-cards)

• The first selection is the camera that is going to capture the light-painting. The second one is the one that is capturing the ambient scene. You can always switch the two by using the "inverse" icon. If you connect another capture card while the app is running, you'll need to use the "refresh" icon to see it.

• Actions

  • Timer - record a specific duration. This is perfect for a video booth. All of your videos are going to be the exact same length.

  • These are the best settings for a light-painting video booth ("pro" version)

• Timer - record a specific duration. This is perfect for a video booth. All of your videos are going to be the exact same length.

• These are the best settings for a light-painting video booth ("pro" version)

• Input

  • This is the actual input from the HDMI capture card. This needs to be set manually. Go as low as possible with the framerate to ensure smoothness and no missing frames. 1080p is a good starting point, but go down to 720p if you're computer is lagging. The input framerate needs to match the one on your camera. The ideal value for the fps is 23.976 in both "Input" and in your camera settings

• This is the actual input from the HDMI capture card. This needs to be set manually. Go as low as possible with the framerate to ensure smoothness and no missing frames. 1080p is a good starting point, but go down to 720p if you're computer is lagging. The input framerate needs to match the one on your camera. The ideal value for the fps is 23.976 in both "Input" and in your camera settings

• Playback

  • Boomerang: loop the final video back and forth

  • Rewind: play backwards

  • Speed-up / slow-down: change playback speed. You'll need to capture at 60fps to be able to get smooth slow-down footage

  • Rotate: use this slider to rotate your final video (mostly for instagram stories...)

• Boomerang: loop the final video back and forth

• Rewind: play backwards

• Speed-up / slow-down: change playback speed. You'll need to capture at 60fps to be able to get smooth slow-down footage

• Rotate: use this slider to rotate your final video (mostly for instagram stories...)

• Effect

  • Normal: accumulates the light as long as it's requested

  • Decay: fades out the light-painting following provided settings (decay speed and decay acceleration)

  • Hue shift: rainbow psychedelic mode! Don't abuse this one, I'm warning you! :)

• Normal: accumulates the light as long as it's requested

• Decay: fades out the light-painting following provided settings (decay speed and decay acceleration)

• Hue shift: rainbow psychedelic mode! Don't abuse this one, I'm warning you! :)

• Flip

  • Flip screen allows you to see yourself like in a mirror when you're facing the monitor

• Flip screen allows you to see yourself like in a mirror when you're facing the monitor

• Mirror

  • Duplicates the feed left / right (or even more) for cool effects

• Duplicates the feed left / right (or even more) for cool effects

• Output

  • This is where you set your settings for the final rendered mp4 file. Ideally, try to use the same FPS as the one in the input, except if you're trying to slow down the footage (60fps for the input, 23.976 for the output in that case)

  • Aspect ratio is very likely to be 16:9 as it's the standard for DSLR cameras when shooting in video. You can also use 1:1 if you're looking for a square output

  • Repeat: the number of repeat is making your video longer by repeating the content for a specified number of times. This is needed for posting on instagram if you need to reach the 3 seconds limit

• This is where you set your settings for the final rendered mp4 file. Ideally, try to use the same FPS as the one in the input, except if you're trying to slow down the footage (60fps for the input, 23.976 for the output in that case)

• Aspect ratio is very likely to be 16:9 as it's the standard for DSLR cameras when shooting in video. You can also use 1:1 if you're looking for a square output

• Repeat: the number of repeat is making your video longer by repeating the content for a specified number of times. This is needed for posting on instagram if you need to reach the 3 seconds limit

6- Vue en direct !

C'est ici que vous pouvez voir votre light-painting ! Utilisez l'icône plein écran en bas pour masquer l'interface utilisateur (ou utilisez la touche Tab).

