Beginner Tools

Camera Movement Tools & Control Tray

Located in the middle of the top of the screen, this tray houses five unique tools for augmenting your production.

Center Tool:

Located on the far left of the tools tray, this tool has two modes accessible through a drop-down tab. The first is the simple “Click to Center.” Clicking anywhere on the screen will immediately center the currently selected camera on that location. This is one of the fastest ways to reframe a camera on a subject. This tool is best used in multi-camera setups when one camera is live, and the producer Clicks to Center another camera, hiding the camera movement and quickly preparing it to be shown live.

1. Activate the Click to Center Tool: Press the ‘C’ key on your keyboard or locate the Click to Center icon in your top toolbar and click on it to activate the tool.

2. Identify the Cursor Change: Once activated, your cursor will change to display a frame with four corners and a green crosshair in the center, differentiating it from the city center tool, which features a yellow crosshair.

Cine Center

The secondary mode of the Center Tool; click anywhere on the screen, and the camera pans, tilts, and zooms in one synchronous cinematic movement, centering on the location. Typically, producers would opt for this mode if they want the camera movement to be shown live.

1. Activate CineCenter: Press Shift + C or select the CineCenter icon from the top toolbar. You may need to find CineCenter in the drop-down menu if transitioning from a different mode

2. Navigate with CineCenter: Once activated, your cursor will display the four corners of a frame with a yellow plus icon at the center. Clicking on your canvas will change the cursor to yellow, signifying that your shot is set.

3. Direct Your Movements: Continuously click to adjust the direction and create the desired arch of the camera’s movement. The CineCenter tool ensures these adjustments are carried out in a slow, elegant manner, focusing on pan and tilt without utilizing zoom.

4. Smooth Transitioning: CineCenter employs a ramping motion for camera movement, accelerating at the start and decelerating towards the end for smoother transitions. If you continue clicking while the camera is in motion, it maintains a consistent, fluid movement speed.

Fast Frame Tool

This is the fastest way to frame a camera shot.

1. Initiate the Fast Frame tool by pressing the hotkey ‘F’ or clicking on the Fast Frame icon located in the top toolbar menu above the canvas.

2. A green cursor will appear on the screen. Move this green Fast Frame cursor across your canvas to outline your desired shot.

3. Adjust the frame or aspect ratio by scrolling in to make it smaller or out to make it larger, which in turn sets the level of zoom.

4. Once satisfied with the framing, click to confirm the end framing that the camera will move to.

5. With another click, trigger the Fast Frame movement, directing the camera to the specified position or framing.

Cine Frame Tool

Cinematically frames a camera shot.

1. Activate CineFrame: To engage the CineFrame tool, press the “C” key on your keyboard or select the CineFrame icon located in the top toolbar. If you’re coming from another mode, such as FastFrame, you may need to access CineFrame from the dropdown menu.

2. Define Your Framing: Once activated, a yellow cursor will appear on your canvas. This cursor represents the aspect ratio of your camera’s final position. Drag the cursor to the desired end position on the canvas. Use your scroll wheel to adjust the cursor’s size, which will in turn adjust the zoom level needed for your final shot.

3. Preview the Shot: Clicking once will allow you to enter a preview state, where you can see the potential end position before fully committing to the shot.

4. Execute the Transition: With another click, you trigger the CineFrame shot. Your camera will then start its smooth transition to the selected position, adjusting pan, tilt, and zoom in a synchronized manner to achieve your desired frame.

Tips, Limitations, and Best Practices

• Understanding Zoom Limits: CineFrame’s functionality is contingent on your camera’s zoom capabilities. The tool will not adjust beyond the camera’s maximum or minimum zoom.

• The Importance of Calibration: For the highest degree of accuracy, ensure your camera is correctly calibrated. Using generic drivers or incorrect settings can lead to suboptimal framing accuracy.

• Cursor Color Coding: The CineFrame tool uses a yellow cursor for easy differentiation from the green cursor of the FastFrame tool, aiding in quick tool identification.

• Synchronization Considerations: While CineFrame aims for simultaneous cessation of pan, tilt, and zoom, disparities in movement lengths can occasionally result in less-than-perfect synchrony. Fine-tuning may be necessary for exact frame alignment.

