MacroSystem Bluebox World User Manual

User manual

Bluebox World

for Casablanca Avio, Prestige and Kron

Safety notices

To avoid making mistakes during operation, we recommend that you carefully follow the
instructions provided in this manual.
We would also like to point out that Bluebox World has been designed with the hobby enthusiast in
mind.
We have taken a great deal of care while programming and checking this software.
Nevertheless, since it is not possible to guarantee totally error-free software applications in all
environments and at any time, we unfortunately cannot rule out the possibility that some errors may
have crept in. If, contrary to all expectations, this is indeed the case, we shall remedy any errors in
the program and supply the affected customers with the new software free of charge. We cannot,
however, accept any liability for loss of data/time or any consequential damages that may occur as
a result, particularly since we have no inuence over correct software installation and operation by
the customer. MacroSystem Digital Video AG and its dealers therefore cannot be held liable for any
defects or unintentional damage in connection with the installation or use of Bluebox World.
MacroSystem Digital Video AG and its dealers do not guarantee error-free use of the software or
complete awlessness of the program.
Any implied guarantee is null and void, including guarantee of suitability of the software or
operating instructions for a particular purpose.
Neither MacroSystem Digital Video AG nor its dealers are responsible for any damages resulting
either directly or indirectly through the use of the software or the operating instructions, e.g. for
prot loss, costs, hardware or software problems or other issues.

Table of contents

Page

1. Important information ........................................................................................ 5

1.1 Scope of delivery .................................................................................... 5

1.2 Further information ................................................................................. 5

2. About Bluebox World ......................................................................................... 7

3. System requirements .......................................................................................... 9

4. Installation ........................................................................................................... 9

5. Bluebox World summary .................................................................................... 11

5.1 The Bluebox World program ................................................................. 11

5.2 The individual Bluebox World effects ................................................... 11

6. The Bluebox World program .............................................................................. 13

6.1 Starting Bluebox World .......................................................................... 13

6.2 Summary of operating facilities ............................................................ 13

6.3 Left-hand function bar ............................................................................ 14

• Bluebox Mode ....................................................................................... 14

• Select Area ............................................................................................ 17

• Select Alpha .......................................................................................... 18

• Select Wipes .......................................................................................... 18

• Select Effect ........................................................................................... 18

• Special features .................................................................................... 19

6.4 Central effect options .............................................................................. 20

6.5 Right hand command bar ....................................................................... 20

7. The individual Bluebox World effects ............................................................... 23

7.1 BB Change Chroma (Image Processing) ............................................... 23

7.2 BB Separate Chroma (Image Processing .............................................. 23

7.3 BB Mask Rectangle (Image Processing) ................................................ 23

7.4 BB Move Rectangle (Image Processing) ............................................... 24

7.5 BB Copy Rectangle (Transitions) ........................................................... 24

8. Application example ........................................................................................... 25

8.1 Preparations ............................................................................................ 25

8.2 Starting Bluebox World .......................................................................... 25

8.3 Select and adjust Bluebox effect ........................................................... 26

8.4 Save Bluebox effect ................................................................................ 29

8.5 Calculate Bluebox effect ......................................................................... 29

Appendix A - The construction of a Bluebox wall ................................................ 31

A.1 Placement ................................................................................................ 31

A.2 Colouring the room blue ........................................................................ 31

A.3 Illumination ............................................................................................. 31

A.4 Camera positioning ................................................................................ 31

Appendix B - Hue, colour saturation and brightness ........................................... 33

Chapter 1

Important information

Thank you for obtaining Bluebox World from
your dealer!

We are grateful for your condence, and hope
this package will expand the range of your
editing even further.

1.1 Scope of delivery

Please check your purchase immediately for
completeness. Bluebox World consists the follo­wing components:

• Bluebox World software, which was copied by
your dealer on to a SmartMedia card.

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• Manual

• Enable code for the Bluebox World software

1.2 Further information

To avoid misunderstandings, we wish to
point out that this manual only explains how
Bluebox World functions. It does not give you
instructions on how to use your Casablanca.

We would be glad to hear from you if you have
questions that go beyond the scope of this
manual, ideas or suggestions for improvement,
or technical problems. In such cases, please
contact the addresses and telephone numbers
given in your Casablanca manual. In all
contact with us, please be ready to quote your
Casablanca‘s serial number.

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Chapter 2

About Bluebox World

The term “Bluebox“ goes back to the origins of
a technology that enabled specic elements in a
video image, originally just the blue areas, to be
replaced with new video.

Imagine two photographs of the same size: the
rst photograph shows an empty beach as a
background, while on the second photograph
someone is standing in front of a blue wall. (The
color blue is ideal as a background for people
because human skin has only very limited blue
components, making the differentiation between
foreground and background precise and easy.)

If these photographs are now placed one on top
of each other, with the photograph of the beach
underneath and that of the person on top, then
at rst the beach photograph is entirely covered
by that of the person. However, as soon as we
reach for a pair of scissors and cut all the blue
parts out of the photograph of the person, we
have the impression that the person is standing
on the beach. The person, now free from the
original background, is then xed on to the
photograph of the beach, so that the result is a
photographic montage with quite new contents.

• The selection of image regions can optionally
be made according to brightness values
(luminance key), according to color values
(chroma key), according to both brightness
and color (combined luminance/chroma key),
according to color saturation, to hue, or when a
specic black threshold is reached.

• An optimised Bluebox mode guarantees
realistic results, even when the light conditions
are not ideal.

• Soft, variably adjustable transitions between
the foreground and background avoid hard
edges at the transition region, so that even
complex image montages appear “genuine“.

