About the project
So what is my mission? I would say to capture and show the essence of racing, to create the most realistic, most immersive and most spectacular camera packages for you as an iRacing member.
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Everything you're about to see and experience here is driven and fueled by dreams and emotions. The joy of giving, the love of life, the thrill of racing and being on the edge. So if you're passionate about racing and you're a gourmet like me, what you can get here is not just a digital product that is practical for spectating and creating iRacing photo/video content but hopefully something beyond that... fun and relaxing moments. It can also help you calm down after an intense race :)
Hello, I'm Istvan and I customize the track and car camera angles in iRacing. Let me give you some background and history about what I do and demonstrate with some video examples the capabilities of the customized cameras.
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The fact that you're here means that you like iRacing and want to improve and maximize your experience. Customized cameras can elevate your spectator experience just like a good setup helps elevate your driving experience. Can you imagine iRacing without custom paints? If you're answer is 'no' than probably you won't be able to imagine iRacing without carefully and well designed custom cameras if you use them for a while.
I know this is not the most important thing in the World but with every joyful or 'wow' moment you may get during spectating, hopefully contributes to your well being and keeps that little candle light open in your heart :)
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Since around I was 8 years old I started to watch Formula 1 races, and Dakar. For some reason I got addicted to racing in general. And in sims I equally enjoyed driving then watch the crashes :)
In 2011 summer I started as an iRacer and I enjoyed racing so much that after good races I was so pumped and excited that I watched replay to re-live my best moments and all the racing action happening around me. I used the post race minutes also to analyze what happened and to calm down. And I found immediately a need to improve and enhance the default iRacing cameras.
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I'm also a hobby photographer and visual type of person. And I love the thrill of racing. I'm not sure where this is coming from but its something in my inner core.
I grew up and whatched races in the 90's. And there was race recap videos with special and close up camera angles that was never part of the live coverage. I recorded those to tape just because I found that cool. Today's racing with the technology available can deliver amazing shots (close ups, slow motion or overhead, etc).
So almost instantly after I arrived on iRacing and while spending time on replays I realized how much room for improvement is in the camera setup for iRacing. I realized how much more accurate and more entertaining racing action can be shown compared to the default settings you get with the software. I wanted to implement those special angles seen on TV to trigger similar emotions and feel.
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Luckily the iRacing camera tool allows you to modify the cameras so I started to improve those. Learned to use the camera tool to its maximum potential and I apply all my creativity.
Looking back I started all the camera work just for my needs and in 2012 I thought about releasing it to others. I constantly looked for improvements to satisfy my needs. I introduced DynamicTV and added StaticTV and started releasing real life event replica angles. And they become very popular. If you don't believe me see what the iRacers say in my new and old iRacing forum thread.
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Then sometime in 2016 I realized that streamers and broadcasters who are using my cameras are actually doing a business and get paid for their service. Everybody knows cameras are and always will be essential part of any broadcast but back then I didn't get any compensation. That moment made me realize this really has some value for not just broadcasters but many individual iRacers. And - although it was not my goals or anything - I had to add some price tags to my camera packages. First I was uncomfortable but gradually I started to learn about business and value creation. And thanks to that decision in 2016 I started to focus all my efforts on camera creation and innovation. And it led to where I am today. I develop and maintain 100+ cars and 100+ track configurations, I do my own videos and I developed this website also on my own. iRacing is constantly evolving and releasing new content so you can not do it once and forget about it. Sooner or later every camera gets outdated and needs re-work. During a period when I really push or simply are in the zone it can take up to 60-80 hours per month workin on this. But I like it, I don't even have the time to drive anymore and enjoy racing from the car :) Instead I enjoy it from the outside and translating the racing action through the cameras to you by using a combination of my artistic and engineering skills. Along the way I learned a lot about racing, video and photo editing. And the result of that is the pure joy I feel when someone - hopefully you as well - comes to me and tells me how great and joyful it is to spectate with these cameras.
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Below you can see demonstration videos and you can also read about the features. In the Gallery section you can check photos made with the help of the cameras.
This is a little video teaser about what is waiting for you. At the end its all about racing isn't it? :)
First of all I'm very excited and happy when I look back and look ahead at the same time. I'm really happy to see so many of you enjoy what I do. Directly through spectating an iRacing session or indirectly watching the iRacing broadcasts.
