|
Camera Match-Moving |
||
|
Projects About Me
|
Match-moving is the process of taking a film or video shot and, solely from the shot, reconstructing the 3-D path of the camera during the shot, and additionally the position of various identifiable image features in 3-D. If the camera zoomed in or out during the shot, the zoom setting must be recovered as well. Once the camera path and feature locations have been located, a visual effects artists can add or remove additional 3-D computer graphics effects into the shots, such as putting a fire in a fireplace, adding a creepy monster, or digitally extending a set, such as adding a facade to a building, or replacing a modern setting with a vintage one. Match-moving works only when the camera physically moves; a mere pan or tilt on a tripod does not cause the perspective shifts needed to recover the camera path and feature locations in 3-D. However, when the camera is on a tripod, the pan/tilt history and pointing directions of the features can be recovered. My company, Andersson Technologies LLC, offers the SynthEyes 3-D camera tracker, a Windows-based match-moving application. It has an extensive and growing list of feature film credits, as well as being used for television commercials, architectural, and accident reconstruction projects. Earlier, I wrote the SceneGenie extension suite and its CameraGenie subcomponent, which adds camera match-moving to Discreet's 3D Studio MAX (now 3ds max) animation application. That software was used on films such as Minority Report, Chocolat (2001 Academy Awards nominee), Driven, and Pluto Nash; television shows such as Xena: Warrior Princess, Cleopatra 2525, Jack of All Trades, and The Invisible Man. |