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User Guide (Version 1.15)

AWS Documentation » Amazon Lumberyard » User Guide » Creating Cinematic Sequences » Capturing Image Frames

Capturing Image Frames

You can capture image frames using render output, a capture track, or console variables.

Capturing Image Frames using Render Output

You can use the Render Output tool in the Track View editor to capture image frames. You may need to adjust the aspect ratio for captured image frames.

To capture image frames using Render Output

  1. In Lumberyard Editor, click Tools, Track View.

  2. In the Track View editor, click Tools, Render Output.

  3. In Render Output, set the input and out properties as desired, and then click Add. You will see the capture added under Batch.

  4. Click Start to start the capture.

To change the aspect ratio for image frame captures

  1. In Lumberyard Editor, click Edit, Editor Settings, Global Preferences.

  2. In Preferences, click Viewports.

  3. Under General Viewport Settings, change the value for Perspective View Aspect Ratio. The default value is 1.3333.

Capturing Image Frames using a Capture Track

You can capture image frames when a sequence is played in game mode.

To capture image frames using a capture track

  1. In Lumberyard Editor, click Tools, Track View.

  2. In the Track View editor, right-click the Director node and click Add Track, Capture.

  3. Double-click the created track to add a capture keyframe. See below for the key properties.

  4. Set up a flow graph to play the sequence on game start. For information, see Playing a Sequence.

Key Properties

Duration

Sets the capture duration in seconds.

Time Step

Forces a fixed frame rate, in seconds, by using a specified time step. Time step = 1/number of frames. Units are in 1 fps (frames per second), so a time step value of .0333 results in a game frame rate of 30 fps.

Output Format

Specifies the image output file format.

Output Prefix

Specifies a prefix to apply to the image file names. For best results, use the same prefix as the sequence for clarity.

Output Folder

Specifies the directory where the image files are stored under \directory Cache\project_name\pc\project_name\.

Buffer(s) to capture

Specifies the image capture format. Choose from the following options:

  • Color – RGB pixel information

  • Color+Alpha – RGB pixel data and Alpha channel data

    Note

    To capture Alpha channel data, you must set Output Format to tga.

Just 1 Frame

Chooses between single or multi-frame image capture.

Capturing Image Frames using Console Variables

You can use console variables to capture image frames.

fixed_time_step

Lowers the game speed to achieve a constant frame rate throughout the sequence. For example, a time step value of 0.04 specifies a 25 fps gameplay speed.

Default: 0.0

capture_frames

Enables frame capture, if the value is set to 1.

capture_file_format

Sets the output format for the images.

Valid values: .jpg, .tga, .tif

capture_file_prefix

Sets a file name prefix to use for captured frames.

Default: Frame

capture_buffer

Sets the type of buffer to capture.

Valid values: 0 = Color (RGB pixels) | 1 = Color with Alpha (RGBA pixels where the alpha channel is set to 255 where geometry exists)