I'm really happy to see on the responses that you like what I do. It motivates me to keep working on this. Whenever I load an iRacing reply or spectate I always keep my eyes open for improvements.
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Here is a demonstration video of the early Dynamic TV. Since then I introduced so much more. Dynamic TV imitates low altitude chopper or drone or when you can see real life cameras moving on wires just above the track. In this video one of my favorite shot is the slow section at Phillip Island. Starting with the magnificent view with the sea in the background. Eau Rouge at Spa or T1 at Sebring looks also great think.
Features
Accuracy and detail - cameras on 'realistic' positions (behind fence, on poles, etc), real life camera positions. Trying to create varying (TV style) camera angles with carefully planned and executed camera transitions. Pursue realism just what iRacing is aiming for.
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Static TV - see both video demos above. StaticTV is a static aim and mostly static FOV camera type. Best to use for screenshots.
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DynamicTV - chopper or drone style camera constantly circulating above the track bringing you different view points lap after lap. Sometimes its higher and sometimes its super low bringing you very cinematic shots.
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SpeedCam - essentially kerb cameras placed at strategic location around the track. Cars will pass by close and with speed. It works best with pack of cars.
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FanCam - it takes you to the trackside like you are one of the crowd. Feel like virtual racing fan visiting and walking along the track. This project evolved into its own and I have now dedicated camera package for this.
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Cinematic angles - Overall for all cameras I use depth of field enabled and fine tuned - Aiming for best visuals possible. Utilizing depth of field effects to enhance feeling of distance.
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Continous updates - you can expect updates because i'm never satisfied :)
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Example of real life camera position observation - 2015 Brazilian Grand Prix (big picture) and the iRacing replica (small picture).
MP4-30 onboard iRacing vs TV
More examples (click on image for description)
I'm never satisfied and there is multiple ways you can implement cameras. There is no one solution works best. Its like making music or dancing. You have to define the pieces and then stick them together to create the experience. In case of cameras each element need to be constructed (placing a camera and defining the visual shot) but how you stick them together (defining camera transitions) and create a rhytm and flow is where another part of the magic happens. A new track, a new car, graphical updates (like driver animation, particle effects, weather, foliage, etc) can and do trigger new ideas.
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Over time I set my standards higher and higher and I realized to fulfill that today requires a lot of work each time a new build is released with increasing pace of new cars/tracks and adopting existing cameras to the latest iRacings standard. I did not tried any of iRacings competitors yet but I feel the spirit of iRacing and the standards it represents are the closest to me and what I try to achieve with my camera sets.
In 2016-2017 I started to specifically make updates and improvements to better support broadcasters. I added more real life angles, dynamic scenics and improved camera transitions - some things that I think you hardly notice but there is a lot of testing behind it.
Please check this little teaser about oval racing features:
Time and effort I put in
Adding to what I mentioned above, to develop the base version of a generic track today (like Charlotte Roval) takes about 10-16 hours. Enhancements and testing until the first releasable version takes about additional 14-16 hours by spectating minimum 3-4 different races and after that loading replays several times.
Most tracks have gone through 6-8 or more iterations. Depending on complexity a new iteration can take 4-20 hours. Earliest tracks like Spa GP has already around 30+ iterations :)
Combining all this I calculated the prices that cover the spent but also the creative process. Your support helps me to continue and improve further.
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I'm very very excited about the future improvements in the iRacing platform itself. Improved visuals and other stuff will make the current angles look even better and more cinematic. Until I feel iRacing is the best platform and they keep improving and growing, I keep doing it and release continuous updates to the community.
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The result is also this web page. Please give me your feedback about any aspect of my work so I can improve and hopefully you can get more value from this.
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Thank you for visiting this page. I hope you will have a valuable experience while you spend your time here. Please click below to explore the various camera packages available.
Managing and keeping up-to-date 100+ tracks and 100+ cars is very demanding. Inventing and experiencing with new concepts is very fun and indeed it takes both artistical and technikal skills to integrate them seamlessly. I like this part and like to play around but if I find something that works then populating it to other tracks and testing it is time consuming. Also web site maintenance and video production takes significant resources. I appreciate any donation from a price of a bottle of water to whatever you wish to support this kind of effort:
>>>Please note<<<
You will need a valid iRacing membership to use the camera packages.
Please visit the official iRacing website to register.
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