• Any desired transparency value (alpha value)
of the foreground scene allows owing
contours.

• Variable display and hide periods qualify
Bluebox World as a full-featured transition
effect.

• Masking and shifting foreground objects
allows individual image objects to be made to
t precisely.

• Astonishing effects and effect variations offer
comprehensive tools for creative design.

• Live single-frame preview of all the effects
during the Bluebox design work saves time
consuming experiments.

The standard Bluebox effect from the
Casablanca series of devices is based on
exactly the same principle: two video scenes of
identical length are inserted into the storyboard,
and are combined throughout the length of
the scene using the Bluebox transition effect.
Here again the rst (left-hand) scene is initially
entirely covered by the second (right hand)
scene. Instead of using scissors however, the
part of the second scene that is to be removed
is now specied by means of color selection.
Casablanca replaces the selected range of
colors, for the duration of the effect, with the
underlying video image from the rst scene.

Bluebox World now goes far beyond the
standard Bluebox. To begin with, software
allows the ambitious amateur video lm maker
to design professional Bluebox effects of rst­class quality with Casablanca according to a
very wide range of criteria. With Bluebox World,
you experience Bluebox to perfection:

• Successful Bluebox variations can be saved
permanently in the Bluebox World archive for
re-use in later projects.

• Several additional Bluebox World Image
Processing effects allow you to create
sensational video manipulations.

Thanks to its enormous range of functions,
Bluebox World can handle all the usual types of
application for Bluebox technology. With Blueb­ox World you can:

• Achieve the“classic“ Bluebox effect of a
news reader in front of a blue wall in order,
for instance, for commentary to be spoken
against the background of a slide show or
documentary lm.

• Put persons or objects in front of a different
background, so that, for instance, a rotating
globe in front of a monochrome background
can be included as a logo in your own video.

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• Place running video material behind the letters
or symbols of a title, so that, for instance,
the characters on the title screen of a travel
documentary can be lled with “real“ water.

• Exchange individual colors, in order, for
example, to “paint“ a green vehicle racing-car
red.

• Convert color areas into grey tones, so that a
yellow ball could, for instance, jump through a
monochrome scene as the one spot of color.

• Freshen, weaken or modify colors, so that, for
example, all the blue shades of the sky can be
converted to the red sky of Mars.

• Take sections of scenes and shift them or copy
them into other scenes.

• Place frames around video scenes or sections
of video scenes, or emphasise parts of video
scenes with a colored rectangle.

Bluebox World also offers fascinating trick
effects, such as:

• Dissolving individual image objects according

to masks (“beaming“)

• Conversion of objects into outlines

(“ghosting“)

• Object shading (“shadows“)

• Object edges (“aura“)

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Chapter 3

System requirements

Bluebox World is suitable for Casablanca Avio,
Casablanca Prestige, and Casablanca Kron.

At least software version 1.9, or SmartEdit
version 2.1 or higher must be installed on the
Casablanca.

Chapter 4

Installation

Bluebox World is installed as additional software
via the “Install product“ menu item under
“System settings“.

Select the “Install product“ menu item, and
place the SmartMedia card with the Bluebox
World software into your Casablanca‘s
SmartMedia drive, as described in your
Casablanca manual.

After a short period of time, “Bluebox World“
appears in the list of additional software.

Select the “Bluebox World“ entry from this list
by simply clicking it, so that it is highlighted by a
bar, then select the “activate“ menu item.

Your Casablanca will now ask for the enable
code that you were given by your dealer.

Enter the 12-gure code, and conrm your entry
with “Ok“.

Successful enabling will be shown by the
display of “(active)“ behind the “Bluebox
World“ entry.

To install Bluebox World as a demo version,
simply do not enter the enable code.

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Chapter 5

Bluebox World summary

Bluebox World consists primarily of the
following components: one is the Bluebox World
program, while the other consists of several
individual Bluebox World effects for special
purposes. All the components of the Bluebox
World package are identied in the lists of the
transitional and long-term effects under the
name “BB <Name of the effect>“.

5.1 The Bluebox World program

The Bluebox World program (“BB Bluebox
World“) is a transitional effect. This means
that two scenes are always needed in order to
execute a Bluebox effect. Bluebox World joins
the two scenes optionally in the form of a scene
dissolve or in the form of a scene overlay. In this
case “overlay“ is initially to be taken literally,
because the second scene in the storyboard (the
scene on the right) initially entirely covers the
rst scene (the scene on the left).

5.2.2 BB Separate Chroma (Image Processing)

Divides the video scene into two color regions, a
region with freely selectable color and a region
that contains all the other colors. The color
saturation for these two color regions can be set
independently over the range from 0 % (black
and white) up to 200 % (intensive colors).

5.2.3 BB Mask Rectangle (Image Processing)

Places a colored rectangle or a colored frame
with a freely selectable transparency level over a
video scene or over a section of the scene.

5.2.4 BB Move Rectangle (Image Processing)

Shifts a freely selectable section of a video scene
to a different position.

5.2.5 BB Copy Rectangle (Transitions)

Copies a freely selectable section from the
second scene in the storyboard to any desired
position in the rst scene.

Only when specic color, brightness or
saturation values in the second scene are
selected with the aid of one of Bluebox World‘s
many selection tools, and made transparent in
an appropriate way, does the image content
of the rst scene appear under the remaining
components of the second scene.

The result achieved in this way can then be
rened, modied or extended by means of a
large number of effects.

5.2 The individual Bluebox World effects

In addition to the program itself, the Bluebox
World package also contains a variety of indivi­dual effects for special purposes:

5.2.1 BB Change Chroma (Image Processing)

Replaces a specic color within a video scene by
another, freely selectable color.