• Optimal Use Scenarios: CineFrame is particularly useful for scenarios requiring significant changes in framing, such as dramatic shifts from wide shots to close-ups in events, concerts, or narrative film scenes.

Virtual Joystick

The joystick tool offers unparalleled control over camera movements, allowing users to manually adjust pan, tilt, and zoom with fine precision. Ideal for live productions, this software-based joystick mimics the physical experience of using a hardware joystick, providing a seamless way to reframe shots, create custom movements, and add dynamic motion to live camera feeds. This guide delves into enabling and utilizing the joystick tool effectively, including speed adjustments and understanding the joystick’s different states for optimal control.

Step-by-Step Guide to Engaging Joystick Movement

Step 1: Enable the Joystick Tool

• Action: Press and hold the spacebar for temporary activation or the ‘J’ key for permanent activation. Alternatively, click on the joystick icon in the top toolbar.
• State: The interface will highlight or otherwise indicate the joystick tool is active, ready for input.

Step 2: Engage in Pan and Tilt

• Action: Move your cursor in the desired direction within the active area.
• State: As you move the cursor, the joystick icon will enlarge and a transparent circle appears, showing you’re in the movement zone. The actual movement starts once the cursor moves beyond a small buffer zone, preventing accidental or jerky movements.

Step 3: Zoom Control (Concurrent with Pan and Tilt if Desired)

• Action: Scroll your mouse wheel or use your trackpad’s scroll gesture to zoom in or out.
• State: The joystick icon displays a plus (+) or minus (-) symbol in the middle, indicating zooming action.

Step 4: Adjusting the Speed

• Action: Before or during joystick operation, adjust the pan, tilt, and zoom speeds in the controls tray to either fixed or variable modes.
• State: The joystick icon’s color changes according to the selected speed—yellow for slow, green-yellow for medium, and green for fast. In variable mode, a dotted circle with a percentage icon shows the speed level.

Step 5: Disengage the Joystick Tool

• Action for Temporary Activation: Release the spacebar to automatically return to the previously used tool.
• Action for Permanent Activation: Press the ‘J’ key again, press another tool’s hotkey, or select another tool from the toolbar.
• State: The joystick icon reverts to its original size and appearance, indicating it’s no longer actively controlling the camera.

Understanding Different States:

• Inactive State: The joystick tool is not selected or is awaiting input. The icon may appear smaller or less highlighted.

• Engaged State: The tool is active, and the icon changes to indicate readiness for movement commands.

• Movement Zone State: Once engaged, moving the cursor shows a transparent area of movement initiation, with actual camera movements beginning after exiting this buffer zone.

• Speed Indicator State: Changes in the icon’s color and the appearance of additional indicators (like the dotted circle in variable mode) provide visual feedback on the speed and mode of operation.

Enabling Joystick Mode:

• Quick Enable: Press the spacebar to temporarily activate the joystick tool, allowing for a swift switch to manual control. Releasing the spacebar will return you to the previously used tool.
• Permanent Activation: Press the ‘J’ key or click the joystick icon in the top toolbar for continuous use of the joystick tool, setting it as your current tool.

Using the Joystick Tool:

• Initiate Movement: Click and drag your cursor, or use your trackpad, to direct the camera. The direction you move the cursor will determine the pan and tilt movements.
• Zoom Control: While in joystick mode, scroll with your mouse or trackpad to zoom in or out, enabling combined pan, tilt, and zoom actions

Tips or Limitations and Best Practices:

• Spacebar for Quick Access: Use the spacebar for rapid toggling between the joystick tool and other tools, enhancing workflow efficiency during live production.
• Customize Speed for Needs: Adjust speed settings based on the production context. Slow speeds are suitable for precise framing, while faster speeds can capture quick movements.
• Zoom Compensation: Be aware of the zoom compensation feature, which adjusts camera speed based on zoom level to maintain smooth movements. This is crucial when working with tight zooms.

Control Settings

You will find a tab housing many control options and adjustments located on the far right-hand side of the screen.

Focus Settings

Focus Mode: Within the focus section, you can switch between autofocus and manual focus. Use the dropdown or toggle switches provided to select your desired focus mode.

