For those who don’t know the tool: Assimilate Live FX is a real-time media server and compositing system used in virtual production for LED volume playback, projection mapping, camera tracking integration, and on-set grading and compositing. In Unreal workflows, it often acts as the glue between camera tracking, frustum projection, multiple display outputs, and the last-minute look tweaks that always show up five minutes before lunch. Read our big introduction to the VP stages’ very, very nervous system here.
Why this series matters for Live FX 9.9 users
Virtual production has a special talent for turning simple sentences like “we’ll just hook Unreal to the wall” into three days of latency debugging, IP address archaeology, and someone whispering “is it a timecode issue?” at 2 a.m. If you would prefer fewer existential crises per LED panel, Assimilate’s three-part Live FX 9.9 tutorial series is worth your time. It does not promise enlightenment, but it does show, step by step, how to get Unreal talking to Live FX in a way that is fast, predictable, and less likely to require a ceremonial sacrifice in front of a nervous crew.
Assimilate Live FX Studio – Virtual Production: Unreal Engine Workflow – Single Machine
Video 1 focuses on the simplest setup: Unreal and Live FX on one machine, with Unreal handing its camera output to Live FX via GPU Texture Share rather than routing frames through NDI or SDI. Live FX sends tracking and timecode to Unreal via the Live Link workflow, then uses the returned image for frustum projection, grading, and compositing, with delay alignment to ensure the frustum outline and the content do not disagree about what time it is.
Assimilate Live FX Studio – Virtual Production: Unreal Engine Workflow – nDisplay Setup
Video 2 switches to an nDisplay workflow where you still run on a single machine, but output multiple render streams so different walls and feeds can be managed more explicitly. The tutorial shows exporting a stage from Live FX, generating an nDisplay setup in Unreal, then bringing those streams back into Live FX for per-wall routing, projection choices, and independent grading, with manual delay control where automatic timecode-based measurement is not available.
Assimilate Live FX Studio – Virtual Production: Unreal Engine Workflow -Multi-Node Switchboard Setup
Video 3 adds a Switchboard editor machine so Unreal can be edited live while the render node(s) keep playing out, and Live FX remains the system that actually talks to the wall. The walkthrough then leans into what Live FX is good at on set: stack quick grades, add lightweight effects layers, composite plates, tweak per-wall look, and generally satisfy DoP requests without needing an “extensive brain bar” or a formal committee hearing.
Tutorial Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s8gEazIocY
Tutorial Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3QH3k3wYs8
Tutorial Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnaOH_iV5Ys
Live FX 9.9 download (Assimilate Support): https://www.assimilatesupport.com/akb/Download51064.aspx
Unreal Live Link plug-in downloads: https://www.assimilatesupport.com/akb/Download51050.aspx
Live FX Unreal workflow documentation: https://www.assimilatesupport.com/akb/KnowledgebaseArticle51063.aspx
