Video filters can be applied to any Source or Scene by right-clicking on the title and selecting Filters. New Filters can be added to OBS when specific plugins are installed. Similar to Sources, Filters can have their visibility toggled on and off in the Filters management window. By default, OBS organizes Filters into Audio/Video Filters and Effect Filters. You can add a filter by selecting the “+” plus button, which will open the Filter and allow you to adjust the Filter settings. There is a plugin called OBS Filter Hotkeys that will allow you to toggle the visibility on and off for Filters using Hotkeys without having to open the Filters management window.
Here is a list of Filters available in OBS by default.
The Image Mask/Blend feature is a great filter to use to add a new level of production quality to your videos. Anyone can set up a simple picture and picture set up with a webcam and screen capture. But those who take the time to set up a custom image mask for their webcam overlays, really show they care about their production quality. An image mask can be added to any source and it will essentially use an image mask file to make all areas of the source transparent where the selected mask color is. For example, if you take an image of a black circle and select black for the image mask color, the filter will make the outside white areas transparent in the source.
An interesting way to use Image Masks is on top of a video file. You can create a black and white image as your mask file to represent a graphical layout for your production. For example, you can draw out a lower third, a chat room area, and perhaps a top-bar area. You can use this image mask file on a video source that has slow colorful movements. The image mask in this case will show the video playing in just the areas of your mask, which can be used as an animated layer in your production.
Another popular way to use this feature is to change the shape of a webcam input. Try changing the shape of your webcam image and creating an animated background element together. In this way, you can create an animated outline around your webcam image. This is shown in the online course tutorial videos with this book.
The Color Correction filter is your main tool for color grading and color matching cameras and live video sources in OBS. When you are working with multiple cameras inside of OBS, sometimes you need to match the colors coming into OBS. It’s always best to start with matching the actual on-camera settings. For example, you can make sure each camera is set to the same frame rate, shutter speed, and aperture. Once your cameras are coming into OBS with matching exposure and color balance settings, you can use the OBS Color Monitor plugin to make educated decisions about the camera’s exposure. The OBS Color Monitor plugin will be reviewed in detail in an upcoming chapter, but in short, this plugin will allow you to quickly see graphical information about the exposure and color of video sources. This will allow you to see if your cameras are over-exposed, or need color adjustments. You can then use the Color Correction filter to see how your adjustments are affecting your sources the way professional color grading is done in a production studio. Color grading is technical in nature but it’s a learnable process that takes the guesswork out of color matching multiple cameras.
The Color Correction filter gives you access to Gamma, Contrast, Brightness, Saturation, Hue Shift, and Opacity. The Gamma adjustment affects the grayscale in between full black and full white. When adjusting the Color Correction filter it is highly recommended that you use the Color Monitor plugin to see the effects you are having on your selected source. Using the Color Monitor plugin you can check out the Waveform Monitor in OBS to see how Gamma will affect your image. You will see the middle range of your image being lifted or lowered as you adjust the Gamma slider. You can use the Contrast adjustment to affect the gain used to bring the full white and black range either closer together or further apart. Again using the Waveform Monitor, you will be able to see if you are crushing the blacks or clipping the white parts of your image. Brightness is used to adjust the overall brightness of the image. Saturation adjusts the vibrancy of each color and Hue Shift will actually change all colors in the image. Using the Vectorscope Monitor you can see how Saturation and Hue Shift affect the color of your image. Finally, Opacity will adjust the transparency of the entire filter’s effect on the image.
LUT Filters are a popular tool used by video producers and social media managers. LUT stands for Look-Up Table and they represent colors that can be applied to sources. You can find free LUT filters available for download on OBSProject.com. Once downloaded, in order to stay organized, you should put the LUT Filter files in the OBS program folder inside obs-plugins/obs-filters/LUTs. You can apply a LUT just like any filter and once open you can start by browsing for the LUT you would like to add. Most LUTs are named by the mood they are designed to portray. For example, you can apply a LUT for cinema, teal and orange, documentary-style, and others. Once you have selected a LUT you have one adjustment bar that determines the amount the LUT will be applied to your source video.
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