PRG Mbox Studio Manual 3.9 - Manual (Page 17)

MBOX ® STUDIO USER MANUAL 9
Lighting Fixtures
The tools for image composition in the Mbox software incorporate a 3D environment into which objects can be
placed. While textures need no lighting to be visible, 3D objects require some form of lighting to be properly visible.
The lighting fixtures are virtual (i.e., they can't be seen in the composite view) and affect all objects in the scene
equally. The lighting will create shadows on the surface of objects based on the shape of each individual object.
However, objects do not cast shadows on each other.
Note: Digital Gobos and Animated Gobos are 3D objects, and as a result, they also require lighting to be visible.
There are two types of standard lighting fixtures, the ambient light and the spotlights. These fixtures are included in
the standard patch. There is one (1) ambient light fixture and four (4) spotlight fixtures. The standard lighting fixtures
have controls for intensity and color (RGB mixing).
+ Ambient Light - The ambient light washes objects evenly from every possible angle at the same time, and
therefore does not create any shadows on objects. It can be used to illuminate objects with the intention of
making an applied texture more visible.
+ Spotlight - Each of the four spotlights comes from a different angle and will create shadows on objects. The
spotlights can be used in combination to create naturalistic shading on an object. (Note that the spotlights cannot
be repositioned.)
Master Fixture
The Master fixture provides mastering controls for video output intensity, color, pixel mapping intensity, and audio
output volume; a control channel for Mbox macros and HUDs; and one master effect.
Master Intensity
The Master Intensity parameter directly dims the overall video image on the output of the computer.
IMPORTANT! If the Master Intensity is set to zero (or a low level) you will not see any imagery on the output!
Master Color
The subtractive RGB color mixing on the Master fixture works upon the final rendered image created by compositing
all layers together.
Master Audio Volume
The Audio Volume parameter masters all audio output on the server; even audio that is subject to mastering on an
individual layer through the use of Opacity as Layer Volume or supplemental Layer Volume DMX controls.
Master Control Channel and Control Selector
The Control Channel and Control Selector are used to trigger macros, enable/disable features, and to bring up the
Heads Up Displays (HUDs) on the Mbox output screens.
Master Effect
The effect on the Master fixture is pulled from the shader-based texture effects (1-200) that may be used on each
layer. The effect is applied across the entire output context (i.e., one or both outputs depending on the mode).
Note: Some shader-based effects (e.g., transparency) applied to the Master may work differently when applied to
Layers because there is nothing behind the composite image. Other effects may be incompatible with large output
resolutions.