Autofocus Mode: Ideal for quickly adjusting focus without manual intervention. Suitable for dynamic shooting environments where subjects move unpredictably.

Manual Focus Mode: Provides precise control over the focus. Use this mode to manually adjust focus values or aperture for a specific depth of field and sharpness.

• In manual focus mode, adjust the focus by defining the exact focus value using the “+” or “-” icons below the focus mode drop-down tab. This allows for precise control over the depth of field and the sharpness of your image.

• The One Push Focus feature allows you to momentarily use autofocus to adjust the focus while in Manual Focus Mode.

Speed Control Settings

Speed Contros are located in the controls tray below the focus controls. Find the pan and tilt section and click on “Speed Control.” You can choose between “Fixed” or “Variable” speeds.

• Fixed Speed: The camera moves at a constant rate, offering predictable motion.

• Variable Speed: The speed is determined by the joystick’s movement, allowing for dynamic speed changes based on the joystick’s distance from the center

Use the slider below the speed control options to set your desired speed.

• Fixed Speed mode: This sets the constant speed for pan and tilt movements.

• Variable Speed mode: Defines the maximum speed at which the camera can move.

Zoom Speed can be found underneath the Speed control options and functions similarly, with Fixed speed and variable speed options.

• Fixed Speed: ensures a constant zoom speed.

• Variable Speed: allows the zoom speed to adjust based on the input speed from your cursor, scroll wheel, or trackpad.

tip

Save Settings per Source: PTZ speed settings are saved on a per-camera or source basis, ensuring that each camera retains its customized settings for quick recall.

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Compatibility with Tools: Adjusted speeds affect both the zoom tool and joystick tool operations but do not influence auto-tracking, fast frame, city center, or click to center functionalities.

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Selecting the Correct Camera Driver: To ensure optimal performance and accurate speed control, select the appropriate camera driver when adding your source. Incorrect driver selection can lead to suboptimal camera speed responses.

Quick Shots

Quick Shots are essentially a start and stop camera movement feature. These camera movements are also assigned hotkeys by default to use a Quick Shot hotkey press “Shift + [1-6]”.

Quick Shots can be found near the bottom of the control tray.

To use a Quick Shot, single click the desired button or enter the hotkey once. The camera will begin it’s movement sequence and will not stop until it has reached the limit of the movement or zoom range, or the button/hotkey is pressed again.

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Predefined Speeds and Ramps: Quick Shots use predefined speeds and ramps for movements. While this ensures smooth transitions, be mindful of the slight delay when stopping a movement.

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Customization for Efficiency: Customize Quick Shots and their hotkeys to match your most common movements, significantly speeding up your workflow.

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Limitations on Simultaneous Movements: Understand the logical limitations of simultaneous movements to avoid any confusion during operation.

Image Settings

Click on the Image Tab located in the right-hand tray by the Control Settings to access the image settings.

Adjusting your camera’s image settings is crucial for achieving the desired look and feel of your video production. Hive provides a user-friendly interface that allows you to easily access and modify various image settings, regardless of the make and model of your camera. In this article, we’ll guide you through the process of adjusting your image settings in your studio, ensuring you have complete control over your camera’s capabilities.

Hive Studio organizes image settings in a consistent order across all makes and models of cameras in order to make it easy to quickly identify settings. The order is as follows:

• Exposure
• White Balance
• Picture

Steps

1. Accessing Image Settings:

• Navigate to the right-hand tray in your studio interface.
• Locate and select the “Image Settings” tab, located next to the “Controls” tab.
• Upon selecting the “Image Settings” tab, you will see a list of settings in the following order: Exposure, White Balance, and Picture. -The Hive Studio maintains a consistent order of settings across all camera makes and models, making it easy to locate specific settings.

2. Adjusting Individual Settings:

• To adjust a specific setting, simply select it from the list.
• Use the provided slider, dropdown menu, or toggle to modify the setting as desired.
• The changes will be immediately visible in your video canvas, allowing for real-time color correction

3. Resetting Image Settings:

• To reset all image settings to their default values, click the “Reset All” button at the top of the “Image Settings” tray.
• To reset an individual setting, hover over the setting name and click the reset arrow that appears.

