Manual / How To

Positioning the Camera

Good tracking starts with the camera in a sensible place and an accurately measured grid. These two interactive sketches mirror the views the on-device Setup Wizard draws, so you can plan placement and check that your field of view covers the stage before you are on site. For the underlying ideas, see Core Concepts (Reference Point and Grid); for camera and lens choices, see Hardware.

All figures are in metres, in PSN theatrical coordinates measured from the Reference Point: X = stage left, Y = upstage, Z = up. The drawings update as you type, and nothing here is sent to a station.

Grid

The grid is the rectangular tracking area you measure and mark on stage. Enter its size and where the Reference Point sits within it.

Dimensions

Width (m)

Depth (m)

Spacing (m)

Z Offset (m)

Diagonal: –

Alignment

X Offset (m) (right +)

Y Offset (m) (upstage +)

By default the Reference Point sits at the centre of the front edge (X Offset = 0, Y Offset = depth / 2). Verify the grid is rectangular: measure both diagonals on stage – they must match the value above.

Camera position and field of view

Place the camera relative to the Reference Point, then set its orientation and lens. The shaded quad is the area the camera's field of view covers on the grid plane, assuming a 16:9 frame; the dashed line is its centre sightline.

Choosing the angle

Aim for a vertical angle of roughly 25° to 55° below horizontal, with the camera near the stage centreline. The sketch flags anything outside that as you type:

Too flat (shallower than about 25°, and a real problem under 20°): depth reads poorly, so operators struggle to judge how far up- or downstage the performer is and tend to overshoot. Find a higher mounting point.
Too steep (steeper than about 55°, and a real problem over 75°): the performer’s height is hard to judge. If you can’t lower the angle, measure and program marker heights in advance.
Well off to one side (more than about 15°, and poor beyond 30°): a strong side angle is harder to operate and tracks less predictably. A more centred position gives better results.

Position

Pos X (m) (stage left +)

Pos Y (m) (upstage +)

Pos Z (m) (height)

Orientation

Pitch (down −)

Yaw (left −)

Roll

Lens

Horizontal Field of View (°)

Sensor Size

Focal Length (mm)

Enter the horizontal field of view from your camera datasheet, or pick a sensor size and focal length and it is computed for you.

Once the numbers look right, enter them in the on-device Setup Wizard and run the calibration solve – see Camera & Grid Calibration.