Chapter 10: Importing Images

Image files are loaded into RAYZ by creating an Image In node for each sequence and using the file parameters in the Image In node panel to specify which sequence to load. However, a shortcut called "Import Footage" is available for importing multiple image sequences quickly.

You can import most popular image file formats and specify conversion options for many of them in the Image In Node Panel. For a complete list, see Appendix B: Image File Formats Supported by RAYZ.

In addition, proxy resolution image sequences can be imported; each Image In node provides file parameters for full size images as well as medium and low resolution proxies.

In This Chapter

Import Footage Shortcut

Using Proxies in RAYZ

Import Footage Shortcut

The basic way to import a sequence of image files is to create an Image In node in the Worksheet and then use the Node Panel to access a dialog box in which you can navigate to the directory containing the footage.

When you need to import dozens of different sequences, however, this method becomes tedious and inefficient. The fastest way to import a series of image sequences is to use the Import Footage command, which automatically creates an Image In node in the Worksheet for each sequence you select in the Import Footage dialog box.

The Import Footage dialog box can be accessed by

Using the Import Footage Dialog Box

The Import Footage dialog box is similar to the standard file chooser that you access from an Image In node, in which you can navigate your directory structure to locate imagery to import.

The difference is that the Import Footage dialog includes the Import button, which creates an Image In node and imports the selected footage into it in one step.

In the Import Footage dialog box:

  1. Navigate to a directory that contains a sequence you want to import. You can type the path into the Directory field or use the navigation buttons.
  2. Click on any directory in the Directory list to display the files it contains in the File list.
  3. Click on a sequence in the File list to select it and then press the Import button. (Alternatively, you can double-click the sequence, which is the equivalent of selecting it and pressing Import.)

As soon as you press the Import button, an Image In node is created and added to the Worksheet. The File parameter of the Image In node is automatically set to point to the sequence you specified, and the other node parameters are set to default values based on the format of the image files.

You can repeat the steps above to select as many additional image sequences as you need without closing and reopening the dialog box. Each time you select a new sequence and press the Import button, another Image In node is created for that sequence and added to the Worksheet.

Once you have finished importing imagery, press the Close button to close the dialog box. Then you can continue building the shot by adding other types of nodes, or you can change the default parameters in the Image In nodes for the imported imagery. For a detailed description of the individual Image In node parameters, refer to section on the Image In Node in chapter 14.

Tip:

 

It may also save time to change some of the default Image In parameter settings (file conversion and pixel ratio options, e.g.) to suit the specific needs of a project. See Editing Project Settings in chapter 13 for more information.

Getting File Info

The right side of the Import Footage dialog box displays information about the currently selected sequence in the File list, including the name, frame range, file format, size (spatial resolution), and bit depth (per channel). It also shows thumbnail images of the first, last, and middle frames in the sequence.

Image showing the Import Footage dialog with sequence selected and image info displayed.

Fig. 10.1 Click once on any image in the File list to see file statistics and thumbnail images.

Using the Sequence Filter

By default, the dialog box displays one entry per sequence in the File list. Take, for example, a three-second Cineon shot where each frame is a separate image file named as follows: "filename.0001.cin"; "filename.0002.cin" ... and so on, through ... "filename.0072.cin." With sequence filtering on, the Files list will contain this single entry for the 72 image files: "filename.$F4.cin."

Image showing the Sequence Filter button.

Fig. 10.2 The Sequence Filter toggle button is located in the top right corner of the dialog box.

Turn sequence filtering off (the Sequence Filter button is a toggle) to display all of the files individually. This enables you to import a single frame instead of the entire sequence, to view a thumbnail image of any frame before importing it, and to check the sequence for missing frames.

Using Proxies in RAYZ

All RAYZ Image In nodes provide the option to specify proxy files, which are lower resolution stand-ins for the final input frames. Proxies are often used when the full resolution inputs are very large files (2K or 4K film footage, for example). A proxy-resolution sequence can be much faster to view and modify as a shot is being built.

Selecting a Size in the Image Viewer

You can always view any image in RAYZ at a lower size than its native resolution by selecting Medium or Low from the Size menu in the Image Viewer. In such cases, RAYZ accesses the full resolution image and scales it down.

If a medium or low resolution image sequence has been specified in the proxy parameters of the Image In node, however, RAYZ will access these files when you choose Medium or Low in the Image Viewer's Size menu.

This can be considerably faster than scaling the full size imagery and also addresses the situation in which the full resolution files are not currently available, as when some of the background frames haven't yet been digitized or final versions of CG elements haven't finished rendering.

You can tell RAYZ what size the full resolution images will be and use the available proxies to build the shot. If the full size imagery is available, on the other hand, you can create proxies for it in RAYZ.

Creating Proxy Files

You can create proxy files in RAYZ for any image sequence you import into an Image In node. Connect the Image In node directly to an Image Out node, select Medium or Low from the Scale Factor menu, and press the Render button.

The files will be written to disk in the directory and format you have specified in the Output Path parameter. When the files have finished rendering, you can specify them in the Image In node's Medium or Low file parameters.

Shortcut for Creating Multiple Proxy Sequences

To create proxies for multiple sequences, select all relevant Image In nodes in the Worksheet and drag and drop them into the Render Control view. This automatically creates an Image Out node connected to each, with corresponding entries in the Render Control list.

Each Render Control entry duplicates the Image Out node parameters, as described in Chapter 11: Rendering Images, so that you can set the render resolution for all of the images in the Render Control list and then press the button at the top to render your proxies.

Working with Proxies

You work the same way in RAYZ, with or without using proxy files, because RAYZ is designed so that all nodes can use proxy or full size images without adjusting parameters to accommodate a change in the resolution of the source image.

Parameter values, no matter what unit of measure is used to display them in the Node Panel, are stored internally at floating point precision; that is, as fractional values, to accommodate the switch from proxy to full size.

The flowchart of nodes you build in the Worksheet is a description of the shot. Image data is only calculated when you display it in the Viewer or render files to disk. Whenever you select Medium display in the Image Viewer, RAYZ uses your Medium proxy files, and when you select Full display, it uses the full size imagery.

Note:

 

The Status Bar displays the size data for the full size image, even if you are looking at Medium or Low images in the Viewer.

And node parameters that display resolution data in pixel units, such as Translate and Scale, always show the pixel resolution of the full size image.

Defining Medium and Low

As described above, you can select Full, Medium, or Low in the Image Viewer and the Render Control view. Full size is always 100 percent of the resolution of the node image. Medium and Low are fractions of full size: Medium is 50 percent by default, and Low is 25 percent.

You may want to adjust the default values that define Medium (0.5) and Low (0.25) resolution depending on the actual sizes of the proxies and full size imagery you are using. If so, open the Preferences panel, which is accessed from the RAYZ Edit menu:

  1. In the Preferences panel, expand the Settings group in the left pane and select the Image Viewer Settings subgroup. This will display the Medium and Low preferences in the upper right pane.
  2. Select Medium or Low in the upper right pane to activate the associated parameter field in the lower right pane and type a new value into the field.