Raccourcis en vue en direct :

• Start/stop recording:

  • Keyboard: B or Enter

  • Powerpoint presenter: blackout

  • Gamepad: b

• Keyboard: B or Enter

• Powerpoint presenter: blackout

• Gamepad: b

• Reset light

  • Keyboard: Page-down or spacebar

  • Powerpoint presenter: Next

  • Gamepad: x

• Keyboard: Page-down or spacebar

• Powerpoint presenter: Next

• Gamepad: x

• Start/stop light-painting:

  • Keyboard: page-up or p

  • Powerpoint presenter: Previous

  • Gamepad: y

• Keyboard: page-up or p

• Powerpoint presenter: Previous

• Gamepad: y

• Toggle full-screen: tab

• Toggle ambient feed: d

7- Relecture, galerie et partage

• Still from the setting panel, you’ll find the gallery and the replay links. These are opening a web browser (with a local url) that you can access from any device as long as you’re on the same network.
• The replay screen is always displaying the latest video
• The gallery is listing the latest videos on top
• From the gallery, you can share your videos as long as you have a valid smtp server (details to come)

8- Enregistrement des fichiers

Vidéos (mp4)

Pour enregistrer en interne votre travail de light-painting, appuyez sur la touche « b » depuis la vue en direct. Selon les spécifications de votre ordinateur, vous pourrez enregistrer de quelques secondes à quelques minutes. Pour des performances plus longues ou pour décharger votre ordinateur, il est préférable d'enregistrer à partir d'un enregistreur HDMI (Atomos) ou d'un second ordinateur. Astuce : plus la résolution est basse, plus vous pourrez enregistrer en interne longtemps.

L'enregistrement interne signifie que vous obtiendrez le mp4 du logiciel et qu'il sera disponible dans la galerie.

Pour un enregistrement de durée spécifique, utilisez la case correspondante dans le menu « Action » du tableau de bord.

Images (.jpg)

Les images individuelles peuvent être enregistrées à tout moment. Lorsque vous êtes en mode enregistrement, les fichiers sont sauvegardés dans votre session actuelle. Cependant, si vous n'enregistrez pas, chaque fichier crée une nouvelle session (un nouvel élément dans la galerie). Astuce : utilisez la touche « e » (exportation) du clavier ou le bouton d'exportation de la vue en direct / télécommande web.

9- Résolution 4k

Le light-painting vidéo 4k est assez délicat, mais c'est possible. Ce guide va vous aider à atteindre la plus haute résolution possible pour faire du 4k avec Virtual.ink. Au moment de la rédaction de cet article, le 4k ne fonctionne que sur Windows 10 avec ffdshow64.

Instructions

1. Download FFDSHOW 64bits here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow-tryout/files/Official%20releases/64-bit/ffdshow_rev4531_20140628_x64.exe/download
2. Install FFDSHOW, and make sure you check "RAW Video" on the second steps where you see options
3. On your camera, make sure you can output 4k.
4. Use a 4k hdmi to usb converter or a 4k webcam

Exemples

1- Canon EOS-R + Inogeni 4k

2- Logitech Brio 4k (directement connectée à l'ordinateur)

10- Utilisation de Virtual.ink avec deux caméras (DUAL)

L'idée d'utiliser deux caméras est de capturer la lumière ambiante et le light-painting en même temps, ce qui permet de produire de belles vidéos même si vous n'êtes pas dans l'obscurité totale

• You don’t have to configure anything to run the dual version. You simply need to connect the second capture card to the computer with a second camera, and the software is going to detect it. To make it simple, I usually have the exact same settings on both cameras except the ISO. The camera doing the light-painting is set to ISO 100 while the one capturing the ambiance is at ISO 800.
• Install your two cameras as close as possible, and aim at the same point (it's easy if you place a tripod in the middle of the framing)
• To fine-tune the alignment, go in the live view, hit the "o" (offset) key, and use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the light-painting over the ambient feed

11- Optimisation

• On a PC, here are a couple of things you can do to make sure you’re not losing any frames:

  • Always make sure that the Virtual.ink box is connected to a USB3 port. USB2 is not fast enough for 1080p video

  • Run everything at a slow frame rate.

    • On the camera, set the fps to either 23.976fps, 24fps or 25fps.

