Cameras

SenSei includes two types of camera plug-ins: s_Camera and s_SenSei Control + Main Camera. You can add multiple s_Camera plug-ins to your Live set, but only one instance of the s_SenSei Control + Main Camera plug-in. This is because the latter not only serves as the main camera controller but also manages the core configuration settings for the SenSei application.

SenSei Control + Main Camera

In the SenSei section, you can adjust the Render Quality and Anti-Aliasing settings. The Render Quality setting allows you to balance visual fidelity and system performance. It significantly affects how elements such as lighting, shadows, transparency, reflections, motion blur, and depth of field are rendered and it also has a major impact on GPU performance.

By default, the render quality is set to Medium. In this mode the output is adaptive, meaning that Unreal Engine will automatically reduce or even disable certain expensive effects (like Depth of Field, motion blur, bloom, lens effects, shadow mapping) depending on the window size.

When SenSei’s output window is set to full-screen, the engine stops applying certain adaptive/performance-saving shortcuts, so the scene will look higher-quality and more cinematic, including better Depth of Field.

The Anti-Aliasing setting also impacts performance. It determines how Unreal Engine smooths out jagged edges (aliasing) that appear along diagonal or curved lines in rendered images, resulting in cleaner and more visually polished visuals.

This section also shows if Ableton Live is connected to the SenSei application.

In the Window section, you can control the output window: make it appear always on top and adjust the size and position.

Camera

Use the Activate button in the Camera section to set a camera as the active one (the view that appears in the output window). You can automate this parameter to switch between cameras dynamically. Deactivating a camera has no effect, but activating one will take control of the final output view and automatically deactivate any other active cameras.

The Origin and Transform sections control the camera’s position and rotation, in other words, its point of view. The Origin defines the camera’s location in World Space, while the Transform parameters determine the camera’s position and orientation relative to that origin.

The LookAt / Focus Point section defines the position of the camera’s focus target. You can set its location using a World Position and apply an additional offset.

There are two operation modes:
– Absolute Position: The camera pivots around the fixed LookAt point.
– Relative to Camera Position: The LookAt point moves along with the camera’s position (but not its rotation).

Make the LookAt Point visible by enabling the Show LookAt toggle.

Most plug-ins include a Camera section. Here, you can either move the plug-in to the camera’s LookAt point or move the LookAt point to the plug-in.

In the Lens / Sensor section, you can control Depth of Field, zoom, focus, and exposure/temperature settings.

To create an exaggerated Depth of Field effect, use a large Focal Length, large Sensor Height/Width, and a small Aperture value.

Use the Overview Map to get a top-level view of all elements in the scene. Cameras are represented by a red arrow, lights by a yellow icon, assets by a blue dot, vertex shapers by a pink shape, video planes by a pink rectangle, and text by a green “T”.

NOTE: These icons are rendered in the actual scene, so while the Overview Map is enabled, you might see them in the composition.

Use the map controls to zoom in/out and navigate the top-level view.

Enlarge a plug-in’s icon in the Overview Map by enabling the Focus in Overview toggle in its Camera section.

Use the controls in the Light section to adjust the scene’s lighting. If the Sky plug-in is included in the Live set, it controls the sun’s direction and brightness, creating a realistic day-and-night cycle.

Post-Processing

Use the Post-Process section to apply post-processing effects to the final render. Each camera can have its own settings, so switching between cameras will automatically apply their respective post-processing configurations, allowing you to create well-composed and visually consistent shots.