Intro

 

In Liquid Cinema a number of authoring events like Forced Perspectives and Projection Switches in Liquid Cinema need to be frame accurate during playback in order to work. In order to ensure that all events in Liquid Cinema are 100% accurate, it is necessary to lay down a visual timecode layer in your master video. This visual data ensures that any player on any device, codec or platform is able to determine the current frame being projected with 100% accuracy.

There are two easy steps involved in inserting Visual Timecode into your 360 video project:

 

1. Download the appropriate Visual Time Code that matches the frame rate of your project.

2. Import and position the Visual Timecode Layer on top of your 360 video composition in your video or fx programme.

 

 

Step 1: Download the Visual Time Code Layer

 

Click one of the links below to download the Visual Timecode Layer that matches the projection mode, resolution and frame rate of your 360 video composition.

 

MONOSCOPIC

 

4096 x 2048	2896 x 1448	3172 x 1586
23.976 FPS 24 FPS 25 FPS 29.97 FPS 30 FPS	59.94 FPS 60 FPS	50 FPS

 

STEREOSCOPIC

 

2048 x 2048	2240 x 2240	2896 x 2896	3072 x 3072
59.94 FPS 60 FPS	50 FPS	29.97 FPS 30 FPS	23.976 FPS 24 FPS 25 FPS

 

 

The downloaded layer is a MOV file containing a png animation of a binary timecode made up of white and black blocks over a transparent background.

Step 2: Position the Visual Timecode Layer

 

1. After importing, the Visual Timecode Layer into your 360 video composition, set the layer as the top video layer over everything else in your composition.

 

When the layer is properly aligned the first leftmost timecode block should be 9 pixels from the left edge and the top of the block should be touching the top edge of the composition. The placement has to be pixel perfect for the players to be able to read the visual timecode.

 

This is what the timecode looks like over the video (full frame).*

 

*Actual Visual Timecode colours might differ