ARFX Bookmark Cameras

Section 18. Adding ARwall Bookmark Cameras

Similar to the various ARFX Cameras, the bookmark is another custom camera but one we do not directly use.

Adding an ARwall Bookmark Camera helps you bookmark a specific Virtual Camera angle of the scene you would like to shoot. This allows quick movement from one virtual camera angle to another, making shooting multiple angles in a scene easy and quick.

The ARFX Bookmark is a non-descript camera whose purpose is primarily to provide position and orientation information. When any ARFX Camera is placed in a scene, it searches for any bookmarks and adds them to a list in the order found. The camera cycles from one bookmark to the next until it cycles back to its starting position (which is saved by it dynamically creating a bookmark at the start).

However, the utility of ARFX Bookmarks goes far beyond saved positions within the ARFX Pro Plugin. You can customize each bookmark to hide objects in the scene to prevent clipping. You can change the transition animation to your liking. You can even have moveable actors move alongside the camera for some interesting effects.

To add ARwall Bookmark Cameras to a scene, do the following:

1. Open the Unreal Engine 4/5 project.

2. If using multiple maps within one project, under the Content Browser section, load the level .map, you want to add the bookmark cameras, too.

3. To add a Bookmark camera, start by clicking the green + icon, as highlighted in the image below.

4. From the dropdown menu, hover over the ARwall option and click the ARFX Comp Bookmark option from the menu on the side.

Alternatively, you can also add the bookmark camera to the scene by dragging it from the Place Actors window under the ARwall tab shown in the next image, which is located on the left-hand side of the Unreal Engine GUI. Drag the ARwall Bookmark Camera to the desired location in the editor window.

Important

You can also create a bookmark with the “backspace” hotkey on the keyboard while in Play mode. This will create a bookmark wherever the virtual camera is currently placed.

Best Practices

If you're trying to match the virtual scene bookmark as an extension of the physical set, do the following

While the ARwallBookmark camera is selected on the editors Viewport, navigate to Details > ARwall  section where you can access different settings for your Bookmark cameras.

Section 18.1 Draw Screen

Use this setting to better orient and place your bookmark to your liking and to show the screen size for all future created ARwall Bookmarks.

This setting will draw a representation of your virtual screen on the bookmark itself. It does this by looking for a compatible ARFX Camera in the scene and obtaining its dimensions from it (for Multiscreen the dimensions are simplified). Being able to visualize the screen can help align the screen to the floor or walls as needed or see what objects may clip within their boundaries.

Important

It is possible to enable this on all bookmarks, but it is not recommended to do this. For one, the screens may obscure or obstruct your ability to select objects within the scene. In the worst case, they can even lower performance significantly due to transparency and reflection effects.

Section 18.2 Copy Camera Component on Switch

Enabling this will copy any changes made to the camera component to the ARFX Camera upon switching to this bookmark. The reason you would like to use this is due to the Post Process effects that can be assigned to this particular bookmark, enabling the use of color grading and other post process effects that would normally be found in a PostProcessVolume.

Section 18.3 Bookmark Indexing

Allows you to assign a unique index to this bookmark, giving you control as to what order you will traverse your bookmarks. This requires you to have enabled Disable Indexing on your ARFX Camera.  Refer to Section 5.6 Below, Changing ARwall Bookmarks Order, for more details on managing the order of your bookmark cameras.

1. Actors to Bookmark

Each new member of the array has options to manually set their Transform when transitioning to this bookmark.

This list can be populated to include actors you wish to move when transitioning to this bookmark. Unfortunately, the [Transform] information must be done manually which may seem daunting for beginner users.

However, the possibilities when using this are endless. Imagine having a transition between bookmarks where objects slide aside to allow your scene through. Or imagine having objects such as birds move alongside your transition between bookmarks in real-time. If you use the same actors across multiple bookmarks, these actors can fly to your liking as you transition between all of them.

This is simply another tool available to you when it comes to bookmarks. You would, of course, have more control when using [Sequencer] instead, but this just simplifies the process

2. Actors to Hide

This is a list of actors that will be hidden when switching to this bookmark. The best practice is to use ARFX_EditorUI while in PIE to save any changes when done. Another idea is to group all the actors and use a reference to that group to hide all objects that would clip through your screen.

3. Transition Section

Every setting within the Transition section overrides the same options found in your ARFX Camera. Remember, these overrides are for when you are transferring to this bookmark and not out of it.

If left checked on as default, this can create a cluttered map to work in, so use with caution. Adjust the Bookmark Screen until you see the bottom of the screen match the bottom of the virtual map (the bottom yellow line helps show if you’re on, below, or above the map floor).

Snapping the virtual camera to a surface can perfect your virtual camera location before creating a bookmark. While in play mode, you can snap your camera to different surfaces by pressing "T" on the keyboard or pressing down "Left stick" on your Xbox controller to toggle on/off Snap Mode. Once enabled, use the arrow keys on the keyboard or the D-PAD arrows on the Xbox controller in the direction you want to snap to. Be sure to disable Snap Mode once finished by pressing "T" or "Left stick" again.

Section 18.4 Changing ARwall Bookmarks Order

To change the bookmarked camera order, do the following:

1. Open the Unreal Engine 4/5 project

2. If using multiple maps, under the Content Browser section, load the level .umap you want to adjust the bookmarked camera order for.

3. Once the map is loaded, go to the Window > Outliner

4. Type ARwall into the search bar, as shown below.

5. You will see a list of ARwallBookmarkCameras located in the scene.

4. Click on ARwallCameraActor.

5. Under the Details section, go to the second scroll bar and scroll down until you see ARwall Bookmarks, as shown below.

6. Click to check the Disable Indexing box. This stops ARwallCameraActor from assigning bookmarked camera orders based on which camera is loaded first.

7. Click on the ARwallBookmarkCamera that you want as the second bookmarked camera in the chain.

8. Under the Details section, scroll down until you see the ARwall/ARwall Toolset. Click the triangle next to Bookmark to open the drop-down list, as shown below.

   
   

   

   9. Go to Bookmark Index and change the index number to 1. This is the second camera in the chain. ARwallCameraActor is the first in the chain and will have an index number of 0.
      

   

                                            

   10. Repeat Steps 8 – 10 to set up the next bookmarked camera in the chain by setting the third camera with Bookmark Index number 2 and so on.
   

   Important

   These changes will only apply to the current map and will not be applied to other maps in the project

   11. Once the Bookmark Index numbers have been set, click save and you can run the scene normally.
   
   It is best to check the bookmarked camera in the editor viewport before changing the Bookmark Index number. This will make sure you have the bookmarked camera that you want in the correct order.

   Important

   To revert the bookmark settings back to default, just change the Bookmark Index number for each ARwallBookmarkCamera back to -1. Next, go to ARwallCameraActor and make sure the Disable Indexing box is unchecked.