Глоссарий по Видеомэппингу
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This technical glossary centralizes the essential vocabulary required for video mapping. From fundamental concepts like warping and edge blending to critical hardware specifications such as lumens and throw ratio, mastering these definitions will help you navigate professional setups and utilize mapping software like HeavyM with ease.
Understanding projection mapping requires knowing its specific technical language. This glossary centralizes the indispensable vocabulary for the practice of video mapping, ensuring you have the knowledge to execute any project. Whether you are setting up a micro-mapping installation, connecting multiple projectors via SDI cables, or programming MIDI controllers for a live show, these definitions will clarify every step of your workflow.
Ready to put these concepts into practice? Download the HeavyM free trial and start mapping in minutes!
Fundamental Concepts & Projection Techniques
The foundation of video mapping relies on understanding how digital images interact with physical spaces. Here are the core concepts you need to know:
Technical Term
Definition
Video Mapping (Projection Mapping)
The technique of projecting video onto 3D volumes or non-flat surfaces, perfectly matching their relief to create optical illusions.
Surface Mapping
The action of precisely adapting video content to the geometric shape of a specific surface.
Micro-mapping
Meticulous projection onto very small objects (sneakers, models, bottles, restaurant dishes) requiring high precision.
Edge Blending
A complex technique to fluidly merge the edges of beams from several adjacent projectors. The goal is to obtain a single, continuous, and homogeneous panoramic image in terms of brightness.
Искривление
The process of manipulating and distorting the projected image grid to visually compensate for distortions caused by an irregular, cylindrical, or spherical surface.
Snapping
A crucial software feature allowing you to magnetize the points of your shapes (slices) to each other to avoid black “holes” between two projection areas.
Keystoning
A digital or optical adjustment to maintain a rectangular image when the projector is placed at an inclined angle to the projection surface.
Slice / Mask
A projection area defined in the software (e.g., a polygon drawn in HeavyM) to delimit the exact space where video should appear or be hidden.
Invert Mask
The technique of telling the software to project video everywhere except inside a defined shape (useful for cutting out a window or obstacle on a building).
Sequencer / Timeline
A tool to organize scenes and visual effects over time, to create a standalone show synchronized to music.
Generative Art
Visuals created mathematically in real-time by the software (often via shaders), which do not require pre-recorded video files (MP4) and can evolve infinitely.
VJing (Video Jockeying)
The art of mixing and manipulating video loops in real-time, often in a club or festival setting, in synchronization with a DJ’s music.
Protocols, Software & Effects Used in Mapping
To create interactive and high-performing shows, mapping software relies on specific communication protocols and optimization formats.
Technical Term
Definition
OSC (Open Sound Control)
A high-performance network communication protocol allowing software to interact in real-time. It allows you to control HeavyM from a smartphone or lighting console.
Audio-Reactive
Refers to visual effects or animations generated dynamically by the software based on frequency variations (bass, mids, treble) of a real-time audio source.
Shaders
Short computer programs executed directly by the graphics card (GPU) processor. They modify image characteristics in real time to create dynamic, interactive visual effects like ripples and reflections.
Syphon (Mac) / Spout (Win)
Essential VJing technologies for sharing video streams between different applications on the same computer with zero latency.
NDI (Network Device Interface)
An innovative standard for transferring high-quality uncompressed video over a local Ethernet network. It supports 4K video and handles multiple streams via a single cable.
Optimized Codecs (HAP, DXV, ProRes)
Video compression formats specifically designed to be decoded by the graphics card (GPU) rather than the processor (CPU). This is essential for playing multiple videos simultaneously without slowing down the computer.
MIDI
A standard protocol to control software (like HeavyM) using physical controllers (keyboards, pads, knobs) for a live performance.
DMX / Art-Net
Standard communication protocols used in the entertainment world to control lighting. HeavyM can send or receive Art-Net signals to sync video mapping with light fixtures.
Tracking
Technology (often coupled with infrared cameras or Kinect) allowing the projection to follow a moving object or dancer in real-time.
EDID
A standard allowing a display device (like a projector) to communicate its capabilities (like resolution) to a video source (like a computer).
Sequences & Cues
In HeavyM, Sequences are objects that divide your mapping into several parts, managed in the Sequencer. A Cue is an object in the Timeline that sends a trigger signal for an action related to Sequence playback.
Want to test audio-reactive effects and Spout/Syphon integration? Try HeavyM Pro today!
Key Hardware Characteristics (Projectors & Cables)
Choosing and connecting the right hardware is just as important as mastering the software. Here is the technical vocabulary related to hardware setups:
Technical Term
Definition
Lumens (ANSI Lumens)
The standard measurement unit for the light output emitted by a projector. It is the number one criterion for determining if a mapping is feasible outdoors or in a lit room.
Соотношение бросков
The mathematical ratio between the projector’s distance and the displayed image width. It determines whether you need a short (0.5:1), standard (1.5:1), or long throw lens.
Short Throw / UST
The characteristic of a projector lens capable of displaying a very large image while placed very close to the projection surface (ideal for small stages or retail windows).
Сдвиг объектива
A high-end optical mechanism to shift the projected image on vertical and horizontal axes without having to physically move the projector chassis.
Capture Card
A hardware device used to input an external video stream (like a live camera or another computer’s screen) directly into HeavyM to map it live.
HDMI & DisplayPort
HDMI is the most common standard for transferring uncompressed digital audio and video. DisplayPort is a digital interface often used to link a computer to a high-resolution screen.
SDI & HDBaseT
Professional cabling standards. SDI is used in production for uncompressed video. HDBaseT allows the transmission of video, audio, Ethernet, and power via a single CAT5e/6 cable up to 100 meters.
VGA & DVI
Older analog and digital video interfaces primarily used to connect older computer screens and projectors.
Audio Interfaces & I/O
External devices or ports (Line In, Line Out, Mic In, SPDIF) used to transmit digital or analog audio signals for professional sound recording and playback.
Часто задаваемые вопросы (FAQ)
What is the difference between warping and keystoning?
Keystoning is a basic digital or optical adjustment used to maintain a rectangular image when a projector is tilted. Warping is a much more advanced process that manipulates and distorts a specific grid of the projected image to compensate for highly irregular, curved, or spherical surfaces.
Why do I need optimized video codecs for mapping?
Optimized codecs like HAP, DXV, and ProRes are specifically designed to be decoded by your computer’s graphics card (GPU) instead of the processor (CPU). This is essential in video mapping because it allows your computer to smoothly play multiple high-resolution videos simultaneously without lagging.
What is edge blending and when should I use it?
Edge blending is a technique used to fluidly merge the overlapping edges of beams from several adjacent projectors. You should use it when you need to create a single, massive panoramic image that is continuous and homogeneous in brightness, which cannot be achieved with just one projector.
How can I make my visuals react to music?
To make visuals react to music, you use audio-reactive features within your mapping software. The software analyzes the frequency variations (bass, mids, treble) of a real-time audio source (connected via an Audio Input) and dynamically generates visual effects or animations that pulse to the beat.