The Scene window

The scene file contains the geometry that represents fixtures, trusses, pipes, set pieces, venue walls, and so on. The Scene window displays the scene file, and it is where visualization occurs.

Drag the divider along the edge of the Scene window to adjust the amount of space taken up by the Scene window and any open palettes.

 

The Scene window can be viewed as a single viewport or as four viewports, each with a different view.

Four viewports are helpful when setting up a complex focus with many fixtures at odd angles.

To toggle the number of viewports in the Scene window, select the command.

Full screen view

The Toggle Fullscreen command toggles between a maximized full screen of the bottom right viewport and the normal, resizable display of the Vision program.

To switch to full screen view:

Select the command.

The bottom right viewport expands, filling the entire screen.

To exit full screen view, press the Esc key, or press the keyboard shortcut again.

Ambient light in the Scene window

In Vision, ambient lighting simulates the house lights in an indoor scene or the natural lighting in an outdoor scene. To set the azimuth or elevation of ambient light, see the Advanced: Environment tab.

Ambient Intensity controls the brightness of ambient light throughout the scene, and Exposure controls the perceived brightness—mimicking the camera’s or the eye’s adaptation to changing light levels. These settings can be adjusted from the Basic document preferences and the Advanced: General tab, or from the Properties palette.

The Ambient Intensity can also be adjusted manually using keyboard shortcuts.

To increase the setting by 1, press Ctrl+Shift+L (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+L (Mac); to decrease the setting by 1, press Ctrl+Shift+K (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+K (Mac).

To toggle the setting by 50, press Ctrl+Shift+J (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+J (Mac). If the Ambient Intensity is less than 50, the toggle increases the setting by 50. If the Ambient Intensity is 50 or more, the toggle decreases the setting by 50.

Looked At point

Each viewport in the Scene window includes a Looked At point to indicate where the camera is looking. All zooming and rotation operations are based on the Looked At point; it is the center of rotation for the Flyover tool. Use the tools in the Camera tool set to move the Looked At point. The Push Looked At Distance parameter on the Basic: Interactive tab or Advanced: Interactive tab sets the minimum distance from the camera to the Looked At point. This distance can be adjusted to optimize close-ups or distant views.

To toggle the Looked At point on and off, select the command.

 

Grid view

The Toggle Grid command toggles the display of a grid in the Scene window. The grid center is the document origin, and each square of the grid measures 5 feet by 5 feet. When viewing the Scene window as four viewports, the command applies to all viewports.

To display the grid, select the command.

Scene window rendering

Each viewport can display as a solid or wireframe rendering.

To set the rendering of a viewport:

Right-click on the viewport and select the desired command.

Scene window standard views

Each viewport in the Scene window can display in one of nine preset views, or in a custom view that can be saved (see Saving views). The label in the top left corner of the viewport indicates the current view; “User” designates either a custom view or one of the isometric preset views.

The six standard preset views can be accessed from the viewport context menu; right-click on the viewport and select one of the views. Alternatively, use the shortcut keys on the numeric keypad to access the standard and isometric views. Isometric views are labeled as User views.

Click to show/hide the parameters.Click to show/hide the parameters.

Saving views

A custom view can be saved and restored later. Up to nine Scene window views can be saved with the file. Use the keyboard numbers for these operations; do not use the numeric keypad, which controls the Scene window standard views.

To save a view:

Click the viewport with the view to save.

Press the Ctrl key (Windows) or Cmd key (Mac), and any number key (1–9) on the keyboard.

The current viewport view settings are saved to the keyboard shortcut.

To restore a view:

Press the designated number key (1–9) to restore the saved view.

If the saved views do not display as expected, they can be reset. To reset all views:

Right-click on the viewport and select Set Default Views from the context menu. The saved views are replaced with the standard preset views.

Adjusting the view

Setting the DMX provider

Editing the scene