Nodaro DocsRelight & Switch
Relight a subject, swap or restyle a background, or composite new elements into a video, driven by the clip's own pixels, a mask and a reference image.
The Relight & Switch node relights a video and replaces or restyles parts of it, driven by the source video's own pixels. You give it the video, a mask of what to keep, and a reference image or a prompt for the new look. The model generates the new elements and relights the kept subject to match, so one node can relight a subject, swap or restyle a background, or composite new elements into a scene.
The node is powered by Beeble SwitchX. A Powered by SwitchX · Beeble note appears next to the result.
When to use it
- A subject should look lit for a new environment or a different time of day.
- The background should change, while the subject's motion and identity stay the same.
- New elements from a reference image should become part of the scene.
- One element should be replaced precisely, following a painted or generated mask.
Quick start
Add the node
Press Tab on the canvas and choose Video › Continue & Restyle › Relight & Switch.
Connect the video
Wire the clip into the Source video input. Keep it at 240 frames or less, which is about 8 seconds at 30 fps.
Connect a reference image
Wire the new look into the Reference input, for example a photo of a sunset beach. A reference image is optional, but it is the single biggest lever on quality.
Choose the mode
Open the settings panel. Start with Auto — mask the subject, which needs no mask. You can also choose a preset from the Relight & Composite folder.
Run it
Click Run on the node. The relit video appears on the node.
Inputs
| Input | Accepts | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Source video | Video nodes, such as Upload Video and Generate Video | The video to transform. Required. |
| Reference | Image nodes, such as Upload Image and Generate Image | The visual target, the new look. Optional, but strongly recommended. |
| Prompt | Text nodes | A description of the result. A wired prompt replaces the prompt typed in the settings panel. |
| Mask | Image and mask nodes, such as Generate Mask and Paint Mask | Appears in Select mode. A grayscale mask of one keyframe. |
| Mask video | Video nodes | Appears in Custom mode. A per-frame alpha matte video. |
The output, Video, is the relit or recomposited clip. The node outputs no matte.
Settings
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Mode | How the mask is made. Auto — mask the subject is the default. See The four modes. |
| Prompt | A description of the desired look, up to 2,000 characters. A connected reference image is strongly recommended as well. |
| Keyframe index | Select mode only. The frame that your mask describes, counted from 0. The model spreads the mask from this frame across the clip. The default is 0. |
| Resolution | 720p or 1080p (the default). |
| Seed (optional) | A number from 0 to 4,294,967,295 that makes a result repeatable. Leave it empty for a random seed. |
| Pre & post text | Text that is always added before and after the prompt. It is hidden from people who use your workflow as an app. The presets store their instructions here. See Prompt pre and post text. |
The four modes
| Mode | Mask input | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Auto — mask the subject | None | The model finds and masks the foreground subject. It relights the subject and restyles or replaces the background. |
| Fill — restyle whole frame | None | The model keeps the whole scene and restyles the entire frame from the reference or the prompt. |
| Select — keyframe mask | One mask image | You provide a grayscale mask of one frame, and the model spreads it across the video. |
| Custom — matte video | A matte video | You provide a per-frame alpha matte video for frame-accurate control. |
Start with Auto for relighting and background swaps. Use Select or Custom only when you need precise control over what is kept. For Select, the easiest mask comes from a Generate Mask node, for example with the description the person. You can also paint the mask by hand with Paint Mask.
Presets
The Relight & Composite folder in the node's preset menu has one preset for each common job:
| Preset | Mode | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Relight Subject | Auto | Masks the subject and relights it to match the reference. |
| Swap Background | Auto | Keeps the subject, replaces the background and relights the subject to fit. |
| Restyle Whole Scene | Fill | Restyles the entire frame from the reference or the prompt, with no mask. |
| Masked Composite | Select | Gives precise control through a one-frame mask. Wire a Generate Mask node. |
| Frame-Accurate Matte | Custom | Gives exact per-frame control through an alpha matte video. |
Each preset stores its instruction in the node's pre and post text, so the prompt stays free for your own additions. Adjust the instruction and the reference to taste. See Presets.
Limits
- Length: up to 240 frames, which is about 8 seconds at 30 fps.
- Size: up to 2,770,000 pixels per frame, which is about 1080p.
- Formats: MP4 or MOV, encoded as H.264 or HEVC.
A clip slightly over the frame limit, up to about 270 frames, is trimmed to 240 frames automatically and billed at the 240-frame price. A clip well over the limit, or larger than about 2.77 megapixels, shows an orange warning on the node. Trim the clip with Trim Video or lower its resolution before you run.
Credits
The price follows the length of the clip in blocks of 30 frames, about 1 second each, and the output resolution. One block costs 50 credits at 720p and 150 credits at 1080p.
| Length | 720p | 1080p |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 30 frames (about 1 s) | 50 | 150 |
| Up to 60 frames (about 2 s) | 100 | 300 |
| Up to 90 frames (about 3 s) | 150 | 450 |
| Up to 120 frames (about 4 s) | 200 | 600 |
| Up to 150 frames (about 5 s) | 250 | 750 |
| Up to 180 frames (about 6 s) | 300 | 900 |
| Up to 210 frames (about 7 s) | 350 | 1,050 |
| Up to 240 frames (about 8 s) | 400 | 1,200 |
A clip is billed by the number of blocks it spans. For example, a 144-frame clip spans 5 blocks, so it costs 750 credits at 1080p. The editor shows an estimate for a typical length, and the exact charge is computed from the clip's real frame count when the run starts.
Tips
- Always connect a reference image when you can. It is the single biggest lever on quality.
- Keep the source short. Trim the clip to the moment you need before you relight it.
- Start from a preset. The presets give a tuned starting point for each job.
- Fix the seed to compare. With a Seed set, you can change only the reference or the prompt and compare the results fairly.
- Your results do not expire. Results are saved to your library like every other result.
Frequently asked questions
Related
Generate Mask
Video to Video
Trim Video
Paint Mask
Presets
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