Creating and Rendering

Spin up a new Show, upload a .packedshow, and download the resulting .vbake, VVIZ, or Depence files — the production lifecycle from first save to final render.

A Show is the top-level container for a drone-show production in the portal. Every render, file, deadline, contact, and storyboard slide belongs to a Show, so creating one is the first step for any new project.

Creating a Show

Click Create New Show — from the Shows workspace sidebar or the Shows table. The Create a Show modal opens in place, so you do not lose the page you were on.

It asks for the bare minimum: a name, a date, and the flight area for the show's Site Map. The quickest way to set the area is to drop a centre point and give it a radius; the polygon tool is one click away if you would rather trace it. The flight area is optional — leave it and the render fills it in, with a 1 km-wide ring around the show's GPS location.

If you already have a design file, Upload a show file or copy from a past show. A .packedshow is rendered when the show is created and its site map built from that render; a .vbake is a finished render already, so it fills the flight area and drone count straight away with nothing left to run — set the altitude ceiling yourself.

Choose Advanced to fill in the rest of the show's details — venue, personnel, resources — at the same time, rather than returning to them later.

The Create a Show modal.

A Show contains one or more Performances — the individual flights. Most shows have one performance, but multi-day events, rehearsal flights, and tour stops use multiple performances under a single Show. Add more from the left navbar (+ Add New Performance).

The Show Details tab for a newly-created Show.

Uploading and Rendering Show Files

Navigate to a Performance and open the Renders tab, then click Upload Show File to submit a .packedshow exported from the Design Studio. The portal will start the render and report live progress on the Renders tab.

When the render completes, use the Download icon next to the render row to retrieve the resulting .vbake for upload to your drones.

You do not need a flight area before you render — if the show has no Site Map, submitting a render creates one. Depending on how your organization is set up, site maps may be reviewed by Verge before the finished .vbake can be downloaded; the render itself always runs. You will be emailed when it finishes, and again when the site map it was waiting on is approved.

The Shows table can be expanded to show each Show's renders inline.

The Renders tab for an individual Performance.

Exporting VVIZ and Depence Files

In addition to the .vbake used to fly the drones, the portal can produce VVIZ and Depence output files for external previsualization software:

1. Navigate to the relevant Show, then the Performance, then the Renders tab.

2. Click Upload Show File.

3. Under Output files, check VVIZ and/or Depence in addition to the default .vbake output.

4. Submit the render and wait for it to complete.

5. Once finished, click the Files icon on the render row and choose Download VVIZ (or Download Depence).

VVIZ and Depence files are not held by Site Map review — only the .vbake is — so you can preview the show while review is pending.

The completed render's files can also be reached from the main Shows page: locate the show's row in the Shows table, expand the row to reveal its renders, and click the Download icon next to the desired render.

The Upload Show File modal with the VVIZ output file option checked.

Downloading the VVIZ or Depence file from the Files menu on a completed render.

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Once a Show exists, the bulk of the production work happens on the Site Maps, Logistics, Collaboration, and Coordination, and Storyboarding and Previewing pages.