Viz Pilot User Guide

Version 7.2 | Published May 08, 2017 ©

Words and Expressions

The following are a number of common words and expressions used throughout this document:

  • Background scene: A background scene contains logic that enables an operator to toggle the states of multiple front scenes. A typical background scene also contains back plates and transition effects for each state of the front scenes. For example; A lower third may be on-air at the same time as a bug, and the lower third may be taken off-air without taking the bug off-air or reanimating it.

  • Component: In Template Wizard, components are used to create text fields, buttons, drop-lists, database connections etc.

  • Control plugins: A graphics scene can contain all sorts of objects that can be controlled from a template such as text, back plates, images, colors and more. The graphics designer uses control plugins to expose objects to make them editable in a template. When importing the scene to Template Wizard the exposed objects with control plugins appear as list items with check boxes.

  • Control Object: Every scene with control plugins must have one instance of the control object plugin at the root level of a scene tree. Control Object reads the information from all other control plugins. When a scene is imported to Template Wizard, it reads the information about other lower level control plugins through Control Object.

  • Data element: A data element is a template that is filled with data. A data element holds a reference to its template (original) just as the template holds a reference to its scene. A data element is contains a set of data and references to where data (e.g. images and video clips) can be found. In most cases it is the data element that gets played out on-air, and not the template.

  • Front scenes: A front scene is a standard scene that makes one part of a transition logic scene.

  • Newsroom Component: In a Newsroom Computer System (NCS), the Newsroom Component (NrC) is used to add data elements to a story. The user is typically a journalist working on a story. The newsroom component is an embedded application in the NCS that connects to a database of templates. The templates can be filled with text, images, video and maps. Vizrt’s newsroom component is known as Viz Pilot News.

  • Scene: A scene is built in Viz Artist. It can be a single scene, or one part (layer) of a combination of scenes (transition logic).

  • Template: A template is a customized interface created in Template Wizard. The template is used in Director or Viz Pilot News to create data elements that are added to a playlist for playout. A template is based on one or several (transition logic) Viz Artist scenes.

  • Transition Logic Scene: A set of scenes built in Viz Artist. Consists of a background scene and one or several front scenes. It contains one scene that controls the state of or toggles a set of scenes (layers). The layered scenes are used by the controlling scene to toggle in and out the layered scenes, using pre-configured or customized transitions effects, without the need to take scenes already on-air, off-air. For example; A lower third may be on-air at the same time as a bug, and the lower third may be taken off-air without taking the bug off-air or reanimating it.

  • Viz Artist: The design tool where the graphics scenes and all animations are created.

  • Viz Engine: The output engine used for playout of graphics, video, images, SDI sound and sound effects.