The AI Director automates camera selection during a race. It chooses which car to focus on and when to cut, based on a real-time scoring engine. The goal is to show the most interesting action, such as battles, overtakes, incidents, and pit stops, without constant manual input.
Enabling the Director
Toggle the AI Director with any of these.
- Broadcast > Auto-Director
- The AutoDirector button at the right end of the camera bar
- The keyboard shortcut Ctrl+D
When enabled, a countdown bar appears in the program monitor before each camera cut, giving you time to override.
How it works
The Director scores every car on the grid multiple times per second based on what's happening around it. The car with the highest score becomes the next camera target.
Scoring factors
| Factor | What it detects | Default weight |
|---|---|---|
| Battles | Cars within a close gap, actively fighting for position | 80 |
| Incidents | Sudden speed drops that indicate contact, spins, or crashes | 95 |
| Leader | The race leader, as a steady baseline of interest | 30 |
| Fastest lap | A car that has just set the fastest lap of the session | 60 |
| Pit activity | Cars entering or exiting the pit lane | 40 |
Higher weights mean the Director prioritizes that type of action. Incidents have the highest default weight, so a crash will almost always pull the camera.
What counts as a battle or an incident in the first place is set in File > Settings... > Detection.
- Battle Gap Threshold. Cars within this gap are treated as battling (default 1.5s). This feeds the Battles panel, Director scoring, and which battles reach your overlays. Battle graphics have their own Show Under setting for when they go on screen, so you can track a wider fight here than you put on air.
- Incident Speed Drop Threshold. The minimum speed drop in one tick that registers as an incident (default 80 km/h). Raise it for fewer false positives.
Cut behavior
When the Director identifies a new target
- Staged countdown. A visual countdown bar appears (default 3 seconds), giving you time to react before the cut.
- Minimum hold. After cutting to a car, the Director won't cut away for at least 8 seconds by default, avoiding jarring rapid switches.
- Camera cut. The Director switches focus to the new target car.
Manual override
You can override the Director at any time without disabling it.
- Focus a car manually. Click in the leaderboard, use Ctrl+Numpad1/3, or click the minimap.
- Press Escape to cancel the Director's upcoming cut.
- Press Enter to skip the countdown and cut immediately.
- Press Ctrl+H to hold on the current car. This pauses the Director for the Hold Duration, 30 seconds by default.
After a manual focus change, the Director enters a cooldown period (default 15 seconds) before it resumes automatic control. This keeps it from immediately cutting away from a car you chose on purpose. Hold uses its own, usually longer, pause. That is the Hold Duration setting.
Director settings
Open File > Settings... and pick the Director tab, or use Broadcast > Director Settings... to jump straight there. Changes apply instantly.
Timing
- Cut Delay. How long the countdown lasts before a cut (default 3 seconds).
- Min Hold Time. Minimum time on a car before the Director can cut away (default 8 seconds).
- Manual Override Cooldown. How long the Director pauses after any manual focus change, such as a leaderboard click or a camera hotkey (default 15 seconds).
- Hold Duration. How long the Director pauses when you press Hold (default 30 seconds). Use this to lock onto a car for an extended stretch.
Priority weights
Adjust the priority of each scoring factor from 0 to 100. Setting a weight to 0 disables that factor entirely.
- Battles (default 80)
- Incidents (default 95)
- Race Leader (default 30)
- Fastest Lap (default 60)
- Pit Activity (default 40)
Angle control
- Director switches camera angles. When enabled, which is the default, each cut also picks a camera angle to match its reason. Track cams for battles and incidents, TV Mix for the leader, cockpit for a fast lap, track cams and top-down for pit action. Turn it off and the Director only switches which car you're watching, leaving the angle to you.
- Angle Refresh. When the same shot has run this long without a cut, the Director rotates to a fresh angle on the same car (default 20 seconds).
You can also override the angle without giving up automatic car selection. Right-click an angle in the camera bar and choose "Lock this angle." The Director keeps cutting between cars but leaves the camera angle alone until you unlock it. A padlock appears on the locked angle button.
Reset to Defaults at the bottom of the tab restores every Director setting and leaves the Director running if it was on.
Tips for using the Director
- Start with defaults. The default weights are tuned for general race broadcasts. Try them before customizing.
- Watch the countdown. The staged countdown shows you what the Director is about to do. If you disagree, hit Escape.
- Use Hold for key moments. If a car is about to attempt an overtake and you don't want the Director to cut away, press Ctrl+H.
- Let it handle the quiet moments. The Director is most valuable during long stints where nothing dramatic is happening. It finds the small battles and position changes you might miss.
- Override freely. Manual control is always a single keypress away, and the cooldown ensures the Director respects your choice.