Video, projectors and mapping

The idea: stage, surfaces, outputs

The virtual stage is the canvas for videos, images, text and generators. It has a size in pixels (for example 1920 × 1080, or 3840 × 1080 for two projectors side by side).
An output is a projector or a screen: a Regia window you open full screen on that projector.
A surface takes part of the stage and brings it to an output, warped as needed: skewed, curved, with areas masked out.

Visual elements go on the whole stage or on a specific surface. You build the show once and the mapping adapts to the venue.

Opening an output on the projector

Connect the projector or screen to the computer and set it as an extended display (not mirrored) in the Windows or macOS display settings.
In the Video workspace, on the left, pick the output (or add one with +) and set its Resolution to the projector's.
Under Screen press Find connected screens and accept the permission: pick the projector from the list.
Press Open. The window opens on the projector and goes full screen by itself.

If the browser cannot tell where the screens are, choose I'll move it myself: drag the window onto the projector and press Full (or double-click inside the window, or press F).

In the output window the cursor disappears after 2 seconds and the screen never goes to sleep. The I key shows the output's name.

Under the output you read its status: window open, frames per second, actual resolution. If the window is not as large as the projector, Regia tells you.

Adjustment tools

Test pattern: grid, grid and outlines, surface outlines, colour bars, white, black, checkerboard, gradient. The button next to it puts it on the stage, so it goes through the mapping like real video.
Black on this output: blacks out that projector only.
Hold to show the name on the output: handy with several identical projectors.
Close closes the window.

The virtual stage

Below the outputs you set the stage Size and Background. The preview shows the stage while the show runs.

Mapping a surface

The centre of the Video workspace shows the chosen output with its surface. At the top pick the surface (or add one with +) and the editing mode:

Corners: drag the 4 corners to where the image must land. It's keystone correction without losing brightness. Arrows move the chosen corner by 1 pixel, Shift+arrows by 10.
Grid: switch on the warp grid (up to 16 × 16 points) and move the points to bend the image onto columns, domes, uneven scenery. Reset the grid starts over.
Masks: rectangles, ellipses and triangles that cover areas you don't want to light (a frame, a piece of furniture, a still actor). Drag the points, Add a point for free shapes, double-click a point to remove it. Each mask can be inverted (light only inside) and feathered.
Stage area: which part of the virtual stage goes onto this surface (X, Y, width and height in pixels), or Whole stage.

On the right, in the surface settings: name, enabled, opacity, Fill (cover the whole output again), Rotate, Mirror (for rear projection).

Tip: with your phone you can adjust the corners while standing on stage, in front of the projection. See Your phone as a remote.

Blending several projectors

For one wide image made of several projectors, press the Assistant (the wand at the top left):

choose How many projectors, the Arrangement (side by side or stacked), each one's Resolution and the Overlap (usually 10–20%);
press Apply: Regia prepares a stage of the right size, one output per projector, the stage areas and the soft edges already set.

Then refine each surface: in Soft edges set how much each side blends (left, right, top, bottom), the Gamma and the blend Curve, until the double area disappears. With Projector color matching you bring brightness, contrast, gamma and the red, green and blue levels of two different projectors closer.

Visual elements

Videos, images, text, generators, cameras and screens share these properties:

Placement

Surface: whole stage or a surface.
Fit: fit, fill, stretch, original.
Position, Scale, Rotation, Crop on all four sides, horizontal or vertical Flip. Reset placement clears everything.

Look

Opacity and Blend (normal, add, screen, multiply, lighten, darken, difference).
Transition in and out: fade, through black, wipes from left, right or bottom, zoom, iris.

Video effects: + Effect adds colour (brightness, contrast, saturation, hue, gamma), blur, black and white, sepia, invert, vignette, chroma key (to remove a green or blue background), mirror, pixelate, kaleidoscope. Effects stack in list order.

Animation: opacity, position, scale and rotation points over time (see The inspector).

Video

In and out points, Loops, Hold last frame (at the end the video freezes until something replaces it), Speed and Video sound, on or off, with its volume.

The video's sound plays on the computer's own audio device. To send it to your outputs (house, stage), with mixer, effects and fades like any sound, press Put the sound on an audio track: Regia creates a Sound element with the same file, starting together with the video, and mutes the video's own sound.

Image

Photos, drawings, PDF pages, animated GIFs. With a Fixed length they stay for the time you choose; the default comes from Settings (Image length).

Text

Type the text and choose Font (including imported ones), weight, size, colour, Alignment, Line height, Outline, Shadow, Background, Width (text wraps beyond it) and Uppercase.

With Live text the text shows a Countdown (from a time you choose), a Clock or the Elapsed time. Write {t} where the number goes: “Starting in {t}”.

Generator

Images made by Regia, without files: solid colour, gradient, radial gradient, fog noise, stripes, grid, checkerboard, colour bars, starry sky, fire, water. Choose two colours, the speed and the angle.

Camera or screen

Camera: a webcam or an HDMI capture card. Pick the device (names appear after you allow camera access).
Screen or window: when the element starts, the browser asks which screen or window to show. This brings a presentation, a website or another program onto the stage.

Performance

Regia draws everything with the computer's graphics card. On a laptop, keep it plugged in.
For very heavy videos, prefer MP4 H.264 at the stage resolution.
Each output's status shows frames per second: if it drops below 50, lighten videos or effects.