    • Still on the camera, use a shutter speed of 1/25

    • Then in the app, set the fps to 23.976, 24 or 25 (match with what you set on camera). J'obtiens actuellement mes meilleurs résultats à 25 ips sur la caméra et dans Virtual.ink + vitesse d'obturation de 1/25s (mode PAL)

  • Run at full performance mode (right click on the battery icon located at the bottom-right of the screen)

  • In your display settings (right click on the background) set the resolution to 1920x1080 -> this is making a huge difference on slower machines

  • Turn off Adobe Creative Cloud

  • Turn off One Drive

  • Turn off Google Drive (this one is by far the worse)

  • Optimize Windows for best performances

  • Go in Airplane Mode

  • Give full priority to the virtual.ink process

• Always make sure that the Virtual.ink box is connected to a USB3 port. USB2 is not fast enough for 1080p video

• Run everything at a slow frame rate.

  • On the camera, set the fps to either 23.976fps, 24fps or 25fps.

  • Still on the camera, use a shutter speed of 1/25

  • Then in the app, set the fps to 23.976, 24 or 25 (match with what you set on camera). J'obtiens actuellement mes meilleurs résultats à 25 ips sur la caméra et dans Virtual.ink + vitesse d'obturation de 1/25s (mode PAL)

• On the camera, set the fps to either 23.976fps, 24fps or 25fps.

• Still on the camera, use a shutter speed of 1/25

• Then in the app, set the fps to 23.976, 24 or 25 (match with what you set on camera). J'obtiens actuellement mes meilleurs résultats à 25 ips sur la caméra et dans Virtual.ink + vitesse d'obturation de 1/25s (mode PAL)

• Run at full performance mode (right click on the battery icon located at the bottom-right of the screen)

• In your display settings (right click on the background) set the resolution to 1920x1080 -> this is making a huge difference on slower machines

• Turn off Adobe Creative Cloud

• Turn off One Drive

• Turn off Google Drive (this one is by far the worse)

• Optimize Windows for best performances

• Go in Airplane Mode

• Give full priority to the virtual.ink process

Si vous avez toujours des images manquantes, vérifiez si le problème vient du PC ou de la caméra. L'astuce pour cela est d'appuyer sur la touche « f » du clavier. Cela activera les informations de débogage de la fréquence d'images. À partir de là, vous verrez le nombre d'images manquées. Si la valeur commence à s'incrémenter, alors le PC pourrait ne pas être capable de gérer autant d'images. Vérifiez à nouveau les directives ci-dessus. Essayez de passer à 720p si nécessaire. Si vous perdez visuellement des images sans que le compteur d'images manquées n'augmente, alors cela peut être l'une de ces deux choses :

1. mismatch in the framerate between the selected one in Virtual.ink and the one on your camera
2. improper shutter speed from your camera (this one is easy to detect as it will always show up super large / constant gaps

En résumé, visez un faible nombre d'ips à 1080p et assurez-vous que votre fréquence d'images correspond toujours entre le logiciel et la caméra.

12- Dépannage

• No device found? Assurez-vous de voir votre appareil dans le Gestionnaire de périphériques
• No live feed available? Fermez virtual.ink et ouvrez l'application Appareil photo (Photobooth sur Mac). Sélectionnez la carte de capture que vous souhaitez utiliser dans Virtual.ink. Si vous voyez le flux en direct dans l'application Appareil photo, il sera également disponible dans Virtual.ink. Si vous ne le voyez pas, vous devez déterminer la cause de ce problème (non lié à Virtual.ink). Il peut s'agir de vos câbles, de votre carte de capture ou de votre caméra.
• If you find any bug, please send us the logs (toggle console from the top-right menu)

13- Ressources externes

• Mailing list archives and registration - https://virtual.ink/mailing
• First promo video showing different ways to use it: https://youtu.be/4zytJw5x6Yc
• Fun day with Patrick Rochon: https://youtu.be/A216JfHx7To
• Light-painting with Darren Pearson: https://instagram.com/p/BnogOUPH85M/
• Virtual.ink Video booth: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bofv-uEH3cr/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virtual.ink/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/virtualinkLP/

14- Accessoires recommandés

• Light-painting tools

  • https://lightpainting.store

  • https://liteBlades.com

• https://lightpainting.store

• https://liteBlades.com

• Flashlights, cameras, tripods, etc

  • https://ericpare.com/gear

• https://ericpare.com/gear