An operator is a plugin that can perform modifications of either video or audio or use the video/audio to perform some action or calculation. Examples of operators: Color Curves Operator, Vibrance Operator, and Chroma Key Operators. Operators can be considered as effects, although they can perform other types of operations as well.

Operators are applied to layers within a scene, and you can add multiple operators to a layer. The same type of operator can be applied several times onto a scene layer.

Operators are rendered (and applied) from top-to-bottom. For each operator, an outgoing RGBA value is calculated and fed into the operators further down the processing pipe. 

Below are two examples of operators added to a scene layer:

Working with Operators

Operators are found in the Operators tab on the left side of the UI:

Select the layer in the scene and use the Add Operator menu on the left side to add an operator to a scene.

Use drag & drop to change the order of the operators.

Use the yellow up/down arrow to collapse/expand the operator.

To delete an operator, select the operator and press the DELETE key, or right-click on the title and select "Delete operator".

To disable/enable an operator, uncheck the yellow checkbox next to the operator's name.

Operator properties can be copied between operators of the same type. Right-click on the operator name (title) and select Copy properties to copy properties from an operator, and use right-click on the operator name (title) and select Paste Properties to paste properties on the destination operator.

To duplicate an operator, right-click on the operator and select Duplicate operator.

To copy all operators from a scene layer to another, use the Copy operators and Paste operators buttons.

Customized operators

Composer uses a plug-in-based architecture that allows the development of custom operators, inputs, and targets. New operators can be designed and developed on request. A few examples:

• Image analysis operators (AI) can be used for pattern recognition, object tracking, and object recognition.

• Integration with 3rd party systems

• Customized special effects

Developing custom operators is part of the Professional Services provided på RealSprint. Contact RealSprint for more information.