Recommended Workflow

Here we will summarise the recommended workflow for using Notch Blocks in live projects. Due to the huge creative possibility for generative visuals Notch offers, there is the potential for a Block to demand a lot from the available media server resources. Our recommendations are designed to enable the most efficient use of these resources. You can download a sample project file and block here:

Project file
Notch Block
 

Multiple Notch Layers 

In a Notch Builder project, you have the ability to create multiple compositions. Each composition has its own Nodegraph, Timeline etc. It is possible in Notch Builder to use these compositions as something like an After Effects Precomp, where multiple Notch compositions blend together to make one full scene. This is found in Project>Settings>General>Composition Mode and changing the setting to ‘Composited’. From a PIXERA point of view, this is not a recommended workflow. We suggest using the ‘Isolated’ setting (the Notch default) and having one Notch look wholly contained within its own Notch Composition.

PIXERA has a workflow for handling Notch Blocks containing multiple layers. When dragging a Block like this onto the timeline, a prompt will appear: 

Here you can select to ‘Add All Layers’ (Compositions from Notch Builder) or choose a single one to import on your Notch layer. We'll select Add All Layers and click OK.

Now the Notch layer has a field called ‘Extension Layer’. This field contains a drop-down that lets you select between the different compositions and can also be keyframed or controlled remotely like other parameters on layers.

In the gif above, you can see that the switch between the Notch Compositions happens instantly. Keeping multiple compositions in one Notch Block is an advantageous workflow which will be explored later in this article.

PIXERA will support a Notch Block containing multiple compositions with different resolutions and aspect ratios, but care should be taken to test and think about the relationship between input resolutions, output resolutions and the rendering resolution setting on the Notch Block as shown in Notch Block Basics.

The Notch timeline and Layer References

Since it's possible to interact with Notch Layers just like any other resources in the Compositing tab, you may be tempted to drag the same Notch Block onto multiple timelines or even multiple times into the same timeline. This will quickly eat up server resources and is not recommended. Setting up a specific timeline just for Notch and using Layer Reference Resources will allow you to render the Notch Block texture once and use this on many layers, screens, timelines etc. with minimal performance overhead:

In the example above we can see a Timeline with only one Notch Layer, assigned to a separate screen (called Notch Monitor) with no output assigned and its own screen group. There's a single Notch clip on that layer that's set to Free Loop. There are keyframes to switch between the different Notch Layers and two different Live Inputs. These are marked by Cues, labelled to show what they are.

Above you can see a ‘show’ timeline. The layer reference ‘Notch Reference’ is used here and composited over a background layer. An effect (BlackWhiteColor) has been added. Trigger Cues are seen in the main Cue Layer, which call the Cues on the Notch timeline, retrieving the different looks that have been programmed, but you could do this via Control Modules or a Stream Deck with BitFocus Companion.

Unless you need more than one simultaneous, different Notch effect to be used, one Block is recommended to enable seamless switching between looks and inputs. 

If your output machine is the only server running the show, or it's also pulling double duty as a director for other servers, you may want to disable the preview rendering to save performance. You could leave preview rendering on on a dedicated Director server - here a watermarked (free) Notch playback license may also be acceptable for your show. 

Optimising Notch Blocks

Properly optimised Notch Blocks will improve media server performance and resource availability as well as project load times. 

Renderers:
Notch have 4 renderers to choose from with their new NURA architecture. For working with Notch Blocks, the Hybrid Render and Standard Renderer are the two options optimised for real-time use. A great way to work out how much performance you want to ‘spend’ on your Notch scene is to turn all of the quality settings on your chosen renderer to the lowest setting and then slowly increase just what you need. For example, do you really need high quality reflections or all that antialiasing?

3D Objects:

• If you aren't using rigged models, body tracking or similar, Cinema4D files (.c4d) are the most efficient option to use with Notch, so if you have a lot of geometry in your 3D scene, convert to .c4d if possible.
• If using high-poly-count .c4d models, open the resource in the Notch inspector and select ‘Flatten Scene > Single Object’.
• The Nvidia Texture Tools Exporter can be used to reduce the size and increase the efficiency of the texture files for your 3D models - reducing VRAM usage and load times. 
• A subdivision deformer node is more efficient than using the subdivisions slider within the 3D object's node.

Simulations and Particles:

• When working with deterministic systems like particles and fields, locking the FPS will allow for predictable behaviour of the simulations.

Lighting:

• Made sure you don't turn on emissive lighting if you aren't using any emissive materials.

Camera and particle system

Notch Blocks are by no means limited to IMAG effects. Here we will demonstrate a particle system with a camera node and how that appears in PIXERA.

Making a particle system Notch Block for PIXERA could be as easy as dragging in the preset: Simple Particle System and adding a Camera node and exposing some parameters. Here's what we ended up with:

Controlling a Notch Block from PIXERA Control

In the example above, we exposed the ‘Rotation Heading’ property of the Null the Camera is connected to. Let's use this to show how easy it can be to hook up Control systems to a Notch Block.

In the Control tab, I have dragged in a Linear module with the following settings, then run the init() action:

Once the Notch Block is imported and added to a timeline, right-click on the exposed parameter ‘Rotation Heading’ and connect to the ‘Result’ action of the Linear module:

Notch layer can be connected and controlled in many ways. You can program using Keyframes and Cues directly on the timeline, use the DMX patching workflow, connect a Stream Deck via Companion, build a Web UI and more!

Notch Blocks on Multiple Systems

When running a show from a larger system with multiple clients, there are a few things to take into account - please read Notch's article which dives into more detail. Let's assume this show is run on a PIXERA Director with two Client servers. There are multiple SDI camera inputs and a lighting operator who has control over some of PIXERA's parameters.

Each notch instance is a separate, standalone process. A block rendered in the Preview of the Director and on each client may not look identical. Subtle differences may result from timings, slightly differing data input etc. It's recommended to duplicate live input signals outside of PIXERA before feeding them into Notch and any control data for the Notch Block parameters should be derived from a single source. 

The above makes it difficult to render sections of one large canvas, split into sections rendered by individual servers. In this situation, relying on animations that are locked to the timeline, rather than free-running and linking exposed parameters to a single data source and ensuring a reliable server sync setup will help.

Audio Reactivity and External Devices

The devices present when creating a scene in Notch Builder have a bearing on what the exported Notch Block will be able to interface with. For example, if you want to make a Notch Block that uses Xbox Kinect data, you would have to ensure the Kinect is working and talking to Notch on the end destination server for the project and compile the Block from that machine before importing it into your PIXERA project. This works similarly with audio devices, however in Notch under Project > Settings > Audio Playback and Capture, you can add preferred paths to WDM and ASIO capture devices. 

A great setup here would be to give your Notch designer the exact name of a connected ASIO device you want to use to pipe in audio. As long as this is detected by Windows, it should be picked up by the Notch Block as well. 

Pixera 26.1  R 1 | 13 July 2026 | C.L. and B.C.