Getting Started

Using the Long Exposure Component is quite simple. You can either attach the component directly to any blueprint of your choice or simply drag and drop the BP_LongExposureActor into the scene. By default, the component uses SPACE as input to start capture.

Using the Component

1. Go to your actor of choice. In the Components section, add the BP Long Exposure Component.

   

2. Once the actor is placed in the scene, press SPACE to start capture. (Input logic resides within BP_LongExposureCamera).

   

3. The capture will last the duration of ExposureTime. You can change this variable via the details panel of the component. 1 second = 10 units.

   

4. The logic for this component is located in Plugins/LongExposureCamera Content/Blueprints/BP_LongExposureCamera. If you need to make changes, feel free to do so here.

   

Using BP_LongExposureActor

Ideal for prototyping where you need to see the effects quickly.

1. Go to Plugins/LongExposureCamera Content/Blueprints/ and drag BP_LongExposureCamera into the level.
2. Once again press SPACE to start capture.

Discrete Trails vs Smooth Trails

Two artistic effects can be achieved by controlling the motion blur of the component. If motion blur is turned off completely you can achive a discrete long exposure effect.

If the motion blur is turned on, you can achieve smooth exposure depending on the motion blur settings.

Blend Methods

Currently the plugin offers four blend methods to create various exposure effects. The blend mode can be set in the details panel of the component.

1. Max

   Picks the brightest sample over the accumulated frames. Best suited for light trails and other effects requiring strong trail presence. It recreates how regular cameras work in open shutter with lowered exposures.

   

2. True Mean

   True Mean is a recreation of Photoshop's mean blending. It takes the average of all accumulated frames resulting in smooth "milky" frames. Best suited for smoothing out clouds, water bodies and other large areas of movement. This is however not ideal for capturing rapid movement, as they will be averaged out quite quickly.

   1st Frame

   

   500th Frame

   

3. Lerp

   Basic linear interpolation of accumulated frames. Results vary depending on the Lerp Alpha.

   

4. Median

   Takes Max and Min into account with a bias towards Max.

   

Rendering Using Movie Render Queue

To render your capture, you'll need UE's built-in Movie Render Queue plugin.

In the Movie Render Queue settings, add a UI Renderer and a Command Line Encoder. Once this is done, hit render and enjoy!

Closing Note

The bulk of the effects result from one material called M_LongExposureBlend located in Plugins/LongExposureCamera Content/Materials/. This material controls the nature of blending and because of that, a lot of customizations can be done here to suit your needs.