4. Using Image Settings Presets:

• To save a collection of image settings for future use, click the “Presets” button at the top of the “Image Settings” tray.
• The presets tray will open, allowing you to manage your saved presets.
• For more information on using image presets, refer to the dedicated help desk article in the knowledge base.

Limitations/Restrictions

• The number of supported image settings may vary depending on the specific camera make and model.
• Ensure that you have selected the correct make and model of your camera in the source discovery flow to access the full range of settings.

Tips & Best Practices:

Take advantage of Hive's custom-built drivers, which provide 100% setting compatibility with your camera, unlike generic joysticks or camera control tools.

Experiment with different image settings to achieve your desired look and feel for your video production.

Use the normalized values of image settings across different camera makes and models to simplify color correction.

Presets

The preset panel can be found spanning the bottom portion of the Hive Studio window.

A preset is a saved camera position.

Steps for Setting up Position Presets

1. Accessing Position Presets

• Open the camera control interface and navigate to the Position Presets tab on the bottom tray.

2. Adding a New Preset

• Click on the blank preset card or the plus (+) button to add a preset. A snapshot of the current camera view will be saved as a new preset.

3. Renaming Presets

• For easy identification, double-click the name of a preset to rename it (e.g., “Stage Left”, “Audience View”).

4. Deleting Presets

• To remove a preset, hover over it and click the trash can icon that appears in the bottom right corner.

5. Organizing Presets

• Drag and drop presets to reorder them according to your production needs, such as in sequence of use.

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• Dynamic Preset Updating: When you move to a different position and create a new preset, the associated snapshot updates to reflect the current view.

• Visual Confirmation: Active presets are highlighted, providing a visual cue of the camera’s current position.

• User-Level Storage: Presets are saved at the user level, ensuring your configurations are preserved for future sessions.

Preset Groups

The preset panel can be found spanning the bottom portion of the Hive Studio window. By default, the presets saved will be saved for any particular camera, will be saved to preset group one. In the top right-hand corner of this window, there is a (+) icon. Clicking this icon will create a new preset group.

This feature is particularly useful for complex productions that require switching between different scenes or camera angles.

Setting up Preset Groups

1. Adding a Preset Group:

• In the Position Presets tab, click the plus (+) icon located on the top right of the bottom tray to add a new preset group.

2. Naming Preset Groups:

-After creation, double-click the title of the new group (e.g., “Group 2”) to rename it according to its intended use or scene (e.g., “Interviews”, “Panoramas”).

3. Adding Presets to Groups:

• Within a group, add presets by clicking the plus button in the empty preset tray. These presets function the same way as individual presets but are organized within your specified group.

4. Organizing Groups:

• Drag and drop preset groups to arrange them in your preferred order, facilitating a seamless run-of-show.

tip

• Group by Scene or Segment: Organize your presets into groups based on different segments of your production, such as opening, main event, and closing.
• Ease of Access: Grouping presets simplifies switching between camera positions, especially in productions with multiple scenes or settings.
• User-Level Storage: Presets are saved at the user level, ensuring your configurations are preserved for future sessions.

Image Presets

Creating and managing image presets in Studio is an efficient way to swiftly adjust your camera settings to match varying lighting conditions or specific visual styles.

Creating an Image Preset

1. Navigate to the Image Tab: Open the right-hand tray in Studio and click on the Image tab to access the image settings. Naming Preset Groups

2. Open Presets: At the top of the image tray, locate and click the Presets button to view available image presets. Organizing Groups

3. Create a Preset: Click on the plus (+) button or the empty preset card to create a new image setting preset. Doing this will capture a snapshot of your current video, saving all adjusted image settings, such as exposure and white balance, into the new preset.

Managing Image Presets

• Rename an Image Preset: To change the name of an existing preset, double-click on the preset’s name, type the new title, and press Enter to save.

• Delete an Image Preset: To remove an unwanted preset, click the trash icon on the bottom left of the preset card.

• Image presets store all camera settings adjustments, allowing for quick recall of complex configurations with a single click.

• You can create Image Presets for different conditions (e.g., daytime natural light, nighttime concert lighting) to easily switch between optimal settings.

• Image Presets can be reorganized by dragging and dropping them within the tray.

• There is no limit to the number of presets you can create, offering unlimited customization for your production needs.