Project Files and Folders
Visibox automatically saves your Project as you work, so you don’t have to worry about losing your work. Additionally, Visibox automatically saves backups as you work, so if your Project file becomes corrupted, you can restore it quickly and easily. Visibox also has “undo” and “redo” functionality, so you can step back through your changes if you make a mistake.
On Macs, the Project data file and media files are kept in a self-contained Project file (.vsbx) that can be moved from one computer or drive to another. On Windows, the data file (.vsbp) and media files are stored together in a directory. To move a Windows Project to another computer or drive, you will need to copy the entire directory.
Note that Mac and Windows Projects are interchangeable, so you can move a Project from one platform to another without issue.
Setting Up Your Project
Visibox makes adding visuals to your live performance simple and intuitive. Visibox is not video editing software, but it does provide shortcuts that mean you won’t have to specially format videos before you use them. You may find alternative uses for the tools Visibox offers, but it was designed to add ambient, atmospheric visuals that play in the background to enhance the overall experience or heighten the emotional impact of your performance.
In this section, we’ll look at the process of putting your show together.
Gather your visuals
The first step is to gather video and/or images (that will show on the screen during each song. The following formats will play natively:
Video:
- MP4 / MPEG4 (mp4, m4v, mpeg, mpg, mpv, m4p)
- QuickTime (mov, qt)
- Ogg (ogg, ogv)
- WebM (webm)
Codecs: h.264, VP8, VP9, AV1, Theora
Video conversion: Visibox will attempt to convert video files with non-native formats and codecs into a native format so they can be used in your Project. If the file cannot be converted, an error will appear.
Images:
- JPEG (jpg, jpeg, pjpeg, pjp)
- PNG (png, apng)
- WebP (webp)
- GIF (gif)
- BMP (bmp)
- SVG (svg)
The videos you find may be in different resolutions or aspect ratios. That’s fine! Visibox will make them work.
Animated GIF files will be converted to video to optimize file size and allow for greater control.
Creating a new Project
Launch Visibox and create a new Project (File > New Project ⇧⌘N). All of the Clips you add to Songs will be stored along with the Project.
Do not rearrange files
On Macs, the Project data file and media files are kept in a self-contained Project package file (.vsbx) that can be moved from one computer or drive to another. The package contents is not easily accessible, but it contains all of the media files you add to your Project.
On Windows, the data file (.vsbp) and media files are stored together in a directory. Do not rearrange the files in this directory – especially those in the “Files” subdirectory. You can can use Visibox’s “Cleanup Unused Files” function to delete unused media files, but do not delete or move files from the directory using Finder or Explorer. This may break your Project.
To move a Windows Project to another computer or drive, you will need to copy the entire directory.
Add a Background Clip
By default, the Output window shows a black screen whenever nothing is playing. A Background Clip replaces that black screen with media of your choice—a logo, an animated loop, or any other image or video—so your audience never sees a blank screen between Songs.
Any media you can use as a Clip can be a Background Clip:
- Video in any of the natively supported formats listed above
- Images such as JPEG, PNG, or WebP
- Animated GIFs, which are converted to video on import, just like regular Clips
There are three ways to set one:
- Choose Project > Add Background Clip… from the menu
- Click the Background Clip thumbnail in the Control Bar at the top of the Controller window. The thumbnail shows at a glance whether a Background Clip is assigned and whether it is currently playing, and clicking it lets you add, replace, or remove the Background Clip—even in the middle of a performance.
- Drag an image or video file from your desktop onto the Output window
The Background Clip applies to your whole Project; you can’t set a different background for each Song. To adjust how it fills the screen, use Project > Background Options. If your Clips use Fade In/Out, they will cross-fade smoothly to and from the Background Clip.
For the full list of related menu items, see the Project Menu reference.