The Verge Aero software provides native support for exporting drone shows in the VVIZ format for use in Finale 3D. This guide outlines the steps required to prepare and export your drone show from Verge Aero.
Step 1: Design your drone show
Create your drone show in Verge Aero as you normally would, including any choreography, LED light animations, and any pyro payloads if supported. The export function will include all position and color data, along with any additional metadata you choose to specify.
Figure 1 – Verge Aero drone design software
Step 2: Specify pyro payloads
If your drone show includes pyro, you can specify the type and characteristics of each pyro effect in Verge Aero. The effects should include a VDL (Visual Description Language) string, such as “10s Gold Gerb” or “25mm Red Comet”. You may also include part numbers to help Finale 3D match these to your inventory.
Figure 2 – Specifying pyro payloads in Verge Aero
Step 3: Export your show as a VVIZ file
Once your design is complete, use Verge Aero’s export dialog to create a VVIZ file. In the export options, you’ll be able to set the compression level. We recommend exporting at approximately 10 FPS for position data and 20 FPS for color data to maintain good quality without generating excessively large files.
Figure 3 – Choosing compression level in the Verge export dialog
Step 4: Import the VVIZ file into Finale 3D
After exporting, switch to Finale 3D and use the menu command “File > Import > Import drone show”. The imported drones and effects will appear in your show. If your VVIZ file included pyro payloads, Finale 3D will import them as effects positioned on the drones.
If your VVIZ file used part numbers that match your inventory, use the command “Effects > Update per-show effects…” in Finale 3D to update the placeholder effects with your inventory’s definitions.
For additional details about how VVIZ files are handled in Finale 3D, see the Importing Drone Shows documentation.